Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

The Oh! Verb

As Radio 3 visits Hull for its Uproot festival, Ian McMillan celebrates vowels and explores goat-fronting, an increasingly popular way to pronounce 'go' and 'no' in the city.

The Verb celebrates vowels, in particular 'O' and the exclamation 'Oh!'. As Radio 3 visits Hull for its Uproot festival, Ian delves into the phenomenon of 'goat-fronting', an increasingly popular way to pronounce 'go' and 'no' in the city.

Joanna Neary
Comedian Joanna Neary brings the sighs, and the 'ohs' of her beloved character, Celia Jesson (otherwise know as 'repressed housewife') to The Verb studio, with a piece entitled 'Oh !'.

Daljit Nagra
The poet Daljit Nagra reads from his new collection 'British Museum'. For Daljit, there is a big contrast between the self-reserved English poetic 'o', and the Indian 'O', which is an exclamation from the heart.

Professor Clive Upton
As part of Radio 3's Uproot festival we celebrate Hull with an exploration of one of the most distinctive aspects of the East Yorkshire accent, called 'goat-fronting' (it's when the vowel in words such as goat is articulated with the main body of the tongue pushed further forward in the mouth than is the case with a more traditional Yorkshire pronunciation). The linguist Clive Upton delves into the theories behind Hull's vowel sounds and also brings his expertise on 'Received Pronunciation' to the Verb studio .

Vicky Foster
Hull based poet Vicky Foster is so proud of her hometown that she's written the poetic love-letter 'Why I Love Where I live'. Vicky's poem also celebrates Hull's distinctive vowels.

Adriana Jacobs
The vowel is not represented in everyday Hebrew - though small diacritical marks are usually used to indicate vowels in Hebrew poetry. So why is it political statement to remove these marks, and what happens when a poet only uses these marks, and avoids using consonants altogether? Adriana Jacobs reads us a poem that is all vowel...

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 7 Apr 2017 22:00

Clip

Joanna Neary

Joanna Neary

Joanna's character Celia is based on Celia Johnson’s interpretation of the  Laura Jesson character in David Lean’s classic 1945 film ‘Brief Encounter’, Joanna explains which phrases helped her unlock Celia’s vowels.

Daljit Nagra

Daljit Nagra
Daljit Nagra's collection 'British Museum' will be published in May by Faber.

Professor Clive Upton

Professor Clive Upton
Professor Clive Upton is Emeritus Professor of Modern English Language at the University of Leeds.

Vicky Foster

Vicky Foster
Vicky Foster's debut collection 'Changing Tides' is out now from The Kings England Press

Adriana Jacobs

Adriana Jacobs
Adriana Jacobs is an associate professor teaching Modern Hebrew Literature at The University of Oxford’s Oriental Institute.

Broadcast

  • Fri 7 Apr 2017 22:00

Featured in...

The Verb: Something New – The Poems

The Verb: Something New – The Poems

New poems commissioned by The Verb for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ centenary.

35 Years of Spoken Word

35 Years of Spoken Word

A season of Poetry and Performance from Hull.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Arts

Explore the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Arts website and discover the best of British art and culture.

The Dylan Thomas Collection

Listen to programmes, poetry readings and commentary from Radio 3's Dylan Thomas Day.

Podcast