137-466: Caen ( UK : / ˈ k ɒ̃ ˈ k ɒ n / ; French: [kɑ̃] ; Norman : Kaem ) is a commune 15 km (9.3 mi) inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados . The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (as of 2018), while its functional urban area has 470,000, making Caen the second largest urban area in Normandy and
274-638: A French army commanded by King Philip VI and an English army led by King Edward III . The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France during the Hundred Years' War , resulting in an English victory and heavy loss of life among the French. The English army had landed in the Cotentin Peninsula on 12 July. It had burnt a path of destruction through some of
411-559: A century as Received Pronunciation (RP). However, due to language evolution and changing social trends, some linguists argue that RP is losing prestige or has been replaced by another accent, one that the linguist Geoff Lindsey for instance calls Standard Southern British English. Others suggest that more regionally-oriented standard accents are emerging in England. Even in Scotland and Northern Ireland, RP exerts little influence in
548-508: A greater movement, normally [əʊ], [əʉ] or [əɨ]. Dropping a morphological grammatical number , in collective nouns , is stronger in British English than North American English. This is to treat them as plural when once grammatically singular, a perceived natural number prevails, especially when applying to institutional nouns and groups of people. The noun 'police', for example, undergoes this treatment: Police are investigating
685-457: A hybrid tongue for basic communication). The more idiomatic, concrete and descriptive English is, the more it is from Anglo-Saxon origins. The more intellectual and abstract English is, the more it contains Latin and French influences, e.g. swine (like the Germanic schwein ) is the animal in the field bred by the occupied Anglo-Saxons and pork (like the French porc ) is the animal at
822-578: A large collection of examples of regional slang words and phrases turned up by the "Voices project" run by the BBC , in which they invited the public to send in examples of English still spoken throughout the country. The BBC Voices project also collected hundreds of news articles about how the British speak English from swearing through to items on language schools. This information will also be collated and analysed by Johnson's team both for content and for where it
959-406: A lesser class or social status and often discounted or considered of a low intelligence. Another contribution to the standardisation of British English was the introduction of the printing press to England in the mid-15th century. In doing so, William Caxton enabled a common language and spelling to be dispersed among the entirety of England at a much faster rate. Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of
1096-468: A military power was established in an evening's hard fighting." Edward ended the campaign by laying siege to Calais , which fell after eleven months, the Battle of Crécy having crippled the French army's ability to relieve the town. This secured an English entrepôt into northern France which was held for two hundred years. The battle established the effectiveness of the longbow as a dominant weapon on
1233-423: A minute to a shorter effective range than a longbowman of about 200 metres (220 yd). Edward deployed his army in a carefully selected position, facing south east on a sloping hillside, broken by copses and terracing , at Crécy-en-Ponthieu. This was in an area which Edward had inherited from his mother and well known to several of the English; it has been suggested that the position had long been considered
1370-641: A museum dedicated to peace, the Mémorial de Caen . The first references to the name of Caen are found in different acts of the dukes of Normandy : Cadon 1021/1025, Cadumus 1025, Cathim 1026/1027. Year 1070 of the Parker manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle refers to Caen as Kadum , and year 1086 of the Laud manuscript gives the name as Caþum . Despite a lack of sources as to the origin of
1507-678: A prince-bishop, a duke and three counts led entourages from non-French territories. Since Philip came to the throne, French armies had included an increasing proportion of crossbowmen. As there were few archers in France, they were usually recruited from abroad, typically Genoa; their foreign origin led to them frequently being labelled mercenaries. They were professional soldiers and in battle were protected from missiles by pavises – very large shields with their own bearers, behind each of which three crossbowmen could shelter. A trained crossbowman could shoot his weapon approximately twice
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#17327811632861644-659: A process called T-glottalisation . National media, being based in London, have seen the glottal stop spreading more widely than it once was in word endings, not being heard as "no [ʔ] " and bottle of water being heard as "bo [ʔ] le of wa [ʔ] er". It is still stigmatised when used at the beginning and central positions, such as later , while often has all but regained /t/ . Other consonants subject to this usage in Cockney English are p , as in pa [ʔ] er and k as in ba [ʔ] er. In most areas of England and Wales, outside
1781-545: A single umbrella variety, for instance additionally incorporating Scottish English , Welsh English , and Northern Irish English . Tom McArthur in the Oxford Guide to World English acknowledges that British English shares "all the ambiguities and tensions [with] the word 'British' and as a result can be used and interpreted in two ways, more broadly or more narrowly, within a range of blurring and ambiguity". Variations exist in formal (both written and spoken) English in
1918-611: A suitable site for a battle. The left flank was anchored against Wadicourt , while the right was protected by Crécy itself and the River Maye beyond. This made it difficult for the French to outflank them. The position had a ready line of retreat in the event that the English were defeated or put under intolerable pressure. While waiting for the French to catch up with them, the English dug pits in front of their positions, intended to disorder attacking cavalry, and set up several primitive gunpowder weapons. Edward wished to provoke
2055-428: A tidal ford named Blanchetaque . The far bank was defended by a force of 3,500 French. English longbowmen and mounted men-at-arms waded into the tidal river and after a short, sharp fight routed the French. The main French army had followed the English, and their scouts captured some stragglers and several wagons, but Edward had broken free of immediate pursuit. Such was the French confidence that Edward would not ford
2192-473: A total of 30,000 killed or captured. The modern historian Alfred Burne estimates 10,000 infantry, as "a pure guess", for a total of 12,000 French dead. The result of the battle is described by Clifford Rogers as "a total victory for the English", and by Ayton as "unprecedented" and "a devastating military humiliation". Sumption considers it "a political catastrophe for the French Crown". The battle
2329-526: A whirlwind campaign through Gascony at the head of an Anglo-Gascon army. He heavily defeated two large French armies at the battles of Bergerac and Auberoche , captured more than 100 French towns and fortifications in Périgord and Agenais and gave the English possessions in Gascony strategic depth . In March 1346 a French army numbering between 15,000 and 20,000, "enormously superior" to any force
2466-579: Is CN . British English British English (abbreviations: BrE , en-GB , and BE ) is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England , or, more broadly, to the collective dialects of English throughout the British Isles taken as
2603-725: Is also due to London-centric influences. Examples of R-dropping are car and sugar , where the R is not pronounced. British dialects differ on the extent of diphthongisation of long vowels, with southern varieties extensively turning them into diphthongs, and with northern dialects normally preserving many of them. As a comparison, North American varieties could be said to be in-between. Long vowels /iː/ and /uː/ are usually preserved, and in several areas also /oː/ and /eː/, as in go and say (unlike other varieties of English, that change them to [oʊ] and [eɪ] respectively). Some areas go as far as not diphthongising medieval /iː/ and /uː/, that give rise to modern /aɪ/ and /aʊ/; that is, for example, in
2740-411: Is based on British English, but has more influence from American English , often grouped together due to their close proximity. British English, for example, is the closest English to Indian English, but Indian English has extra vocabulary and some English words are assigned different meanings. Battle of Cr%C3%A9cy The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between
2877-593: Is essentially region-less. It derives from a mixture of the Midlands and Southern dialects spoken in London in the early modern period. It is frequently used as a model for teaching English to foreign learners. In the South East, there are significantly different accents; the Cockney accent spoken by some East Londoners is strikingly different from Received Pronunciation (RP). Cockney rhyming slang can be (and
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#17327811632863014-740: Is included in style guides issued by various publishers including The Times newspaper, the Oxford University Press and the Cambridge University Press . The Oxford University Press guidelines were originally drafted as a single broadsheet page by Horace Henry Hart, and were at the time (1893) the first guide of their type in English; they were gradually expanded and eventually published, first as Hart's Rules , and in 2002 as part of The Oxford Manual of Style . Comparable in authority and stature to The Chicago Manual of Style for published American English ,
3151-621: Is itself broadly grouped into Southern English , West Country , East and West Midlands English and Northern English ), Northern Irish English (in Northern Ireland), Welsh English (not to be confused with the Welsh language ), and Scottish English (not to be confused with the Scots language or Scottish Gaelic ). Each group includes a range of dialects, some markedly different from others. The various British dialects also differ in
3288-461: Is no record of any prisoners being taken until the next day, after the battle. Fresh forces of French cavalry moved into position at the foot of the hill and repeated Alençon's charge. They had the same problems as Alençon's force, with the added disadvantage that the ground they were advancing over was littered with dead and wounded horses and men. Ayton and Preston write of "long mounds of fallen warhorses and men ... add[ing] significantly to
3425-508: Is somewhat ameliorated due to its slightly inland position. In spite of this, summers are still cool by French standards and the climate is typically maritime in terms of high precipitation, relatively modest sunshine hours and mild winters. The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Caen proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Caen absorbed the former commune of Venoix in 1952. The castle, Château de Caen , built c. 1060 by William
3562-506: Is the home of the Baroque musical ensemble Les Arts Florissants . The organization was founded by conductor William Christie in 1979 and derives its name from the 1685 opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier . Caen was the birthplace or origin of: Caen is twinned with: From 1947 to 2006, Caen was a stage of the Tour de France a total of 15 times. Further, Caen was one of the hosts of
3699-477: Is too few and that English deaths might have numbered around three hundred. To date, only two Englishmen killed at the battle have been identified; two English knights were also taken prisoner, although it is unclear at what stage in the battle this happened. The French casualties are considered to have been very high. According to a count made by the English heralds after the battle, the bodies of 1,542 French noble men-at-arms were found (perhaps not including
3836-547: The Chambers Dictionary , and the Collins Dictionary record actual usage rather than attempting to prescribe it. In addition, vocabulary and usage change with time; words are freely borrowed from other languages and other varieties of English, and neologisms are frequent. For historical reasons dating back to the rise of London in the ninth century, the form of language spoken in London and
3973-542: The Benedictine Abbey of Sainte-Trinité, Caen around the same time, eventually being buried in the abbey. Caen succeeded Bayeux as the capital of Lower Normandy , complementing the second ducal capital of Rouen . Caen fell to Philip II of France on 21 May 1204, and was incorporated along with the remainder of Normandy into the Kingdom of France. In 1346, King Edward III of England led his army against
4110-574: The Black Country , or if he was a Scouser he would have been well "made up" over so many spondoolicks, because as a Geordie might say, £460,000 is a "canny load of chink". Most people in Britain speak with a regional accent or dialect. However, about 2% of Britons speak with an accent called Received Pronunciation (also called "the King's English", "Oxford English" and " BBC English" ), that
4247-613: The Caen Guided Light Transit ( French : TVR de Caen but known locally as the "tram"), a guided trolleybus network which operated from 2002 to 2017, which was closed due to reliability issues. The city previously had a tramway which operated from 1860 to 1937. Caen also had several main and branch railway lines linking Caen railway station ( French : Gare de Caen ) to all parts of Normandy with lines to Paris , Vire , Flers , Cabourg , Houlgate , Deauville , Saint-Lô , Bayeux and Cherbourg . Now
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4384-507: The Earl of Arundel , with 800 men-at-arms and 1,200 archers. Behind them, the King commanded the reserve battle, with 700 men-at-arms and 2,000 archers. Each division was composed of men-at-arms in the centre, all on foot, with ranks of spearmen immediately behind them, and with longbowmen on each flank and in a skirmish line to their front. Many of the longbowmen were concealed in small woods, or by lying down in ripe wheat. The baggage train
4521-603: The East Midlands became standard English within the Court, and ultimately became the basis for generally accepted use in the law, government, literature and education in Britain. The standardisation of British English is thought to be from both dialect levelling and a thought of social superiority. Speaking in the Standard dialect created class distinctions; those who did not speak the standard English would be considered of
4658-623: The EuroBasket 1983 . The city has a football team, SM Caen , who as of 2024 are owned by superstar footballer Kylian Mbappé . The Drakkars de Caen play ice hockey in the FFHG Division 1 . In 2014, Caen was the location of the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games . Current arms: Gules, a single-towered open castle Or, windowed and masoned sable. Under the Ancien Régime : Per fess, gules and azure, 3 fleurs de lys Or. During
4795-580: The First French Empire : Gules, a single-towered castle Or, a chief of Good Imperial Cities (gules, 3 bees Or). Today, Caen has no motto, but it used to have one, which did not survive the French Revolution . As a result, its spelling is archaic and has not been updated: Un Dieu, un Roy, une Foy, une Loy. (One God, one King, one Faith, one Law.) This motto is reflected in a notable old Chant royal . Caen's home port code
4932-563: The Pays d'Auge , Caen is often considered the archetype of Normandy. Caen is known for its historical buildings built during the reign of William the Conqueror , who was buried there, and for the Battle for Caen , heavy fighting that took place in and around Caen during the Battle of Normandy in 1944, destroying much of the city. The city has now preserved the memory by erecting a memorial and
5069-520: The Roman occupation. This group of languages ( Welsh , Cornish , Cumbric ) cohabited alongside English into the modern period, but due to their remoteness from the Germanic languages , influence on English was notably limited . However, the degree of influence remains debated, and it has recently been argued that its grammatical influence accounts for the substantial innovations noted between English and
5206-642: The Romance branch of the European languages. This Norman influence entered English largely through the courts and government. Thus, English developed into a "borrowing" language of great flexibility and with a huge vocabulary . Dialects and accents vary amongst the four countries of the United Kingdom , as well as within the countries themselves. The major divisions are normally classified as English English (or English as spoken in England (which
5343-493: The Royal Spanish Academy with Spanish. Standard British English differs notably in certain vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation features from standard American English and certain other standard English varieties around the world. British and American spelling also differ in minor ways. The accent, or pronunciation system, of standard British English, based in southeastern England, has been known for over
5480-610: The West Country and other near-by counties of the UK, the consonant R is not pronounced if not followed by a vowel, lengthening the preceding vowel instead. This phenomenon is known as non-rhoticity . In these same areas, a tendency exists to insert an R between a word ending in a vowel and a next word beginning with a vowel. This is called the intrusive R . It could be understood as a merger, in that words that once ended in an R and words that did not are no longer treated differently. This
5617-405: The chivalric ideals held by knights of the time, since nobles would have preferred to die in battle, rather than dishonourably flee the field, especially in view of their fellow knights. No reliable figures exist for losses among the common French soldiery, although they were also considered to have been heavy. Jean Le Bel estimated 15,000–16,000. Froissart writes that the French army suffered
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5754-607: The 19th largest in France. It is also the third largest commune in all of Normandy after Le Havre and Rouen . It is located 200 km (120 mi) northwest of Paris, connected to the South of England by the Caen ( Ouistreham ) to Portsmouth ferry route through the English Channel . Situated a few miles from the coast, the landing beaches, the bustling resorts of Deauville and Cabourg , as well as Norman Switzerland and
5891-629: The 21st century. RP, while long established as the standard English accent around the globe due to the spread of the British Empire , is distinct from the standard English pronunciation in some parts of the world; most prominently, RP notably contrasts with standard North American accents. In the 21st century, dictionaries like the Oxford English Dictionary , the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English ,
6028-454: The 31st. On 7 August, the English reached the Seine, 12 miles (19 km) south of Rouen, and turned south-east. By 12 August, Edward's army was encamped at Poissy , 20 miles (30 km) from Paris, having left a 20-mile-wide swathe of destruction down the left bank of the Seine, burning villages to within 2 miles (3 km) of Paris. Philip's army marched parallel to the English on
6165-632: The A84 is a toll-free motorway. The city is encircled by the N814 ring-road (Boulevard Périphérique) that was completed in the late 1990s. The N13 connects Caen to Cherbourg and to Paris. A section of the former N13 (Caen-Paris) is now D613 (in Calvados) following road renumbering. The Boulevard Périphérique includes a viaduct called the Viaduc de Calix that goes over the canal and River Orne . The canal links
6302-623: The Anglo-Gascons could field, including all the military officers of the royal household, and commanded by John, Duke of Normandy , the son and heir of Philip VI, marched on Gascony. They besieged the strategically and logistically important town of Aiguillon . On 2 April the arrière-ban , the formal call to arms for all able-bodied males, was announced for the south of France. French financial, logistical and manpower efforts were focused on this offensive. Derby, now Lancaster, sent an urgent appeal for help to Edward. Edward
6439-470: The British Second Army fought the battle of Caen to dislodge German forces from the city. During the battle, Allied bombing raids heavily damaged the city and caused numerous French civilian casualties. After the battle, little of prewar Caen remained, and reconstruction efforts in the city continued until 1962. Postwar work included the reconstruction of complete districts of the city and
6576-502: The Conqueror, who successfully conquered England in 1066, is one of the largest medieval fortresses of Western Europe. It remained an essential feature of Norman strategy and policy. At Christmas 1182, a royal court celebration for Christmas in the aula of Caen Castle brought together Henry II and his sons, Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland , receiving more than a thousand knights. Caen Castle, along with all of Normandy,
6713-836: The English Language (1755) was a large step in the English-language spelling reform , where the purification of language focused on standardising both speech and spelling. By the early 20th century, British authors had produced numerous books intended as guides to English grammar and usage, a few of which achieved sufficient acclaim to have remained in print for long periods and to have been reissued in new editions after some decades. These include, most notably of all, Fowler's Modern English Usage and The Complete Plain Words by Sir Ernest Gowers . Detailed guidance on many aspects of writing British English for publication
6850-452: The English again. The English army comprised almost exclusively English and Welsh soldiers, along with a handful of Normans disaffected with Philip VI and a few German mercenaries, the foreigners constituting probably no more than 150 in number. The exact size and composition of the English force is not known. Contemporary estimates vary widely; for example Froissart 's third version of his Chronicles more than doubles his estimate in
6987-411: The English and Welsh archers was unique to them; it took up to ten years to master and could discharge up to ten arrows per minute well over 300 metres (980 ft). A computer analysis in 2017 demonstrated that heavy bodkin point arrows could penetrate typical plate armour of the time at 225 metres (738 ft). The depth of penetration would be slight at that range; predicted penetration increased as
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#17327811632867124-465: The English army. The French men-at-arms were equipped similarly to the English. They were mounted on entirely unarmoured horses and carried wooden lances, usually ash, tipped with iron and approximately 4 metres (13 ft) long. Many of the men-at-arms in the French army were foreigners: many joined individually out of a spirit of adventure and the attractive rates of pay offered. Others were in contingents contributed by Philip's allies: three kings,
7261-468: The English could develop. Italian casualties in this phase of the battle were probably light. The knights and nobles following in Alençon's division, hampered by the routed mercenaries, hacked at them as they retreated. By most contemporary accounts the crossbowmen were considered cowards at best and more likely traitors, and many of them were killed by the French. The clash of the retreating Genoese and
7398-404: The English longbowmen in an archery duel. The longbowmen outranged their opponents and had a rate of fire more than three times greater. The crossbowmen were also without their protective pavises, which were still with the French baggage, as were their reserve supplies of ammunition. The mud also impeded their ability to reload, which required them to press the stirrups of their weapons into
7535-482: The English position, a council of war was held where the senior French officials, who were completely confident of victory, advised an attack, but not until the next day. The army was tired from a 12-mile march, and needed to reorganise so as to be able to attack in strength. It was also known that the Count of Savoy , with more than 500 men-at-arms, was marching to join the French and was nearby. (He intercepted some of
7672-523: The Flemings shortly after crossing the Somme. The ships which were expected to be waiting off Crotoy were nowhere to be seen. Edward decided to engage Philip's army with the force he had. Having temporarily shaken off the French pursuit, he used the respite to prepare a defensive position at Crécy-en-Ponthieu . The French returned to Abbeville, crossed the Somme at the bridge there, and doggedly set off after
7809-465: The French army melting away from the battlefield. The English slept where they had fought. The next morning substantial French forces were still arriving on the battlefield, to be charged by the English men-at-arms, now mounted, routed and pursued for miles. Their losses alone were reported as several thousand, including the Duke of Lorraine. Meanwhile, a few wounded or stunned Frenchmen were pulled from
7946-437: The French army, which greatly outnumbered the English, attacked. During a brief archery duel a large force of French mercenary crossbowmen was routed by Welsh and English longbowmen . The French then launched a series of cavalry charges by their mounted knights . These were disordered by their impromptu nature, by having to force their way through the fleeing crossbowmen, by the muddy ground, by having to charge uphill, and by
8083-409: The French into a mounted charge uphill against his solid infantry formations of dismounted men-at-arms, backed by Welsh spearmen and flanked by archers. The army had been in position since dawn, and so was rested and well-fed, giving them an advantage over the French, who did not rest before the battle. Having decisively defeated a large French detachment two days before, the English troops' morale
8220-536: The French made significant inroads in attritional warfare. In early 1345 Edward attempted another campaign in the north; his main army sailed on 29 June and anchored off Sluys in Flanders until 22 July, while Edward attended to diplomatic affairs. When it sailed, probably intending to land in Normandy , it was scattered by a storm. There were further delays and it proved impossible to take any action with this force before winter. Meanwhile, Henry, Earl of Derby , led
8357-491: The French survivors the day after the battle). Despite this advice, the French attacked later the same afternoon; it is unclear from the contemporary sources whether this was a deliberate choice by Philip, or because too many of the French knights kept pressing forward and the battle commenced against his wishes. Philip's plan was to use the long-range missiles of his crossbowmen to soften up the English infantry and disorder, and possibly dishearten, their formations, so as to allow
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#17327811632868494-622: The Gaulish roots magos meaning 'field' and catu meaning 'combat'. It remained a minor settlement throughout the Roman period and began to see major development commence in the 10th century, under the patronage of the Dukes of Normandy. Around 1060, William the Conqueror began construction of the Château de Caen , which became the centre of the ducal court. Duchess Matilda of Flanders also founded
8631-922: The Oxford Manual is a fairly exhaustive standard for published British English that writers can turn to in the absence of specific guidance from their publishing house. British English is the basis of, and very similar to, Commonwealth English . Commonwealth English is English as spoken and written in the Commonwealth countries , though often with some local variation. This includes English spoken in Australia , Malta , New Zealand , Nigeria , and South Africa . It also includes South Asian English used in South Asia, in English varieties in Southeast Asia , and in parts of Africa. Canadian English
8768-613: The SNCF operates the Paris-Caen-Cherbourg, Caen-Rouen, Caen- Le Mans -Tours, Caen- Rennes services and some others small lines, while Railcoop will soon open new lines such as Lille-Amiens-Rouen-Caen-Rennes-Nantes and Paris-Caen-Brest making Caen railway station its north-western hub. Caen station is the second busiest in Normandy, after Rouen station. Caen - Carpiquet Airport is the biggest airport in Normandy considering
8905-411: The Somme and probed at several points, vainly attacking Hangest and Pont-Remy before moving west along the river. English supplies were running out and the army was ragged, starving and beginning to suffer from a drop in morale. On the evening of 24 August the English were encamped north of Acheux while the French were 6 miles (10 km) away at Abbeville . During the night the English marched on
9042-415: The Somme between Amiens and the sea. The English were now trapped in an area which had been stripped of food. The French moved out of Amiens and advanced westwards, towards the English. They were now willing to give battle, knowing they would have the advantage of standing on the defensive while the English were forced to try to fight their way past them. Edward was determined to break the French blockade of
9179-404: The Somme that the area beyond had not been denuded, allowing Edward's army to plunder it and resupply. Meanwhile, the Flemings, having been rebuffed by the French at Estaires , besieged Béthune on 14 August. After several setbacks they fell out among themselves, burnt their siege equipment and gave up their expedition on 24 August. Edward received the news that he would not be reinforced by
9316-488: The United Kingdom. For example, the adjective wee is almost exclusively used in parts of Scotland, north-east England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally Yorkshire , whereas the adjective little is predominant elsewhere. Nevertheless, there is a meaningful degree of uniformity in written English within the United Kingdom, and this could be described by the term British English . The forms of spoken English, however, vary considerably more than in most other areas of
9453-402: The West Scottish accent. Phonological features characteristic of British English revolve around the pronunciation of the letter R, as well as the dental plosive T and some diphthongs specific to this dialect. Once regarded as a Cockney feature, in a number of forms of spoken British English, /t/ has become commonly realised as a glottal stop [ʔ] when it is in the intervocalic position, in
9590-417: The Western European battlefield. Since the Norman Conquest of 1066, English monarchs had held titles and lands within France, the possession of which made them vassals of the kings of France. Following a series of disagreements between Philip VI of France ( r. 1328–1350 ) and Edward III of England ( r. 1327–1377 ), on 24 May 1337 Philip's Great Council in Paris agreed that
9727-421: The accompanying mounted men-at-arms to break into their ranks and rout them. Modern historians have generally considered this to have been a practical approach, and one with proven success against other armies. The French army moved forward late in the afternoon, unfurling their sacred battle banner, the oriflamme , indicating that no prisoners would be taken. As they advanced, a sudden rainstorm broke over
9864-437: The advancing French cavalry threw the leading battle into disarray. The longbowmen continued to shoot into the massed troops. The discharge of the English bombards added to the confusion, though contemporary accounts differ as to whether they inflicted significant casualties. Alençon's battle (division of the army) then launched a cavalry charge . This was disordered by its impromptu nature, by having to force its way through
10001-790: The battle wore on the rate would slow. Regular resupply of ammunition would be required from the wagons to the rear; the archers would also venture forward during pauses in the fighting to retrieve arrows. Modern historians suggest that half a million arrows could have been shot during the battle. The English army was also equipped with several types of gunpowder weapons, in unknown numbers: small guns firing lead balls; ribauldequins firing either metal arrows or grapeshot ; and bombards , an early form of cannon firing metal balls 80–90 millimetres ( 3 + 1 ⁄ 4 – 3 + 5 ⁄ 8 in) in diameter. Contemporary accounts and modern historians differ as to what types of these weapons and how many were present at Crécy, but several iron balls compatible with
10138-613: The body and limbs, more so for wealthier and more experienced men. Heads were protected by bascinets : open-faced iron or steel helmets, with mail attached to the lower edge of the helmet to protect the throat, neck and shoulders. A moveable visor (face guard) protected the face. Heater shields , typically made from thin wood overlaid with leather, were carried. The English men-at-arms were all dismounted. The weapons they used are not recorded, but in similar battles they used their lances as pikes, cut them down to use as short spears, or fought with swords and battle axes. The longbow used by
10275-687: The bombard ammunition have since been retrieved from the site of the battle. The exact size of the French army is even less certain, as the financial records from the Crécy campaign are lost, although there is consensus that it was substantially larger than the English. Contemporary chroniclers all note it as being extremely large for the period. The two who provide totals estimate its size as 72,000 or 120,000. The numbers of mounted men-at-arms are given as either 12,000 or 20,000. An Italian chronicler claimed 100,000 knights (men-at-arms), 12,000 infantry and 5,000 crossbowmen . Contemporary chroniclers estimated
10412-512: The bridge there, and marched north. The French had carried out a scorched earth policy, carrying away all stores of food and so forcing the English to spread out over a wide area to forage, which greatly slowed them. Bands of French peasants attacked some of the smaller groups of foragers. Philip reached the River Somme a day's march ahead of Edward. He based himself at Amiens and sent large detachments to hold every bridge and ford across
10549-536: The city to the sea to permit cargo ships and ferries to dock in the port of Caen . Ferries which have docked include the Quiberon and the Duc de Normandie . The agricultural and food-processing Agrial cooperative has its head office in Caen. Agrial group processes vegetables , cider apples , milk , poultry and meat with the help of its 12,000 employees and all its partners. The Théâtre de Caen (1963)
10686-482: The city's recovery efforts. The resulting film, You Can't Kill a City , is preserved in the National Archives of Canada . Caen is in an area of high humidity. The river Orne flows through the city, as well as small rivers known as les Odons , most of which have been buried under the city to improve urban hygiene. Caen has a large flood zone, named "La prairie", located around the hippodrome, not far from
10823-400: The city, hoping to loot it. It was expected that a siege of perhaps several weeks would be required, but the army took the city in less than a day, on 26 July 1346, storming and sacking it , killing 3,000 of its citizens, and burning much of the merchants' quarter on the Île St-Jean. Only the castle of Caen held out, despite attempts to besiege it. A few days later, the English left, marching to
10960-464: The column. The Italians stayed in the van, while the mounted men-at-arms left their accompanying infantry and wagons behind. Discipline was lost; the French were hampered by the absence of their Constable, who was normally responsible for marshalling and leading their army, but who had been captured at Caen. Once it halted, men, especially infantry, were continually joining Philip's battle as they marched north west from Abbeville. After reconnoitring
11097-399: The core of the French army, supported by two to six thousand mercenary crossbowmen recruited by and hired from the major trading city of Genoa , and a "large, though indeterminate, number of common infantry". How many common infantrymen, militia and levies of variable levels of equipment and training, were present is not known with any certainty, except that on their own they outnumbered
11234-489: The country and particularly to London. Surveys started in 1979 by the Inner London Education Authority discovered over 125 languages being spoken domestically by the families of the inner city's schoolchildren. Notably Multicultural London English , a sociolect that emerged in the late 20th century spoken mainly by young, working-class people in multicultural parts of London . Since
11371-475: The course of events in the north. The French army outside Paris consisted of some 8,000 men-at-arms , 6,000 crossbowmen, and many infantry levies . Philip sent a challenge on 14 August suggesting that the two armies do battle at a mutually agreed time and place in the area. Edward indicated that he would meet Philip to the south of the Seine, without actually committing himself. On 16 August the French moved into position; Edward promptly burnt down Poissy, destroyed
11508-408: The crossbowmen present as between 2,000 and 20,000. These numbers are described by historians as exaggerated and unrealistic, on the basis of the extant war treasury records for 1340, six years before the battle. Clifford Rogers estimates "the French host was at least twice as large as the [English], and perhaps as much as three times." According to modern estimates, 8,000 mounted men-at-arms formed
11645-519: The difficulties facing fresh formations ... as they sought to approach the English position." Nevertheless, they charged home, albeit in such a disordered state that they were again unable to break into the English formation. A prolonged mêlée resulted, with a report that at one point the Prince of Wales was beaten to his knees. One account has the Prince's standard-bearer standing on his banner to prevent its capture. A modern historian has described
11782-577: The east and on to their victory at the Battle of Crécy . It was later captured following a siege by Henry V in 1417 and treated harshly for being the first town to put up any resistance to his invasion. In 1450 towards the end of the war, French forces recaptured Caen . During World War II , Caen was captured by German forces during the Battle of France in 1940 and placed under military occupation . In 1944, Allied forces launched Operation Overlord , invading German-occupied France and rapidly advancing through Normandy . From 6 June to 6 August 1944,
11919-475: The eighth and ninth centuries; the second was the Normans in the 11th century, who spoke Old Norman and ultimately developed an English variety of this called Anglo-Norman . These two invasions caused English to become "mixed" to some degree (though it was never a truly mixed language in the strictest sense of the word; mixed languages arise from the cohabitation of speakers of different languages, who develop
12056-480: The field. The English archers de-strung their bows to avoid the strings becoming slackened. A contemporary account, followed by some modern historians, has the rain weakening the Genoese crossbows' strings, reducing their power and range; other modern historians state that their bowstrings were protected by leather coverings and so the Genoese were as unaffected by the storm as the English archers. The Genoese engaged
12193-423: The fighting as "horrific carnage". Edward sent forward a detachment from his reserve battle to rescue the situation. The French were again repulsed. They came again. The English ranks were thinned, but those in the rear stepped forward to fill the gaps. How many times the French charged is disputed, but they continued late into the night, with the dusk and then dark disorganising the French yet further. All had
12330-441: The first. Modern historians have estimated its size as from 7,000 to 15,000. Andrew Ayton suggests a figure of around 14,000: 2,500 men-at-arms, 5,000 longbowmen, 3,000 hobelars (light cavalry and mounted archers) and 3,500 spearmen. Clifford Rogers suggests 15,000: 2,500 men-at-arms, 7,000 longbowmen, 3,250 hobelars and 2,300 spearmen. Jonathan Sumption , going by the carrying capacity of its original transport fleet, believes
12467-726: The fleeing Italians, by the muddy ground, by having to charge uphill, and by the pits dug by the English. The attack was further broken up by the heavy and effective shooting from the English archers, which caused many casualties. It is likely the archers preserved their ammunition until they had a reasonable chance of penetrating the French armour, which would be at a range of about 80 metres (260 ft). The armoured French riders had some protection, but their horses were completely unarmoured and were killed or wounded in large numbers. Disabled horses fell, spilling or trapping their riders and causing following ranks to swerve to avoid them and fall into even further disorder. Wounded horses fled across
12604-414: The force was around 7,000 to 10,000. Up to a thousand men were convicted felons serving on the promise of a pardon at the end of the campaign. Many of the English, including many of the felons, were veterans; perhaps as many as half. The men-at-arms of both armies wore a quilted gambeson under mail armour which covered the body and limbs. This was supplemented by varying amounts of plate armour on
12741-484: The ground, and thus slowed their rate of fire. The Italians were rapidly defeated and fled; aware of their vulnerability without their pavises, they may have made only a token effort. Modern historians disagree as to how many casualties they suffered; some contemporary sources suggest they may have failed to get off any shots at all, while a recent specialist study of this duel concludes that they hastily shot perhaps two volleys, then withdrew before any real exchange with
12878-422: The heaps of dead men and dying horses and taken prisoner. The losses in the battle were highly asymmetrical. All contemporary sources agree that English casualties were very low. It was reported that English deaths comprised three or four men-at-arms and a small number of the rank and file, for a total of forty according to a roll-call after the battle. It has been suggested by some modern historians that this
13015-431: The hillside in panic. By the time the tight formation of English men-at-arms and spearmen received the French charge it had lost much of its impetus. A contemporary described the hand-to-hand combat which ensued as "murderous, without pity, cruel, and very horrible." Men-at-arms who lost their footing, or who were thrown from wounded horses, were trampled underfoot, crushed by falling horses and bodies and suffocated in
13152-459: The hundreds who died in the clash of the following day). More than 2,200 heraldic coats were reportedly taken from the field of battle as war booty by the English. No such count was made of the lower-born foot soldiers, as their equipment was not worth looting. No reliable figures exist for losses among them, although their casualties were also considered to have been heavy, and a large number were said to have been wounded with arrows. The dead on
13289-458: The idea of two different morphemes, one that causes the double negation, and one that is used for the point or the verb. Standard English in the United Kingdom, as in other English-speaking nations, is widely enforced in schools and by social norms for formal contexts but not by any singular authority; for instance, there is no institution equivalent to the Académie française with French or
13426-434: The lands held by Edward in France should be taken back into Philip's hands on the grounds that Edward was in breach of his obligations as a vassal. This marked the start of the Hundred Years' War , which was to last 116 years. There followed eight years of intermittent but expensive and inconclusive warfare: Edward campaigned three times in northern France to no effect; Gascony was left almost entirely to its own devices and
13563-523: The last southern Midlands accent to use the broad "a" in words like bath or grass (i.e. barth or grarss ). Conversely crass or plastic use a slender "a". A few miles northwest in Leicestershire the slender "a" becomes more widespread generally. In the town of Corby , five miles (8 km) north, one can find Corbyite which, unlike the Kettering accent, is largely influenced by
13700-421: The latter making crossing from March to November. The ferry terminal is 15 km (9.3 mi) from Caen with a daytime shuttle bus service for foot passengers. There is also a cyclist road from Caen to Ouistreham. Caen is connected to the rest of France by motorways to Paris ( A13 ), Brittany and Southern France ( A84 ) and to Le Mans and central France ( A88 – A28 ). The A13 and A88 are toll roads while
13837-457: The mass internal migration to Northamptonshire in the 1940s and given its position between several major accent regions, it has become a source of various accent developments. In Northampton the older accent has been influenced by overspill Londoners. There is an accent known locally as the Kettering accent, which is a transitional accent between the East Midlands and East Anglian . It is
13974-456: The mud. After the battle, many French bodies were recovered with no marks on them. Alençon was among those killed. The French attack was beaten off. English infantry moved forward to knife the French wounded, loot the bodies and recover arrows. Some sources say Edward had given orders that, contrary to custom, no prisoners be taken; outnumbered as he was he did not want to lose fighting men to escorting and guarding captives. In any event, there
14111-405: The night, all with the same result: fierce fighting followed by a French retreat. The English then laid siege to the port of Calais . The battle crippled the French army's ability to relieve the siege; the town fell to the English the following year and remained under English rule for more than two centuries, until 1558 . Crécy established the effectiveness of the longbow as a dominant weapon on
14248-522: The north bank of the mouth of the River Somme . The English marched out towards the River Seine on 1 August. The French military position was difficult. Their main army, commanded by John, Duke of Normandy, the son and heir of Philip VI, was committed to the intractable siege of Aiguillon in the south west. After his surprise landing in Normandy, Edward was devastating some of
14385-642: The number of passengers and flights that it serves every year. Most flights are operated by HOP! , Volotea and the French national airline Air France operates flights to the French cities of Lyon , Nice, Toulouse, Montpellier, Marseille, Biarritz, Ajaccio, Figari, Bastia and Calvi. Caen is served by the large port of Ouistreham , lying at the mouth of the Caen Canal where it meets the English Channel . A cruise/ferry service operates between Portsmouth , England, and Caen/Ouistreham running both standard roll-on-roll-off car ferries and supercat fast ferries, with
14522-512: The original on 13 February 2006 . Retrieved 28 August 2004 . ) In repentance for marrying his cousin Mathilda of Flanders , William ordered two abbeys to be built on the Pope 's encouragement: Mayors of Caen have included: Joël Bruneau was re-elected mayor in the 2020 municipal elections . In 1952, the small commune of Venoix became part of Caen. In 1990, the agglomeration of Caen
14659-544: The other West Germanic languages. Initially, Old English was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England. One of these dialects, Late West Saxon , eventually came to dominate. The original Old English was then influenced by two waves of invasion: the first was by speakers of the Scandinavian branch of the Germanic family, who settled in parts of Britain in
14796-431: The other bank, and in turn encamped north of Paris, where it was steadily reinforced. Paris was in uproar, swollen with refugees, and preparations were made to defend the capital street by street. Philip sent orders to Duke John of Normandy insisting that he abandon the siege of Aiguillon and march his army north, which after delay and vacillation he did on 20 August – though he would ultimately not arrive in time to change
14933-425: The pits dug by the English. The attacks were further broken up by the effective fire from the English archers , which caused heavy casualties. By the time the French charges reached the English men-at-arms , who had dismounted for the battle, they had lost much of their impetus. The ensuing hand-to-hand combat was described as "murderous, without pity, cruel, and very horrible." The French charges continued late into
15070-588: The populace. Caen , the cultural, political, religious and financial centre of north-west Normandy, was stormed on 26 July and subsequently looted for five days. More than 5,000 French soldiers and civilians were killed; among the few prisoners was Raoul, Count of Eu , the Constable of France . On 29 July Edward sent his fleet back to England, laden with loot, with a letter ordering that reinforcements, supplies and money be collected, embarked and loaded respectively, and sent to rendezvous with his army at Crotoy , on
15207-480: The possibility of an English landing in northern France, relied on their powerful navy. This reliance was misplaced, and the French were unable to prevent Edward successfully crossing the Channel . The English landed at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue , Normandy , on 12 July 1346. They achieved complete strategic surprise and marched south. Edward's soldiers razed every town in their path and looted whatever they could from
15344-409: The range closed or against armour of less than the best quality available at the time. Contemporary sources speak of arrows frequently piercing armour. Archers carried one quiver of 24 arrows as standard. During the morning of the battle, they were each issued two more quivers, for a total of 72 arrows per man. This was sufficient for perhaps fifteen minutes' shooting at the maximum rate, although as
15481-425: The richest land in France and flaunting his ability to march at will through France. On 2 August, a small English force supported by many Flemings invaded France from Flanders; French defences there were completely inadequate. The treasury was all but empty. On 29 July, Philip proclaimed the arrière-ban for northern France, ordering every able-bodied male to assemble at Rouen , where Philip himself arrived on
15618-476: The richest lands in France to within 2 miles (3 km) of Paris, sacking many towns on the way. The English then marched north, hoping to link up with an allied Flemish army which had invaded from Flanders . Hearing that the Flemish had turned back, and having temporarily outdistanced the pursuing French, Edward had his army prepare a defensive position on a hillside near Crécy-en-Ponthieu . Late on 26 August
15755-501: The river Orne, which is regularly submerged. Caen is 10 km (6.2 mi) from the Channel . A canal ( Canal de Caen à la Mer ) parallel to the Orne was built during the reign of Napoleon III to link the city to the sea at all times. The canal reaches the English Channel at Ouistreham . A lock keeps the tide out of the canal and lets large ships navigate up the canal to Caen's freshwater harbours. Caen has an oceanic climate that
15892-711: The same result: fierce fighting followed by a French retreat. In one attack the Count of Blois dismounted his men and had them advance on foot; the Count's body was found on the field. The French nobility stubbornly refused to yield. There was no lack of courage on either side. Famously, blind King John of Bohemia tied his horse's bridle to those of his attendants and galloped into the twilight; all were dragged from their horses and killed. There are accounts of entire English battles advancing on occasion to clear away broken French charges milling in front of them, then withdrawing in good order to their original positions. Philip himself
16029-428: The second day of battle alone were said to have been exceptionally numerous, with estimates varying from 2,000 to, according to Edward III himself, 4,000. A disproportionate number of magnates featured among the slain on the French side, including one king ( John of Bohemia ), nine princes, ten counts , a duke , an archbishop and a bishop . According to Ayton, these heavy losses can also be attributed to
16166-409: The settlements, the name Caen would seem to be of Gaulish origin, from the words catu- , referring to military activities and magos , field, hence meaning "manoeuvre field" or "battlefield". In Layamon 's Brut , the poet asserts that King Arthur named the city in memory of Sir Kay , although the historicity of King Arthur is widely doubted. Caen was known in Roman times as 'Catumagos', from
16303-589: The table eaten by the occupying Normans. Another example is the Anglo-Saxon cu meaning cow, and the French bœuf meaning beef. Cohabitation with the Scandinavians resulted in a significant grammatical simplification and lexical enrichment of the Anglo-Frisian core of English; the later Norman occupation led to the grafting onto that Germanic core of a more elaborate layer of words from
16440-603: The theft of work tools worth £500 from a van at the Sprucefield park and ride car park in Lisburn. A football team can be treated likewise: Arsenal have lost just one of 20 home Premier League matches against Manchester City. This tendency can be observed in texts produced already in the 19th century. For example, Jane Austen , a British author, writes in Chapter 4 of Pride and Prejudice , published in 1813: All
16577-403: The traditional accent of Newcastle upon Tyne , 'out' will sound as 'oot', and in parts of Scotland and North-West England, 'my' will be pronounced as 'me'. Long vowels /iː/ and /uː/ are diphthongised to [ɪi] and [ʊu] respectively (or, more technically, [ʏʉ], with a raised tongue), so that ee and oo in feed and food are pronounced with a movement. The diphthong [oʊ] is also pronounced with
16714-507: The university campus. It took 14 years (1948–1962) and led to the current urbanization of Caen. Having lost many of its historic quarters and its university campus in the war, Caen does not have the atmosphere of a traditional Norman town such as Honfleur , Rouen , Cabourg , Deauville or Bayeux . The Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit filmed the D-Day offensive and Orne breakout several weeks later. It returned several months later to document
16851-592: The words that they have borrowed from other languages. Around the middle of the 15th century, there were points where within the 5 major dialects there were almost 500 ways to spell the word though . Following its last major survey of English Dialects (1949–1950), the University of Leeds has started work on a new project. In May 2007 the Arts and Humanities Research Council awarded a grant to Leeds to study British regional dialects. The team are sifting through
16988-414: The world and operates in over 200 countries . English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic settlers from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the northern Netherlands. The resident population at this time was generally speaking Common Brittonic —the insular variety of Continental Celtic , which was influenced by
17125-568: The world are good and agreeable in your eyes. However, in Chapter 16, the grammatical number is used. The world is blinded by his fortune and consequence. Some dialects of British English use negative concords, also known as double negatives . Rather than changing a word or using a positive, words like nobody, not, nothing, and never would be used in the same sentence. While this does not occur in Standard English, it does occur in non-standard dialects. The double negation follows
17262-446: The world where English is spoken and so a uniform concept of British English is more difficult to apply to the spoken language. Globally, countries that are former British colonies or members of the Commonwealth tend to follow British English, as is the case for English used by European Union institutions. In China, both British English and American English are taught. The UK government actively teaches and promotes English around
17399-403: Was a large battle of mounted men-at-arms led by Count Charles of Alençon , Philip's brother, accompanied by the blind King John of Bohemia . The next battle was led by Duke Rudolph of Lorraine and Count Louis of Blois , while Philip commanded the rearguard. As news filtered back that the English had turned to fight, the French contingents sped up, jostling with each other to reach the front of
17536-441: Was a part of 9 cantons , of which it was the chief town. These cantons contained a total of 13 towns. Caen gave its name to a 10th canton, of which it was not part. Since the 2015 canton reorganization, Caen is part of the cantons of Caen-1 , 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 . Twisto is the urban transport network of Caen, including about sixty bus lines and 3 tramway lines. The present tram network officially opened on 27 July 2019 replacing
17673-411: Was caught up in the fighting, had two horses killed under him, and received an arrow in the jaw. The bearer of the oriflamme was a particular target for the English archers; he was seen to fall but survived, albeit abandoning the sacred banner to be captured. Finally, Philip abandoned the field of battle, although it is unclear why. It was nearly midnight and the battle petered out, with the majority of
17810-786: Was handed over to the French Crown in 1204. The castle saw several engagements during the Hundred Years' War (1346, 1417, 1450) and was in use as a barracks as late as the Second World War. Bullet holes are visible on the walls of the castle where members of the French Resistance were shot during the Second World War. Today, the castle serves as a museum that houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen (Museum of Fine Arts of Caen) and Musée de Normandie (Museum of Normandy) along with many periodical exhibitions about arts and history. (See "Timeline of Caen Castle" . Archived from
17947-408: Was high. The English army was divided into three battalions, or " battles ", deployed in a column. The King's son, Edward, Prince of Wales , aided by the earls of Northampton and Warwick (the 'constable' and 'marshal' of the army, respectively), commanded the vanguard with 800 men-at-arms, 2,000 archers and 1,000 foot soldiers including Welsh spearmen. To its left, the other battle was led by
18084-456: Was initially intended to be) difficult for outsiders to understand, although the extent of its use is often somewhat exaggerated. Londoners speak with a mixture of accents, depending on ethnicity, neighbourhood, class, age, upbringing, and sundry other factors. Estuary English has been gaining prominence in recent decades: it has some features of RP and some of Cockney. Immigrants to the UK in recent decades have brought many more languages to
18221-442: Was not only morally obliged to succour his vassal but contractually required to; his indenture with Lancaster stated that if Lancaster were attacked by overwhelming numbers, then Edward "shall rescue him in one way or another". Meanwhile, Edward was raising a fresh army, and assembled more than 700 vessels to transport it – the largest English fleet ever to that date. The French were aware of Edward's efforts, and to guard against
18358-496: Was organized into a district, transformed in 2002 into a Communauté d'agglomération ( Grand Caen (Greater Caen), renamed Caen la Mer in 2004), gathers 29 towns and villages, including Villons-les-Buissons , Lion-sur-Mer , Hermanville-sur-Mer , which joined the Communauté d'agglomération in 2004. The population of the "communauté d'agglomération" is around 220,000 inhabitants. In the former administrative organisation, Caen
18495-420: Was positioned to the rear of the whole army, where it was circled and fortified, to serve as a park for the horses, a defence against any possible attack from the rear and a rallying point in the event of defeat. Around noon on 26 August French scouts, advancing north from Abbeville, came in sight of the English. The crossbowmen, under Antonio Doria and Carlo Grimaldi , formed the French vanguard . Following
18632-469: Was reported to the English parliament on 13 September in glowing terms as a sign of divine favour and justification for the huge cost of the war to date. A contemporary chronicler opined "By haste and disorganisation were the French destroyed." Rogers writes that, among other factors, the English "benefitted from superior organisation, cohesion and leadership" and from "the indiscipline of the French". According to Ayton "England's international reputation as
18769-511: Was reported. "Perhaps the most remarkable finding in the Voices study is that the English language is as diverse as ever, despite our increased mobility and constant exposure to other accents and dialects through TV and radio". When discussing the award of the grant in 2007, Leeds University stated: that they were "very pleased"—and indeed, "well chuffed"—at receiving their generous grant. He could, of course, have been "bostin" if he had come from
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