The 't' in Brighton

[Sam-]

Welease Bwiton

Every thread deserves a reference to Monty Python. Had a girlie giggle moment to this.

 

[bomber130]

I know this has been done before - couldn't find the thread - but I'm in the middle of a heated debate regarding the pronunciation of our town's name.

I have always dropped the 't' - or lessened the emphasis on it - so it's effectively 'Bright-un' (soft 't') as opposed to 'Bright-ton'.

In football chants the 't' is used, obviously, but I need to know the 'proper' Sussex/Brighton way of saying it to settle an argument.

Please help!

Given there is an argument regarding this very unimportant use of the letter T, my question is "Are you a student". Personally I would tell my friend "Quite frankly I don't give a F".

 

[Elvis]

Brian

You joke, however years ago I was having a kickabout on merseyside. A lad who in asked one of the fellas who he was ' everton ' the reply. He later ( much to my approval, after a good bit of skill) asked me who I was ' Brighton ' He said nothing. Later in the game when I had the ball he screamed for a pass ' ay Brian' ...........Oh well!!

 

[Lord Bracknell]

It's not just the 't' that's gone missing.

Whatever happened to the 'thelmsto'?

 

[brightn'ove]

It's Bright-on darling :safeway:

 

[Puppet Master]

Next up, Hove?

"'Ove" for me

 

[Drumstick]

Always been Brighon to me. Had a similar convo with someone else years back after some googling I found a few loose links to a Sussex accent.

 

[beorhthelm]

Broy-tern.


But for us modern types, Bry-tun.

oh, good anwser, thats how my Grandads would say it. its an interesting one as pointed out by trigger, the Brigthon and Sussex accents arent really the same, one always influenced by London the latter a touch of country drawl to it.

We should have stuck with Brighthelmstone.The T is de-emphasised but nearly impossible to drop.

less of your fancy modern ways, should have stuck with the original Anglo Saxon.

 

[Curious Orange]

Cam orn Bri'n!

 

[house your seagull]

The dropping of the T is just an estuary thing.

I think I can tell a Brighton accent from the light drawl.

So, as TLO alludes to, it's the pronounciation of the vowels in the first syllable that marks us out.

Not as harsh as a Hampshire Broy-t'en, but certainly a lengthening or slurring of the 'i'.

I find that if you get somebody with a general south-east accent to say Brighton, they can't get those lazy vowels like a native.

 

[SeagullSongs]

In some parts of 'Ampshire it's pronounced Broy'urn, with the apostrophe making the same sound as the missing 't' in Gatwick.

I personally pronounce it Bry-ten (the 'e' having the same vowel sound as in 'soften').

 

[wunt be druv]

In Sussex dialect it would be Brytun, always pronounce the T.If it was a double T it would be Brydun.

 

[lawros left foot]

Obviously, Brightlingsea, to us old traditionalists

 

[Buzzer]

Max Miller had the old school Brighton accent. 5'37'' into this video "Bri'tun" is how he says it with a slight "e' as in "egg" on the letter "i".

MAX MILLER 2 - 1940 78rpm - YouTube


Compare and contrast that accent with the Copper family from Rottingdean just a few miles away with proper Sussex accents. Undoubtedly John Copper calls it Bri-oy-tun with a very soft 't'. For anyone with an interest in local history this song (well...monologue) is an absolute gem.

The Imagined Village - Ouses - YouTube


I've been told I've got a Brighton accent. I certainly recognise more of Miller's accent than John Copper from my Worthing days.

 

[screamadelica]

I know this has been done before - couldn't find the thread - but I'm in the middle of a heated debate regarding the pronunciation of our town's name.

I have always dropped the 't' - or lessened the emphasis on it - so it's effectively 'Bright-un' (soft 't') as opposed to 'Bright-ton'.

In football chants the 't' is used, obviously, but I need to know the 'proper' Sussex/Brighton way of saying it to settle an argument.

Please help!

How do you pronounce the word stable did you attend your English lessons at school,how do you pronounce the word at

 

[alofbrighton]

Ton at the end of lots of Sussex towns and villages is a corruption of the Saxon word 'tun' meaning farm. Hence Westmeston (West most farm - in the parish of Stanmer) and Plumpton (Plum farm). I am born and lived in Brighton for 35 years and sometimes drop the T but not always. Make of that what you will but I think the T should be heightened.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Glottal stops are replacing the T consonant in many words. I mean who pronounces the T in football for instance?

Brian Sewell?

 

[TheDuke]

I know this has been done before - couldn't find the thread - but I'm in the middle of a heated debate regarding the pronunciation of our town's name.

I have always dropped the 't' - or lessened the emphasis on it - so it's effectively 'Bright-un' (soft 't') as opposed to 'Bright-ton'.

In football chants the 't' is used, obviously, but I need to know the 'proper' Sussex/Brighton way of saying it to settle an argument.

Please help!

'tun' is defo non you.... has to be pronounced ton... bri-ton

 

[looney]

In some parts of 'Ampshire it's pronounced Broy'urn, with the apostrophe making the same sound as the missing 't' in Gatwick.

I personally pronounce it Bry-ten (the 'e' having the same vowel sound as in 'soften').

Theres a T in Gatwick?

Broitern is pure sussex.

 

[Buzzer]

Brian Sewell?

He probably pronounces his own name as 'Brighton Sewell'.