The US island that speaks Elizabethan English | BBC Global

Comments · 3.8K

• CH

  @chipthomas4169 · 1 year ago

  A North Carolina lawyer, William Polk, wrote a book called "Southern Accent" back in 1957.  He said this old dialect was known as Broad Devonshire in Elizabethan times, and that Sir Walter Raliegh spoke it, and was laughed at while at the Queen's court for it.

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• SI

  @simonhirst9110 · 1 year ago

  The way he says high tide as hoi toide really does sound like Devon or Cornwall

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• AR

  @artemisjuno · 11 months ago

  As a British person I immediately recognise the way of talking as West Country English. I would never guess them to be American !

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• LA

  @lastlyfirstofall2833 · 1 year ago (edited)

  Appalachian English still uses slang words and phrases that originated in the British Isles and Ireland. It’s lovely.

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• RO

  @robharris8844U · 1 year ago

  The south West English accent is definitely identifiable in their speech.

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• BC

  @bcask61 · 1 year ago

  Ocracoke Island was home to many pirates including Edward Teach aka Blackbeard.  The name Howard is common on the island and goes back to William Howard who was Blackbeard’s quartermaster who purchased the island from the King. It is said that nearly every person native to the island can trace their lineage to Howard.

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• TI

  @timmo491 · 1 year ago

  Amazing. I'm from Somerset in England myself and when I first heard these gentlemen I thought they were West Country Englishmen putting on a bad US accent. Also the TV programme All in the Family was itself based on a famous English sitcom called 'Till death us do part'. All the best from  Blighty!

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• DI

  @Dingbatters · 1 year ago

  The term dingbat is still going strong in the UK

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• KH

  @khalinras6786 · 1 year ago

  I live in the south west of England and I can hear the Somerset accent when those people speak amazing

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• DO

  @donttalktomebye · 1 year ago

  American English linguistics will always be so fascinating to me.

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• UN

  @unnaturalselection8330 · 1 year ago

  My grandmother had the hoi toider accent.<br>Funny they don&apos;t mention those were all pirate islands.<br>Blackbeard died in Ocracoke Inlet.<br>Nags Head was named for the practice of tying a lantern to a horses neck and luring ships into wrecking on the beach.<br>...And the &quot;kill devil&quot; in Kill Devil Hills was the period British sailor&apos;s word for rum.

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• SI

  @siburgess27 · 1 year ago

  Being from Cornwall I can defo relate to some of the dialect. Find it sad that in a couple of generations the dialect will be lost. ❤

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