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Rugby: A culture of respect? Eleanor Curtis Sunday 26 November 2023 Following the recent Rugby World Cup, there has been an increase in discussion about the role of the referee. For a sport sometimes famed for the interpersonal respect demonstrated by players and coaches alike, the criticism of referees is surprising, and perhaps symptomatic of changes within the sport. Invented in 1823, rugby has remained a globally popular sport for 200 years. The game is regulated by many old and convoluted laws, and each match is governed by an on-field referee. The referee is respected; they manage the game like a teacher would manage a class. Players will address referees with deference, accept their decisions graciously, and allow them to advise on and guide the direction of play. The most recent Rugby World Cup has, however, called this status quo into question. Held in France, with the final occurring on the 28th of October, this year’s men’s World Cup title was retained by the South African side, who clung onto their precarious title with a 12-13 scoreline against New Zealand. They had previously beaten England and France to get to the final. In the quarter final, played on the 15th of October, there was a similarly narrow scoreline, with the victors beating the vanquished by only one point (FRA 28-29 RSA). This match sparked debates over the quality of refereeing in the competition, with Ben O’Keefe of New Zealand being criticised for slow and inconsistent decisions. This came to light after an early moment in which he stopped play due to a slap-down by Eben Etzebeth, disrupting the flow of the play as France were still in possession of the ball. Head Coach of Les Bleus claimed that this incident was ‘key’ in allowing the Springboks to equalise and eventually win the match. O’Keefe has been criticised by French captain Antoine DuPont, who said in a post-match interview that the referee was ‘not up to the challenge’ presented by the match. O’Keefe also presided over the World Cup semi-final, in which South Africa took victory from English hands, with the Springboks leading for a mere 2 and a half minutes and closing the game at 15-16. Given the close nature of their knock-out encounters, it is possible that referee decisions allowed them to gain these slight advantages, with missed penalties and the slowing of match speed brought about by new laws and inconsistent mastery of others. The final match of the cup was refereed by the Englishman Wayne Barnes, who showed the first recorded red card in a final to Kiwi player Sam Cane for a high tackle. This required the use of the Television Match Officials or TMOs, a relatively new entity which exists to review the escalation of a yellow card to a red card in an isolated environment away from the field. A yellow card automatically incurs a penalty of 10 minutes off pitch, during which, if signalled by the on-field referee, the off-field officials will deliberate if a red card is needed. Therefore, decisions are removed from the field, potentially leading to a breakdown of respect on field. There was another incident in the final where the TMOs were involved in the disallowance of All Black’s Aaron Smith’s try, following a knock on. The TMOs only have the right to look back two phases, thus missing the broader context of Kiwi possession for four phases in the run up to the try. Since the final, this try has been reviewed and World Rugby have conceded that the disallowance was unlawful, and the try should have stood. This potentially could have led to a kiwi victory. Following the final, Wayne Barnes, an esteemed referee with an extensive international career of 111 tests, has received threats against his life for the decisions he made on the field, and their potential to change the outcome of the match. Ben O'Keefe has received similar threats following his involvements in the RSAs two other knockout matches. These situations draw into question the very DNA of Rugby: has the culture of respect degraded so much that referees are targeted and blamed for their decisions, even after the players have left the field? For those of us who are interested in rugby, it is unnatural to see this level of impolite conduct. Therefore, we must question the direction of the sport. In further questioning, should the TMO system be retained, despite arguments that it causes more problems than it solves? This level of discussion following the end of a competition is unprecedented, and surely something must change for the sport to continue its legacy as the game that we know and love. About the Author Related Articles Film in Flux: Conflating Creativity and Artificial Intelligence at Gothenburg Film Festival Francesca Beaumont Falling for Autumn: why are autumn traditions in the US so at odds with the weather? Eleanor Curtis Rugby: A culture of respect? Eleanor Curtis Copyright free images via Unsplash . For more content, follow us on Instagram , and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to join the Lingo Team. Have an article ready to send in? Submit it here . Tags: sport current affairs rugby culture debate Eleanor Curtis Categories: Global Culture Global Affairs Share: Let us know what you think 3.0 150 Article ratings average rating is 3 out of 5, based on 150 votes, Article ratings WRITE A COMMENT Thanks for submitting a comment! LOAD MORE

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Hispanic Studies < Back Aysha Harris As someone who has been brought up in a bilingual household and across several countries, similarities and differences in languages and different customs are one of my key interests. Lingo explores these topics and beyond in a digestable and informative manner most importantly. I also enjoy running and all sorts of arts and crafts. Latest Articles by this Author

French and Spanish < Back Millie Adams Millie is immersed in the world of travel. As part of her year abroad she spent spent a semester in Martinique and a study semester in Cuba. Whilst on that side of the world, Millie took the opportunity to travel around the Caribbean. Millie was our 2022/23 Travel Editor. Latest Articles by this Author Climate Change Refugees: the victims of global warming 15/02/22 7 Reasons to visit Santo Domingo 15/02/22

Surviving Language Student Life: Scheduling Jess Henrys Tuesday 29 March 2022 Studying for a language degree is no mean feat, with what can seem like endless grammar tasks, vocab lists and verb tables. For this edition of Welfare Wednesday, one of our Welfare Secs, Jess Henrys shares her top tips for scheduling to help you stay on top of your language learning. The life of a language student is harder than it looks. Although learning another language leads to the joy of cultural exploration and creative expression in more than just your native tongue, the road to proficiency seems to be full of obstacles, and more often than not, just pure hard work. I’ve certainly found that learning a language is less like a straightforward road, and more like a mountain. Whether it’s a grammar point you can’t seem to make sense of, an impossibly long list of irregular verbs to learn, or a fear of actually speaking in the language, preparing for those treacherous paths can be disheartening. In fact, with exams and essay deadlines around the corner, it can feel outright impossible. And there is no quick fix for that: language learning takes hard work. But it also takes rest. If you’re climbing that language mountain, remember that your brain may not be a muscle, but it needs time to rest too. So, how do you do that? How do you ensure that you are reaching your language goals and giving yourself space to breathe? How do you balance that new Netflix show you’re just dying to binge with an impending essay deadline for that French book you still haven’t read? How do you make a dent in your Spanish vocabulary lists without being a stranger to your friends? The answer may be obvious, and yet it’s something you and I so often overlook. It’s scheduling. Perhaps you have tried scheduling before, and it didn’t work for you. You couldn’t stick to it, or it felt too restrictive, or it takes too much time to create that you would rather spend actually working. These are all the problems I faced before. Struggling with workload-related anxieties, drowning in deadlines, I didn’t believe what my therapist said: that creating a schedule could make even one iota of difference. But it did. And maybe, if you’re anything like me, it’s worth a shot for you too. So, where do you begin? 1. Choose the form of your schedule Would you prefer a physical schedule on paper, that you can see and touch with your own hands? Try creating one with your classes and tasks on post-it notes so you can easily visualise and even rearrange your tasks from week to week, staying flexible for those Thursday afternoon coffee dates, or that one Saturday morning shift you can’t get out of. If you would prefer a digital schedule to access wherever you go, why not try Google’s hourly schedule template? Or for something looser and more flexible, try our own general schedule with morning, afternoon, and evening blocks. 2. Schedule your fixed tasks The first things to schedule in are any regular, fixed obligations. This means blocking out your regular classes, work shifts, fitness classes, or any other recurring task that you would consider of highest importance. 3. Schedule your rest times Your rest is just as important as your classes! Schedule in something fun or relaxing every day, maybe even highlight it in your schedule in a different colour to remind you that you have something to look forward to. This could be: Lunch with a friend A walk in the fresh air An episode of your favourite tv show A phone call with a loved one Going out in the evening Or anything else you can think of. 4. Schedule homework time In your language degree, there may be homework you have regularly every week, such as preparation for a seminar, reading for a lecture, or grammar exercises for your language classes. My top tip is to choose a day when you will do a particular homework task every week. It will never take you by surprise, never be forgotten, and you won’t have the “night-before” stress of trying to get it all done at once. Schedule these tasks around your rest time, not the other way around. You don’t have to earn your rest. You rest and recharge in order to have the energy to do these tasks. 5. Schedule independent language tasks Finally, write down those tasks you feel you never have time for – vocab, grammar points, independent reading or listening. Even watching TV in your target language can be a great way to subtly improve your language independently of your classes and assigned work. 6. Try to stick to it (but be kind to yourself!) The only way to make this schedule work is to do your best to stick to it. But be kind to yourself. If you need to rearrange a task to make way for new obligations or extra rest time or if you’re just having a bad day and need a change, do it. Your schedule should help you, not hinder you, on your learning journey. And if this doesn’t work for you, don’t panic! We are all different, and we learn differently, and it’s simply about finding methods of learning that resonate with you! If you would like to discuss any concerns with our welfare team, please do not hesitate to get in touch at lingomagwelfareteam@gmail.com so we can signpost you to some of Nottingham’s many, helpful support services. And remember, it’s a long way to the top of this language-learning mountain, but the view is spectacular! About the Author Related Articles 5 podcasts to help you improve your French Niamh Woodhouse The economic value to the UK of speaking other languages: realistic or idealistic? Rosie Loyd Our top 5 tips for keeping on top of your Chinese Rosie Loyd Images provided by Jess Henrys. For more content, follow us on Instagram , and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to join the Lingo Team. Have an article ready to send in? Submit it here . Tags: Language Learning Jess Henrys Mental Health Scheduling Time Management Categories: Welfare Language and Linguistics Language Tips Share: Let us know what you think 3.0 150 Article ratings average rating is 3 out of 5, based on 150 votes, Article ratings WRITE A COMMENT Thanks for submitting a comment! LOAD MORE

The Influence of Arabic on the Spanish Language Aidan Cross Thursday 11 April 2024 700 years of Islamic rule in Al-Andalus has left its footprint on the Spanish language. As is well known, Spanish is one of the Romance languages - a subgroup of the Italic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is a direct descendant of the Vulgar Latin that was spoken across the territories of the vast Roman Empire, such as Hispania – from which Spain gets its name – occupied by the Romans for 600 years before the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century and before the arrival of the Germanic tribes. In the year 711, however, the Umayyad Caliphate conquered the Visigothic Kingdom and, for over 700 years, until the fall of the Emirate of Granada in 1492, the existence of Al-Andalus – the Muslim-ruled territories of the Iberian Peninsula – meant that Arabic, a Semitic language from the Afroasiatic language family, was a strong cultural and linguistic influence in Spain. This influence manifested itself in the various dialects that emerged amongst the populations under Islamic rule. These dialects, called Mozarabic, were closely related to modern Romance languages. As a result, Spanish often has both Arabic and Latin-derived words with the same meaning - for example, “ aceituna ” and “ oliva ” (olive) or “ ajonjolí ” and “ sésamo ” (sesame) etc. The Arabic-derived words are more common in southern Spain, which was part of the kingdom of Al-Andalus for the longest amount of time and is, therefore, where this influence was strongest. It is estimated that around 8% of the Spanish dictionary comes from Arabic. The most obvious influence on Spanish is words that start with “al”, derived from the definite article in Arabic - e.g. “ alcohol ” (alcohol), “ albaricoque ” (apricot), and “ algodón ” (cotton). The most common depiction of Al-Andalus is one of conflict, due to the Reconquista, which is how words such as “ aljaba ” (quiver) and “ alcázar ” (fortress) came into Spanish. But it was also a multicultural society in which many people lived peacefully side-by-side, trading, sharing their cultures, and finding ways to communicate with each other. The vast majority of words influenced by Arabic reflect this relationship, such as the names of newly introduced foods, many of which would become staples in Spanish cuisine - for example, “ albahaca ” (basil), “ aceite ” (oil), “ berenjena ” (aubergine), “ alfóncigo ” (pistachio), and “ limón ” (lemon). And, of course, you can’t make a paella without “ arroz ” (rice) or “ azafrán ” (saffron)! Other words also reveal the extent of this cultural exchange, such as “ ajedrez ” (chess), “ algebra ” (algebra), and “ cero ” (zero). In fact, Al-Andalus is the route via which the Arabic numerals that we still use today reached Western Europe. Finally, perhaps the most well-known example of the influence of Arabic on the Spanish language is “ ojalá ” which is used in the sense of “I hope” or “hopefully” from “ law šá lláh ” meaning “if God wants” or “God willing”. ¡Ojalá que al leer este artículo hayas aprendido sobre la influencia árabe en la lengua española! About the Author Related Articles Translation and the Untranslatable Aidan Cross Portuguese loanwords in Japanese Aidan Cross The Influence of Arabic on the Spanish Language Aidan Cross Copyright free images via Unsplash. For more content, follow us on Instagram , and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to join the Lingo Team. Have an article ready to send in? Submit it here . Tags: spanish arabic al-andalus Aidan Cross language Categories: Language Study Share: Let us know what you think 3.0 150 Article ratings average rating is 3 out of 5, based on 150 votes, Article ratings WRITE A COMMENT Thanks for submitting a comment! LOAD MORE

English with Creative Writing < Back Bethan Beddow Bethan, an English with Creative Writing student, has a passion for writing, specifically writing about things close to her heart, such as underrated Welsh culture! Latest Articles by this Author Exploring the hidden treasures of Wales 15/12/22

Recipe of the Week: North African Chicken and Chips Emily Dawson Saturday 10 December 2022 Recipe of the week with @ems.homecooking will teach you a new dish from around the world. This week we're back in North Africa with a twist on the typical dish of chicken and chips. Serves : 2 Difficulty : 3/5 Time : 1hr to 1hr 20 minutes Origin : North Africa This dish is a North African twist on your mum’s typical Friday night chicken and chips dinner. While it sounds complicated, this meal is super simple, and it basically cooks itself – something a bit different to the typical, potentially boring meal. You can add any vegetables that take your fancy (or even eggs, which is traditional) to further enhance the flavours and the heartiness of the dish. While the presentation of this dish looks a little funny, the flavours are incredible. Ingredients 3 chicken drumsticks 1 medium onion 2 cloves of garlic 1 stock cube 2 tsp ras el hanout (cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ginger and turmeric) 1.5 tsp cumin 1 tsp parsley Half a jar of chickpeas 1 or 2 potatoes Salt and pepper Method Preheat the oven to 180/200ºC. On a medium heat, cook off the chicken drumsticks until the skin has browned and the outside of the chicken looks cooked. Add in the chopped onions and garlic and cook off until they are soft. Stir in the spices ( ras el hanout and cumin). Once these spices are mixed in, add in one stock cube with enough boiling water to just cover the chicken. Season with salt and pepper and the parsley. Then, leave the pan on a medium-low heat covered with a lid for about one hour. In the meantime, peel the potatoes and chop them into chips. Place them onto a baking tray with a drizzle of oil and season with salt and pepper. Once the chicken has been cooking for 15 mins, put the chips in the oven to cook for 45 minutes. With 10 minutes left before the chicken is ready, add in half a jar of chickpeas. At this point you can add in any other vegetables that you might want; green beans, peas and broccoli are some of my favourites. After 45 mins, the chips should be crispy, and the chicken should be falling off the bone. This is the sign that everything is ready to serve. I take the chicken off the bone beforehand so it’s easier to serve between two. Enjoy! For more savoury and tasty treat recipes, follow @ems.homecooking on Instagram. Let us know if you recreate Emily's recipe at home! About the Author Related Articles Recipe of the Week: Shakshuka with Merguez Emily Dawson Recipe of the Week: Chicken Curry Emily Dawson Recipe of the Week: Vegan Pasta Bake Emily Dawson Images provided by Emily Dawson. For more content, follow us on Instagram , and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to join the Lingo Team. Have an article ready to send in? Submit it here . Tags: Emily Dawson North Africa Cuisine Chicken Cooking Dinner Categories: Recipe of the Week Culture Share: Let us know what you think 3.0 150 Article ratings average rating is 3 out of 5, based on 150 votes, Article ratings WRITE A COMMENT Thanks for submitting a comment! LOAD MORE

German and English Studies < Back Kathrin Loithaler I fell in love with language and reading early on in my life, and this passion has carried on during my language studies at university. Besides reading and writing poetry, I also love doing sports, especially ballet, yoga and figure skating. I also really enjoy travelling and exploring new countries... my dream destination is Antarctica. I am really grateful to have the opportunity to explore journalistic writing with Lingo Mag, as it covers all the things I'm interested in! Latest Articles by this Author The Art of Fictional Languages: Deconstructing Dothraki and Klingon 16/12/24 Impoliteness in Online Gaming: A Linguistic Analysis 04/11/24

Remembering the GDR: How Post-Reunification-Cinema Keeps Us Thinking about East Germany Isaac Shoffren Monday 4 November 2024 The Berlin Wall is etched into the identity of modern Germany – but what did its collapse look like from the inside? October 3rd, 1990. A wave of revolution is spreading through the Eastern Bloc. In a swift move, the socialist East Germany is absorbed into its Western counterpart. 8 months ago, reunification was a radical idea. Now capitalism, consumerism and freedom of travel are the new way of life. Two films produced in the early 2000s capture this whiplash moment. In Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) we watch Germany reunify through the eyes of the Kerner family. After falling into a coma, Christiane is oblivious to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of her beloved socialist homeland. Under doctor’s orders to avoid any sudden shocks, her children Alex and Ariane hide the reality of reunification from their frail mother. The GDR (German Democratic Republic) is back...if only within the walls of their apartment. Alex finds himself caught between two worlds – the socialist fantasy suspended in his mother’s bedroom and the reality of reunified Germany that he’s not ready to face. Spinning the façade into an ever more elaborate lie, Alex rewrites a palatable version of events, softening the blow for his mother and for himself. Alex refuses to let go of the past; he’s tied to the GDR by memories of his mother. Vignettes of Alex’s childhood are warm and cozy, while the oppressive GDR state machinery takes a back seat. Seeping with GDR iconography, Good Bye, Lenin! mirrors the trend of Ostalgie - a portmanteau of the German words for “East” and “Nostalgia” . Since reunification there has been a wave of demand for GDR-era products. Across the East, themed restaurants, hotels and corner shops offer a step back in time. While these could easily be written off as kitschy tourist traps, many are run by and for former East Germans nostalgic for simpler times. While GDR archives tell of a dictatorship with history’s biggest secret police force, those who toed the party line lived in relative comfort. Like Alex, many East Germans are bound to their former lives by memory. Berlin is in Germany (2001) follows Martin, recently released into reunified Germany after a 10-year stint in prison. The fish-out-of-water struggles to adapt to the reunified Berlin, which he's only seen through a TV screen. Martin has – in a popular saying- “emigrated without leaving home”. Berlin’s streets have been relieved of their socialist eponyms and the once familiar city is now foreign. Director Hanns Stöhr doesn’t set the film against the iconic Brandenburg Gate or Unter den Linden . Rather it's the soviet-built TV tower that shapes the skyline, a nod to the Berlin Martin knew. The ex-con drifts across Berlin, governed by train routes and parole meetings. He isn’t under the control of GDR anymore, but Martin still doesn’t control his own narrative. Martin’s circumstances may be unique, but his isolation from the West rings true for many East Germans. After reunification, a clear rift appeared between the two halves. Any demographic data of present-day Germany tells the same story – East Germans have low average wages, life satisfaction and differing voting patterns. The Berlin Wall may be gone, but the “mental wall” remains ever present. Ostalgie is by no means universal. Victims of the regime who were isolated in political prisons find it harder to don rose-coloured glasses. Remembering the GDR is not just about honouring the victims of the state but also seeing the bonds that, like Alex and Martin, keep the East tied to its past. About the Author Related Articles Copyright free images by Pexels For more content, follow us on Instagram , and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to join the Lingo Team. Have an article ready to send in? Submit it here . Tags: culture germany german film film german reunification Categories: I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy. Share: Let us know what you think 3.0 150 Article ratings average rating is 3 out of 5, based on 150 votes, Article ratings WRITE A COMMENT Thanks for submitting a comment! Barbara Dawson average rating is 3 out of 5 Lovely tasty dish. Try it you won’t be disappointed. Time Published Aunty Liz average rating is 3 out of 5 Very tasty and cheap. I often have this for tea! Time Published BETTS average rating is 3 out of 5 Being a bilingual family (French mother and British father,) living in France I thought your article was extremely interesting . Have you research on bilingualism ? It seems that when the mother is British and the father French and they both live in France their children seem to be more bilingual than when the mother is French and the father is British . This is what we called mother tongue , isn't it ? Time Published Niamh average rating is 3 out of 5 Such an interesting article! Time Published LOAD MORE

Unveiling Hidden Connections: The Surprising Parallels Between Korean and Tamil Anika Jennifer Mariel Thursday 25 July 2024 Unraveling the unexpected yet riveting connection between two seemingly unrelated languages. Korean is the national language of South Korea and North Korea. The language falls under the Koreanic family of languages, boasting over 80 million native speakers. Over the past few years, there has been a rapidly growing interest in the Korean language, largely due to the global boom in K-pop and Korean entertainment. On the other hand, Tamil is not only the native language of people from Tamilnadu, a southern state in India, but it is also an official language in countries like Sri Lanka and Singapore, with over 85 million native speakers. It belongs to the Dravidian family of languages, and it is widely regarded as one of the oldest living languages in the world. Although it may not seem like it, there is a whopping 5700 kilometers between Tamilnadu and the Korean Peninsula. So, how exactly are the two languages interconnected? While most attribute this link between the two languages to ancient trade, there is a fascinating folklore that may provide further explanation. This folklore dates all the way back to the 13th century, and follows an Indian princess hailing from the Ayuta Kingdom (a kingdom in ancient Tamilnadu), named Sembavalam (Korean name: Heo Hwang-Ok), who was crowned the very first queen of Geumgwan Gaya in Korea after marrying the Korean king, Kim Suro. Many believe that she may be the reason for the influence of the Tamil language and culture on Korea. As a native Tamil speaker and an ardent Korean language student, I can certainly vouch for the ease with which Tamil-speakers can pick up the Korean language. It may be daunting to take up a new language, especially when it has its own script, but from personal experience, I found that learning came quite easily to me. The more I heard the Korean language, the more it started sounding just like Tamil in my brain! Already being fluent in a language that is linguistically similar to Korean, I found that certain words and grammatical rules were nearly the same! Research has found that the two languages may have over 500 words in common! For example, the words for ‘mother’ and ‘father’ carry the same pronunciations in both languages: அம்மா, அப்பா (pronounced ‘amma’ and ‘appa’ respectively in Tamil) and 엄마, 아빠 (pronounced ‘eomma’ and ‘appa’ respectively in Korean). The word ‘I’ is நான் (pronounced ‘naan’) in Tamil and 나는 (pronounced ‘naaneun’) in Korean. The word ‘tooth’ is பல் (pronounced ‘pal’) in Tamil and 이빨 (pronounced ‘ippal’) in Korean. Additionally, words for ‘you’, ‘day’, ’grass’, and ‘climb’, also sound similar in the two languages! Unlike English, both Tamil and Korean follow the Subject-Object-Verb sentence structure. But it doesn’t end there! The Korean Peninsula also shares socio-cultural similarities with Tamilnadu. Both cultures emphasize the importance of family, literature, art, and more. Many games and traditional practices in Korea have Tamil counterparts that are equally as important in Tamilnadu. If you are a native Tamil speaker, I hope that this encourages you to learn Korean, and if you are a native Korean speaker, I hope that this encourages you to learn Tamil. Learning languages can be an incredibly enriching experience, as it not only enables you to interact with people across the world but it also opens the door to captivating historical heritage. Did you already know the similarities between Korean and Tamil? Let me know! About the Author Related Articles Translation and the Untranslatable Aidan Cross Why am I forgetting my English? Charlie Bodsworth What makes a language “easy” to learn? Aidan Cross Copyright free images via Pexels. For more content, follow us on Instagram , and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to join the Lingo Team. Have an article ready to send in? Submit it here . Tags: Language Korean Tamil Linguistics Categories: Language and Linguistics Share: Let us know what you think 3.0 150 Article ratings average rating is 3 out of 5, based on 150 votes, Article ratings WRITE A COMMENT Thanks for submitting a comment! LOAD MORE

A Rose By Any Other Name: ‘Cobs’ and ‘Jitties’, ‘Barms’ and ‘Ginnels’ Eleanor Curtis Tuesday 5 December 2023 Why do we have so many words for so many things? Local words and accents are important for identity, and the strange little aspects of our language are all evidence of the development of language in a local area. Anyone who isn’t native to the East Midlands may receive a culture shock when arriving in Nottingham, due to the plethora of local terms in use here. You may be greeted as ‘ duck’ , offered a bacon ‘ cob’ , or directed down a ‘ jitty’ to your destination. As a lifelong resident of the Midlands, and someone influenced by language patterns from the Black Country (from my father), North Staffordshire and the Potteries (from my childhood), and the Derbyshire Dales (from my mother), I don’t find these words so strange. But, to someone coming from outside of the region, they may be somewhat unintelligible. Calling a person ‘ duck’ is a phenomenon seen across the Midlands, in counties that were a part of the ancient kingdom of Mercia. This is potentially a linguistic overhang from a term of respect used in the Anglo-Norse language of this area (‘ ducas’ ). Having moved further and further east over the course of my life, I’ve noticed that the word does not change across the region, only the inflection and accent accompanying it. It is genderless and forms a part of the cultural identity of the places in which it is used. However, having a specific word for a bread roll or an alleyway is not a localised phenomenon. Here, in the East Midlands, a bread roll is commonly called a cob. This is sometimes confusing for non-locals, as in other parts of the UK, this word refers to a large round loaf. Though, as you venture further north toward Manchester it will become a ‘ barm’ . In fact, there are at least seven different words for this around the UK. In a sense, these are mainstream usages of various dialects from days gone by that would have been in common use and would differ from town to town. Indeed, the small market town of Wirksworth in Derbyshire has an accent and set of words that are completely distinct; to residents of the Derbyshire dales, a Wirksworth resident would be easy to identify. While these words are similar to those used in the surrounding area, when used in combination with each other and with specific vowel sounds, they form a marker of an origin that belongs to a cultural identity or settlement. Equally, the six towns that were united to form the city of Stoke-on-Trent each have a specific set of words, vowel sounds, and accent markers that indicate a resident as coming from that specific part of the city. These types of linguistic intricacies exist across all forms of language. They are evidence of the development of local language, as well as showing that, populations settling and remaining in an area gives rise to dialects and accents attached to its location. Every time the population of the area shifts, language and dialects shift with it. Despite this, the enduring nature of these dialects indicate the presence of a permanent and unmoving population. Due to the transient nature of modern life and the way in which we move to and from these small communes, many of these small accents, dialects, and overhangs of the past are disappearing slowly. Therefore, using words such as ‘ cob ’ and ‘ jitty ’ becomes a badge of local identity and belonging. They become a commonality and a shared history that is maintained through speech; and they are culturally important in order to maintain societal links that are quickly becoming disparate. About the Author Related Articles Falling for Autumn: why are autumn traditions in the US so at odds with the weather? Eleanor Curtis A Rose By Any Other Name: ‘Cobs’ and ‘Jitties’, ‘Barms’ and ‘Ginnels’ Eleanor Curtis Copyright free images via Unsplash. For more content, follow us on Instagram , and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to join the Lingo Team. Have an article ready to send in? Submit it here . Tags: cob dialect identity local England Eleanor Curtis Categories: Language and Linguistics Thought Piece Share: Let us know what you think 3.0 150 Article ratings average rating is 3 out of 5, based on 150 votes, Article ratings WRITE A COMMENT Thanks for submitting a comment! LOAD MORE