Tony Painter: West Country Dialect: Dead or Alive?
Tony Painter: West Country Dialect: Dead or Alive?

4pm Sunday 17 January 2027

How did our ancestors speak and would we still understand them? Do you use dialect words or phrases, or recall family members who spoke in the West Country dialect? Do you remember particular expressions which you used as a child or customs and superstitions from the past? Is the dialect still alive? Tony Painter, born and raised in Wiltshire, explores these questions in an illustrated talk. The talk, with some sound clips, covers the origins of dialects, the characteristics of West Country dialect, its special words and structure, variations across the West Country, dialect research, writings and poetry and everyday words and phrases. It also includes country customs and superstitions based on family recollections. Hopefully it may strike a few chords from the past.

Tony Painter is a geographer who worked for many years as an analyst with the MoD. He was born in Devizes and recalls that his parents and relatives used many dialect expressions. The family is still largely based in Wiltshire. Tony is interested in languages, maps and local history and since retirement writes historical notes for Alan Godfrey maps.




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Bratton History Association.

The Bratton History Association aims to provide all those curious about local history with an opportunity to meet, exchange ideas, and discover more about the history of Bratton and Wiltshire. Activities include monthly meetings, talks by professional historians, visits to places of interest to historians, and our own local history project.

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