A point of English??

[MalcolmInN]

and is it punka wallah, punka-wallah or punkawallah ? I always thought it was the last .
Hands up, who remembers their dhobiwalla using a poss stick ? I do

Steve : no prob

[steve836]

With regard to the spelling, it's probably a bit of a moot point as India has a different alphabet  and the way we write it is just trying to put down a foreign language using ours.
Have watched Indians doing the dhobying and never seen them using a stick, unless a poss stick is Indian for bar of soap.

[MalcolmInN]

Have watched Indians doing the dhobying

I was being a bit economical there, my dhobiwallahs were my gran and my mum who were both English
It was the human equivalent of the agitator that used to be in washing machines !
My Gran had a big one, handle on top, prongs at the bottom.
But we still used the term for my mum's little short one which was like half a broom handle fluted length-wise. Mum had a washing machine by then so she only needed a little one to get clothes out of the, hmmmm,  I forget, was it the bleach ? or the whitening agent ??
Possibly both.

Now there is an odd thing I've just remembered, the whitening used some blue thing -> google >

[steve836]

My mum had a wash board, rather than an agitator, and used a boiler for whites which she extricated with a pair of tongs. She too used a "blue bag" on whites, I think the idea was that a faint trace of blue made the whites appear whiter.

[MalcolmInN]

My mum had a wash board,

Which made you a fan of Lonnie Donegan as well ?

[steve836]

My mum had a wash board,

Which made you a fan of Lonnie Donegan as well ?

Yes "Rock Island Line" was one of my favourites.

[Zogbert Splod]

My mum had a wash board,

Which made you a fan of Lonnie Donegan as well ?

Joe Brown once said to me,  "We should all be Lonnie Donegan fans mate!  If it wasn't for 'im, we'd all be sittin' around strumming accordions."

Regards, Allan.....

[Newportnobby]

I have no issues with regional accents/dialects at all. I may not understand and seek clarification, but it's entirely different to my mind from plain poor English as wot should be spoke by those wot have been taught it proper (like,you know etc)

I live in a bungalow - does this mean I live in a colony?
It is Leyland, dontcha know

[MalcolmInN]

My mum had a wash board,

Which made you a fan of Lonnie Donegan as well ?

Yes "Rock Island Line" was one of my favourites.

Ah yes excellent
Cant decide on my fav., excepting the railway themed ones then maybe Tom Dooley ? Or Cumberland Gap for causing me to ponder over Ord.Survey maps wondering why he thought it was near Middlesborough ! ( I was young and not worldly !! )
Oh, or else the one about wait till you see the whites of their eyes, which one was that, the revolution one   sorry - the war of independence one  ?

[EDIT ohh what a wonderful thing google is, I was wrong in so many ways ! Found it "Battle of New Orleans", not a lot to do with the independence stuff except incorporated some leftovers and then sorted out during that Napoleonic m'larky]

But I do know my least fav = chewing gum on the bedpost,
and second least = dustman
went downhill in my estimation after those
two of the most stupidest ever (songs ? )

[Komata]

It's interesting how language 'travels'  and evolves. Because of my family's long involvement in India and the BIA,  I grew up being very familiar with such terms as Cha and Cha Whallah's as well as Dhobi (pronounced either 'Dough-bee' or 'Dobbie', depending where you are from) (and the 'Itch!!), to the extent that I still use 'Cha' and 'Chit' in my daily speech (to my children's absolute disbelief!!). As a result of such exposure (for example), 'Tea' has always been the main evening meal - to the consternation of my tutor when I was doing my TESOL teacher training (she'd never heard of the usage before), while Punkahs and Punkah wallahs (although the former is now 'mechanical', and the wallah has been pensioned-off) are terms  which are still understood by many, although such people (myself included) are increasingly amongst the 'older' generation who were 'Empire' kids... .  Interestingly, one phrase which is still heard (albeit increasingly rarely) is 'Luv (Looov)' as in 'There you go Luv', usually from a 'lady of a certain age' behind a shop counter, while even in New Zealand (supposedly a place where 'Standard Received British (old BBC-type) English has held sway for many years there are actually 'regional' language differences.  These show themselves in a variety of ways, and are a reflection of the way that the then-colony was settled.  Christchurch(in the South island) was settled by essentially the 'Better People' from England,a fact reflected by a 'Home Counties'  accenting of the standard speech.  Dunedin (along with the lower part of the same island) is 'Scottish' to the core and the 'burr' and Rolling 'Rrrrr' is quite pronounced.  The country's West Coast  which always refers to the western area of the (of the South island) retains some older phraseology (toodle-ooh' for goodbye, being one example).

These are of course 'dying' relics of an age now long gone and an Empire that only a few of us now recall.  They are of course being replaced by 'American' (via TV, Cinema, CD's and video's) and even by local variations  that the 'yoof' are creating  for their own benefit (and to confuse their parents - just as we did...)  it has, of course, always been the way....         

[MalcolmInN]

'Dobbie', depending where you are from

Yes, got some of those in my ancestry!

>It's interesting how language 'travels'  and evolves.
Yes !

>BIA
Wot ?

> such terms as Cha
Cha was a common expression in the NW of England ( dunno elsewhere) in the 40s - 60s as in "time for a cupa'cha" ie. time for a sit down, rest and a natter.

> 'Tea' has always been the main evening meal
Yes, till I left the NW o'England I knew no other, and it was followed, not a lot later, by Supper, itself a not an inconsiderable meal !

>my TESOL
Wot ?

>'lady of a certain age' behind a shop counter
Now we are back to the Glaswegian "Hen"

>old BBC-type
That's me and Malc

>being replaced by 'American'
but dont knock it ! Much more gentle (well sometimes)
than the methods of ye oldee empiree !
Ummm, perhaps best not to go there ? !!!

[Komata]

MalcomAL

Sorry, forgot; not everyone would be familiar with 'colloquialisms': BIA: British Indian Army. (ie, that 'division of the British 'standing' Army actually located in 'pre-partition' India; essentially there 'In support of the Civilian Power'. ('nuff said).

Supper: The last 'meal' of the day, and usually consisting  of  'Tea (Cha) and Biscuits' / 'Chocolate and Biscuits' (aka 'Choc' and Bikkies' if you will).  HOWEVER, in some families 'Supper' is actually the 'Main' meal (aka 'Tea'), so there is definitely 'room for confusion', especially when there is also 'Afternoon Tea' (a light snack usually taken at around 1500) 'Dinner' (aka 'Tea'), to say nothing of 'Tiffin' (which definitely dates and places me, I suspect).

Aint 'English' grand..?

TESOL: Apologies again: Teaching English to Speakers Of English as a second Language.  AKA 'Emergency English' and essentially a fancy name for those who get to teach non-English  speakers how to converse in a way that the locals may understand (and no, the qualification doesn't include instructions about how to teach that skill to  Brummies, Scouses, Cockneys' Scots, Welsh or Irish - in case you were wondering).

Looove / Hen: a Scots step great grandmother acquainted me with the 'finer points' of Hen' (although her accent was very, very broad).

'This is the beebeebseeb'; with apologies to a certain Greenslade W and some of his 'associates'...

'American': Now THAT is a whole field of study in itself, and takes the study of 'regional dialects' to a whole new level.  Definitely 'Thesis' material, methinks....

And as for the 'Empire?  Another time, another place. with the 'Rose-tinted glasses' making things so very much better than they may have been in reality.

Twas all rather a long time ago.   Trusting though that the explanations make sense?  Thanks.

[joe cassidy]

I remember when I was a kid some of our toys were "Empire Made", i.e. made in Hong Kong.

I suppose this was because "Empire Made" had conotations of quality that "Made in Hong Kong" did not.

Best regards,


Joe

[Komata]

Joe

You too sir? Yes. 'Empire Made' was definitely 'superior' to 'Made in Hong Kong' and certainly made us feel as if we all 'belonged' to 'one big BRITISH happy family' and that Mummy (aka 'Mother England' for those who may not know what i am referring to) would ALWAYS look after us...

As we know, it didn't quite work out that way (but it was great while we believed it). 

[MalcolmInN]

Sorry, forgot; not everyone would be familiar with 'colloquialisms': BIA: British Indian Army.

Ah yes ! I am familiar with some, such as BEF, but BIA caught me out

'In support of the Civilian Power'. ('nuff said).

!! Indeed enuf else we could go on for days if not years with that one !!

Thank you for the comprehensive and most interesting reply, with you all along the way { except for Tiffin, had to google that one }
Ah yes, the genteel Afternoon Tea was quite light, often involving cucumber sandwiches with their crusts removed and lace and bead  covers over the milk jug.

'This is the beebeebseeb';

We used to refer to our dearly beloved employer as " The British Broadcorping Castration ". The capitalisation is required to give it solemnity.
One unfortunate continuity announcer in Manchester managed (with a little help from too much lunchtime beverage) to go on air with it, ooops !

And as for the 'Empire?  Another time, another place. with the 'Rose-tinted glasses' making things so very much better than they may have been in reality.

Yet, looking round at the state of the  world   ex-empire today, one wonders what might have been ? Best not go there either , , ,