Why do they always refer to each other as "our daisy" or "our Rose" or "your Hyacinth"? Is that a typically English way to address someone? I've met scads of Brits and never heard them refer to people that way. Where does this affectation come from???
shareI don't know if it's an English thing, but I frequently refer to one of my cousins as "our cousin Linda," (I'm from Texas) and I notice on the ABC network they are posessive in referring to "our Barbara Walters" or "our Diane Sawyer." ABC uses it quite frequently refering to their employees. Otherwise, I've not heard it so much as they use it on "Appearances." Any English people...is this used a lot?
BTW, love this show and I think it just adds to the hilarity when they use the term "our" everytime to refer to one of the sisters!
I don't know if it is a specifically English tradition to say "our" when talking about a family member. I always think it stems from the times when certain Christian names were so popular. So with so many people called Mary about in a community, they may have needed to be sure that it was their daughter or sister Mary that they were talking about. I suppose as first names became more varied, that way of saying "our," when referring to a family member, still persisted.
shareNot sure of the origin but it's a northern england (<- apparently) term of endearment
~ Hannah Matthau
Also explained here
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098837/board/thread/221952792
~ Hannah Matthau
I grew up around that language. However, in my experience it was used more by the economically disadvantaged. When I was a child I noticed this and took it as a way someone who had few possessions to be proud of a spouse or family member as a way to have something important in their lives. After all, how could a polite person not recognize the importance someone was giving another?
That was my take and it does fit with how it is used on KUA.
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What I find strange about it is that its not always used when talking about someone but also when talking TO them. Like Daisy saying, "you're out awful late, Our Rose" and she's speaking TO Rose.
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It's a working class British habit, quite common in the north of England and also in parts of Scotland. It stems from the days when in every close knit street where people all knew each other, there would be dozens of people of the same name, so if you said 'I'm going to see our Rita' everybody knew you meant your sister Rita, not that other Rita who worked in the corner shop, etc.
It's not so common as it used to be however and to have it used as far south as Coventry (where the series is set) seems a little bit unusual and possibly in order to emphasise Rose's working class background. It is/was used in the midlands and southern England but far less so. To use it as a direct term of address 'Hello our Rose' etc is also much less common and again is used more for dramatic effect.
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It's used quite a lot in The Secret Garden. Martha talks about "our Dickon." One of the Sowerby children is referred to as "our Lizabeth Ellen."
shareno it's just a uk notrhern expression.
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