This week's selection comes from Jonnie Robinson, Lead Curator of Spoken English.
This short exchange during a conversation between two young females talking about life and relationships offers a fascinating glimpse into how our linguistic choices reflect our identity. One of the speakers, a British Muslim, uses the phrase bringing home the bacon which instantly sparks off giggles as, culturally and linguistically, it somehow encapsulates her reflections on her joint British and Muslim identity. The phrase she chooses could not be more quintessentially English – the first citation recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary is from the 1924 PG Wodehouse novel, Ukridge.
Photograph of participants
This extract is taken from the Listening Project – a collection of over 1000 conversations contributed by members of the public on a variety of topics of their own choosing. Listen to the full conversation between Afshan and Olivia here.
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