Grunt to Grunt

The other day a couple of roofers came to replace a slate that had blown down in the recent winds.  They arrived about the same time that I was emptying the washing machine.  So it was that, armed with my basket and box of pegs, I encountered one of them waiting at the foot of the ladder as I came out of the back door and I greeted him, "how do?" and he responded.

As I hung the washing on the line, I reflected that 'how do?' had been the familiar greeting where I'd grown up, and I probably hadn't used it since moving away from that area over twenty years ago.  Why now?  While clothes hanging had been going on, the other roofer had been collecting materials from their van and now came past, spotted me and gave the usual local greeting, "are thee reet?", to which I grunted my usual reply.

By the time I returned to the door, the second man was atop the ladder, and it was to his colleague I spoke again.  I asked whether it was just one slate that needed replacing, and after an initial hesitation - had he not expected to be addressed again? - he told me yes, just the one, and his colleague was fastening the lead flashing.  I said it was good to have people round who knew what needed doing, and the conversation ended as I came indoors again.

Thinking afterwards about this exchange, it occurred to me, first, that the way I pronounced 'how do?' could have sounded similar to the Welsh 'heddiw' and, in isolation and in conjunction with my name, Evans, could have given the young man the not unreasonable impression that I was Welsh.  When I later addressed him at greater length, and in my normal East Anglian or home counties tones, might have been something of a shock ... hence his hesitation in responding, while his mind worked out what it was I'd asked.

They say we have more accents and dialects per square mile than anywhere else in the world ... I can believe that!