- Chisit
Chisit is the regional nickname and dialect for the people of
Leicester . They are often referred to as Chisits because of how they speak and more commonly of how they pronounce the question 'how much is it'? sounding - in the Leicester dialect - like 'im a Chisit'. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/content/articles/2005/01/17/dictionary_leicester_feature.shtml BBC - Leicester - Voices 2005 - Can you speak Lest-oh? ] ] The nickname was given to the Leicester folk from the inhabitants of the East Coast seaside town ofSkegness which is a popular holiday destination for the people of Leicester.In Leicester, words with short vowels such as up and last have a northern pronunciation, whereas words with vowels such as down and road sound rather more like a south-eastern accent. The vowel sound at the end of words like border (and the name of the city) is also a distinctive feature. Words such as 'take' and 'make' are often pronounced the northern way 'tek' and 'mek' and words such as 'owt' and 'nowt' are pronounced in a southern way 'ote' and 'note'. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_English#East_Midlands]
Leicester has a very distinctive dialect and can prove baffling for non-residents of Leicester. Fast talking and lazy pronunciation combined with regional words can make understanding fairly difficult. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/eastmidlands/series7/dialect_voices.shtml BBC Inside Out - Dialect ] ]
Other distinctive features are;
M'duck - term of endearment often following 'ayup'.Jitty - Alleyway.Croggy - Ride on the back of a bicycle.Code - Cold.Ode - Old.Cob - Bread roll.Mardy - Grumpy or bad tempered.Safto - This afternoon.Hum/hom - Home.Rally - Railway.Snap - Lunch.Sen - Self eg. 'Mesen' 'yoursen'.
[ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/around_leicester/2002/11/leicester_dialect_collins_english_dictionary.shtml BBC - Leicester Around Leicester - Leicester dialect guide ] ] [ [http://www.angelfire.com/fl2/slang/ Frank's Slang Page ] ] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalville]
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.