‘There’s so many savings this week!’

Yammy, I don’t think colloquial expressions such as ‘Me old china’ come under the usual rules. Not even to a pernickety old pedant like me. ?

When people say 'thers' (sic) with a plural it doesn't bother me in the slightest in casual conversation. I wouldn't write it in a formal or academic paper but it IS how people whose first language is English speak. I suggest it's probably much more common than the technically correct 'there are' or, as I would probably say in conversation: "thera", hard to do phonetics here but it sounds a bit like thurru as I say it.

I think I say "therra" too.

Doodledog

Whilst I’m here, what is the name for when something happens only when something else is happening, please? Eg ‘When we eat pork we have apple sauce’?

Conjunction?

Or what ever the "when..... then also" structure is called. Bit like the "if...then" logical wotsit, innit?

Conjunctions are ‘joining words’, like ‘and’ or ‘but’. I see where you’re coming from, as ‘so’ is one too, but it’s not what I’m thinking of. It may be a conditional tense, or case, (or something ?), but I can’t remember.

Baggs

When people say 'thers' (sic) with a plural it doesn't bother me in the slightest in casual conversation. I wouldn't write it in a formal or academic paper but it IS how people whose first language is English speak. I suggest it's probably much more common than the technically correct 'there are' or, as I would probably say in conversation: "thera", hard to do phonetics here but it sounds a bit like thurru as I say it.

It’s IMO one thing in casual conversation (I still don’t like it) but in emails from a huge company such as Boots, it strikes me as sloppy.
All part of general dumbing-down, though, I suppose. ?

I honestly don't remember being taught any of that at school, beyond nouns, verbs, and adverbs, and that was when I was still at junior school.

It's not just Northern speakers who use the 'we were' expression. A similar one is 'I done it' which tends to be southern, though not exclusively.

Can anyone tell me why auto correct insist Northern has an uppercase N, but not southern?

Witzend

Baggs

When people say 'thers' (sic) with a plural it doesn't bother me in the slightest in casual conversation. I wouldn't write it in a formal or academic paper but it IS how people whose first language is English speak. I suggest it's probably much more common than the technically correct 'there are' or, as I would probably say in conversation: "thera", hard to do phonetics here but it sounds a bit like thurru as I say it.

It’s IMO one thing in casual conversation (I still don’t like it) but in emails from a huge company such as Boots, it strikes me as sloppy.
All part of general dumbing-down, though, I suppose. ?

I agree and also dislike general dumbing down. It could actually be seen as patronising from a big company, except I don't suppose that ever crossed the minds of their IT/Techie/Ad people.

Or maybe (ghastly thought!) it did cross their minds and they thought it was "in with the kids" sort of thing ?

ExDancer

It's not just Northern speakers who use the 'we were' expression. A similar one is 'I done it' which tends to be southern, though not exclusively.

Can anyone tell me why auto correct insist Northern has an uppercase N, but not southern?

Cos northerners think they're a class apart ?

I can say that cos I am one ?

We definitely are Baggs

What does most of the English-speaking world sing on New Years' Eve "Auld lang Syne". Do they know what they are singing and where the songs come from? Or mean for that matter.
We certainly don't sing"Knees up Mother Brown".

We do!
Under the table you must go, ee i ee i ee I Ooh!
If i catch you bendin', I'll saw your legs right off!

We all pop out of our houses then out into the streets, wearing our patched trousers, with braces on, so we can hook our thumbs in 'em as we dance.
Knees up! Knees up! Don't get a breeze up!

I love a quiz and am delighted that the Third Degree has returned to Radio 4(extra). But I can't understand how Steve Punt gets away with "and that is our teams for tonight" which he says every week.

He studied English at Cambridge for heaven's sake!

MissAdventure

We do!
Under the table you must go, ee i ee i ee I Ooh!
If i catch you bendin', I'll saw your legs right off!

We all pop out of our houses then out into the streets, wearing our patched trousers, with braces on, so we can hook our thumbs in 'em as we dance.
Knees up! Knees up! Don't get a breeze up!

Well if you sing that on News years eve you are out of sync with the English-speaking world it is even often sung by outgoing Presidents of the White house.
How would you like it if you were mean't to feel as if you had just come up't pit and were going home for a bath in a tin one in front of the fire. Or just popping out for a loaf of Hovis.
The best laugh is really no one can stay away from the North when it is holiday time . Do you come to spot the local fell backers or the ones that look like sheep. .We do have one leg shorter than the other you know

Talk about the North /South divide you have fallen right into it.
If all the derision of the North is not stopped we'll ask to go back to Scotland which we were a thousand years ago and then Nicola would get her independence as we would vote SNP.

I suggest you take it up with people who deride the North then.
Certainly not me.

Oof! This has got tetchy very quickly.

I agree that a lot of people take Southern pronunciation as the default and assume that anything from North of Watford is a deviation, but that's accent, not dialect. When I worked full time I heard so many students claim not to have an accent, when they absolutely did - they just thought that Southern accents were 'correct'. Even 'Cor blimey' Landan was seen by them as 'posher' than Scouse or Yorkshire in their eyes, which is ridiculous.

I love regional variations, and would be sad to see them go - particularly phrases and sayings from the past.

I think that children should be taught to write in Standard English, but definitely not forced to ditch an accent to speak in RP, or to think that anyone who does use RP has no accent, as that is an accent like any other.

MissAdventure

I suggest you take it up with people who deride the North then.
Certainly not me.

Glad to hear it, we are friendly, we don't understand your accents just like a lot of people do not understand ours. Our accents often do not reflect our intelligence, we are not all unintelligent which I am not saying you say, but a lot assume.
Now I am going to go wandering into the beautiful sunset like Wordsworth.