h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

One of my main memories of Devon is of me and some mates learning to skateboard in Devon in 1977 when working on a farm near Ivybridge. I can't remember what caused the greatest furore - the sight of a skateboard or the sight of teenagers. W

Either way, we were the only ones in the village on solid food.

By the way, we found the greatest danger was the sight of the clotted cream and the smell of the little old ladies

Well I live in Plymouth, which is in Devon.

Mr Einstein obviosly didn't spend much time in Plymouth or Exeter (the only really built up areas in Devon). The country bits are kinda treacherous, but then you drive into Cornwall.....

Exeter city centre has streets that are about the same size as on side of Plymouth city centre pavement. Plymouth has the most ridiculous local papers you can find. And it is full of skids.

Are there any Devonians left in Devon? When I lived in Teignmouth and Kingsteignton the place was being over-run by Brummies (persons from Birmingham or thereabouts) and the Devonian aaaaaaccent was being squeezed out.

Roads on Dartmoor aren't too bad. They put lots of roads across the moors so that you can actually go straight across the moor rather than having to drive around it, unlike most other national parks. I always found it quicker to go over the moors from the Tamar Bridge to Ashburton rather than going up the motorway standard roads.

There is an alternative theory though that there are only 3 roads on Dartmoor - the one you are on which is going to the wrong place, the one you wanted to be on which would still be going to the wrong place, and the one which goes to the right place but you can't find it because it has gates at both ends so that only locals will use it.

Another thing good about Devon is the road to Cornwall. Going to Cornwall is the only reason to go to Devon.

If you are going by train to Cornwall you go along the Teignmouth/Dawlish sea wall, if the heavy seas haven't washed the ballast away from under the tracks, in which case you have to go in a bus from Exeter to Newton Abbot and miss the only interesting bit of the train journey through Devon.

Dartmoor is nice.

Now you mention it, it's kinda difficult for even me to get a pin on a true Devon accent. All the people I know have such a range in voices. I suppose the accent -is- just a wild variety of piches and tones.

The thing which distinguished a Devon accent from other westcountry accents is the shortening of sounds, eg. "My dear" is said "Ma'dir".

The "v" in Devon often sounds like a "b", as in "Debn".

Devonians don't speak the full range of English, they kind of abbreviate it generally and plurals get even more messy, so if someone says "Innum" they are usually abbreviating "isn't him" (meaning "isn't he")or "isn't them" (meaning "aren't they").

To tell the difference between a Cornishman and a Devonian ask him to say "Cornwall". The Devonian will say "Corn-woll" whereas the Cornishman will say "Carnwaal". Devonians lower the tone of the sound when they say "o" whereas the Cornish raise it.

Fantastic! Perhaps someone could provide some kind of links to audio clips of examples of these phenomena.

('Devon' sounds like this [click here] etc.)

Yes, I do believe this report to be a slightly glib explaination of Devon, but having lived there for the major years of my life, and then coming to live in Oxford, the difference in environment is HUGE!! I am definitely a city lad, and the rolling hills and vast open pastures of the Devonian countryside prooved just too claustrophobic for my personage.
Thanks for the comments guys!

Spot on, buay!

Most people I know seem to have a phobia of pronouncing t's. Is this another Devonshire accent thing or is it simply 'Kev syndrome'? Probably the latter.

To quote on of my friends:
"The po-wer (emphesise the o) of vu kerring (key-ring)!"