West Country Yap

Anecdotal conversations with people in the UK West Country.
See part 2 here: • West Country Yap - Part 2
And part 3 here: • West Country Yap - part 3
West Country Yap part 4 • West Country Yap part 4
West Country Yap is a short film consisting of snippets of conversation and anecdotes from five elderly gentlemen of south west England. A particular point of interest is the regional dialect - Somerset and mid Devon - which is changing and diluting with younger generations. The strong dialect is a result of growing up in an age where mobility was limited, and travel out of the region or community was unnecessary. Now, with cars and transport taken for granted we are able to move around the country at will, and as a result, regional populations are slowly becoming homogenised and regional accents gradually being lost to a bygone era. Certain words, peculiar to the region, are heard less and less among younger inhabitants, and gradually the rich dialects of the West Country will disappear over the coming decades. It is my hope to record many speakers of the genuine dialects before this generation passes on, and before all that is left is a modern diluted version.
Note: The traveller, John Treagood, is not a native of the west country, but hails from Kent. He travels around the south west and has been included for his interesting take on life and the fact that he is a rare character.
Footnote:
Sad to report that the two gentlemen in the first segment, Bill and Marcus, both passed away within two days of each other. Marcus died on Sunday March 4, 2018, and Bill apparently left us on the previous Friday. More of them from my archive when time permits.
R.I.P. Bill and Marcus.
Further footnote: I recently heard that another of my subjects, Peter Isaacs, passed away around May 9, 2018, at the age of 93.
March 21, 2019:
Sad to learn today that another gentleman from my West Country Yap film has passed away.
Paul Isaac, whose brother Peter died last May, died on Tuesday March 19, 2019, at the tender age of 93.
All have now left us, except for John Treagood, the gentlemen of the road - as far as I know. So glad I met these wonderful gents and captured their dialects on video. Truly, an era is passing.
February 9, 2020:
John Treagood passed away on the evening of Feb 9, 2020. All the subjects of this film have now left us.
Watch West Country Yap part 2 here: • West Country Yap - Part 2
Uploaded May 2020.

[@Tumslover27]

When that one dude said, "Ho ligkhf flip gfddytr uyutre toll." that hit me right in the heart.

[@gabrielbotsford791]

😅😅😅😅😅

[@PUBHEAD1]

Ok, your comment made me totally laugh out loud for 5 mins straight

[@rachael3361]

What you’ve written looks like Welsh

[@peteredeson5647]

F#ckin brilliant 👍

[@Concetta20]

Love it.

[@CrisSantos-cc8cc]

They sound like they could give a contract to a witcher

[@MrTrotty57]

Sad to learn today that another gentleman from my West Country Yap film has passed away. Paul Isaac, whose brother Peter died last May, died on Tuesday March 19, 2019, at the tender age of 93. All have now left us, except for John Treagood, the gentlemen of the road - as far as I know. So glad I met these wonderful gents and captured their dialects on video. Truly, an era is passing.

[@joshroberts6721]

May peace be with them

[@TheDoitpow]

Do you know whereabouts John is these days? I'd like to check in, especially these days.

[@TheDoitpow]

Oh. I just read down. It's a tragedy.

[@MrTrotty57]

Sad to report that the two gentlemen in the first segment, Bill and Marcus, both passed away within two days of each other. Marcus died on Sunday March 4, 2018, and Bill apparently left us on the previous Friday. More of them from my archive when time permits. R.I.P. Bill and Marcus.

[@matthewpaterson5216]

I was very sad to hear this news. Have watched your video many times, at first simply because of the language aspect. I'm an ESL teacher, I live in southern Taiwan, had been reading the Harry Potter books to my son at bedtimes, and was curious about the accent of Hagrid. But watching your video has been much more than that. I have been so beguiled and charmed by these elderly gentlemen. Thank you for this.

[@All3ofus]

MrTrotty57 r.i.p grandad

[@Miquelalalaa]

MrTrotty57 I’m so sorry to hear that. Both they, and their accents will be missed.

[@sinead7475]

Bless them. Maybe a case of broken heart syndrome?

[@Daniea3]

Such genuine souls.

[@matthewpaterson5216]

You've done a great service for anyone interested in British regional speech, not to mention colorful persons. Many thanks for this.

[@MrTrotty57]

Most welcome

[@SlayerRiley]

Seconded mate.

[@tyferro1943]

The fact that the two old men at the beginning can understand eachother is a beautiful thing

[@Survivethejive]

RIP these gentlemen and may their dialect live on

[@rebeccarobson7601]

😢

[@brandall9481]

As an American from the Western USA, the thick West Country dialect is by far the most easily intelligible to me. These guys sound like some of the old timers I know, especially old miners. There were many Cornwall miners who came to the western USA in the last century. Their language lives on here. The most prominent aspect of this dialect is the rhotic R, which is fundamentally American English.

[@brendonhavener]

Where in the western us do you live lol

[@cigh7445]

At the time of American settlement all English accents were still rhotic

[@thomsboys77]

@@cigh7445 They weren’t

[@jaif7327]

@@cigh7445 nah not all but the majority yea

[@aiyanaperry4016]

I have a feeling that this is what English sounds like to non-English speakers

[@samsara450]

Exactly ! I'm French and I've thought that I was bilingual until today, but I don't understand anything at what they said. It's funny because I recognize specific tones to English language.

[@davidblackwood106]

@@samsara450 Don't worry. I'm English and am also struggling to understand them haha

[@jason-8608]

Or, how Texans sound to Brits

[@benrogersdevon]

I can understand every work each bloke comes out with. I’m from north Devon though so could be the reason!

[@carlit8617]

I’m from the Midwestern USA and I can understand about 0.01% of what they’re saying. I can’t imagine if this dialect was the most common of English dialects and I tried to learn it. It seems like they roll a lot of their syllables and words. Also, it sounds like they differentiate between vowels and similarly articulated consonants a lot less. From what I can tell, the way I speak is a lot clearer than the way they do. Crazy how much language can vary from place to place.

[@monicarivers4864]

There are times when the older gentlemen at the start of the video sound like the elderly relatives I remember from my childhood- and I'm from the south in the U.S.

[@Slashplite]

Tangier accent from US sounds similar to these people. It's probably how founding fathers sounded like

[@ricksmith4145]

@ The Guardian of Truth: 1. I don't think that's true. I think a lot of northerners _did_ have West Country heritage. Maybe southerners were more likely to have ancestors from that area, but IDK. 2. In the 17th and 18th centuries, you didn't need to have West Country heritage in order to sound similar to the guys in this video. _Everyone_ in England used to have some variation of this accent.

[@Survivethejive]

Charming accents and people. This dialect is heritage that must be preserved.

[@folksurvival]

Very Indo-European ;-)

[@hullaballoo9703]

Indeed. The Sussex accent is pretty much obsolete, we now have a terrible mix of old cockney sounding London accent and new jafaican London accent. Nothing wrong with those accents I would just rather the Sussex accent and dialect hadn’t been pushed out by an ever expanding London.

[@yeerkals]

Why

[@kovdrop3915]

Things change. Get used to it.

[@setadriftonfishandchips]

Big influence on the Newfoundland dialect

[@clinclin1240]

Those first two gentlemen sound like extremely dignified drunken South Carolinians.

[@splitraven7060]

It’s in the ice tea.

[@AngloSaxonVanguard]

I've travelled all over the USA and was captivated by the American Southern accents and now I know why they sound the way they do. They come from from the West of England 😂

[@MaxIsBackInTown]

This sounds nothing like a southern accent

[@jonjits]

This is basically every pair of old men who take bus journey's together in Plymouth.

[@tecteam]

ere bey u know it innit

[@harrysalt5277]

When he said "IGGHRHHHHGUHHHREEMEMEMVBEUHOHHLLLLFRAUNKKKKKYESSSSZZ" i felt that💯

[@sirknighter2794]

accents in the West Country change every 2 miles no joke lol ive lived there in Gloucester all my life

[@selflessone3880]

Please search “Americans who still speak with regional English dialects” and you’ll notice the similarities it’s incredible.

[@youtubelife921]

This is so upsetting, I just found out that John Treagood, the travelling bloke, passed away on the 9th February 2020. Such a shame that now all of these lovely gentlemen have left us.

[@xxIluvyouguysxx]

:(

[@user-zy9yg2eu5t]

It was very tragic he died of Ligma.

[@user-nx9eq2wq7t]

I grew up in Devon and saw John Treegood and his caravan all the time. Often every week. I remember him parking down by Exminster on Dawlish Road and on the Ide roundabout too. RIP John, it was always lovely to see you about.

[@MrTrotty57]

@@user-nx9eq2wq7t that's where I filmed his sequence.

[@jeanetteclarke3054]

I’m proud to say that the gentleman in the hat, on the right in the first part of this film, is my late father, Bill Vowles. He and Marcus (on the left) were both Somerset born and bred, and died within a week of each other in March 2018. Whilst I don’t speak with the same accent, I could always understand what was being said. As many have said, this dialect is slowly disappearing. It’s also interesting to hear that this accent is similar to some parts of the US. Some of my dad’s ancestors emigrated to the US in 1868, settling in Illinois, Iowa and New York. His direct ancestor returned to the UK luckily; otherwise I wouldn’t be here. You may be interested to know that the drink in the mug wasn’t tea or coffee; it’s cider. Marcus made cider each year and loved nothing more than to share a mug or two (a wet) and a yarn with anyone passing. Glad most of you enjoyed listening to the stories.

[@MrTrotty57]

Hi Jeannette. I made several visits to the shed in Cinnamon Lane - Bill and Marcus were true characters and I really miss them. however, I have a lot of recordings of their chats and plan to edit more when I find the time. If you would like to have some unedited video, do let me know and we can keep in touch. I won't give out my phone number here, but if you search Graham Trott on the web, you should find my website easily and can get my number on the contact form. Your father's face when he laughs never fails to make me laugh too - pure joy to witness.

[@adamm2091]

The internet sure is beautiful

[@andresverdejo374]

@@MrTrotty57 inmortalizing this conversations is such an amazing work. Keep on doing what you are doing man

[@damon235]

Proper gentlemen the both of them happen they both could tell a story ❤️

[@philomelodia]

Ah, yes. 😁That special bond between daughters and dads. My heart goes out to you for your loss. Must’ve been quite a fellow. I hope, someday, quite a few decades hence, mind, my daughter speaks as highly and fondly of me as you did of your dad. No father can ask for more. Be well and be safe.

[@howiedogp]

It’s amazing that we can understand every twelfth word from the gentleman on the left, but his buddy on the right gets every word.

[@johncashrocks221]

West country is a remnant of how English sounded before the industrial revolution spread the upper class "posh" around England. Almost everyone spoke rhotically in England, hence why 17th-18th century English settlers gave their accent to their descendants in America and thus was born modern American English.

[@diane9247]

Interesting!

[@dalzvert9206]

Yes West Countrymen were settlers in America too but don't forget the fact that Londoners, Wight Islanders, Bristolians, and other British folk from southern England formed the American accent in the East Coast known as the Yankee and Country which is coastal accents from America Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.[2] East Coast of the United States 🇺🇲 ❤ 🇬🇧 ❤ 🇯🇲 we still take influences from y'all by imitatin English non rhotic speech and even Jamaica had the same English settlers and even they still take British influences in terms of speech as well just like we do in America too.

[@stonedape2406]

@@dalzvert9206 i comes from the isle of wight, and I can say the original dialect is closest to that of the dorset dialect, and is within the west country branch.

[@InnerDness]

Funny, because upper-class Southerners, particularly in Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi usually speak with non-rhotic accents, because that accent came from the posh upper crust English who could afford to buy slaves and plantations

[@K-Viz]

I kinda hear some midwest and southerner US accents here. Makes perfect sense.

[@brandall9481]

To my USA ears, this is the most intelligible and familiar-sounding UK accent of all

[@M_SC]

There’s like 12 accents in this video

[@HowardEllisonUKVoice]

See how Bill and Marcus really listen to one another. A lost art. Such real people. Rest their souls.

[@preamp1000]

I am sad to say my dad (Marcus Govier) and his great friend Bill who you see at the start of this film both passed away in the last few days, Bill at the end of last week and my dad on sunday. I am sure they are up there still having a yap. RIP DAD AND BILL

[@MrTrotty57]

Sam emailed me on Sunday evening with the news - very sad to hear of your Dad's passing, but then a double blow when she later informed me that Bill had also passed away. No doubt they are both in cider heaven continuing their daily yap. I would very much like to pay my respects at their funerals if I am able to be there. Best wishes, Graham.

[@matthewpaterson5216]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[@stevelawson7595]

My condolences.

[@icyhot4444]

Many older people in western Pennsylvania still sound a good bit like this. The one term that stood out is "warsh", I hear that all of the time.

[@rupertharrison4977]

The opening shot is pure Somerset! A cider orchard in the lea of Glastonbury Tor!

[@kurluk04]

Rupert Harrison i noticed that - so somerset 😂

[@ZosKia523]

My grandfather and his brothers grew up on a small farm in Southern Georgia (U.S.). The first two gentleman sound nearly identical to them (especially, when he says Dr. PEPPER and 'warsh/wash) after a few shots of moonshine liquor. I love it.

[@BLane-xr1ic]

The accents are a dead giveaway. We are definitely all the same people. I have records of some of my family leaving on boats for the USA and East Indies, they have lived in Dorset for hundreds of years.

[@whiskyngeets]

I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. Appalachian accent sounds so much like the first two guys.

[@Lavoz7]

That’s JOHN! The traveller in the second clip always used to stay up the top of my road a lot, a couple of paces away. With his horse and cart that he slept in with his dogs. My dad used to bring him fire wood and he was well known in Devon. He’s of course passed away now bless him. Can’t believe I’ve stumbled across him on KZbin!😅

[@ladygg2753]

bless his lovely heart ,,, lovely story ..

[@WizzardJC]

He was a lovely fella, he will be missed

[@frisco21]

You can hear similar accents in parts of the Appalachian region in the USA.

[@Bella-fz9fy]

KZbin comments etc are always saying the settlers in Appalachia from England were from the North but the surnames are much more South Western English country names and the accents there are much more akin to West Country ones.

[@IosuamacaMhadaidh]

I'm from Missouri in USA, and I have heard oldtimers in the Ozarks sound just like those first two gentlemen RIP

[@ricosuave7102]

Yup lots of appalachians and southerners in certain regions still talk like that. Even in New England,north and South Carolina still have regional English accents.

[@ES2990]

Came to say that, those first wo dudes sounded like rural southerners at certain points

[@battenburg6089]

Proud to sound exactly like these blokes when I talk with me grandad.

[@user-nx9eq2wq7t]

I’m from Devon and I’m able to understand everyone in this video. I’ve worked in pubs in mid Devon for years and spoke to punters with this very same accent all day long.

[@theo1856]

Americans: Oh my god i can't understand this irish guy Old cornish bloke: *unintelligible*

[@JacksonS44]

I’m English and still can’t understand them lol

[@persephonessibling]

They arent from cornwall theyre from somerset!

[@liamberry5671]

@@persephonessibling one of thems from Devon

[@splitraven7060]

I’m American and starting to understand them. What unique and beautiful dialect. So charming these men are. Love this!!

[@benrogersdevon]

The Cornish accent & dialect is even more difficult to understand than the Somerset accent ! I’ve lived near bude in Cornwall & locals had a very strong accent but now I’m in north Devon & I can understand what these guys were saying (mostly!.)

[@SouthwesternEagle]

This is how the original American accent sounded. This accent still survives unchanged in the Outer Banks of North Carolina today.

[@MrClickity]

I used to live on Roanoke Island, can confirm. There were definitely folks with accents like that, with just a bit more Southern drawl to it.

[@idipped2521]

@Meadowfrost maybe they weren't from Texas. Lol

[@benmaloney5434]

Not quite. We have enough phonetic descriptions of early American speech that we can reconstruct it, at least well enough to know that it didn't sound like this. There are certainly archaic features that are still present in both conservative American dialects and rural British dialects for sure, however they evolved separately and both contain their own innovative features too. If there is a striking similarity, it's probably either coincidental development to some degree, or due to the influence of later immigration. Although, in my experience most people just hear a bit of rhoticity and a PRICE vowel that isn't /aɪ/, and automatically think the accent must be ancient, which is weird.

[@globalloon]

how would you know what the "original" accent sounded like? weird thing to say

[@WizzardJC]

@@benmaloney5434 yes, it’s a common ancestor as opposed to one coming from the other, like the evolving from chimps idea, close but not quite

[@Crunch2327]

Takes me back, like listening to me grandad and his brothers yapping on the porch up in Wrington all evening.

[@caboyd1977]

1st two blokes, the ones in suspenders, they remind me heavily of my own great granpaw. he was nigh impossible to understand unless you was of the same generation and from the same area. We're all from deep south in Mississippi in the US. My old great grandpaw would've understood every word. Makes me miss him.

[@lemonhummus]

I love that I can understand a lot of this, this is literally what the old guys sound like in my local pub

[@decimatedmusic]

These old boys are fucking beautiful. I'm from the west country and I grew up around blokes like this, working with my father on building sites and farms. Such hilarious stories to tell, and moreso how it was told to you. Great memories. Fucking love these old boys, salt of the earth.

[@Astro_Guy_1]

1:22 sadly John Treagood passed away in 2020 at the ripe old age of 84. May he rest in peace.

[@kennarajora6532]

That's really sad to know. I would've liked to meet him.

[@ThankYouCityOfficial]

As the the Australian son of a west-country dad I can honestly say I can understand every word spoken.

[@bigpopparasta8133]

As a true Bristolian lad, I understand every word too. My grandparents speak the exact same as the first lads.

[@High_Lord_Of_Terra]

I'm Welsh but I spent every summer in deepest Devon so hearing some of these accents was really sweet. Reminded me of sitting around with the farmers in the evening while they got hammered on the cider they made and played crib.

[@Justin_BKK]

Old Marcus was a lovely old chap, he used to make the nicest rough cider ever. Any excuse for a yarn. ''Drink it here young-un, it don't travel very well.'' Both he and Bill passed away last year. Glastonbury - Edgarley, is a poorer place without them.

[@theoluscombe]

I live in the west country and they do sound like this

[@greyee0005]

Nowadays it seems like its only the older people who have accents this strong. Is a shame it's getting diluted

[@Bigdogjason]

People are trying to sound like cool Londoners now

[@grassytramtracks]

​​@@BigdogjasonI guess I'm contributing, because I've lived in Bath almost all my life yet have no west country accent, mine is a home county type accent and is non-rhotic, my mother is French and my father is from Surrey, so I haven't artificially avoided a west country accent, which means I'm not contributing to the dilution in that sense

[@radicalrodriguez5912]

@@grassytramtracksdo you stand out?

[@radicalrodriguez5912]

@@Bigdogjasonawful

[@fireemblemistrash75]

I feel like drinking out of a wooden cup when I watch this

[@beagilbert]

this is therapy. I'm from the west country and listen to this as i go to sleep

[@CelticSaint]

That's right Bill. I am from Cornwall though I now live in a different country. Listening to this transports me back to when I was a child in shorts listening to my family talking to each other. It's wonderful.

[@rebeccatowner6700]

The old boy in the striped shirt is just like listening to my long dead grandfather again. 🥺

[@JohnCenaKun]

Honestly sounds so much like the Newfoundland accent. Makes sense because the original settlers were fishermen from Devon and so many of the communities here still hold this accent.

[@Daniea3]

I'm from the South Coast/Grand Banks, Newfoundland and I can understand everything the old timers are saying.

[@FrejthKing]

these are like some kind of gnome folk living in moss houses next to giant mushrooms

[@sinead7475]

There's something very heart warming about hearing these old boys talk amongst each other A dying breed.

[@TunedVXR]

Sinead Grace lots of these chaps where I'm from 😊

[@charliebarker9065]

Hardly a dying breed in wiltshire, they’re in abundance

[@WilliamSmith-md9xh]

Rip john treagood, saw him constantly in Devon and his dogs and horse❤

[@cameroncook2048]

As a native to Devon. I can understand everything they say.

[@speckytwat]

As a native to Devon. I still have no fucking clue.

[@otakuleveledup8458]

Spexx lmao

[@stonedape2406]

As an isle of wight native, I can understand most of what they're saying.

[@Tuffydipstick]

I’m a native of Somerset. I can understand every word.

[@user-nx9eq2wq7t]

Me too, sounds like all the punters I used to serve working in pubs in Exeter and mid Devon

[@kurtisgeorge4127]

West Country is where much of the Newfoundland accent came from. The first two men especially. They sound like my family haha.

[@UstashaMe84]

I always assumed it was Irish.

[@CaptainBeetheart]

@@UstashaMe84 it’s both, but generally more of one or the other depending where you’re from

[@Betteraliarthanalie]

This is the video I show people when I need them to know what my neighbours sound like. 💙

[@crebeccag]

The 2 old fellas at the beginning sound so much like certain areas from Newfoundland :) if I hadn’t read it was England I would’ve assumed it was from home

[@justinspanos4382]

I love all of these, but the two gentlemen at 6:28 are especially soothing to listen to for some reason. Their laughter is full of so much joy. I'm an American and for some reason I find a lot of comfort in this video, thank you for posting.

[@camerachica73]

I'm from South Somerset and loved hearing those two old guys, as my uncle spoke exactly like that.

[@1982kinger]

Best highlight was "bloody cup of tea"

[@-.8.-]

I'm 26 and from Devon, brought up in a rural community and i can understand a fair bit of each chap as he talks but would still have to ask them to repeat themselves every now and then. I now live in Yorkshire and have done a lot of travelling around the UK so have developed a much more usual base accent with just a few twangs here and there, if you got me talking to someone with an accent as thick as these chaps though, i would quickly become as undecipherable as they are to most people. Where i grew up is the heart of Devon's farming community and i can tell you that although the accent is declining it holds strong in many circles; the fisherman from north devon villages and towns like Clovelly Heartland and Lynmouth, the third generation and up farmers of the entire county, hunters, tradesman, land owners and pub landlords/ladies. There are only a few left that yarn like these boys in normal conversation and even if most Devonian people of rural or working background can innately understand and take on the vernacular to varying degrees, very soon it will be totally lost.

[@CharlesFVincent]

Anyway, then there was another lay in the village, there, with a nice apple orchard. Kids used to go in and pinch apples, see? But the missus always put a basket out, and filled up with apples for the kids. But they wasn't satisfied with that. They had to go orchard and get them, didn't they? So the policeman, oh said he, oh he said, "Missus, you leave it to me! Bide quiet," he said, "but... keep your eye open, alright?" So when the kids come out of school, down they'd go, and cull all these here apples, see? So the next day, he goes down, and he puts a little nice bit of rope, but they couldn't see it. But down the bottom of orchard there was a gap! And there was a stog out towards end. (Other guy is smiling. "He... Oh!") A watery stog of water and mud. A stog that was. He said... he never said nowt. Anyway! When got like all they coming out of school, about four o'clock, huh? He got down to the field, and watched them. Seen them coming in now, they was into her apples! He walks in. Of course, they got no other way -- they couldn't go back! (Other guy: "Ha ha.") They goes down out the gap! Trips their feet and in they went in the stog! Ha ha ha. (Other guy: "Ha ha ha ha went in the bog!) And so! He blowed his whistle! That give the woman know that was now to come out! Ha ha ha! Oh, the poor kids, they was mud all over! Yeah! They never had no more apples pinched! (Other guy: "Ha ha.") They took them from up the, up beside the door. Yeah! Ha ha ha! These were great storytellers. I am glad this was made.

[@crackthefoundation_]

Thank you for the transcription, I'm American but have British background. I could understand about half of it. Also, stealin' apples back in the day. Great story lol.

[@MrTrotty57]

Curious - is this your own transcript, or from youtube subtitles or some sort of software?

[@CharlesFVincent]

@@MrTrotty57 I transcribed it one sentence at a time by pausing -- I can't type that fast, and I did listen to a few bits over again, to be confident of what was being said. I am Canadian, but I had grandparents who were born in Bristol and in Devon, near the start of the 20th C. Their accents weren't this thick, but it is familiar. I haven't yet visited the UK, and I sound Canadian, unless sometimes I say something like "records in the corner" I might sound a bit like Hagrid and people look at me funny, so I suppose some of it sticks somehow. I did have to look up the word for a marsh, "stog" -- that is one I had never heard before. But he explains it when he says it. I love the slapstick suspense of the apple story, and there were a few comments saying people couldn't understand it, so I felt it had to be transcribed so everyone could have a laugh with it.

[@MrTrotty57]

@@CharlesFVincent Pronounced 'stug'. Also known as a 'zug'. "Stuck like a cow in the zugs" is an expression my grandfather used. Coming from Devon myself, I am in tune with virtually all of it - I grew up with people like these. I just wish I'd had the sense to record more of it when my Grandparents and others were alive.

[@Sorrowdusk]

Kids stealin apples? Hah! At least kids actually ate apples. Not anymore :(

[@sampitt3168]

Love this!! Marcus Govier is my grandfather and a complete legend!!! Love that man

[@MrTrotty57]

I do enjoy visiting your grandfather Sam. He and Bill are a great double act! Very entertaining.

[@captaincapitalism9535]

I wouldn’t have been able to tell the first two men were English without the occasional “bloody”, or “mate”.

[@bearoyay]

I feel something so powerful. Something real, from these folks. Its like a real, authentic, genuine feeling of life that I dont see around me or anybody I know.

[@samuelbarham8483]

4:37 -- he pronounces "wash" as "warsh," a phenomenon which is also common where I'm from, in the state of Maryland (particularly in the suburbs around Baltimore, though I've heard it as far South as Camp Springs).

[@DaddySizeIt]

My grandparents in Iowa said it the same way. I've heard my mom say it too. It drives me nuts but makes you wonder where that comes from. Strange thing to add.

[@JustinSeara]

It comes from here. West Country.

[@lakesidefiddle8051]

Hear this in the older people all the way in Idaho

[@jacobsmith6136]

Warsh=wash, wooter=water, crick =creak, crown=crayon. Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia all have large amounts of people whom speak with the aforementioned accent.

[@jimmyutley2375]

"Youngsters come into town. 'I can't live without me phone. I can't live without me computer.' Of course they can. I mean, you need the air to breathe, don't you, and food to eat, to live." A modern day Diogenes here.

[@hippyjoe]

It's an entire countryside of hagrids

[@internetcookie2064]

😂😂

[@leonreaper90]

Southern accents in America have the same Rhoticity as the west country accent. Kinda crazy how far it spread.

[@soybasedjeremy3653]

The Southern accent dates back to the Civil War, while the Western accent is probably due to the rough terrains.

[@KP-vg3zn]

@@soybasedjeremy3653 It goes farther back than the civil war. Cities had already been established before then. My coastal town in NC was founded in 1710. Communities in eastern VA, NC & SC known as the tidewater region are the last areas in the USA that still speak with the British/American dialect.

[@leonreaper90]

I think many migrants from Britain came from the South-west due to the close proximity of Southampton Port which took them to the Americas. It was a major Naval Hub back in the day and Plymouth I think also transported people.

[@kristofevarsson6903]

This is what I imagine Blackbeard sounds like talking to himself.

[@emilychb6621]

Damn you got to them just in time before their sounds would have forever been forgotten.

[@kakeshisama]

Having old Southern family 🤝 Understanding West Country Yap

[@chkpnt-fq5rv]

Yeah, they sound a bit Appalachian. I'm a Southerner from Texas and I'm catching bits of what they're saying but not everything. But then again I've heard other US Southerners I've had trouble understanding depending on where they're from.

[@everettduncan7543]

@@chkpnt-fq5rv Yea me too. I'm from the northeastern edge of the Ozarks and can catch a lot but not all of it. As intelligble as eastern Tennessee

[@markgruchy727]

I'm from Newfoundland, Canada. There are times when the way the two guys at the beginning speak sounds extremely close to the way older people in my family's home town speak. Particularly the phrases "It's like they say", "make em up into wine" for example. They also are the only people outside of Newfoundland who appear to be using b'y exactly the same way. You hear that at 40 seconds on. B'y is a huge word in Newfoundland, to the point it is essentially a cultural symbol of the place. We use the phrase "Yes B'y" to express a wide range of emotions and ideas ranging from mild to strong agreement, to approval, to irritated surprise, to sarcasm, to contempt, to comedic dismissal, to a signal we want to go to another topic in a conversation, to awe, to disbelief etc. I've watched people who didn't grow up here try to use it. It's extremely hard for people to master. In fact, I have never seen anyone master it who didn't grow up here.

[@markgruchy727]

There is a huge West Country influence here in Newfoundland. Most English settlers came from the West Country.

[@markgruchy727]

This is a great example of the contemporary Pouch Cove accent. Plainly related. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmbPfHZqjq9sitU

[@coreywestwell]

Bloody is used throughout the UK.

[@chrisnorman1902]

@@markgruchy727 I don't hear the bit where he says b'y - could you type the whole sentence where he uses it for context?

[@globalloon]

I'm from Devon and call everyone bey.. or B'y... funny to hear that's used in Canada as well

[@ReidHenderson]

I'm from South Carolina back country. We are considered hicks and speak with a special southern drawl. I can hear similarities between this accent and ours seeing as most of our areas ancestors came from Western England Ireland Scotland and Germany

[@beccu-chan8693]

Bruh I am from the south west and my mum was from Somerset in the uk of course I literaly grew up with this accent around me and also frequently went to America and I can imagine we sound very similar after a 3 week trip to America 😂

[@beccu-chan8693]

I literally had to have speech therapy because where I’m from it’s not a common accent but picked it up in my childhood from my mum 😂

[@beccu-chan8693]

I used to leave Kissimmee with the weirdest accent in the fucking world.

[@PatrickFDolan]

Sure 🙄

[@needtoknow5529]

Ya, I don't get it completely either but I was from southeastern low country Virginia as a kid and our red-neck accent from there sounds (a lot of draw taken from) this English West Country accent. A lot of colonial Virginians haven't moved in hundreds of years. 400 years. I'm thinking that old standard English 400 years ago sounded more like this. Because Ive never heard of a mass migration from West County specifically to Virginia. My family was supposed to be from Kent or possibly Yorkshire.

[@Lordshaw]

Beautiful. Thank you for saving this for the future.

[@ethandement482]

The first two guys remind me of some of the farmers from the American Midwest. Not the accents but their mannerisms.

[@cheeveka3]

Their accent reminds me of my relatives I have family in Illinois that near the quad cities. 😂 So confusing when hearing them talk😂

[@bavariantrawler]

100% agree. I grew up on a farm in Michigan. I can see the same mannerisms in older neighbor farmers.

[@routeman680]

Wonderful. So glad you've recorded this. As a Scot, I find it 80% unintelligible, especially the two who appear at the beginning! But these old guys are brilliant. I didn't know there were still people who spoke like this.

[@charleswillsonpeale5739]

Lisa because we Yanks are from the West Country. (Plymouth, Wessex, Devon, Sommerset, Corn Wall, ect) Think "Plymouth Rock".

[@awlkdural5396]

Why are you spamming this page? One comment will do thank you

[@real_lampcap]

As an American person who has the most basic midwest accent in the world, I think these accents are beautiful. If I really listen I can understand a lot of it, but still so much is gibberish to me. But I love hearing it.

[@lydiamichaels1976]

Devon isn’t just an accent. There’s an entire dialect so complex and distant from English that a lot of ppl consider it a language. For example some Devon folk spk entirely in the dialect and can’t spk English

[@andrewesau51]

Just head out into the woods in the Midwest and you'll hear some of the wildest things you've ever heard especially the further north in the Midwest you go. But you can hear it even I Kansas and Nebraska and Iowa if you look in the right spots

[@arthurheath7002]

@@lydiamichaels1976I understand it all this is exactly how some of the elderly people in my family speak like 😭 shame this accent is dying now. Most people in the west country these days just speak with the London accent

[@MrTrotty57]

'can't speak English'. Really? Where are these people - I need to film them. Utter nonsense.

[@lydiamichaels1976]

@@MrTrotty57 it’s true though. Yeah obviously not many but they do exist

[@jasontucher7011]

Grandad did the same thing when a rat ran up his trousers. Always ties the cuffs. What was funny about it was before it ran up, he didn’t know what it was. He said, aww if that aren’t the cutest thing. Then he screamed kill it, kill it . I haven’t seen him jump so high since.

[@philomelodia]

Reminds me of thick rural southern accents. American accents, that is. Two of them even sound like they might have spent time in Appalachia. As a linguistic enthusiast, I have heard recordings of people who were born in the 19th century in eastern Tennessee and western Virginia and they sounded very similar to this. This is especially true with regard to the rhythm and cadence of their speech. They did not drop any h’s like a lot of these people did and the way they said their i’s would probably remind a British person of Yorkshire or Scotland but, other than that, very very close.

[@intellectualesemv]

American rural southern accents have actually evolved from Irish settlers. Maybe Scottish too, but I don't remember reading about the latter specifically.

[@philomelodia]

@@intellectualesemv they evolved from all over the British Isles. The Scots Irish (ulster Scots)had a huge impact on the flatland accents of the Midsouth in particular but, not everywhere else. East Texas, northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas, western Tennessee and western Kentucky would be the mid south. They also had a strong but, lesser impact on the accents of Appalachia but, the West country was also strong in that region. Of course, the very strongest influence of the west country in American accents can be heard on the islands off the coast of Virginia. Looked it up. It’s very interesting

[@PatrickFDolan]

@@intellectualesemv keep reading then because the original post was quite right.

[@davidraymer397]

I hear a Dutch "Gh" sound in there. Amazing how all the old dialects mixed together.

[@nedeast6845]

ooh arr me dear!

[@marinaaaa2735]

English always had gh, most modern dialects have just lost it.

[@gregoryclark8217]

technically, the German "bist" is still in the west country dialect, hanging on from Anglo-Saxon times

[@jesmarluk6635]

These men sound like the old timers here in southern US Appalachia.

[@meisteremm]

This is the root of the hoigh toider accent in North Carolina.

[@semaj_5022]

From the times I've spent in Kentucky, West Virginia and both Carolinas I swear I've heard this accent several times before. The old blue collar folks in the south will give you the greatest stories you ever heard and I'd bet these gentlemen in the video and their countrymen are just the same

[@Bella-fz9fy]

@@semaj_5022When I see Appalachian videos,often their names and accents remind me very much of the West Country.The Appalachian music and clogging on boards etc used to happen in pubs in Devon and the country too.

[@Timcurryman]

I was born in Cornwall but grew up in Wiltshire. My accent is a proper job accent.

[@diane9247]

The first two gentlemen are adorable. I understand some words, but certainly not the stories! I am fascinated by the remnants of accents like this that can still be heard in isolated communities of east coast USA.

[@MrTrotty57]

The first two were talking about two cider making brothers they both knew for many years - and how they never changed their clothes and their trousers would stand up by themselves if they took them off. Also, the brothers they talk about had a cherry plum tree and their doctor, a Dr Tripp, would collect the plums and make wine. If the brothers had an evening visitor they didn't want to stay long, they'd bring out a short candle for illumination (no electricity), so the candle would burn down and the guest would leave. If they were happy for a guest to stay on, they'd bring out a longer candle.

[@anastasia-fr1gn]

It’s a bit sad that these dialects, all over the world, are becoming rare. It’s especially evident in rural dialects. Seem like funny, sweet gentlemen with a charming accent. I’m surprised I can actually understand most of it.

[@dhelor]

I consider myself to be pretty good at understanding heavy accents, for the most part... but these gentlemen had me boggled. XD

[@hotdogstratus6533]

Is this why my southern grandma says 'warsh'? 🤣

[@itsjustcap]

I'm sure if you're from the southern US, you can understand those two elderly men more than anyone.

[@Lieblingsfachful]

I am from the southern us and I'm surprised at how similar it is to how my grandpa talked.

[@OneTrueVikingbard]

oh you have no idea

[@rocknrollstar2798]

Dude the two elderly guys sounded almost exactly like someone from Virginia or North Carolina. Very similar to the southern accent.

[@xxIluvyouguysxx]

Spencer Hill yess 😂 I’m from N.C. and I can understand them

[@sueriksson3959]

Lovely hearing the language i grew up, still understand every word even though I haven't lived there for decades

[@van-gabondramblinrose6398]

I understand it all perfectly as well. Brought back memories of working on Somerset Farms as a lad and listening to the old boys yappin away. It's a lost world now.

[@radicalrodriguez5912]

@@van-gabondramblinrose6398has the accent disappeared? Please say it hasn’t

[@MrTrotty57]

Disappearing fast as the older generations pass on.

[@korayramzi]

If garden gnomes had a voice this would be it

[@texastea5686]

🤣

[@shadysheep1984]

underrated comment

[@stephenbesley3177]

Understood every word ahrrr... West Country born and bred!

[@davidraymer397]

The gentleman with the hat I could easily understand every word, unlike somebody from London. I'm American.

[@MrTrotty57]

Well, he's not actually from the West Country - he was from Kent, originally.

[@DerekDerekDerekDerekDerekDerek]

​@@davidraymer397I'm assuming you mean the jamaican cockney mix accent that's getting so popular in London. Because people who speak RP are easy to understand.

[@Mick-fw3hi]

When you think about it, this is the ancestor of the Southern US accent and several New England accents.

[@iceomistar4302]

Not really, before the mid 1900s even, most English accents had the Postvocalic 'r'

[@dailymass4924]

It doesn't help that old people tend to be hard to understand to begin with lol

[@Kcazguy]

Newfoundlander here. It’s amazing how close they sound to us

[@moley3109]

Hey, interesting. I have a friend in his nineties who spoke with a broad Devonshire accent when he was young (I was born there myself). One day he was on the shore and there were a bunch of New England GIs practising for D-Day. After a while they asked him "So what part of the States are you from?" and when he replied that he was Devon born and bred they said "But you sound just like the old folks back home!" Don't you wish that more recordings were made of the old folk, so that we could hear how they spoke? By the way, I can just about understand what the two old codgers were saying: takes me back to the Dartmoor pubs in the 1950s!

[@CaptainBeetheart]

For real - if you told me the first two were from a small Newfoundland community I’ve never been to I’d believe you

[@markgruchy727]

@@CaptainBeetheart Yup. My family is all from Pouch Cove. The two men at the beginning sound like an exaggerated version of what many older people from Pouch Cove sound like mixed in with some "classic" British-isms you don't hear in Newfoundland. I found when the first man said "it's like dey say" to be virtually identical, as well as "make em up into wine".

[@markgruchy727]

@@CaptainBeetheart West Country people also say things like "How's your fadder?" etc. I believe they may also ask people where they belong to etc.

[@markgruchy727]

@@CaptainBeetheart Take this. This song, with the exception of the use of "Gurt" for "great", is like a slightly different version of how people from Bonavista speak. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6vFpXSuhsmNmbc

[@keithhooper6123]

At 62,born and still living near Glastonbury,I am old enough to remember characters like this.Still a few about.

[@Ray-oj6xf]

R.I.P John. He looks like someone you'd imagine from the medieval ages.

[@zalz82]

Well, this is certainly where our American southern accent comes from. I can understand most of these guys fairly easily. I’m from Texas & i’ve always said warsh instead of wash.

[@AngloSaxonVanguard]

I've travelled all over US especially the South and a lot of them sound like some of these in this video 😂

[@jeanieling7296]

In the '60's in America there were old old farmers whose manner of speaking was like some of these gents. Farmers are an isolated lot, by nature, and those old farmers must have retained the family accent. Wish I'd had the wisdom to know that then, and I would have asked them from where their families had come to America. ....although I may not have understood but about half the answer. ; )

[@magnolia2415]

Reminds me a lot of old timers I met growing up around Mississippi in the USA. The similarities between these accents and older southern ones is really remarkable.

[@ZemplinTemplar]

I once read speculation that the Texan accent might have been partly influenced by the accent of Somerset, in the northern part of the West Country. ;-) WC accents might have had an influence in the US South, in addition to Scottish and Irish accents.

[@beefcakepantiehoes]

As an American I am SHOCKED at just how similar this dialect is to southern coastal dialects in the US (The Carolinas and appalachians I think)

[@coreywestwell]

It doesn’t

[@comically_large_cowboy_hat3385]

@@coreywestwell sounds a little similar to outer banks accent….more like ocrakoke islander actually

[@veggiedisease123]

@@comically_large_cowboy_hat3385 I was thinking Tangier, they sounds almost the exact same. I imagine Tangier was settled by people from the West Country.

[@ianbeacham117]

You might be more shocked to realise that your English comes from England 😂. Merry Christmas ☃️🌲

[@aaaatttt101]

Were a lot of the Apalachians not Scottish?

[@MissSammiePaige]

that last bit when he burped and said "Oh pardon" made the entire video

[@rentonsadboy9366]

At 3:00 I had a serious flashback with my grandad telling me how he run away from a farmer across fields and the wheezing laughter that came from his mouth as he told me his story .I'm fast approaching the time I will tell my grandchildren of the story of my great escape across fields

[@persephonessibling]

The comments are making me feel strange because this sounds so normal to me. It saddens me that this accent is being to fade.

[@MrBritishNinja]

Pshh, come out to visit Newfoundland in Canada and you'll see it's alive and well, if a bit more Irish in flavour.

[@DJL3G3ND]

Ive heard quite a few people talking like this in real life, but where I am its not that common, although Im not far from areas where more people talk like this

[@CelticSaint]

'That's 'cancel culture' in action. The Marxist scum.