No this is not a Typo. I came across the word Cwtch when I was listening to a news item a couple of weeks ago about a community in a Welsh Valley and how they were coping during the current lockdown. Apparently there is no direct English translation but is often referred to as a cuddle or hug. Its meaning in Welsh however is deeper, that of providing a safe place.
You pronounce it Kuch and in the context it was being used, it struck me as a beautiful way to describe how this community was coming together and supporting each other. The richness of language and dialect never ceases to amaze me and how many words can be so particular to the people who use them every day. How communities only a few miles apart can have their own words or apply different meanings to the same word.
I was born in Wolverhampton (The Black Country), just on the edge of ‘Our Aynuk and Ayli’ territory, where these two mythical characters are often used to emphasise the strange and often indecipherable dialect of this part of the Midlands.
This is where 'yow can wake up ‘with a cob on’ cuz the ‘babby’ kept yow awaik all noyt bawlin’. 'Yow brush yer teeth with a ‘tuthbrush’.When yow catch a 'buz yow go round the island' not a roundabout. If the driver gets lost ‘He’s tekin yow round the Wrekin and yow gonna be layte'. 'Yow can take a walk by the cut, cuz there’s more of ‘em than in Venice', apparently. When 'yow get ‘ome, you might get some 'bostin fittle' and down it with a 'bottle of pop'. And if 'yow' were in Birmingham 'yow 'might end up round the back of Rackhams on a Friday 'noyt' (that one’s for the locals).
You might 'pull a fizzog' or be 'caggy-handed' or start 'blarting '- if you are upset. I could go on.
Our dialect is slightly different even to that in Birmingham, where we are ‘affectionately’ known as 'Yamyams'. Why you might ask? Because we don’t say ‘you are’ we say it proper ‘ yow am’! Well it sounds good to us anyway.
Garry, my long suffering hubby, is a Southerner - he can’t help it. He is from a long line of ancestors from London, Surrey and Cornwall, way back to the early 1700’s, so far (more hopefully yet to be discovered). We have been together 37 or so years (so long we can’t remember) and he is still yet to convince me you should pronounce bath as barth and path as parth. If that was meant to be there would have an r in it! Well that’s my reasoning anyway. I think he has finally decided to give up on me now, but at least he no longer requires me to translate or speak slowly. Mind you he still looks a bit baffled on occasion, particularly if I go off on one and get too excited.
I have lived in many parts of Britain over the years. I’ve known ‘grockles’ in Cornwall, would you ‘Adam and Eve it?’ But not tried jellied eels when we lived in Laaaaandon. I gave the car a ‘lick and a promise’ in Staffordshire. When I lived in Wales my friend taught me the longest word in Welsh and how to pronounce it:-
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
I have never forgotten.
In Shropshire 'I dunno wanna gow cause I’m clemmed'. Little bit of Black Country there I think and finally in Yorkshire; ‘Appen it were allus good to have a brew and a butty. Aye'.
One thing I always took away with me when we moved on was the language, the accents, dialects and sayings particular to that place. When I look back, I think of all the faces that uttered them. I wonder how they are doing now?
As always with my blogs it can be the smallest thing that sets me off on a journey of memory or discovery' or both. This time it was one small word with no vowels, taken from Welsh that, together with Cornish, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Ulster Scots and the 40 or so very different dialects spoken throughout England, contribute to the language of our country. I for one think it’s wonderful.
………………………………….
How is everyone doing? I don’t know about you but I am very up and down at the moment. I am definitely looking forward to spring with the lighter nights, daffodils and snowdrops, green leaves and singing birds. I recently borrowed Garry’s new camera lens which fits very neatly onto my phone which means I can take close up photos. So I have been out searching for signs of spring and the colour that comes with the changing months. I have shared some of the results with you. I hope you enjoy them.
Until next time …..
Caroline
Thanks for your interesting blog Caroline. Being born and raised in South Africa in an English speaking environment, our words and accent of the same language are also different of course. Despite having lived in Britain and Thailand for the past 17 years the minute we open our mouths people always ask "Oh from South Africa are you?" 😊. And we don't have the usual guttural more Afrikaans accent either.
Our Somerset bred granddaughter now 12 is often very difficult to understand as are many locals as we travel around Britain. Especially because she speaks so quickly. Srrns a modern trend?
But even in New Zealand they use different words, and often old fashioned English like "aye".
I was amazed…
I love language and dialect differences and hear many of the ones around here as you know. I have also had some really funny situations when misunderstanding what people were saying to me over the years. One example was for months I thought someone’s dog was called Diddly duck! on numerous occasions I would call it this! It was pointed out to me that it was only Diddly and I was Duck!
Hi Caroline, I’m originally from Bromsgrove and used to go to Wolverhampton and Birmingham (Brum). Like you have lived in various places and now class myself as “a southerner“ as I’ve lived in Basingstok/New for over 30 years.
lovely to see you mentioning the different dialects and I remember going around the Wrekin and my mum saying she would have to get a job at the back of Rackhams.
Like you I’m looking forward to the Spring, always do but even more so this year.
Stay safe and hopefully not too long before we can resume our travel.
Pauline xx