The other day , three of Chris' old colleagues called round for a visit. The three of them (all hailing from the South Yorkshire area) had gone to Llandudno for a couple of days rest and relaxation, so when they came, I did the usual allotment tour, presents of duck eggs and tea and cake.
The "girls" all possessed varying thicknesses of the South Yorkshire accent, and I found myself "enjoying" their speech patterns as those flat vowels bantered back and forth.
Accents fascinate me. Physically Britain is such a tiny area, but the number of different accents and dialects that you can pick out is absolutely phenomenal.
Anyhow I mention this only because one of the visiting girls made a point of commenting just how "welsh" I had become. She had met me a few times when I lived in Sheffield, and presumed that I was a "posh Yorkshireman"...now she couldn't get over the fact that I had reverted to my native drawl.
I couldn't bare it. Now if I had the true pure North Wales accent, I could cope with the observation, but I suspect that I now possess that mongrel Liverpudlian and Welsh hybrid accent that I hate. When I have time I will do another video talk over, and you and all figure it out for yourselves.(I am sure my friend Nigel will have something to say on this subject)
The video gives those "non Yorkshire" readers a brief snippet of the wonderful Sheffield accent....Russel Crowe note.....this is what you should have sounded like in the movie Robin Hood
I feel rather chesty today as my twice yearly bout of bronchitis has arrived but will soldier on, checked on Blanche early this morning and found all her newly hatched chicks dead and flat in the nest. Chickens can be thick as mince sometimes.
Accents are always a point of discussion over here, as people think I have a Scottish accent???? Okay we are originally from Cumbria, and yes it's only an hour from the border, but no I don't have a Scottish accent.
ReplyDeleteSome people think we sound Canadian.......um no, yes we do use a lot of Canadian words, but we'll never sound Canadian.
I will say when me, dh and my dad get together, we do drop back into a thicker Cumbrian accent and will say "nowt" and other delightful Cumbrian words........
Gill who lives in Canada, but could have a Cumbrian accent, but maybe it's Scottish or is it Canadian? Who knows??
I should say, as the kids were only 3 1/2 and 5 when we arrived here, they sound as Canadian as the next person, with the odd Cumbrian word mixed in!!
ReplyDeleteGill in Canada
Aww John that's too bad about the chicks...hope I don't experience that the first time we let Buttercup hatch a batch! LOVE the accents...when visiting England I was in love with all the different accents...Cornish accents are fun. Never heard a Welsh accent I don't think...other than Tom Jones but then that was years ago and I can't even remember what he sounded like! I'll be watching for your video :) Funny how we pick up the accents of where we live...I now have slight Kansas drawl to my Red River (MB Canada)accent. Enjoy your Sunday!
ReplyDeleteSorry about your chicks.I love accents too...I guess because I have been teased ever since Hubby took me out of Arkansas 20 years ago about my thick hillbilly accent! Mine has never lessened no matter where I have lived! One of Hubby's co-workers once told him,"You must have traveled deep in the woods to find that woman!"
ReplyDeleteI just smiled,it doesn't bother me one bit!
that's interesting gill..I worked over in Pittsburgh for a short while and the locals thought I was Australian
ReplyDeletefunny how North America view how we sound....
have you heard AJ on her blog or Joanna on hers....wonderful accents!!!
I think it's great that you still have all of your different accents. Over here, there are still broad regional accents, but they are gradually being washed out. Why? Because we all watch too much tv, and I think a lot of us have picked up the "broadcaster" accent. How blah it will be if all of the accents do go away.
ReplyDeleteSo, you're feeling , what is it, 'chesty'today? I won't go there!
ReplyDeleteI love accents. Most countries have a variety within them, I'm sure. Here in Nova Scotia there are quite a few....particularly in Cape Breton where the Scottish and Irish accent is everywhere. Where Ron is from in the Annapolis Valley,N.S., an accent can be detected. Of course, I don't have one!
You 'chicken people' are very persistent......very admirable quality....lucky chickens.
Hope you are feeling better. Make sure you get some rest. Sleep.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed listening to the accents. I have a terrible ability to slip into speaking with an accent when I'm around someone with an accent. Very embarrassing. People think I'm making fun of them.
Bad Blanche. Goofy chickens. Nasty surprise. Makes me glad we don't have a rooster. Broken eggs are bad enough.
I must confess that I am less than terrible when it comes to recognizing accents, with the exception of US Southern drawls ~ which I don't like! (sorry for any southerners out there!)
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't know an Irish from an English or a Yorkshire from a Scottish. Very unfortunate and I think I should come tour your part of the world so that I can learn the differences!
;-)
I hope you're feeling better soon, John...
Being a "Yankee", everyone here (down south) asks me where I am from. I remember when we first came down here, years ago, and we stopped at a McDonald's, I thought the kids were all going to wet their pants, when the girl said "Welcome to McDonald's, may I take your order?" Here accent was so THICK, they had never heard it before. Talk about embarrassing! After we were here about 6 months, our daughter sounded just like she had been born and bred here. None of the rest of us had at that point. I still have trouble deciphering some of things these southerners say, I just nod and agree. I believe I have a MN, NY, CA and TN accent, all mixed up. (also a bit like Daisy Duck because of my cannula and nasal problems) It all sounds pretty bad.
ReplyDeleteOh, that dumb Blanche! Maybe next time, take her eggs away the last week and put in the brooder? (or whatever that thing is called)
Semi-annual bout with bronchitis, that doesn't sound good. Take care of yourself! You don't want to land in the hospital, like I do!
Take care!
XXX
Being born just outside London, brought up in the Midlands and now living in Scotland, I've developed a bit of a 'mongrel' accent, sometimes I sound like a brummie, sometimes I sound like a cockny and occasionaly i sound like a jock!
ReplyDeleteI remember watching a program with Melvin Bragg talking about the origins of the English language, and he was saying that the American accent (not so sure about the different dialects/accents) was a mixture of all the different British accents because of the settlers who landed there.
We always laugh at me and my accent around here. I studied in Europe for a while, and have lived in many different states before settling in the south-all of which has colored my speech. My yankee friends tell me I have a southern accent, and my southern family tells me I sound like a yankee. Go figure.
ReplyDelete