The world would be a far duller place were it not for accents. I wonder how many distinct varieties there are in the UK, and then the entire world itself. I saw a programme yesterday morning - wasn't watching it really but then i suddenly heard a series of clicking noises......and i started scanning the room for grasshoppers. Didn't find any, and then i noticed that the source of the clicking sounds was the tv itself. An African woman was talking to somebody and as she did so she also made the clicking noises that were bothering me so much only moments earlier. In fact, I have heard this before on another programme - it is a very unique South African tribal speech and it's quite fantastic. Then i started wondering if there are actually variants of the clicking noises, never mind the accent. And if so, are there also variants of the variants......

I personally hate my own accent. I want to swap it for a Texas drawl or a Brummie accent at the very least (are you interested in an exchange Mr Skinner?). I cannot take anyone who speaks in a rich brummie ax at all seriously. And they seldom are serious folk from that part of the world. With a brummie accent i think i would be totally at ease with myself.

But then by the same token, i'm also relieved that i'm not from the quite drastically sad "Whites who speak like Blacks" production line. It's not the way that London Blacks talk that bothers me - it's just that i don't believe that any White person actually talks that way. They practise in front of a mirror for years on end (including the school toilets - at break and during lessons i imagine) until it becomes second nature, I'm quite sure of that. Of course, the person who started all that nonsense off was Tim bleedin' Westwood, and we can never forgive him for that.

However, in the main, most accents are just fabulous, and i have come up with an idea for a new reality show now......

Sorry to be blunt, but what's this got to do with Celebrity Big Brother?

I cheated a bit i voted for 4 !!!! :laugh:

Sorry to be blunt, but what's this got to do with Celebrity Big Brother?

There's certainly a diverse selection of accents on CBB at the moment so we could pull it back that way Pan :)

I don't mind some accents but that bloke that says "Dee eeet - eet thir'y eet" really gets on my nerves. But then I suppose my London (not cockney) accent would probably get on his :shutup:

I don't "love" any accents, mainly because I find most of them hard to understand.

Pete's gets on my nerves but I think that's just cos it's him.

Chantelle's is awful and does she have to keep giggling after every word

Traci's seems so false

Dennis I can't understand at all

Maggot's got a "soft" Welsh accent which isn't too bad. Harsh Welsh accent's are awful.

George I can make out OK

Michael's is pretty standard to my ears - not at all posh though is he

Preston's is OK except that he can't seem to string a sentance together without lots of "know what I mean" etc.

We've all got an accent to somebody. When I went to Birmingham years ago they all said my accent was "posh" and "lah di dah" when it isn't at all but just sounded like it to them I suppose.

OK, I'm rambling - I'll shut up now :wacko:

I love the Scouse accent, mainly because I think it helps to express their natural sense of humour.

I don't really like many accents, especially on women, but on a man I love the Glasgow accent. Has to have the voice to go with it, though.

Who on earth voted for Brummie?! Secrets, it can only be you, Isis or me. It definitely wasn't me. I've spent most of my life trying NOT to have a brummie accent. Isis, I believe, is from Warwickshire, so she wouldn't associated herself with being brummie.

No Mississippi accent??? I'm shattered!! We have a lovely accent! :ranting:

The world would be a far duller place were it not for accents. I wonder how many distinct varieties there are in the UK, and then the entire world itself. I saw a programme yesterday morning - wasn't watching it really but then i suddenly heard a series of clicking noises......and i started scanning the room for grasshoppers. Didn't find any, and then i noticed that the source of the clicking sounds was the tv itself. An African woman was talking to somebody and as she did so she also made the clicking noises that were bothering me so much only moments earlier. In fact, I have heard this before on another programme - it is a very unique South African tribal speech and it's quite fantastic. Then i started wondering if there are actually variants of the clicking noises, never mind the accent. And if so, are there also variants of the variants......

I personally hate my own accent. I want to swap it for a Texas drawl or a Brummie accent at the very least (are you interested in an exchange Mr Skinner?). I cannot take anyone who speaks in a rich brummie ax at all seriously. And they seldom are serious folk from that part of the world. With a brummie accent i think i would be totally at ease with myself.

But then by the same token, i'm also relieved that i'm not from the quite drastically sad "Whites who speak like Blacks" production line. It's not the way that London Blacks talk that bothers me - it's just that i don't believe that any White person actually talks that way. They practise in front of a mirror for years on end (including the school toilets - at break and during lessons i imagine) until it becomes second nature, I'm quite sure of that. Of course, the person who started all that nonsense off was Tim bleedin' Westwood, and we can never forgive him for that.

However, in the main, most accents are just fabulous, and i have come up with an idea for a new reality show now......

Hello Woodstock,

I agree, what a boring old world this would be if we all spoke the same. The number of dialects in Britain far exceeds those in the listed poll. I personally love them all and a few that little bit more.

Sometimes I enjoy listening to people who have spent years trying to educate themselves, but when it comes to there dialect they just crumble with embarrassment. Why?

There are also some very clever people in the world who can listen to your speaking voice and detect within a 10 mile radius where you are from, even if you are one those who has studied or tried for years to hide it. Unfortunately I am not one of those, who can detect dialects to regions in this way, but my cousins wife Susan can do it, with great precision.

People who have strong dialects can be very entertaining without trying to entertain.

Maureen
Northern angel.:wub: This subject.

I'm glad theres no Aussie accent as an option, coz there really isn't one! Only really hard-core Aussies sound like Crocodile Dundee and that moron Steve Irwin

I don't mind some accents but that bloke that says "Dee eeet - eet thir'y eet" really gets on my nerves. But then I suppose my London (not cockney) accent would probably get on his :shutup:

It would take more than a few words to get on my nerves, actions that are repetitive and lack colour or gusto, for example.

I don't "love" any accents, mainly because I find most of them hard to understand.

I watched one of those debate programmes some time ago, and the vast majority of people present in the studio felt that dialects have there place, but in the work arena everyone should speak slower than normal to enable clarity of speach and understanding. Whether people should deliberately speak softer according to education or take on a standard English dialect was not an issue. Sadly, one or two employers stated that strong dialects were grounds for descrimination.

Maggot's got a "soft" Welsh accent which isn't too bad. Harsh Welsh accent's are awful.

Anne Robinson criticised the welsh on one of her Weakest link Programmes and was blasted for it. I'd be careful if I were you Critique, you wouldn't want to upset the Welsh online. Industrial workers are inclined to having strong dialects and some equally strong additions added for colour and expression, in there working environment.

We've all got an accent to somebody. When I went to Birmingham years ago they all said my accent was "posh" and "lah di dah" when it isn't at all but just sounded like it to them I suppose.



You are right we all have a dialect. In one of my jobs years ago someone put a label on my office door saying "Industrial language translator". I found it highly amusing and left it.A few days later someone put another label on my desk this time "Passport Control". My secretary had another one on her desk and we both decided tohave a jolly good laugh. Her notice was a cartoon of a female buried under piles of fully checked union papers, with the words Maureen's IT Slave.

IT is a language I still struggle with today. :laugh: :thumbsup:

Maureen
Northern angel.

I'm glad theres no Aussie accent as an option, coz there really isn't one! Only really hard-core Aussies sound like Crocodile Dundee and that moron Steve Irwin


Hello JakeyBoy,

Is Steve Irwin, that crazy guy who handles wild animals without worrying whether he'll be bitten or not?

If so, he probably does belong in an institution, but there is something about him that is compelling about his crazy and impulsive character on television.

Isn't there a dialect, I always thought there was? :excl:

Maureen
Northern angel.

I don't mind some accents but that bloke that says "Dee eeet - eet thir'y eet" really gets on my nerves. But then I suppose my London (not cockney) accent would probably get on his

Reply by NA:It would take more than a few words to get on my nerves, actions that are repetitive and lack colour or gusto, for example.

Crit:It would take more than a few actions that are repetitive and lack colour or gusto to get on my nerves. Isn't it wonderful how different we all are?

I don't "love" any accents, mainly because I find most of them hard to understand.

Reply by NA: I watched one of those debate programmes some time ago, and the vast majority of people present in the studio felt that dialects have there place, but in the work arena everyone should speak slower than normal to enable clarity of speach and understanding. Whether people should deliberately speak softer according to education or take on a standard English dialect was not an issue. Sadly, one or two employers stated that strong dialects were grounds for descrimination.

Crit:Can't blame them for wanting employees they can converse with without having a translator - I sometimes need subtitles on programs where the actors have strong regional accents

Maggot's got a "soft" Welsh accent which isn't too bad. Harsh Welsh accent's are awful.

Reply by NA: Anne Robinson criticised the welsh on one of her Weakest link Programmes and was blasted for it. I'd be careful if I were you Critique, you wouldn't want to upset the Welsh online. Industrial workers are inclined to having strong dialects and some equally strong additions added for colour and expression, in there working environment.

Crit:I have Welsh family and spend a lot of time in Wales - I wouldn't want to upset my Welsh sis-in-law either but she has a harsh accent that I find difficult to understand.

We've all got an accent to somebody. When I went to Birmingham years ago they all said my accent was "posh" and "lah di dah" when it isn't at all but just sounded like it to them I suppose.

Reply by NA: You are right we all have a dialect. In one of my jobs years ago someone put a label on my office door saying "Industrial language translator". I found it highly amusing and left it.A few days later someone put another label on my desk this time "Passport Control". My secretary had another one on her desk and we both decided tohave a jolly good laugh. Her notice was a cartoon of a female buried under piles of fully checked union papers, with the words Maureen's IT Slave.
IT is a language I still struggle with today. :laugh: :thumbsup:

Crit: :unsure:



.................................................. ...

Scouse, Glaswegian and Irish Brogue for me hard to choose between these which I like best. They do fascinate me I remember when my welsh Sis in law first came into our family and we were awful trying to mimic her accent.

It must have been really irritating for her, unfortunately hers is not the nice soft welsh accent its rather harsh on the ears especially on the end of a telephone for a couple of hours.

Yeah, we're getting good at putting the phone on a shelf about 3 feet away aren't we Mazz ;)

Upset the welsh, perish the thought they normally manage that quite well on their own.

Apologies to any welsh members

Who on earth voted for Brummie?! Secrets, it can only be you

Ooroyt.
Warrn't me nah!
Daynt get hum till affpast five our kid?

You can't fool me. That's Black Country, not brummie.

Who was it then? Come on, admit it whomever you are!

Going by his first post I would guess it was Woodstock Patsy.

Clearly deranged. Or maybe he also likes scraping forks on his teeth and running his fingernails down a blackboard. Or perhaps he's deaf.

WOODSTOCK

ARE YOU DEAF?

You know someone on here PM'd me just to tell me how much they loved my accent!
Pie and peas all round mate.
For (slient the) record we ave loadsa food up ere.

You know someone on here PM'd me just to tell me how much they loved my accent!
Pie and peas all round mate.
For (slient the) record we ave loadsa food up ere.
And if i said who it was - i would have to kill someone.:wink2:

Hello Critique,

What do you feel about the Character of Rab C Nesbit, very broad Glaswegian whose screen character always wears a string vest.?

I think the actors real name is Gregory Fisher.An actor who has turned his career from serious to complete comedy. In real life he speaks beautiful distinctive standard English, but like so many good actors can do dialects to a T.

You have created a very interesting dialogue in post 11.

Maureen
Northern angel.

In real life he speaks beautiful distinctive standard English,

:unsure:...with a Scottish accent.

Does he also wear retro white shirts and have a penchant for pedantry? :wink2:

I put the Glasweeegian accent and the Highland accent...tho I amin't quite sure what the Highland accent is like.
Figure I can't go too wrong tho'...as I'm a sucker for a Scottish accent.
It's deadly.
I LOVE a Donegal accent too....but I would'nt class it as an irish brogue...as it's too soft and gentle, with a nice lilt.
It's TOTALLY tropical!
:-)
Does the best accent get a prize..as represented on the SO forum.

Does he also wear retro white shirts and have a penchant for pedantry? :wink2:

All the best people do Patsy!

And Aondaig - Highland accent is kind of Mrs Doubtfire!

I'm a bit of a softie for nicely modulated, standard RP English. Precise diction makes my knees weak.

I know, I know... not very interesting, but I'm not a big fan of regional accents. I do love Croatian accents, though.

:unsure:...with a Scottish accent.


Hello Fee,

Are you one of those gifted people, who can pick out from the Standard English spoken voice, the slightest tinges of dialect?

Are you like my cousins wife, who can do this to within a 10 mile radius of where an individual was born?

I can't, and I'm puzzled as to how she can do this. I'm puzzled, that she has such a finely toned hearing skill; she knows the difference even between local dialect changes.

I envy you both.

Is it you, that also owns a beautiful grey cat, with fur that has the sheen of silk? I felt some sadness looking at its photograph in the SO Gallery, as it reminded me so much of my own.

Maureen
Northern angel.

Does he also wear retro white shirts and have a penchant for pedantry? :wink2:


Hello Patsy,

In all honesty,I don't know anyone who hasn't a passion for small talk.

Of retro white shirts, I'm not sure. No doubt we all have one.

Maureen
Northern angel. :wink2:

No, but Gregor Fisher has a pronounced Scottish accent in r/l.

And yes, that is indeed my cat. He's Burmese but speaks with a well-modulated Home Counties accent.

No, but Gregor Fisher has a pronounced Scottish accent in r/l.

And yes, that is indeed my cat. He's Burmese but speaks with a well-modulated Home Counties accent.


Hello Fee,

Oh, to have been born Scottish or Welsh. On second thoughts Irish dialects are lovely to. However, I am a Geordie and although a watered down one, I simply can not roll an r. I can trip an r, I can do an Americanised r and I can do a gutteral r.

I would so much love to be able to roll an r, the way the Scottish, the Welsh and some Irish people can, for them rolling an r is natural.

Still, I'm not the only singer unable to roll an r. (Not to be too sad though, my boyfriend tells me, I roll my r's fine; when I'm having a drink. Cheeky so and so.)

I've said it once already, but your cat is truly beautiful. I adore cats and I have two of my own. 57 varieties type but still very friendly and lovable. My grey cat, I had to have put down two years ago, he had suffered some trauma - possibly with a car, and there was nothing the vet could do for him. I was very distraught and it is the only time in my life, I have cancelled my expected performance in a concert, the day of smokies death.I still miss him. Cats must have a sixth sense as my neighbours cat has taken up residence permanently in my house. So now I have two.

Maureen
Northern angel.

'Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.'George Elliot.

Hello Fee,

Are you one of those gifted people, who can pick out from the Standard English spoken voice, the slightest tinges of dialect?

Are you like my cousins wife, who can do this to within a 10 mile radius of where an individual was born?


I think Gregor Fisher has more than a tinge of a Scottish accent, Maureen.

Is you cousin's surname Higgins, by any chance?

Is you cousin's surname Higgins, by any chance?

Come on Maureen! Roll yer bleedin' r's!