Quote:
Originally Posted by crich70
I remember reading somewhere that back in the old days (before the railroads and canals) the differences in accents etc. in different parts of England were so large that once when some sailors were shipwrecked some 50 miles from London the local people thought they were from a foreign country and possibly spies or something. Seems hard to believe today but I guess in the past when people didn't move about so much such was commonplace.
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I read that story in Bill Bryson's
Mother Tongue (interesting read by the way if you're at all interested in language and the differences between UK and American English).
From memory, the sailors asked for 'egges' and were totally misunderstood by the lady they spoke to (in Kent, about 50 miles from London, as you said), as the word she used for eggs was 'eyren'. I believe that, as well as the relatively static nature of the people at that time, the language was going through a period of change as well.