WHAT IS SCOUSE?



I'm a Scouser. Well, what does that mean? It means I come from Liverpool (which makes me a Liverpudlian too). But being a Scouser is more than just being born, or growing up in Liverpool. When I have time I want to write something worthwhile which describes what it means to be a Scouser, but for now here are some great links to other thoughts on the subject.



Scouse: Spiegl refers to this dish with a pun: pot-au-feu l'hiver poule. The word comes from lobscouse, a sailor's (very likely a Norwegian sailor) dish of stewed meat, vegetables, and ship's biscuit, not unlike Irish stew. Lobscouser became a slang name for a sailor. As a port city, Liverpool became known for this dish. The word Scouser came to refer to a native of Liverpool, the city where they ate scouse, and Scouse referred also to the pronunciations and usages of that speech community. Debates about details continue, but some of the details are fascinating, for instance the fact that in Norway today Lapp Skews (not all that far from labscouse) are stewed strips of reindeer meat.

Can some one tell me if there is a better "definition" of a Scouser?

S is for Sardonic sense of humour
C is for Comedian born and Bred
O is for Only supports one soccer team (but has two to choose from!)
U is for Unswerving love for all things Liverpool
S is for Scouse eater
E is for Eulogizes Liverpool at every opportunity
R is for Rejoices in a good argument

Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Scous*er (noun) First appeared 1959: a native or inhabitant of Liverpool, England.



Scouse Passport: A realistic document that you can use to show off your Merseyside roots.

The Routes of English: Melvyn Bragg visits Liverpool, home of Scouse immigrants from all over the world who imported many new words into English.

Translate into Scouse: Type in a sentence, and it will be translated into Scouse for you.

Lern' Scouse: Provides some words to learn and a link to the Whoohoo Scouse translator site above.

Scouse Dialect: Things to remember when attempting to speak Scouse.

The Scouse Dictionary: Is exactly what it says, a dictionary for Scouse words.

Merseytalk: As a Scouser himself, Tom wants to "praise and demonstrate the wit and originality of a speech community" and does the job well.

Scouser.com: A good site for all things Scouse, including definitions, jokes and how to cook Scouse.

Threat to the Scouse dialect?: Looks at the threat to the Scouse accent from Estuary English.

Scouse Accent Going Strong: Challenging the above article, leading language experts argue that Liverpool's Scouse accent is going strong and far from at risk from extinction.

Lost Voices: Asks questions of accents and what they mean to defining personal and cultural identity.

Scousers Put The Accent On Success: "The soft and friendly version of the Scouse accent has helped to turn Liverpool into Britain's favourite location for call centres."

Calm Down Yourself: Linda Grant asks what her home city did to deserve its reputation.

A Study of the Scouse Accent: Based on the author's thesis, this site is an investigation into the precise phonetic nature of stop consonants in Scouse, the dialect of English spoken in Liverpool.

A Note on the Scouse Accent: Written in April 1998, this message board note gives some background into the Scouse accent.

Get a Degree in Learning Scouse: Edge Hill college in Ormskirk is willing to pay you money to learn about the Scouse accent.



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