Accents

[sun-star]

I have an English accent - quite a posh one actually. I don't come from a posh area, and the local accent is very, very horrible, so I try not to speak like that. Most of my mother's family are Cockneys. It's a great accent

Do you think people have accents when they write? I wonder sometimes if you can tell where someone's from if they don't put anything in the little space which says "Location"...

[Evenstar1400]

on disney channel, these actors who are filming in new zealand tell you about various things they say there. one of the guys said you call a grilled cheese sandwich a toastie. is that true?

i dont have one of those cool english, irish, austrailian, or new zealandish accents. i can fake english and irish accents though. i just have a tendancy to switch from irish to english accents when im trying to talk in an english accent

just wondering.... how much do i confuse people?

[LuthienTinuviel]

to american ears, i do a very convincing british (proper- excpt for a few words) accent, but to anyone over the pond...well, they'd probably just turn and walk away.
Otherwise i've got a moderate canadian accent. it's really werid, see if im around anyone i start to talk like them, within about an hour. so stick me in toronto, and im "talking funny" within 20 mintues. and i go to toronto and windsor and sault st marie so much, that it just kind of stuck.

hehe and me being the extremely deep person that i am, i've decided that i will never love anyone who doesn't speak and irish or kiwi accent.... swoon!**

[Shadowfax]

I'm Canadian, from British Columbia specifically, and no one I have ever know says "eh?" regularily; I think that is the most rediculous Canadian stereotype ever! Well, I know that people tend to say it a bit more in the eastern provinces, but definitely not here in BC. I don't have any idea how to describe how I talk, or what my accent is though. But I do agree with what some people have said about Canadians "closing their vowels", like 'aboat' instead of 'abowt'. When I read that the first time, I said 'about' to myself and laughed...whoever said that was so right! (hehe) Cool accents? I have a few South African friends who have recently moved here and I love their accents! I also really like Parisian French accents (not Québecois!) and Scottish.

[Khamûl]

Originally posted by sun-star
Do you think people have accents when they write? I wonder sometimes if you can tell where someone's from if they don't put anything in the little space which says "Location"...

I don't imagine people with accents when I'm reading their posts, if that's what you mean. If you mean writing local words and phrases in posts, sometimes I just can't resist the urge to slip a word like "ya'll" into my posts.

[wahine]

What I've found most interesing with people who have a British accent, most of them can copy other accents extremely well. (Coney, the only other mooter so far as to have a scots/irish/ something accent. My quickie for you is, can you switch from one to another and speak it...purely?)

I can do the southern colony accent. Cockney (just make sounds that are somewhat identifyable as words and be sure of yourself. ), Scots, A terrible TERRIBLE Irish lush, Aussie, and the Colonies ghetto. That one is always fun. "Whachoo wan' mo' fo'?" and all. I've done French one decent, my Germans good *if I do say so myself* but my Spaniard sucks... I'm a *thinks* Karma Chamelion! ... I'm showing my age....

[BeardofPants]

Originally posted by Evenstar1400
on disney channel, these actors who are filming in new zealand tell you about various things they say there. one of the guys said you call a grilled cheese sandwich a toastie. is that true?

Yup. Or a toasted cheese sandwich.

[Arathorn]

Filipino accent really depends on the province but Manila is very cosmopolitan.
I speak with a slightly flat american accent; depending on what's usually on TV.

Right now we watch a lot of "Who Dares Wins" so there's some aussie there too.

I like the Scottish and Irish accents but I have trouble doing irish what with mutliple viewing of Rob Roy and Braveheart.

[Draken]

Moved around England a bit in my time and seem to have lost most of my Derbyshire accent. I really wish I could speak fluent Geordie cos it sounds so good.

Saw a stand-up on TV do this great ironic snobbery routine. He said "I am middle class and from the Home Counties. Thus I am not speaking with an accent - this is how proper English sounds"

[Dunadan]

Originally posted by Arathorn
I like the Scottish and Irish accents but I have trouble doing irish what with mutliple viewing of Rob Roy and Braveheart.

Ha ha. That would certainly confuse things (though funnily enough, the Aussie did a more convincing Scots accent than the Irishman).

There are loads of regional variations here in the UK; I presume it's true elsewhere (in American accents I can just about tell the difference between New York, southern drawl, Chicago gangster and anyone in Fargo).

I'm told (by the posh english types around me) that I have a strong Scots accent. However, when I grew up I used to get skelped for talking in the local accent, which consists of attempting to speak without using consonants at all. As a result, I developed two accents.

My Stirling accent has long since fallen into disuse (it is largely incomprehensible to anyone more than 20 miles away from the town) and I now use my posh version only, except when very drunk or enraged.

Moving to Oxford, I expected everyone to talk like the queen, but in fact the Oxford accent is more like a west country drawl (awl roight moi love?). There are people with hilariously posh accents, and it's hard to keep a straight face when dealing with them. However, it seems to be a class thing as much as regional.

I wonder if folks from other countries experience these class issues in how they talk, or is it just us British who have it written through their society like a piece of rock?

cheers

d.

[Draken]

We've got a bloke from work from Stirling. Or "Storrrrling" as he calls it...

[Dwarven Sen]

I love the stirling accent. I don't think any country has as many accents as us over such small space. I have a go at my uncle because he moved down south to glastonbury and now he says B-ah-th instead of bath, and gr-ah-ss. I have to stay on his good side though because he gets free tickets to glastonbury festival & i like to get them.

Scottish & Irish are pretty different, scottish has better word adaptions like bonny

[Earniel]

Belgium has a large number of dialects as well. Mine's the Flemish accent and within that probably the antwerp accent as well. Or 't Antwáarps as we say.

[Dunadan]

Originally posted by Draken
We've got a bloke from work from Stirling. Or "Storrrrling" as he calls it...

Then he's probably using his posh accent! The phonetic pronunciation of a hardcore Stirling accent would be something like "sturlun'"

Ah bet 'e's mair Bridge o' Allan than the Raploch (ask him and see if he gets the implication) (actually maybe not, he might get the hump)

[Sween]

been from england that means my accent is all over the place does anywhere else in the world have such a difference in dialect from one place to another? I mean even if someone is from 8 miles away from my home in cockermouth i can tell they are from workington due to there dialect as well as there lack of height (thats the inbreading for you).

I speak with what the west cumbrians name a 'posh accent' probably because my works are distinguisiable from the rest of there which ends up in some kinda low pitched mumble with its own words and sentence struture note to any visitors a person from maryport allways finishes a sentence with eh!

in scunny the the accent had moved from 'posh' to 'brummie' which i dont really understand and when i go to london on business and chat to women they will often comment on how northan i am when i am up north im am considered very well spoken and southern.

At the moment i am spending a lot of time with west cuumbrians and i think i am begining to pick up a lot of there prouniciation (this is not a good thing)!

my mate moved to dumblane when he was a kid and i allways found it facinating how he would become more scottish everytime i spoke to him

[Coney]

(Coney, the only other mooter so far as to have a scots/irish/ something accent. My quickie for you is, can you switch from one to another and speak it...purely?)

Hmm, I tend to absorb the accent gradually, usually over a couple of days, when mixing with others. I can't just switch from one accent to another........any impersonations I do are done unconsciously....if I try to fake it I sound more like Manwell from Fawlty towers

[Arathorn]

Originally posted by Dunadan

I wonder if folks from other countries experience these class issues in how they talk, or is it just us British who have it written through their society like a piece of rock?

cheers

d.

In the Philippine Islands we have our share of language, dialect, and accent variations as well which varies from valley to valley, island from island. Whether they speak the common tagalog or bisaya or english, we can tell a manilan from a kapampangan or an ilocano, ilonggo, panggasinense or cebuano and others. Interesting nonetheless.

[Hanza]

Me being from south england have a southern english accent. People who i know from up north say its posh but i never thought so.

When i see my friends from up north I immediately take on their accent. Its soo funny. They have an accent that is soo much more interesting then mine.

I love it when americans immitate the english. They always do the posh one and it sounds really funny. BTW no one speaks like that except the queen maybe.

My accent is kinda bland. It doesnt have anything to distinguish itself. I find it unfair really.

[Comic Book Guy]

The best way to imitate the english is to insert the words "like" and "wicked" into any sentance.

[Erawyn]

so stick me in toronto, and im "talking funny" within 20 mintues

How do we talk funny???? explain yourself lol!

anywho, being from Toronto, I guess thats the accent I have. But I don't say "aboot" or anything awful like that.

hehe and me being the extremely deep person that i am, i've decided that i will never love anyone who doesn't speak and irish or kiwi accent.... swoon!**

Omg me to...love Irish accents... so sexy