(This is the closest version I could find on you tube)
No doubt Thomas' accent is NOTHING like this, but it gives the reader a flavour of what it could be like
It never ceases to amaze me just how diverse British accents are, especially given the tiny size of the country........I am sure there are a myriad of social/economic/historical and geographical reasons for this, many of which no longer apply anymore, especially as the "middle England "archers" accent as well as that awful mumbling teen patois seems to be taking over the country.
My least favorite accent is the North Wales "coastal" accent, which is a mix of Welsh, Liverpudlian and Lancashire dialects.In my mind, this "lilt" is common as muck. The "inland" country Welsh accent, however has a lovely "sing song" quality to it..... (see the below video of Trelawnyd ladies Olwenna Hughes and Gwyneth Jones...it is almost as if the ladies are quietly singing!
The above "denbigh" video, shows an example of a change of accents within, just a ten mile radius.
And finally for those that have not heard my accent here it is.......a mix of Welsh, slight scouse (Liverpudlian) and Yorkshire.
Chris' accent is rather more plumy than mine..... but because he remains firmly "in the shadows" so to speak... you will never hear it!
Come on bloggers post some "videos" showcasing your own accents
I'm afraid, as you known, that I have spent my entire life doing that terribly English thing if trying to lose my accent. I'm not sure other races do this - and certainly not to the same degree as the English.
ReplyDeleteyou have a lovely English accent Bel.. but after the odd wine, the very occasional "sheffield " word creeps into the conversation!
ReplyDeletebut dont worry. its only the VERY occasional word
x
Being born within a 30 mile radius of London; having an East End Londoner for a father and an ex landed gentry stock mother, my accent would be extremely difficult to pinpoint. I cannot tell the difference between someone from east Kent and another from west Surrey - and that's where I come from - but can usually place a north Midlands accent to within 10 miles or so. Strange, eh? I used to talk a lot posher than I do now - like the Queen. Julie Birchill epitomises the Bristol accent - "Goad" for the word "Gold" for instance.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Her Indoors comes from Sheffield - your old playground. Her father used to say, "Where is the 'r' in 'bastard'?" (as in 'bahstard')
ReplyDeletethe sheffield accent is quite delightful!
ReplyDelete"eee's nobbut butta babi"
"he's nothing but a baby"
H.I.'s mother said to me after the death of her husband: "' 'e were one t' best."
ReplyDeletestrangely enought the broad sheffield accent seems to be thriving!
ReplyDeleteI originally hail from Buckinghamshire but lived in Devon for twenty years so I sound like a cross between Ken Livingstone and Pam Ayres!
ReplyDeleteJo xx
Of course here in the US we have various accents too. The 'old southern' accent of those who live in the Carolinas and southern Virginia, my favorite. My least favorite is the New Jersey one...But I had a delightful patient last week who was from Ireland. However I had a hard time understanding him. This has happened to me before and I wondered if it was just me that has a hard time understanding the Irish...
ReplyDeleteSexy! Yours, not those two old ladies.
ReplyDeletem.
Growing up in the heart of East Yorkshire, we were very conscious that our local accent was very different from the Hull accent which we often mimicked. It seemed so urban and rough. It pleases me that very occasionally when I meet observant strangers they are still able to deduce that I am from the East Riding - even though I haven't lived there for forty years - but I shan't be "showcasing" my accent as, unlike you, I am painfully shy.
ReplyDeleteshy YP
ReplyDeletein a pigs arse!
get you videos on line!
I agree with you about the North coast accent.
ReplyDeleteWhen I used to say I came from Llandudno,people would say 'you don't sound Welsh, you have more of a liverpool accent'
Now I think my accent is quite general, but the kids you hear on the TV sound terrible, I think they believe they live in the US and have to pretend to be a black rapper!!
I have to admit that I couldn't understand the ladies at all.
ReplyDeleteHere on the east coast of Michigan, we tend to say the word "Aye?", much the same as the gentleman was describing your word "Nye". (I suppose we get that from our Canadian nieghbors) Unless you travel 20 miles south to Detroit where it is a combination of words that I'd have no idea how to spell. It's a combination of "all right" that seems to come out as one syllable.
I am detecting the Yorkshire for sure, John. Aaaah, lovely. What struck me about accents after moving to Canada and having visitations from old mates in West Yorkshire, is how alike we all acted... the humour, sarcasm, etc, depending on which areas we came from. I met a Londoner when living in Toronto and we were like chalk and cheese. Northern scum and southern wankers'n'all that. My accent is all over the map now, depending on who I'm talking to and how many drinks I've got in me. England really does seem to take the cake for different dialects and slang. There are hardly any in Canada, not comparatively speaking, at least. Bap... teacake... bun...
ReplyDeleteHave no idea what Olwena and Gwyneth were saying, but found all the other accents (your's included) very charming.
ReplyDeleteI have spent my life trying to get rid of my NY accent. I think I have succeeded most of the time, but after some fine wine, it comes back very easily.
I hate the bloody snow too..any way..I was born in Coventry, went to prep school and ended up sounding like Hermione (Harry Potter). The accent has slipped quite a bit since living in Canada, but a glass or two and I can hear the prep school prissy creeping back into my voice.
ReplyDeleteJane x
To those who couldn't understand Olwenna and Gwyneth.... that's probably because they were speaking in Welsh.
ReplyDeleteLady Magnon spent a few years at school in Washington DC, when eventually she went to a proper school on the Isle of Wight, she was made to take elocution lessons to rid herself of the dreadful accent she'd picked up!
thanks cro
ReplyDeleteI should have explained that I wanted the ladies "accent" to be heard!
they are indeed chatting in welsh...
apparently about a guy that had fallen recently at home
I too am fascinated by accents. Generally people like accents from rural areas, and not from urban areas. Personaly I melt at the sound of a highland scottish accent.
ReplyDeleteMy own accent is firmly Yorkshire,despite having an Australian mother and a father from Hampshire. It's amazing how close I grew up to manchester yet how dissimilar my accent is to people from that city - all to do with the impenetrable pennines
I have a Yorkshire accent (Barnsley/Doncaster) which I don't like the sound of - I think it's fine on men but not women, it sounds way too coarse. Then again men with Leeds accents sound effeminate!
ReplyDeleteMy husband reckons our daughter who was born here in North Lincolnshire where we now live, talks 'posh'!
My very favourite accent is Geordie.
I've always felt in Texas there is a slight difference in accent depending on what area of the state you grew up in -- all variations on the Texas drrrraawwwlll.
ReplyDeleteAs for myself, I claim to have no accent. My parents grew up in the Texas panhandle, but I grew up as a military brat. I have been told I have an east coast accent, whatever that means.
Ah but your lady missed the most important part of the Bristowle accent - the L at the end of the word. when I was nursing there a man told me his pyjamals were in his lockerl. The L is even transposed in the plural. And I do remember older folk who still used Thee and Thou. and the negative Thee bisn't (thou beest not)
ReplyDeleteAll i can say is "Chicken"
ReplyDelete