Cornish accent is dying out because so many rich outsiders are moving to the area, language expert fears
- The distinctive Cornish accent sees the ‘r’ sound after vowel extended as in ‘car’
- It’s said to be basis for how Americans speak after 17th Century Pilgrim Fathers
- Linguistics expert Dr Lucy Ellis, of Exeter University, said the ‘r’ is being diluted
- This comes as people who speak with more standard English accents move in
The Cornish accent made famous by TV drama Poldark is dying out as wealthy newcomers move to the county, an expert has warned.
The distinctive accent, which sees the ‘r’ sound after a vowel extended as in ‘car’, is said to be the basis for how Americans speak after the Pilgrim Fathers, who helped to found the US, set off from the West Country.
Dr Lucy Ellis, a linguistics expert said that the rhotic ‘r’ is slowly dying out as Cornwall changes with the generations and social migration.
The Cornish accent made famous by TV drama Poldark (pictured) is dying out as wealthy newcomers move to the county, an expert has warned
The distinctive accent, which sees the ‘r’ sound after a vowel extended as in ‘car’, is said to be the basis for how Americans speak after the Pilgrim Fathers, who helped to found the US, set off from the West Country
More and more people have moved into Cornwall over the years meaning characteristics like the rhotic ‘r’ which make the Cornish accent have been diluted.
Dr Ellis, an honorary research fellow at the University of Exeter’s College of Humanities, said: ‘Rhoticity is the critical factor of the Cornish accent.
‘It’s also a critical part of American-English and Caribbean English.’
‘Not necessarily but there is a theory that the Pilgrim Fathers may have started the American accent.
‘They would have had a strong rhotic accent.’
She added the rolling rhotic ‘r’ is disappearing from some parts of Cornwall.