Regional British Accents

[Ian H]

The comedian, Arthur Smith told a story about asking for ice-cream somewhere in the Southern states of America. After several attempts at communication the vendor called for help, saying she thought perhaps he was French.

 

[solmisation]

I love all the variety in all the accents and I think it's a real shame that they are gradually dying out. It would be nice if people from Kent still sounded kentish and not estuarine.

I have to agree with that statement, I also love all the local dialects we have in the UK, again it's a pity that lots of them are disappearing.

 

[ChrisKH]

The comedian, Arthur Smith told a story about asking for ice-cream somewhere in the Southern states of America. After several attempts at communication the vendor called for help, saying she thought perhaps he was French.

I always get mistaken for Australian when in the southern States. Which is worse.

 

[Downward]

I went to Lockerbie once - Couldn't understand a word. My wife had to translate.

The scouse accent is horrible. When you hear a lass you know she will be fit but by god you couldn't hack the spitting !

Best for the girls is the Derbyshire I reckon. Not too northern but just gruff enough.

 

[Plax]

I'm not really bothered with accents, although I do rather like some Irish accents (Gabriel Byrne for example), and I think Anthony Hopkins and Keith Carradine also sound very sexy. The only accent I really can't stand is Scouse. Really grates on my nerves, which makes me feel bad as most of the time they are really nice people!

I don't have a strong Welsh accent, despite being from a Welsh speaking family, my accent is pretty much Queen's English. I personally can't hear any North Walian accents, I think I'm used to it - I only notice if someone has a Welsh accent if they are South Walian. I remember going on a family holiday to Corfu once and meeting a Scottish couple. They couldn't understand a word my dad was saying (he has a strong Welsh accent) and we couldn't understand a word the fella (who had a strong Scottish accent) was saying! It caused much amusement.

I did find it rather bizarre once when I was asked if I was from Australia.

 

[WeeE]

In the US, I had a very weird time of it because for the first time in my life, my bog-standard west-of-Scotland accent wasn't perceived as "rough", uncouth or uneducated; just the opposite, in fact - people were always coming over in cafes and stuff to say what a nice accent it was! Probably that was because they perceived it as Irish-sounding. In Iowa once (near the U.I. campus) when I'd explained to a student/waitress that I was from Scotland, she said, "Oh, so are you here to learn English?"

 

[User169]

Always liked John Arlott's Hampshire burr.


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry8d6Ao0eio


They don't sound like that in Basingstoke these days.

 

[Wester]

There are lots of different West country accents. Which one did you mean?

Somerset

And name a few more West country accents

 

[Wester]

A friend of ours got a job welding at Harland & Wolf in Belfast, he's from Lewis and normally works on the rigs. For the first 3 days he said blokes kept coming up and asking him pointless qustions then straining to hear him speak - they were all trying to work out where he came from and check he wasn't one of those hated Catholics! In the end somebody actually asked him where he was from and there was general relief when he replied that his name was Burns, from the Hebrides.

Shortly after that the yard security blokes come over to warn him about thieving and drug dealing in the yard. If he wanted to do any of that, they told him, he'd better see them because they were in charge of theft and drugs!

Catholics are not allowed to work in Harland & Wolf shipyards

How long ago was it when your friend got that job working in Harland & Wolf ?

 

[yenrod]

>Which regional British accent do you like most ?

I despise a liverpool accent - seriously hate it - I try not to listen to myself when talking I phonetically change things when not in l.pool.

I don't mind a female NorthEast in some ways, yet I also like a scottish too !

The extreme pie n mash cockney is dog gone awfull !

Having met an American last yr. I wasnt to on with that till I met this woman and I thought it was fantastic! from Virginia they were.

A lancs. accent is ok. yet a Mancs' is the 'sharp' end of that...

Irish can be nice but very deep' is not appealing.

 

[Wester]

Since when?

I should have said were not

 

[yenrod]

. I really think London should break off from the rest of the country and form its own island.

Totally !

 

[ChrisKH]

Ladies with Edinburgh or Lancashire accents do something for me.

 

[very-near]

Scottish, Not sure it's British (in fact it isn't) but Cork

We have a customer in Cork and I'd go along with this.

 

[Melvil]

Oh, and a nice Essex accent (by which I mean generally North Essex), instantly makes you feel welcome and at ease.