England 50

Listen to England 50, a 58-year-old man from Devizes, Wiltshire, in southwest England. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 58

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 1944

PLACE OF BIRTH: Bristol (but raised in Devizes, Wiltshire)

GENDER: male

ETHNICITY: white

OCCUPATION: magistrate, union leader

EDUCATION: N/A

AREA(S) OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

The subject moved to Devizes, Wiltshire, when a few weeks old, where he has lived his entire life.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

The subject is fiercely working class, and although he has attained the prestige position as a magistrate, he has been a union leader all his life and values his dialect as emblematic of those he represents. He is married to subject England 51, and his dialect, as is typical, is stronger than that of his wife, though not as strong as that of more rural agricultural workers in Wiltshire.

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Paul Meier

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 07/2002

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

I was born in Bristol in 1944, and I came to Devizes within a matter of weeks from there, so I’ve lived, virtually, umm, to date, nearly 58 years in Devizes itself. Had no wish to live anywhere else. Um, eldest of seven brothers and sisters. Married when I was 19. Coming up to year 40. Three great kids. A wife that I’m getting used to. Um, ha. Don’t for God’s sake play that back to her. And, uh, five wonderful grandchildren. I discovered very early in life that, um, I have very strong principles about certain things. And, um, I’ve found a way of expressing those through a trade union movement. And, um, I went into the Avon Tyre Factory at Melksham in 1965 and then quit in a matter of two or three years, so I was elected as Steward. Um, I became the senior Steward, um, chairman of the Stewards within a couple of years of being elected. And in 1974, um, the then branch secretary was a senior figure on site and senior negotiator for the factory. Two-thousand, six-hundred and seventy-nine people on that site at the time. He decided he was going to retire and, um, I stood for election. I was successful in that election and, um, I’m still in position of, that position of office today. Uh, during that period of time, I served on the regional committee of the union. This is Transport & General Workers Union. I’ve been a member of the executive union for eight years. I served on the national health and safety executive for the, um, rubber sector of the, in this country. Um, went to Ruskin for a while so as to get myself trained up to do the various parts in the process of doing everyday. Um, been through many a hard time trying to keep the company open, but, um, they’re all part-and-parcel. Uh, became a magistrate in 1984. That was an interesting one. But anyway, became a magistrate in 1984 and, I’m, uh, still there today as, um, AT office administer in the local justice within Salisbury and district.

TRANSCRIBED BY: Megan Smith

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 11/02/2008

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY: 

For more information on British dialects, visit PaulMeier.com.

COMMENTARY BY: Cameron Meier

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 06/28/2024

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