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| |  | Stella Roberts
Born: 18 January 1936
Lives: Rhosllanerchrugog, Wrecsam (Wrexham)
Time lived in area: All my life
Occupation: Retired teacher and headmistress |
Stella recounts an entertaining story from her childhood, involving a misunderstood English phrase.
Language of interview: Welsh
Duration: 01:45 (mins/secs)
The participants were asked to describe how they spoke in their own words.
How do you describe your accent: "Welsh language accent - unique and special."
Have there been other influences on the way you speak: Not Given
Do you have skills in languages other than English?: Yes
Other languages: English, Welsh
(NB a translation not a transcript) STELLA: Because we lived in the area of Rhosllanerchrugog, and therefore,not too far from Wrexham and Chester, and being so close to the border, we did as children get - BUDDUG: - hear more English -STELLA: Got to hear a lot of English, yes, since we were children. But we didn't speak much English at home, we weren't allowed to. ANN: No, at home it was Welsh we spoke wasn't it? PAMELA: Well, I didn't speak any English at home. STELLA: And I remember my father, a long time ago, used to work with this man, and his daughter was a member of the Girl Guides, and she lived somewhere in Wrexham, and I don't remember the occasion, only that this girl had come to our house for tea, and the house we lived in, there was an old shop at the front of the house, nobody used the shop, but we were allowed to go into the shop to play. We played Tarzan and things, and we'd slang on the . . . erm, on the gas mantles and things. INTERVIEWER: And what did you do on the gas mantles? STELLA: Slang - BUDDUG: Slang - STELLA: Slang ... yes? Slang on the gas mantles and things, and then I thought to myself, she used to come in this uniform, in the Guides uniform, she didn't speak any Welsh at all, and I didn't speak much English... Playing weddings now in the house, and then we'd put net curtains on our heads, and then, I remember well, my brother Merfyn was the minister, and he said: "Will you take this man to be your awful wedding saucepan"! Confusing the wedded ... lawful wedded husband - BUDDUG: Saucepan, yes! STELLA: Awful wedding saucepan, yes.
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