JeffC Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 . why do people from different towns have different accents? If im talking to someone I dont know on holiday they instantly say Im a geordie but I sound nothing like someone from Newcastle I can travel 2 mile either way from where I live and people that live there although have a north east accent say words and sound slightly different, 15 miles towards the coast you have the teesside accent 20 mile north is geordie and in between is a cross between the two, travel further North and the geordie accent gets stronger till a point it starts to sound Scottish, but why ? Oh and what do you think is the worst sounding accent I started thinking about this today when I came in Mrs C was watching an old film today (Rebecca) and the accents of the actors amused me , I cant say ive ever heard anyone speak like this in the Uk, So when did pople stop talking like this and accents come in to play Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M444TTB Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 People didn't travel far in the past so all these variations built up. I haven't watched the video but given the age of it I'm guessing they are speaking with RP. So 99% of English speaking people have never spoken like that these days. Perhaps more in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Have a read of Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User0083 Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Moved about a lot as a child... Since leaving home I've had at least 12 addresses across UK and Germany. Plus I work with Geordie, Taff, scouse, Dave and paddy! Great nights out... Same names, but different faces each posting! The worst accent is Brummie! It's not Fuuuuunnnnniiiieeee!!! Even the 4 places I have lived in Birmingham have different accents! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatbaldbloke Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 We used to stay at a pub in the scottish border counties which was run by two sisters who had been together all their lives, yet you would have sworn one was scottish and the other geordie. It's surprising how subtley the newcastle accent merges into scottish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Someone from Prudoe (just west of Newcastle on Tyne) told me (in pure Pitmatic*) that a Geordie was born within the sound of Swan-Hunter's buzzer. *Pitmatic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitmatic I find that I tend to 'catch' accents from people quite quickly. If I were to be cloistered with a Welshman, an Australian, and an American for a day I would melt-down somewhere in the south Atlantic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Green Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 At least folk born in London do not have an accent (thank Christ). It is all the other b*******s living around the country have them! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenh Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 At least folk born in London do not have an accent (thank Christ). It is all the other b*******s living around the country have them! Unless you are a true cockney that would be estuary english then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffC Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 The worst accent is Brummie! It's not Fuuuuunnnnniiiieeee!!! that would be my vote or Liverpool thats a strange one to get one with in fact anything South of Scotch corner services strange my father in law was born in Glasgow but has lived the last 40 years in the north east but to me is still broad scottish no sign of a north east accent , untill he goes to Glasgow for a week then returns it then returns back to broad Glasgi its hard to understand him . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 I got a taxi once from Glasgow airport to the other side. He started talking as the door shut and never stopped until we got to our destination 40 minutes later. I understood "Sheriff" and "blue" as we went past the gasometers. The rest was a total mystery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenandmean Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 My now deceased father in law was from Dundee a stones throw from the border and had been down in Yorkshire for the best part of 40 years yet I couldn't understand more than 3 words in any sentance. And when he had a dram or two well that dropped to zero words. Isn't it funny that you don't think YOU have an accent until you record your own voice and then play it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M444TTB Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 It's not always the accent that gets me (although I really struggle with some Scots) but the use of words you won't find in the dictionary. My in-laws are from Bristol, but my father in-law is half Scottish. So at Xmas we had Bristol words in a Bristol accent, Scottish words in a Bristol accent and thanks to my Grandmother-in-law Scottish words in a Scottish (Edinburgh) accent. I didn't know what the devil was going on once a few drinks had been consumed (on their part!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 I got a taxi once from Glasgow airport to the other side. He started talking as the door shut and never stopped until we got to our destination 40 minutes later. I understood "Sheriff" and "blue" as we went past the gasometers. The rest was a total mystery. In the eighties when I used to drive about 50k per annum and go to different places almost every time, I thought I needed some help finding places. I bought a CB radio and that really helped because there was always someone willing to guide a lost driver wherever you were. But - BUT - I was in Edinburgh and trying to find a Leyland dealership near the city centre but the A-Z I had didn't seem to help. I put out a call on 19 for guidance and felt as mystified by the reply as I once did at a French toll booth when the lady operator answered my schoolboy French "combien?" CB sound was bad, but this chap from Edinburgh mangled it beyond any known form of speech to my southern ear. Later I spoke to a Scots female somewhere near Bathgate and she said her 'handle' was Blue Virgin. Say it to yourself in a broad accent and you will know why I asked her for clarification. "BLUE" - "VIRGIN!" - "ye, know; nae bin f**ked" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 As far as accents go , Rebbeca starred Laurence Olivier ( finest shakespearian actor bar none ) and Joan Fontain born Tokio . The film was probably made in USA the terribly british accent is how we brits were portrayed to the yanks in those days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 As far as accents go , Rebbeca starred Laurence Olivier ( finest shakespearian actor bar none ) and Joan Fontain born Tokio . The film was probably made in USA the terribly british accent is how we brits were portrayed to the yanks in those days My Good Lady would agree with you about Larry being the best Shakespearian actor, but I have to say that for Henry V Branagh takes some beating IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.