tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377103124456226005.post1399264429079786091..comments2024-03-17T09:14:13.950+00:00Comments on John Wells’s phonetic blog: Stanley EllisJohn Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13684304410735867148noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377103124456226005.post-24557257718416438632009-11-13T16:41:35.886+00:002009-11-13T16:41:35.886+00:00I remember Stanley very well as I was a student at...I remember Stanley very well as I was a student at Leeds University. I helped him move out of his office there when he retired and still remember the ladder starting to move under me as I attempted to take down his speakers which were at ceiling height. Nothing to do with Stanley, everything to do with the size and weight of the speakers... I recall him telling me that Harold Orton always thought that the best way for a dialectologist to approach a village or hamlet was on horseback! I always felt that if anyone could pull that off, it would be Stanley.Stephen Millerhttp://www.aac.ac.at/uni/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377103124456226005.post-25942503578133589592009-11-12T23:09:14.003+00:002009-11-12T23:09:14.003+00:00Dear Rebecca, Stanley certainly was very highly re...Dear Rebecca, Stanley certainly was very highly respected indeed. He was THE most brilliant fieldworker on the Survey of English Dialects - he managed to put his informants totally at their ease so that they always used genuine dialect forms; and his transcriptions of their pronunciations were impeccably accurate in a way that no other fieldworker ever quite managed - a truly great figure in the linguistic study of the English language.<br />Peter TrudgillAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377103124456226005.post-9103788872484461762009-11-08T21:53:27.327+00:002009-11-08T21:53:27.327+00:00Stanley was quite modest about things, and it is o...Stanley was quite modest about things, and it is only since his death that we (his family) have realised quite how well he was known, respected and liked. I suppose it reflects his ability to strike up a conversation with just about anyone!<br /><br />His funeral will be on Thursday 12th Nov at 12.20 Stonefall Crematorium in Harrogate. Anyone who knew him will be very welcome - please contact info@hctownsend.co.uk to let them know you intend to come to help with the planning.<br /><br />Thank you for your kind words. Rebecca Ellis (grandaughter)Rebecca Ellisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377103124456226005.post-67303607208096386702009-11-06T10:36:51.313+00:002009-11-06T10:36:51.313+00:00That is unfortunate news. The SED is quite unique...That is unfortunate news. The SED is quite unique in its scope and its empirical thoroughness. I think it's strange how the details of the regional dialects were put to the test empirically whereas work on RP has always been subjective in comparison.<br /><br />One point: the SED was across England and not just in the North of England. (It includes the Isle of Man and a few bordering areas of Wales as well) There were one or two areas that were missed: south Lancashire for example. (Ironically the area that produced Professor John Wells)Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04081841460525341333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377103124456226005.post-23627526112696256122009-11-04T20:07:44.937+00:002009-11-04T20:07:44.937+00:00I very nearly appeared in a court case on the oppo...I very nearly appeared in a court case on the opposing side to Stanley Ellis. It was in the 1980s, so the details are a bit hazy. I do remember it involved aggravated burglary, and that the poor victims were tied up and left by the villains. It even appeared on the Crimewatch programme on British television. One of the criminals had the good grace to phone the police and tell them that the victims were helpless in their house.<br /><br />I also remember that I spent a very tedious day in court in Liverpool. Then the case was adjourned. The sometime later, just as I was about to travel back to Liverpool, the accused changed the plea to guilty. All that time and work wasted! I think it was that case which convinced me to have no more to do with forensic phonetics.<br /><br />I also remember that Stanley Ellis was a nice chap to talk to.John Maidmenthttp://blogjam.name/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377103124456226005.post-65492927366779954262009-11-04T16:15:45.324+00:002009-11-04T16:15:45.324+00:00It occurs to me (too late, obviously) that it woul...It occurs to me (too late, obviously) that it would have been instructive if the two of you had switched roles halfway through the act: he fires up the ol' RP engine, while you revert to type. That would have brought home unmistakably the status of RP in England as a non-regional accent, something Americans have little or no experience with.John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.com