Tony Crowley is Hartley Burr Alexander Chair in the Humanities, Scripps College.
Thoroughly researched using an impressive range of sources from antiquarian to contemporary creative writing; and written with fluency and authority. This is the nearest thing to a definitive history of scouse. An enthralling book... Tony Crowley has written a book many of us have wanted to read for a long time. Can there be an archaeology of sound? Tony Crowley raids newspapers, journals, letters and his own memories in an attempt to trace the history of a manner of speaking. In doing so he tells the story of the rise and fall of a whole city, a way of life. This is an eccentric, creative, quixotic, scholarly and ultimately emotional book that is unlike anything else I've ever read. Paddy Shennan talks to Tony Crowley, the author of a new book about the language of Liverpool THERE will always be more questions than answers regarding this city, its people and their use of language," says Dingle-born author and academic Tony Crowley. But he's tried to answer a lot of them in his new book Scouse: A Social and Cultural History. So why are so many people so interested in the way Liverpool people speak, and what they say? Tony says: "It's a fascinating subject in a number of ways. First, 'Scouse' (although I prefer 'the language of Liverpool') is highly unusual from a linguistic point of view - just think of the sharp change which takes place when you get just a few miles away from Liverpool city centre. "Second, the language is of genuine interest to people from the city because it reflects and embodies the histories, traditions and cultural practices which have emerged in this place over the past couple of hundred years (both in terms of the accent and the words used here). "Third, I think people outside Liverpool are fascinated by its language (even when they despise it), because it's been an important vehicle for the development of British popular culture within the past 60 years or so. It's had an important role, representing itself and understanding itself through TV in particular. Think for example of the series that have featured Liverpool and its language - from Z-Cars to Brookside (not to mention the influence of the music scene)." Without giving too much away, Tony believes there are three particularly striking things which came out of his research. They are, he explains: "The existence of a distinctive form of language in Liverpool in the 18th century; the fact that no one used the term 'Scouse' to refer to the language of Liverpool before the early 1950s and the histories of words - for example, 'babsky' meant 'a windswept part of Liverpool' in Liverpool seamen's slang in the late 19th century, while 'jigger' (or 'gyger') was first recorded in a dictionary in 1567 and meant 'door' - probably derived from the Welsh 'gwddor', meaning 'gate'." Tony, 51, studied and taught at Oxford and has also taught at Southampton and Manchester universities, while he is currently Chair in the Humanities at Scripps College in California, having also lectured in Spain, France, Germany, Canada and China. But despite having left Liverpool at 17 he returns regularly - and yes, he does still have a Scouse accent! And as he lives outside the city, he perhaps has a clearer perspective on some of its aspects. Regarding the frequent claims made that the city is somehow separate from the rest of the UK, the author says: "I think that gives too much away to the little Englanders who'd like the country to be a reflection of Chipping Norton or, dare it be said, London. Liverpool is actually at the heart of English history - and it has played a significant role in global history including Irish, Welsh, Scottish, American, Latin American and African history. I laugh when people say Liverpool isn't in England - you'd have to erase an awful lot of English history to make that true!" Earlier this year, the ECHO asked readers about the changing "Mersey sound" and Tony says: "I thought that was fascinating. Some of the changes are simply alterations of pronunciation - like 'lid' for 'lad' (and remember 'la' is a form of 'lad' too). But there were new words which I hadn't heard or seen before. That's normal though - language changes, but the strange thing is why change is often cast in terms of degeneration rather than simply an evolving process in which things are tried out - some of which catch on, others of which don't. "My research shows that the language of Liverpool has been changing constantly over the past 200 years or so - it would be odd if that stopped now!" In a previous ECHO series - This Is My City - many well-known Liverpool people said they now disliked the word 'Scouser' because it was often used as an insult. Tony says: "My research indicates that 'Scouser' was probably a naval term of the late 19th century for Liverpudlians which was extended through forces's a fascinating subject in a number of ways. First, 'Scouse' (although I prefer 'the language of Liverpool') is highly unusual from a linguistic point of view - just think of the sharp change which takes place when you get just a few miles away from Liverpool city centre. "Second, the language is of genuine interest to people from the city because it reflects and embodies the histories, traditions and cultural practices which have emerged in this place over the past couple of hundred years (both in terms of the accent and the words used here). "Third, I think people outside Liverpool are fascinated by its language (even when they despise it), because it's been an important vehicle for the development of British popular culture within the past 60 years or so. It's had an important role, representing itself and understanding itself through TV in particular. Think for example of the series that have featured Liverpool and its language - from Z-Cars to Brookside (not to mention the influence of the music scene)." Without giving too much away, Tony believes there are three particularly striking things which came out of his research. They are, he explains: "The existence of a distinctive form of language in Liverpool in the 18th century; the fact that no one used the term 'Scouse' to refer to the language of Liverpool before the early 1950s and the histories of words - for example, 'babsky' meant 'a windswept part of Liverpool' in Liverpool seamen's slang in the late 19th century, while 'jigger' (or 'gyger') was first recorded in a dictionary in 1567 and meant 'door' - probably derived from the Welsh 'gwddor', meaning 'gate'." Tony, 51, studied and taught at Oxford and has also taught at Southampton and Manchester universities, while he is currently Chair in the Humanities at Scripps College in California, having also lectured in Spain, France, Germany, Canada and China. But despite having left Liverpool at 17 he returns regularly - and yes, he does still have a Scouse accent! And as he lives outside the city, he perhaps has a clearer perspective on some of its aspects. Regarding the frequent claims made that the city is somehow separate from the rest of the UK, the author says: "I think that gives too much away to the little Englanders who'd like the country to be a reflection of Chipping Norton or, dare it be said, London. Liverpool is actually at the heart of English history - and it has played a significant role in global history including Irish, Welsh, Scottish, American, Latin American and African history. I laugh when people say Liverpool isn't in England - you'd have to erase an awful lot of English history to make that true!" Earlier this year, the ECHO asked readers about the changing "Mersey sound" and Tony says: "I thought that was fascinating. Some of the changes are simply alterations of pronunciation - like 'lid' for 'lad' (and remember 'la' is a form of 'lad' too). But there were new words which I hadn't heard or seen before. That's normal though - language changes, but the strange thing is why change is often cast in terms of degeneration rather than simply an evolving process in which things are tried out - some of which catch on, others of which don't. "My research shows that the language of Liverpool has been changing constantly over the past 200 years or so - it would be odd if that stopped now!" In a previous ECHO series - This Is My City - many well-known Liverpool people said they now disliked the word 'Scouser' because it was often used as an insult. Tony says: "My research indicates that 'Scouser' was probably a naval term of the late 19th century for Liverpudlians which was extended through forces' slang in the early to mid-20th century. When it was used in Liverpool in the early 20th century, it more or less meant the poorest of the poor - and it carried negative, often insulting, associations right up to the 1950s. "Interestingly, 'Scouser' is used before 'Scouse' (in the sense of a form of language). After that both 'Scouser' and 'Scouse' (language) became products of a 'Scouse industry', and the picture changed for a while in a positive way. I think it's right though that 'Scouser' often has negative associations now, though this can vary. But somehow I doubt we'll be returning to 'Dicky Sam', 'Liverpolitan' or 'Wacker' (although 'Wacker' only seems to have been dropped in the 1970s, possibly later) - to say nothing of the 17th century names 'Liverpoldons' and 'Leeirpooltonians'." As for answering more of those questions about Liverpool and its language, Tony says: "There is a lot more to work on - my follow-up book is a glossary of Liverpool English, from the 1850s to the present, and you'd be surprised just how many words there are which are specific to Liverpool." Scouse: A Social and Cultural History by Tony Crowley (GBP16.99) is published by Liverpool University Press (www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk). It's being launched with a lecture by Tony at the Museum of Liverpool at 6.30pm next Tuesday, October 16 - free admission. Then, at 7pm on Wednesday October 17 at The Liverpool One Bridewell, he will be discussing the book with Frank Cottrell Boyce. Admission GBP3, with a drink included. It's hard to think of an accent which comes with quite such a stew of associations as does Scouse. Whatever it's saying, it seems, that distinctive voice also communicates some combination of chirpy humour; chippy aggression; friendliness; a propensity to idleness; an over-developed sense of grievance; an under-developed one of mine and thine. Tony Crowley's searching book starts with a rigorous study of historic sources, their modern interpretations and the insights of contemporary linguistic theory. The conventional view has been that, in the 1840s, a warm front of Irish immigration (bringing with it squalls of spontaneity, sentimentality and good humour) came up against an unyielding mass of Lancashire grittiness, rough and dour. So superficially appealing has this explanation been that it's gone largely unquestioned until now, even by serious historians. Crowley places the emergence of a distinctive Liverpool accent a great deal earlier - but that of "Scouse" as comparatively recent. In doing so, he opens up much wider questions of place, class and identity; of how people are seen and come to see themselves. Tony Crowley's searching book starts with a rigorous study of historic sources, their modern interpretations and the insights of contemporary linguistic theory. The conventional view has been that, in the 1840s, a warm front of Irish immigration came up against an unyielding mass of Lancashire grittiness, rough and dour. So superficially appealing has this explanation been that it's gone largely unquestioned until now, even by serious historians. Crowley places the emergence of a distinctive Liverpool accent a great deal earlier - but that of "Scouse" as comparatively recent. In doing so, he opens up much wider questions of place, class and identity; of how people are seen and come to see themselves. Scouse offers a compelling account of how a city's identity is formed through its language, drawing on a rich range of sources and generating a wealth of unexpected insights.
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