31 replies to this topic

[Bleep1673]

I think I have lived in the South for too long. During interviews with Mark Cavendish I keep switching the subtitles on, now I just thought it was because he usually gets interviewed straight after a sprint finish, but I saw an interview with him at the weekend & I still had to listen carefully to what he had to say.
Then last night I was watching Guy Martin on C4's How Britain Worked, and found myself putting the subtitles on again.


Or is it just their particular accents?

[JohnM]

they, like me, don't have an accent.

[Severus]

they, like me, don't have an accent.

I've met you and sorry to say this but you do

[Shadow]

I've met you and sorry to say this but you do

He's right you know

I think this thread proves conclusively, Northern folk talk funny.

[JohnM]

no no no no no. it's everyone else that has the accent, tha' nose!

[Wolford6]

Most people (i.e my sisters!!) who live south of Birmingham can watch, say, Coronation Street and not be able to tell which actors have Yorkshire accents and which have Lancashire accents. The actors are seen as having "Northern accents". The exception I would say is the Barnsley accent which is very distinct.

Similarly, most people in Yorkshire and Lancashire would not readily separate a West Wales accent from a Valleys accent. Again, the exception would be the distinctive Cardiff accent.


One thing that I would certainly not be able to do is distinguish the inter-London accents. Fortunately, I dont think I'll ever have need to go there for long enough to find out!

With regard to the original post, I have terrible problems in picking up dialogue in American films and telly programmes. Too often, the actors seem to run the words of a sentence into each other. I can cope with it in British drama without problem.

I once worked in Glasgow; I could understand the majority of what was said by women but was completely flummoxed by the men's accent. I used to go for my dinner at Morrisons supermarket every day and, to order, started by just pointing at one of the pictured meals printed on the large menu board at the entrance to the cafe.

[fieldofclothofgold]

I speak with an old downtown Leeds accent I.E Liz Dawn,maurice Bamford etc,and I live near Philadelphia PA and very few locals recognise it as a regional English accent."what of Ireland do you come from?oh you sound irish,but its a lovely Scottish brogue?"I never thought a Leeds accent could be described as a lovely brogue

[Ullman]

I think I have lived in the South for too long. During interviews with Mark Cavendish I keep switching the subtitles on, now I just thought it was because he usually gets interviewed straight after a sprint finish, but I saw an interview with him at the weekend & I still had to listen carefully to what he had to say.
Then last night I was watching Guy Martin on C4's How Britain Worked, and found myself putting the subtitles on again.


Or is it just their particular accents?

Guy Martin does have quite a strong North Lincolnshire accent but he tends to tone it down when he's on the box.

[Futtocks]

One thing I've often wondered about is the odd distinctiveness of the Liverpool accent, compared to the surrounding (quite close) areas.

[Johnoco]

I speak with an old downtown Leeds accent I.E Liz Dawn,maurice Bamford etc

ie common as muck!!

[Wolford6]

I never thought a Leeds accent could be described as a lovely brogue

You can't understand the Yankee accent; they said you were a lively rogue.

[fieldofclothofgold]

You can't understand the Yankee accent; they said you were a lively rogue.

Lastnight I got another barfly wanting to talk about the beatles and the stones ,they seem obsessed

[fieldofclothofgold]

ie common as muck!!

I know that,you know that ,but Liz dawn ,and Maurice Bamford have a lovely brogue according to the thick septics

[Griff9of13]

One thing I've often wondered about is the odd distinctiveness of the Liverpool accent, compared to the surrounding (quite close) areas.

I think it comes from the large influx of both Irish and Welsh during the 19th century. If you listen to the Scouse accent you can pick up distinct Bits of both.

[Northern Sol]

It does but it also has more than a passing resemblance to the Stoke accent or certain West Cumbrian ones. Migration from Ireland may be a cause but it's not as isolated as you might think.

[JohnM]

Anyone hear Ian McMillans excellent Radio 4 piece "The 'a r s e that Jack built! ? see http://www.bbc.co.uk...rammes/b01ljwm4

Somewhere between Sheffield and Chesterfield, people stop saying house and say something that sounds a lot more like '######. It's an isogloss, a kind of linguistic boundary line where accent and dialect changes. Ian calls it the house / ###### interface, and with his friend the musician Ray Hearne and linguist Kate Burland in tow, he sets out to track it down

Would you look at that! The filter does not like regional accents: ####### indeed! 'a r s e !!

Edited by JohnM, 22 October 2012 - 03:55 PM.

[JohnM]

It does but it also has more than a passing resemblance to the Stoke accent ...

Dunna say that, duck|! They tow crate in Staffy Cher, anyhow, Mar necks dower kne burr scorra kind slice on Benty Lay

Edited by JohnM, 22 October 2012 - 04:02 PM.

[D9000]

I wonder where the isogloss is, somewhere East of Selby, where a phone becomes a fern?

[Phil]

I wonder where the isogloss is, somewhere East of Selby, where a phone becomes a fern?

According to linguists that line has moved to just east of Huddersfield

[stimpo-and-kat]

Dunna say that, duck|! They tow crate in Staffy Cher, anyhow, Mar necks dower kne burr scorra kind slice on Benty Lay

I've lived in stoke nearly ten years and understand none of that...