To not be able to put my finger on the Norwich accent?

[Sunshinerainbowslollipops]

I'm really interested in accents (sad I know!) And it's really annoying me that I can't put my finger on the Norwich accent. Any ideas? What is the Norwich accent? It's not a Norfolk accent, anyone shed any light? Disclaimer - I find accents fascinating and I recognise this is prob the world's dullest aibu!

Try this!

Thank you! I listened but no one speaks like that in Norwich, or at least that I have heard. Def heard that outside of norwich. Is bugging me!

norwich accent is different from norfolk accent.
it's less lilted, rises at the end more sharply.

I know what you mean.

Norwich isn't Normal for Norfolk, the accent is different. I think it's a bit more East / South London via Kent hopfields and other suburban enclaves that were built for factory workforces.

I lived just outside Cambridge for decades and was friends with definite Fenners and then others who were Fenner / Southark / Hackney. They all relocated for work at Spicers. I suppose Start Rite and other factories would have had a similar affect on Norwich.

Or I could be utterly wrong

I’m from Naaaaaarwich.

It’s very strange. I can’t explain but I’ll give you some examples!

Beer= bare
Enough Said = nuff said
Few = foo
That’s = ats
I = oi
Something =sumfen

To name a few (fu). They draw the words out in a kind of drawl! But equally like to shorten them!!

It’s bizarre.

green yep that’s spot on!!

Although that is the extreme example!

Agree, the Norwich accent is really unique - and very hard to describe.

You'd say things like "Goo-in up Citee" = I'm going into town - but the Cit bit would be really clipped and then you'd rise at the end of the sentence as well.

Norr idge.

I hadn't actually looked at the clip before I wrote my post either - it's a proper catchphrase.

I'm proper RP as well, so I always stuck out like a sore thumb.

Thanks everyone! Really interesting and useful insights. I've heard Norwich being described as a generic southern accent but I'm not sure, although I was in an area for a few weeks called the golden triangle and it certainly seemed full of people who sounded generically southern! I'm back again for work in a few weeks so I will explore other areas as well! It's becoming an obsession!

Ah! You met incomers, not the real indigenous population. You'll know it when you hear it. Maybe hippychick can suggest a local watering hole

Brilliant! Yes, the area I was in was very middle class and I bit like being in the south east, does that sound right? I believe it is known locally as the golden triangle! Maybe it's were people from london relocate to! I will explore more widely next time.

You won't hear ( hare) many Norwich accents in the Golden Triangle. You wan'a go up the city ( there are no English graphemes for the way city is said in Norwich) for tha'

A key differentiation between Norfolk and Norwich accents is that broad Norfolk emphasises the 'h' at the beginning of words, whereas Norwich clips them.

My Dad reckons he can place a Norfolk boy's bill within 15 miles by asking them to say ' have you hurt your head?'
In Norwich they say 'aroourtyerid' 🙂

Assworreesai (that's what he said) is Norwich. That's whut hee seh is Norfolk.

Thass, not that's! Bloody autocorrect!

Golden triangle is v middle class and had lots of settled students so probably more generic. I think it depends where you live in the city and how your family and friends speak, all of the "typical" Norwich phases above are things DH and most of our friends only say in jest in an exaggerated way but I also know people who genuinely say "shew" as the past tense of show . There is a bit of an inflection thing that I can't put my finger on but have found myself doing it sometimes so it must have crept in to my own accent.

Thass my friend's parents Broads cruiser ( sail not speed) is called 'Thass Ridicleuss'

There is a distinct accent - my ds2 is studying in Norwich and his landlord has a very strong Norfolk accent.

The golden triangle bit is lovely with some very naice houses and some of people from london/ south east areas who wanted to retire somewhere with a big town and easy access to the countryside as well, but you can also get to london in a few hours on the train. I like it up there. Their accent makes me smile as its nicer than our essex one.

don't they say 'fooneral' like people from Suffolk do?

And a Fenner would say Havoo Urty'ed

I can say one complete sentence in fluent Fen. Taught to me by a man was so very stereotypical Fenner, as were his kids, including my then best mate. He spoke a completely different language to us, it seemed.

Gans gee a boo ginna woo?

Can you kick a ball against a wall?

I also learned how to tack a horse in Fen... it doesn't rally translate, which was confusing when I moved away and wanted weekend work in a stable

DH is still puzzled when I tell him his shelf/door/line etc is on the slantendicular. But I found it puzzling, as some of the Fen words are similar to Scouse, dockey bags - packed lunch - is the same in both places. And 'slantendicular' is a word my extended family would get straight away.

Now I am in another area with a pronounced accent, DH is not quite broad Glaws and we live close to places where the old boys greet each other with "Zubiss awl butt?" and still I notice Scouse isms' - nesh = delicate and nurped = what happens if you are nesh!

Sorry. I was having a lovely wander down memory lane there

Golden Triangle is mixed student land and 'naice' furriners! It's not representative of the Norwich accent at all...

Narch is different to Norfolk, it's a bit higher, a bit faster and a bit more lilty.

Goon upper see - going up the city
Hay ya go yer yehroos - have you got your euros
H'int it - isn't it
Ass on the huh - that's a bit slanted/tilted

See if you can google some Nimmo Twins clips on Yutoob! Or "have you got a light boy" ('ave yew got a loight boy" which is an old song.

Disclaimer - I am a furriner, but my ancestors are from Garboldisham ("Garbishum") so I feel I am almost permitted to be part-Norfolkian.

I grew up in the golden triangle.
We are TERRIBLY middle class!

But it really does make me angry, when on the radio for example, there is a play set in east anglia, and they just use an actor with a generic west country style accent.
I find it really offensive, and I dunt even ave a Naarwich akcent

Wow, fascinating responses! Thanks very much everyone. I see the consensus is that certain areas of Norwich clearly don't have the Norwich accent so I'm looking forward to exploring more of Norwich to see a more realistic Norwich accent. I actually overheard an ex Londoner say when trying to persuade another colleague (different offices) to move to Norwich- there are areas where you wouldn't even need to pay for private school because theres no accent to worry about.