Stirk 先生のインタビュースクリプト（その２）Interviewer:
So, I’d like to ask you about your accent and/or pronunciation, its characteristics. So, it’s basically aBirmingham accent?
Stirk:
Ah. No, no, no, no. It isn’t. I think it’s sort of fairly neutral and educated British, I think. Because there areother things in it, I mean. . . there must be some Birmingham from my father’s side. And of course it’smixed, mixed with some Welsh or South Wales accent from my mother, I suppose. But also when I was atschool, the headmaster of the secondary school I was at used to hate, hate the Birmingham dialect. Andso we were forced, forced not to use it if ever we did. And for some, for some reason was the mostdespised accent and dialect in the United Kingdom, even these days. Strange thing.
Interviewer:
I heard so.
Stirk:
So I. . . Ah, yeah, you heard that too. Yes, so. . . I never really acquired it. So I think generally I speak
what’s called, well in Britain they call it Received Pronunciation, which is the. . . supposed to be thestandard, educated dialect. And I think I probably do, although. . . sometimes I, when I’ve talked to aphonetician, they’ve, they recognized the South Wales part of my speech because I. . . . English speakers
generally say where [wear] and do that where [wear], what [wat] and so on, but in South Wales people
tend to put a ha sound in as well. So it’s where, where and what. And I tend to do that still, and it’s a part of
my mother’s influence, no doubt.
Interviewer:
Hmm, I see. You, so, you go back to your hometown often, quite often?
Stirk:
Um, well, it’s been pretty regularly once a year, so it’s every summer, every summer vacation.
Interviewer:
So how is it in. . . in. . . back in your hometown? Could you tell me about your. . . the life in Birmingham
and. . . ?
Stirk:
Well, yes. To tell the truth I don’t know much about life in Birmingham now because, well, in. . . in aroundabout 1990 my mother died and my father died soon after, so after that we sold, we sold their house, ofcourse. And so I, I mean, apart from some relatives, I have no brothers or sisters and I’ve got one or two
cousins living in the Birmingham area. So really we haven’t spent much time there, just maybe one or two
day every summer sort of seeing, seeing relatives and visiting my parents’, their memorial and so on. But
most of the time we like to spend in the countryside, and because, I mean, going from Osaka toBirmingham is not, not enough change for a summer holiday, so usually we go to the southwest ofEngland, these years, and we stay on Dartmoor, in a very small town called Tavistock. So that’s really theplace I know best in England now.
Interviewer:
So now I’d like to ask you about your life in Japan. And so, how is it like living in Japan and especiallyteaching Japanese students? And so, could you tell me about some interesting episode?
Stirk:
Oh, I see. Well, what can I think of? Well, it’s a lot more comfortable living here now than when I firstarrived in. . . in 1980, I remember. Those were still the days where school children would say “Hello. Hello.
Hello” to any foreign face they saw in the street. And the, well, the adults sort of hesitate before
approaching a foreigner. So that was a little bit uncomfortable in the first year or two. But that’s. . . that’s
then disappeared. Since then it’s been fine and an enjoyable place. At the moment we live in a house notvery far from here, so I just have a five minute walk to here for classes and so on. So it’s quite, quite niceand comfortable. So I’m there with my wife and mother-in-law sister-in-law, and our two cats and so on.
Yes, once we’ve moved houses we were able to have pets, and cats were our choice. And, yes, I don’tknow, that’s it. Minoh is a good place for hiking in the hills and so on, so I, I go up there as much as I can,at least in the, in the spring and autumn and winter, not in the summer.
Interviewer:
I see. By the way, cats are wonderful. I got myself four cats.
Stirk:
Four cats! I see. So you’re a cat lover too. That’s good.