Interviewer: So, I’d like to ask you about your accent and/or pronunciation, its characteristics. So, it’s basically a Birmingham 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 are other things in it, I mean. . . there must be some Birmingham from my father’s side. And of course it’s mixed, mixed with some Welsh or South Wales accent from my mother, I suppose. But also when I was at school, the headmaster of the secondary school I was at used to hate, hate the Birmingham dialect. And so we were forced, forced not to use it if ever we did. And for some, for some reason was the most despised 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 the standard, educated dialect. And I think I probably do, although. . . sometimes I, when I’ve talked to a phonetician, 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, of course. 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 to Birmingham is not, not enough change for a summer holiday, so usually we go to the southwest of England, these years, and we stay on Dartmoor, in a very small town called Tavistock. So that’s really the place 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 especially teaching 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 first arrived 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 not very far from here, so I just have a five minute walk to here for classes and so on. So it’s quite, quite nice and 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’t know, 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.