What's your country's version of "British"? (Special note for RevOxley)

[Tigress]

Yeah, it's a very bland, non-drawling 'owh.'

Oh, and we use a terminal comma in series, and you don't.

apples, oranges, and pears

vs.

apples, oranges and pears

I get yelled at all the time for "missing a comma" because I do it the British way. <sigh> I have to make myself type it if I'm writing professionally for someone in this country.

I use both ways. Sometimes I use the comma, other times I don't. Teachers here don't seem to mind it.

 

[ChrisP]

Well, Michael's old auntie was rather nice, but I've not met too many other people in Yorkshire. We weren't there for long -- we were off for Wales instead.


Georgian accents? Which one?

North Georgia sounds a lot different than the rest of the state. Coastal areas are different from cenral, but not outrageously so, and Atlanta has a very soft accent, at least among those who are actually from Atlanta these days. Prez Jimmah Cahtah has a central Georgian accent, not unlike what I'd hear in Macon.

I can't stand that stupid Star Trek:TNG episode where there's this Atlantan dude that gets unfrozen. His accent is pure Mountain, not heard in Atlanta, and too strong for anywhere in Georgia. If they wanted something really representative of Atlanta musicians, they'd probably have unfrozen some hip hop artist, not some cornpone white hillbilly who plays bad country music. I've never seen anyone like that play the Buckhead clubs. He'd be laughed out of town. /rant

I have no idea where in Georgia the accents I've heard are from, but they have that really southern feel, so...

I apologise to Michael's old auntie... I've worked for a couple of Yorkshiremen, and they were not the best bosses I've had by a long way.

 

[Quoth The Raven]

Like my daughter's Irish dance teacher.

If you want to hear a barely intelligible "English" accent, try Yorkshire. Geez, I spend Boxing Day with a friend's family and could hardly make sense of their Yorkshire aunt, even though I'm really used to dealing with accents of various sorts.

Oh gods, I love the Yorkshire accent! We used to have a guy from Yorkshire working for us, every time he opened his mouth I giggled like a schoolgirl. It was grand.
I'm very partial to haggis speak, myself.

 

[Booko]

In America, the most widely accepted accent is from Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas. Meriam Websters dictionary uses it as the basis of their pronounciation guide.

I rather thought it was the Chicago accent that was standard. Or is that just what all the teevee announcers use, sorta like BBC English?

 

[Booko]

I've worked for a couple of Yorkshiremen, and they were not the best bosses I've had by a long way.

Woo, that's enough to mess up an opinion of just about anyone.

I keep thinking of Python's sketch about Harold the flying sheep when I think of Yorkshire.

 

[Booko]

Oh gods, I love the Yorkshire accent! We used to have a guy from Yorkshire working for us, every time he opened his mouth I giggled like a schoolgirl. It was grand.

I remember Michael's auntie asking me, "Want a bit of trifle?" and I had to ask her, very apologetically, to repeat herself 3 times before I had a clue what she was saying. :cover:

And my best friend growing up, her Mum was from Northumbria, and goodness knows I never had a tough time understanding her...

I'm very partial to haggis speak, myself.

I'm rather partial to haggis, but good luck finding any here, even though there are plenty of Scots about. It seems odd having New Year's without a bit of haggis.

I don't know why Americans get all bent out of shape over it. It's just an odd shaped sausage, and goodness knows, we eat enough of those, especially in the South.

 

[Quoth The Raven]

I'm rather partial to haggis, but good luck finding any here, even though there are plenty of Scots about. It seems odd having New Year's without a bit of haggis.

Not to actually eat the haggis, just to listen to the haggis eaters speak.:biglaugh:

My favourite saying from the Yorkie who worked for us was,'I need to 'ave a cuppa tea...I'm spittin' feathers.'

 

[Booko]

Not to actually eat the haggis, just to listen to the haggis eaters speak.:biglaugh:

Oh, I know, but I like both. :eat:

My favourite saying from the Yorkie who worked for us was,'I need to 'ave a cuppa tea...I'm spittin' feathers.'

OOh, that's a hoot!

(btw, "Yorkie" here is a small dog otherwise known as "Yorkshire terrier." Don't call anyone here that, they'll think you meant "yippy little rat dog"!)

 

[Djamila]

In rural england, nearly every VILLAGE has it's own accent.

Sorry, I know England has more than one accent - I meant I didn't think Britons would disagree about London's being the generic best.

 

[Djamila]

Oh, btw, Djamila, there are tendencies in British accents that are still reflected in the U.S. today, and it's based on where in Britain the early settlers ended up.

For example, in New England you hear them stick random "r"s on things, like "idear" instead of "idea" -- just like they do in Plymouth and that area, where those settlers came from. And they leave off "r"s where they should be. Like a friend of mine from Mass always makes fun of "park the car in the yard" which would be pronounced "paakh the caaah in the yahhhd."

The differences in many patterns here come from our early settlers, even when it comes to something like Civil War battle tactics. The South, settled primarily by Scots Irish, tended to do send their leaders, who were more charismatic, up front in the battle, as the Celts have always done. The North, settled primarily by Brits, had their generals in the back managing things, as the common military practice was there. Northern generals were better managers, but not charismatic leaders as Southern generals were.

Much of our Southern accent here can be traced back to African speaking habits. Small wonder, when white children were so often raised by black nannies.

Thank you so much for this post! So informative! Xox

 

[Djamila]

A perfect example of the most highly regarded accent among Bosnian Muslims. The singer in this song is from Bihac, the largest Muslim city in northwest Bosnia. Having a Bihac accent, in Islamic circles, is like... speaking French stereotypically used to be for American women.

It's just associated with intelligence, sensuality, etc.

Again, rural area... LOL Don't mind the stairway to heaven and hick dancers...

http://www.zippyvideos.com/8095201913638886/selma_-_folk_dancing/

 

[nutshell]

In English, I think most of us will agree - whatever our personal preferences - that the generic, London variety of British English is the most highly regarded accent in the English language.

Are you serious??? I doubt that most of us will agree on that.

 

[nutshell]

And Ian McKellan....for some reason I think of those actors as having Shakespearian British accents...well, you can tell where they got their stage training, eh?

You realize Elizabethan English sounds nothing like English today (regardless of where it's spoke and including England/Britain).

 

[Booko]

You realize Elizabethan English sounds nothing like English today (regardless of where it's spoke and including England/Britain).

I was referring to people who had been trained as Shakespearian actors. Sorry about the mangled prose. See my sig.

 

[nutshell]

I was referring to people who had been trained as Shakespearian actors. Sorry about the mangled prose. See my sig.

Oh! I get it. My bad.

 

[Quoth The Raven]

(btw, "Yorkie" here is a small dog otherwise known as "Yorkshire terrier." Don't call anyone here that, they'll think you meant "yippy little rat dog"!)

They are here too, but I'm too lazy to keep writing Yorkshire.

 

[James the Persian]

Like my daughter's Irish dance teacher.

If you want to hear a barely intelligible "English" accent, try Yorkshire. Geez, I spend Boxing Day with a friend's family and could hardly make sense of their Yorkshire aunt, even though I'm really used to dealing with accents of various sorts.

Where in Yorkshire? Something that Americans often fail to realise is just how miuch accents in England vary over very short distances (one of the reasons why the idea of a 'British accent' is so laughable). Yorkshire is by far the largest county in Britain (I know that it's been divided into four and had bits chopped off, but those of us from the area still prefer to think of it as one whole) and as a result the accents vary a heck of a lot. I grew up in Leeds (where its a kind of gentle sing-song Yorkshire acent) and we moved to Barnsley (where its much harsher and archaic) when I was 12. Despite having lived in Yorkshire all my life, I couldn't understand a word they were saying there, and it's only about 20 minutes' drive away!

My favourite accent would have to be a nice gentle Northumbrian (not Newcastle) one and my least favourite absolutely has to be Liverpudlian. The way they pronounce words like 'back' there (almost like a Welshman saying Bach) really gets my hackles up.

James

 

[James the Persian]

Patrick Stewart.

I like his accent too.



Indeed.

A great Yorkshireman (though with a relatively mild accent, he can still do the nigh on incomprehensible one - even to me - of his youth). He actually comes from the town where our church is and can sometimes be seen there (not in church, in the town) when he returns home.

James

 

[James the Persian]

They are here too, but I'm too lazy to keep writing Yorkshire.

You could refer to us as Tykes - that's often what we call ourselves, though goodness only knows the etymology behind it.

James

 

[ChrisP]

A "Tyke" is a traditional Yorkshire character rugged, hardworking and with great pride in their roots.

Apparently the leads rugby clubs named after em.