Title:

Cleehill, Shrosphire (cf. SED Kinlet)

Shelfmark:

C900/15050

Description:

Dennis reflects on the nature of life in the village when he was growing up. He briefly describes his old school and tells a few anecdotes to illustrate people’s less serious, less ambitious approach to life.

Tenbury refers to , a town to the south of Cleehill. is a village just to the southeast of Cleehill and a town further to the east. The Co-op refers to the Co-operative Wholesale Society: a family of businesses whose activities range from food to finance and from farms to funerals. The first retail co-operative was founded in Rochdale in 1843 and by 1863 a group of retail societies had registered the North of Co- operative Society with the aim of supporting the growing retail consumer co-operative movement. Lexis: tack = tackle, stuff; cause = because; bacca = tobacco; afore = before; our George = George (who is a relative of mine)

Phonology:

H-dropping; hypercorrect [h] (educated [hEdZ@kEItId]); rhoticity

MOUTH [aU > @U]; PRICE [VI]; GOAT [OU]; PALM [a:]; START [A`:]; SQUARE [E@`]; NURSE [@`:]; NORTH [O@`]; THOUGHT [Q:]; STRUT [V]; BATH [a]; lettER [@`] note also one [wQn], here [I@`], old [OUd ~ o:L/d], our [aU@`], tea [ti: > teI], (be)cause [k@z ~ bIk@z], go [g@], face [fE:s], none [nVn] and nothing [nVTIn], hadn’t [adn@], aunty [a:ntI], wheelbarrOW [wi:L/bar/@], carpenter [kja`:pInt@`], curtains [k@`:tInz], didn’t [dIdn@], bacca [bak@] George [dZA`:dZ] and poor [pO@`]

Grammar: complementiser, that ® as (that isn’t saying as I was bright) zero plural marker on nouns (five year old; three mile; about fifteen mile) participial adjective boughten (not like this boughten tack) feminine subject pronoun ® her (when her come out with her groceries, her’d go back down the Tenbury Road; then her’d take me back again; her had to walk three mile; her fell into a ditch; her says, “Oh, it’s our George!”) preterite come (when her come out with her groceries; Mr Reynolds come to the door; I had one just afore I come out) past participle for present participle (I remember sat in my desk = I remember sitting in my desk)

Page 1 of 2 multiple negation (we hadn’t got none) first person plural was (we was contented) relative pronoun ® at (aunty and uncle at had the farm) preterite run (a friend of mine run all the way to Coreley) past participle broke (she thinks she’s broke her leg) without + infinitive (without say hello = without saying hello)

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