Modern Winchester Notions
Although many of the old notions are used less and less frequently by Wykehamists, a more informal slang has grown up in their place. Much of this consists of altering the vowel in a word for facetious or sarcastic effect. Wykehamical vowel-alteration is often accompanied by a High Rising Terminal intonation pattern, which is often encountered in Australian English and the stereotyped Californian Valspeak, but which is relatively rare in the context of standard Southern British English and may wrongly be interpreted as "questioning". Hence it may perhaps best be transcribed "...?!".
Current examples of vowel alteration include:
- This is quat good: This is pretty bad
Further examples still used by Old Wykehamists include:
- Yoi: Obviously no, I don't believe this is true
- Noi: Obviously yes, I definitely agree
The patrony (the act of patronising one's peers) is a central feature of Wykehamical interaction. Formerly, a common way to patronise someone was to say to them "Hullo?!" in a throaty nasal voice. The concept of patrony (sic) was later imagined as a form of metaphorical currency, with individuals bidding each other to "take a patrony".
Read more about this topic: Notions (Winchester College)
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