Sunday, 29 June 2014

every town and city in britain profited from the slave trade

Slavery is a profitable trade - and was a very important part of the British Empire:

In the city of Bath:

Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years A Slave

Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, thought to be favourite to land an Oscar for his role in 12 Years A Slave, has called for Bath to confront its historic links to the slave trade.

The film, which takes an unflinching look at the brutal world of plantations in America in the 1840s, has been tipped to sweep the board at the Oscars after winning over critics and audiences in the US.

And Chiwetel, who plays Solomon Northup in the film, believes that the whole issue of slavery needs to be addressed in the UK.

He claims that people in the UK have a “reflex fear” when it comes to slavery and are afraid of talking about the issue and the impact the trade had on the country.

He said: “There is this reflex fear that once you expose something, once you talk about it, you are really talking about your society. That is why we don’t really investigate what Bristol or London or Bath would be without the slave trade. Because we really like those cities and the people who live there it is easier to close the door on it and let it go.”

The 36-year-old London actor added: “I want the book that the film is based on to be taught in every school because it speaks to human respect.

“No one is ever too young to start understanding what that means or where prejudice has led the human race in our history. And could again, very easily.”

He added: “People have a fear of questioning societies to which they owe their whole system of reality. Not just in the States, but wherever slavery was a prevalent part of the culture and wealth of the culture, and whatever countries still have benefits of that today.”

The film’s British director Steve McQueen believes 12 Years A Slave should become standard reading in schools. He said: “This subject should be on the national curriculum, its a no-brainer.”

Between 1730 and 1745 Bristol was the world’s leading slave port and the city’s wealth is largely built on the trade. An estimated 500,000 Africans were carried into slavery in ships which sailed from Bristol.

Bath was one of the era’s most fashionable towns for the elite linked with the fortunes of Britain’s transatlantic trade. William Wilberforce, credited with the abolition of slavery in Britain, lived in Bath for a time and his committee, the ‘Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade’, regularly held public meetings in the city.

According to English Heritage, the connection between Britain’s stately homes and African slavery has long been hidden from public knowledge. It has published a book, ‘Slavery and the British Country House’, seeking to unearth British slavery connections.

The study identifies hundreds of surviving estates built between 1660 and 1830 from slave-generated wealth, seventeen of which are in the South West region, including Leigh Court in Somerset, Oldbury Court near Bristol and Badminton House, most famous for horse trials. Dyrham Park, now a national trust site, was owned in the 17th Century by Bath MP William Blathwayt, a keen advocate of the slave trade.

An exhibition at Bath’s Holburne Museum in 2002 displayed private collections from some of the West Country’s stately homes, including a portrait of Edward Southwell posed in front of Kings Weston House in Bristol. A black male servant was also in the painting.

12 Years a Slave will open in UK cinemas this Friday and it is already tipped to win several Oscars. The film, based on a book of the same name written by Solomon Northup himself and published in 1853 after his escape, documents the story of a free black man living in the north of America who is kidnapped and sold into slavery.

Britain’s involvement in the slave trade has been studied by secondary school pupils in England since 2008 but Chiwetel Ejiofor believes that not enough attention is given to such complex a subject. Chiwetel argues that the book should be studied in schools alongside Anne Frank’s Diary and lessons about the holocaust and the two world wars.

Children's Minister Kevin Brennan has said: "Although we may sometimes be ashamed to admit it, the slave trade is an integral part of British history. It is inextricably linked to trade, colonisation, industrialisation and the British empire. It is important that children learn about this and the links to wider world history, such as the American civil rights movement - the repercussions of which are still being felt today.”

Time for Bath to confront slave trade past, says star of 12 Years A Slave Chiwetel Ejiofor | Bath Chronicle

In Bristol:
Bristol slave trade - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
BBC - Legacies - Immigration and Emigration - England - Bristol - Legacies of the Slave Trade - Article Page 2
Jay Doubleyou: bristol and slavery

In London:
Slavery and South East London

In Manchester:
How much did Manchester profit from slavery? | Revealing Histories

And most important of all, in Liverpool:
BBC - Liverpool Local History - American Connection - Introduction to the Slave Trade

The organisation English Heritage has pointed out that the magnificent houses on the tourist trail were mostly financed by the slave trade:

SLAVERY AND THE BRITISH COUNTRY HOUSE

Slavery and the British Country House | PDF | 1.00 MB

Madge Dresser and Andrew Hann (eds.)

The British country house has long been regarded as the jewel in the nation's heritage crown. But the country house is also an expression of wealth and power, and as scholars reconsider the nation's colonial past, new questions are being posed about these great houses and their links to Atlantic slavery.

This book, authored by a range of academics and heritage professionals, grew out of a 2009 conference on 'Slavery and the British Country house: mapping the current research' organised by English Heritage in partnership with the University of the West of England, the National Trust and the Economic History Society. It asks what links might be established between the wealth derived from slavery and the British country house and what implications such links should have for the way such properties are represented to the public today.

Slavery and the British Country House | English Heritage
Researching slavery connections | English Heritage
How Bristol's gracious mansions mask the shameful past of Britain's links to slavery | UK news | The Observer
The stately homes built on the back of slaves - Home News - UK - The Independent
Slavery and the British Country House: - The Historical Association

Britain's banks have, to a large extent, been built on the slave trade:
BBC - History - British History in depth: Slavery and the Building of Britain
Barclays admits possible link to slavery after reparation call | Business | The Observer
Bristol Past: Early Bristol banks
Sweet History? :: Corn Street – Exploring the growth of banking and trading in Bristol

And in turn, bankers would buy a nice house in the country:
Looking for records of slavery or slave owners | The National Archives
Bristol Mayors - a collection of historical data
Cave baronets - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Village Hall : Sidbury Village Website
Appointments « Lord Lieutenant of Devon

Every town and city in Britain profited from the slave trade:
West Country slavers - Sidmouth Herald
County gained from slavery | Exeter Express and Echo
Summary of Individual | Legacies of British Slave-ownership
Elizabeth Barrett Browning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And every British person profited from the slave trade...
Fancy a nice cup of tea - with plenty of sugar?
BBC - A History of the World - Object : Early Victorian tea set

The slave trade was profitable from most Atlantic ports from Europe:
Ports of the Transatlantic slave trade - International Slavery Museum, Liverpool museums

It would have been interesting if Africans had colonised Europe...
Aamer Rahman (Fear of a Brown Planet) - Reverse Racism - YouTube

Of course, it's still happening today:
‘Slavery is happening in every town and city in Britain’ - Yorkshire Post
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bristol and slavery

There has been a lot of discussion about the city of Bristol's 'slave history':
Speaker's Corner by Mike Gardner: Colston is one of the most evil men in English history ... his portrayal brings great shame upon this city | Bristol Post
Reader's letter: We cannot delete people from history | Bristol Post
Bristol Post readers vote to keep statue of Edward Colston where it is | Bristol Post

Scene from a slave ship

Comments (21)

BETWEEN 1686 and 1807, 565,000 human beings were forcibly removed from their African families and communities and loaded onto ships owned and fitted out by Bristol and West Country merchants – to endure the horrific Middle Passage from Africa to the New World. Only 466,000 reached their destination, and 99,000 died on route, and their bodies most likely flung overboard to be eaten by sharks.

For those who managed to survive, they were then sold at auction into the sugar, cotton and tobacco plantations of the Caribbean and the southern states of America.

The majority – some 414,000 – ended up as field slaves on Jamaica, the Leeward and Windward islands. Here their daily task was working the cane fields, harvesting the stalks and processing them in the crushing and boiling houses.

Mortality rates were extremely high and the slaves were accommodated in primitive conditions with only the most basic food. For much of the period they could be tortured, murdered and raped with impunity. And planters were reluctant for them to have contact with Christian missionaries who might preach the equality of souls, while work was maintained by the lash and many other gruesome punishments.

Meanwhile the Bristol merchants become exceptionally rich on this human misery.

It wasn't just the slave trade (in fact this was the least profitable part of the whole system), but the whole economy that benefited. This ranged from fitting out the ships and the supply of trade goods with which to buy the slaves on the African coast, to the products of the West Indian plantations, especially the sugar that became the commodity that everyone wanted in Europe.

Bristol had no fewer than 20 refineries, supplying some 30 per cent of the nation's sugar needs. Then there was the banking and insurance, for those merchants who had so much money, that they could further increase their fortunes and increasingly distance themselves from a direct involvement in slave trading itself.

But as we walk around the West Country today, and marvel at the great houses or Georgian architecture, rarely do we pause to think where the money came from, to pay for all this.

So many buildings in the region from the eighteenth century have some connection to the slave trade, and even the nineteenth century left its mark, as the region's wealth burgeoned from the compensation given the plantation owners when the slaves were emancipated in 1834.

The slaves of course, while now free, received nothing. The cash that returned to Bristol in the 1830's helped pay for the great engineering projects of the period – often the brainchild of Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Should we remember these legacies? We often hear people say, 'well that was a long time ago' or 'its just history'.

But history has lessons; it tells us that the exploitation of other humans in this way is wrong.

Religious and radical thinkers joined to form the abolition movement; the sermons of John Wesley, and the researches of Thomas Clarkson in Bristol, the poetry of Hannah More and Anne Yearsley helped to fuel a new sensibility and pave the way for the later human rights movement and many of the basic freedoms that we cherish today.

It is a complex story, but one that everyone needs to know. Even today, we are trying to stamp out modern slavery and human trafficking.

The tragedy is that we are now is danger of forgetting. Bristol's recent past seems full of bouts of denial about the eighteenth century inhumanities, with short episodes – generally at anniversaries (such as in 1998 and 2007) – of remembering.

If you were a visitor to Bristol, you would find it hard to find any public reference to the slave trade.

There is a small plaque on the M Shed, and Pero's bridge. Go out to Henbury Church and you might find a gravestone of Scipio Africanus, a slave who died in Bristol in the early eighteenth century.

Bristol needs to remember. It's not just plaques on the wall, but a permanent location is needed where the full story of slavery can be told.

Aside from a tiny and hard-fought for section on slavery in M Shed, there is little official commemoration.

Only a few months ago the two museums in the Bristol with any direct connection to slavery – Blaise Castle and the Georgian House – were threatened with closure. With this would have been a return to the dark days of denial.

Now is a good moment to think about Bristol's slave-trade past because our present, as Green Capital of Europe 2015, and our future have to be sustainable. Sustainability is everything slavery is not; it means living within the limits of resources, generating wealth through ingenuity, not by exploitation.

Slavery, Legacies and Remembrance – a panel discussion, is taking place in the Great Hall, Bristol University, takes place tonight at 6.30pm.

Bristol must do more to remember slavery | Bristol Post
Bristol University | News | June: Slavery debate

Bristol torn apart over statue of Edward Colston: But is this a figure of shame or a necessary monument to the history of slavery?

Bristol is not the only UK city struggling to agree on a way to face up to its role in slave trading

PAUL GALLAGHER

Sunday 22 June 2014

Edward Colston is fondly remembered in Bristol. A grand bronze statue on a pedestal of Portland stone was unveiled almost 120 years ago in the city centre, dedicated to the 17th-century merchant and MP. Depicting a middle-aged Colston leaning pensively on a stick, its inscription reads: “Erected by citizens of Bristol as a memorial of one of the most virtuous and wise sons of their city.”

Not mentioned are the thousands of slave victims that Colston and his family trampled over to obtain much of their wealth. He served as deputy governor of the Royal African Company – which held a monopoly on the trade – while his brother Thomas supplied the glass beads that were used to buy slaves.

The debate over how Bristol should commemorate Colston, if at all, has reared its head again in recent days after the Bristol Post asked whether the statue should be pulled down. Just over half (56 per cent) of the 1,100 respondents said it should stay – 44 per cent wanted it to go.

It followed a passionate article arguing for its removal by the retired journalist Mike Gardner in which he calls Colston “one of the most evil men in British history”. Bristol has more than a dozen streets, three schools, other buildings and an annual church ceremony named after Colston, but Mr Gardner said the 18ft statue was the worst reminder of all. “It’s time to rename the streets, the concert hall, the office block – everything,” he argued. “It’s time to stop little girls wearing flowers to celebrate his birthday. And it’s time to pull down that statue.”

Bristol’s Mayor, George Ferguson, has described the annual Colston celebrations as “perverse”, but his city remains divided. Many residents rage against what they view as sweeping history under the carpet should the statue disappear.

One said that Colston “built a load of schools, hospitals and almshouses for the poor. I imagine the people of Bristol were grateful, regardless of how he came by the money.” But another commented: “Whatever ‘good’ deeds he has done, he did it out of the proceeds of slavery. No one would condone a statue of Adolf Hitler as ‘the great builder of superior motorways’.”

Bristol torn apart over statue of Edward Colston: But is this a figure of shame or a necessary monument to the history of slavery? - Home News - UK - The Independent

Should Bristol's Colston Hall change its name – to distance itself from slavery?

Bristol's premier entertainment venue is named after 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston. Is it time to rename it – or is that just airbrushing history?

Ros Martin and Madge Dresser
The Observer, Saturday 21 June 2014 18.30 BST
Jump to comments (140)

Edward Colston, slave trader and patron of Bristol, painted in 1694. Photograph: St Bartholomew's Hospital Museum

Ros Martin, a Bristol-based poet and playwright

There are those of us who wish to create or experience art in this city but who find ourselves excluded. We do not feel able to enjoy or contribute to Bristol's biggest venue while it continues to trade under the Colston name. Many roads and buildings in Bristol are named after Colston. Imagine how this must seem to a visitor to our city: they could only assume that Colston was a great man, a doer of good deeds. In fact, if it wasn't for those of us who boycott the hall (or question the status quo) being put into the spotlight time and again, most Bristolians would think the same, so successful has been this rebranding exercise.

Bristol has been the inspiration for much of my artistic creativity. I love Bristol – its anarchic and vibrant art scene. However, I am not sure Bristol loves me. As a descendant of enslaved Africans, a writer and artist, I feel insulted and alienated by seeing someone who built his wealth fromslavery now immortalised in a music venue paid for by the public purse. This is why I have long campaigned for this name change.

Colston Hall belongs to all the people, to express themselves in an environment of mutual respect.

Madge Dresser, associate professor of history, University of the West of England

I take your point, but airbrushing someone out of history makes me profoundly uneasy. I've long campaigned against Bristol's political amnesia about slavery, but do you really think social justice can be best served by a change in nomenclature?

The campaign to rename Colston Hall is part of a wider campaign to take down Colston's statue in the city centre. It may feel good in the short term but will be ultimately self-defeating if the truth is what we both wish to champion. The present building is steeped in the city's history. It's on the site of the great house of Sir John Young, the first Bristol merchant to trade with Africa in the 1550s. Bristol's first known black resident worked there in the 1570s. A century later it was converted into the city's first sugar house, to process Caribbean sugar. By Victorian times, when sugar refining was in decline, the house was demolished and a hall erected which was dedicated to Colston, in a bid to unite Bristolians in some faux version of their historical greatness. The Colston Hall has a history to acknowledge, not erase.

RM It is not true that changing the hall's name is part of a wider campaign to take down the statue. Nor is the campaign an attempt to airbrush him out of Bristol's history. I am happy for the roads and buildings to stay; what is invisible (and is in fact airbrushed) is recognition of the contribution from the brutalised lives of African ancestors, on which the wealth of the city is built.

Social justice is whatever the demands of an oppressed minority are for social inclusion that promotes their dignity and leads to mutual respect. It is an exercise for all of Bristol. "Formerly known as Colston Hall" could suffix the new name.

What I do take exception to is Colston's name serving as a cultural ambassador. Arts should be a unifier, not a divider. Sadly, the Colston legacy is now serving to divide the people of Bristol. The thorny issue surely is: how does one engage with other people's history (ie, the descendants of enslaved Africans) when clearly it's not one's own? You put yourself in the shoes of another. This is not an academic exercise.

MD There has been talk in the press of tearing the statue down, so I'm glad to hear it's not a formal part of the campaign to rename the hall.

Agreed, Colston's name is now a lightning rod for divisive attitudes about race as well as history, but let's make this the occasion for a grown-up discussion of history and citizenship and not a polarised one generating more heat than light. The term "Bristolian" now applies with equal validity to people from diverse backgrounds, including the descendants of the enslaved Africans, and you and I both despair at the ignorance and racism informing so much of the white public's response to this debate. But it is underpinned by an undercurrent of resentment with which we must engage. Many white working-class Bristolians feel Colston represents their history, and we dismiss their resentment at our peril. Their feeling that the white, educated, elite "outsiders" have failed to acknowledge the contribution working-class people have made to this city has a ring of truth. And even though this resentment can take a racist turn, even if it conflates the exploitation of workers with the more systematic and intense brutalisation of the enslaved, it should be fairly addressed and not simply dismissed.

RM You've summarised it well: marginalised lives, fear of upsetting the white working class, who represent the bulk of Bristol's population. Only, most black people in the city are working-class people who share common struggles of social exclusion and marginalisation with white working-class people. I have sympathy for any exploited life, now and in the past. Who doesn't?

Whenever black Bristolians demand social justice about anything in the city, an undercurrent of resentment follows and nothing happens. Someone has to be responsible for correcting the misinformation about Colston being a virtuous son of the city. We need to come together to fight our battles one by one. This is about arts and social inclusion, and respectfully honouring the memory of African ancestors. Bristol's black ancestry is part of the city's shared history and it informs British colonial history. White working-class Bristolians are not without the ability to empathise and wish for social justice for all. This fraught, divisive legacy bequeathed us the Colston name, which is why it should go.

MD You are right about fighting battles one by one. I would rather fight for a proper commemorative statue honouring the contribution which enslaved Africans made to Bristol's prosperity, preferably to be placed outside Colston Hall!

But your campaign may now have a better chance of success because it suits commercial interests. Corporate sponsors with few local associations and an eye to the youth market may also wish to avoid the "taint of Colston", and it's their sponsorship that the authorities are now courting. How ironic is that, and how very Bristolian!

If and when the hall's name is changed, what, then, will happen to all the schools, streets and charities that have a nominal association with Colston? Doesn't logic dictate they change their names too? But changing the name won't change the history – it could well obscure it. And it's important for our democracy that history, in all its messy complexity, informs our understanding of both our city and ourselves.

Should Bristol's Colston Hall change its name – to distance itself from slavery? | Comment is free | The Observer

Friday, 27 June 2014

english literature and reading in english: a summary

This blog has posted several pieces on the theme "English Literature":

Jay Doubleyou: english literature
Jay Doubleyou: english literature - simple version
Jay Doubleyou: harper lee, john steinbeck, maya angelou - no longer on the english literature syllabus

Jay Doubleyou: stories and drama

Jay Doubleyou: american short stories pt 1
Jay Doubleyou: american short stories pt 2
Jay Doubleyou: american short stories pt 3

Jay Doubleyou: shakespeare
Jay Doubleyou: shakespeare's 450th birthday

Jay Doubleyou: bond in the classroom

Jay Doubleyou: the poetry of english
Jay Doubleyou: borders crossed by poetry
Jay Doubleyou: poetry slams
Jay Doubleyou: under milk wood
Jay Doubleyou: dylan thomas - the poet in prose

Jay Doubleyou: archaic language part one
Jay Doubleyou: archaic language part 2
Jay Doubleyou: archaic language part iii
Jay Doubleyou: archaic language part four

Jay Doubleyou: oxford graded reader and bbc film: hard times by charles dickins

Here are some very good tips about reading from the AntiMoon blog:

Get input. Lots of it. | Antimoon
The power of reading — two stories | Antimoon
What to read: some recommendations | Antimoon
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Thursday, 26 June 2014

the british: a summary

This blog has posted several pieces on the theme 'British'.

tradition:
Jay Doubleyou: the monarchy
Jay Doubleyou: If
Jay Doubleyou: bond in the classroom

where the brits come from and what they stand for:
Jay Doubleyou: Identity
Jay Doubleyou: english icons
Jay Doubleyou: eccentric english
Jay Doubleyou: teaching 'british values'
Jay Doubleyou: sounds familiar - dialects in the uk

literature:
Jay Doubleyou: shakespeare
Jay Doubleyou: stories and drama
Jay Doubleyou: oxford graded reader and bbc film: hard times by charles dickins
Jay Doubleyou: under milk wood
Jay Doubleyou: dylan thomas - the poet in prose

humour:
Jay Doubleyou: british humour
Jay Doubleyou: got a room
Jay Doubleyou: a history of irony
Jay Doubleyou: british vs german humour

art and culture:
Jay Doubleyou: teaching british culture
Jay Doubleyou: design and the uk pt 1
Jay Doubleyou: design and the uk pt 2
Jay Doubleyou: art questions
Jay Doubleyou: architecture
Jay Doubleyou: history of britain in front of the tv
Jay Doubleyou: banksy: the provocative artist of our time
Jay Doubleyou: turner prize 2014
Jay Doubleyou: royal academy - summer exhibtion

society and politics:
Jay Doubleyou: explaining how your country works
Jay Doubleyou: explaining how your country's education system works
Jay Doubleyou: explaining how your country's health system works
Jay Doubleyou: the british class system
Jay Doubleyou: immigration
Jay Doubleyou: immigration part 2
Jay Doubleyou: the miners' strike 30 years on
Jay Doubleyou: crime statistics - and the perception of crime
Jay Doubleyou: “you felt uncomfortable about people speaking foreign languages..."

music:
Jay Doubleyou: cities and music
Jay Doubleyou: british music
Jay Doubleyou: story-telling with the beatles
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Wednesday, 25 June 2014

history lessons for learners of english

To learn about the history of a country can seem a bit too much in another language, but there are plenty of good websites to help:

Here are some fun lessons around some historical topics for teachers and students:
Teach English With This Week in History | EnglishClub.com

The Voice of America looks at lots of different themes:
American History in VOA Special English (ESL/EFL)
American History: A Freeze Hits US-Soviet Relations After World War Two (VOA Special English 2007-02-28)

The American government has got some resources for people who want to become American citizens:
Civics Lessons and EL Civics for ESL Students

Some more useful general links:
Geography and history - for ESL students

And some particularly good links mixing English-learning and learning about history:
History for ESL students | TEFLtastic blog

Here are some helpful resources for the teacher of history:
English Language Learners | Teachinghistory.org

You can always go to Simple English Wikipedia:
Cold War - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But how much of the 'difficult' stuff can you understand?
Dissolution of the Soviet Union - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cold War Museum
Collapse of the Soviet Union Engineered? - Soviet-Empire.com U.S.S.R.
What if an ex-KGB officer predicted that the USSR would fake its own collapse to ultimately defeat the West…and no one listened? | TheBlaze.com
Predictions of the dissolution of the Soviet Union - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The West Marches East, Part 1: The U.S.-NATO Strategy to Isolate Russia « Andrew Gavin Marshall
The West Marches East, Part 2: Georgia Starts a War, Russia Draws a Line « Andrew Gavin Marshall
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Tuesday, 24 June 2014

the english-speaking world: devon in england

People in Devon are known to have a 'funny accent'.
Here are a couple of examples:

How about some more undercover journalism?
With subtitles:
Councillors for hire who give firms planning advice - Telegraph

And from BBC Devon:
BBC News - Dartmoor sisters 'proud' of Devon accent

Some great information about dialects:
Top ten strangest Devonshire words revealed as book on Devon dialect is published | Plymouth Herald
Is 'ee Cornish or Devonian? New book on Devon dialect throws spotlight on Westcountry terms | West Briton
West Country dialects - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not everyone at the BBC speaks BBC English:

VOICES

John Germon leads us though the A-Z of Devon Dialect

Teach yourself Devon Dialect

Ow be knackin' vore?

John Germon was born and raised in the Devon stannary town of Ashburton. He attended both the Primary and "The Big School" and has a keen interest in local dialect. John's been the Chairman of Ashburton Devon Dialect Club for more years than he cares to remember.


Words	Words	Words	Words	Words	Words	Words	Words	Words
Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds


Words	Words	Words	Words	Words	Words	Words	Words	Words
Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds


Words	Words	Words	Words	Words	Words	Words	Words
Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds	Sounds

Looking for Granfer Griggs
(See G)

As Town Clerk of the south Devon stannary town of Ashburton, you will often see John dashing around dealing with all sorts of issues.
He also plays a very active part in the community - and at carnival time you will see him in a totally different light.
John is chairman of the Ashburton Devon Dialect Club and has compiled this A-Z. If you want to know how to pronounce the words in a true Devon accent, just click on the link and John will read them out to you.
The Dialect Challenge

Play John's Devon Dialect Quiz

How well do you know your Devon Dialect? Have a bit of fun and try John's dialect challenge.
Launch Quiz

Once you think you've mastered the art of 'speakin' like wot we duz' you can put your new found skills to the test by taking John's Devon Dialect challenge.
This multiple choice quiz will help you find out just how much you know about the words John's been teaching you.

Just click on the link to launch the quiz - there are no prizes, it's just for fun.

* Please note - to be able to listen to John reading the words, you will need to have Real Player installed on your computer.