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As It Happens

Listener convinced UK 'Mystery Man' hails from the American South

After we aired the story of Roger Curry, a man who has mysteriously appeared in the UK with no ID and no idea who he is or where he is from, we got a lot of listener response. It included a message from one amateur dialect expert, who's convinced Roger hails from the American South.
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It's been more than a year since West Mercia Police started asking the public for help in identifying this man with dementia who calls himself "Roger Curry." (West Mercia Police)
As It Happens6:39Listener is convinced UK 'Mystery Man' hails from the American South

It's a story that remains a mystery. And when listeners heard about Roger Curry on our Jan. 25 show, it left them stumped too. But at least one thinks she can help solve the riddle. 

Roger Curry may not be his real name. But that is the name officials in Herefordshire, England have given a man who was found in the area recently. He has no identification and no real idea of who he is or where he's from. Local police are asking for the public's help in identifying the man and — judging by his accent — suggest he might be Canadian.

Judge for yourself. Here's a short sample of what Roger Curry sounds like:

As It Happens0:06CLIP- UK asking for help identifying "mystery man" with Canadian accent
A mystery man who cannot give details on who he is, is being described as having a "Canadian accent"

But when our listeners heard the story on Monday, they had different ideas of where Roger might be from. One email in particular piqued our interest. It's from Jennifer Toulmin. She's an actress featured in Anne of Green Gables, who also studied diction and dialect.

"I was incredibly compelled by this heartfelt story. I stopped everything I was doing and went through all my dialect recordings and wrote in," she tells As It Happens host Carol Off.

Anne of Green Gables actress Jennifer Toulmin wrote into As It Happens with her opinion of where the mystery man in UK, Roger Curry, might be from. Toulmin has studied diction and dialect.

"And I would not have [written in] so immediately, if I hadn't felt that I could pinpoint, at least, that he is American and most definitely has a Southern American English accent."

So, why is Toulmin so sure that Roger Curry is from the American South? She points to a few key distinguishing features of Roger's speech — among them, the lilt in his dialect.

"In Southern American speakers, you'll hear a bit of a rise and fall within that lengthened vowel, and you can hear that in [words like] 'good.' It sort of sounds like a bit of a diphthong. I used an Arkansas dialect once, in Fire [the musical], and I attacked the word 'good' in the same way."

Toulmin also points to Roger's use of "gliding vowels" in words like "house" — a common feature of speech in the American South. Also, the tempo of his speech is slower, and he has a tendency to lengthen his vowels — also clues of a Southern accent.

While Toulmin's case is compelling, Roger Curry's case still remains unsolved. If you have your own opinions on his dialect, we welcome your thoughts. Write to us at [email protected], or send us a tweet — @cbcasithappens.

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