Topic: It's all in the accent.....or is it?

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and do you throw things at the radio etc when they talk about Gren-itch instead on Grin-idge?


Greenwich to the uninitiated....

Absolutely! OH also says Gren-itch. I'm still trying to educate him but it's an uphill struggle- old dogs, new tricks syndrome.

the Olympics will be a nightmare if they use 'Grinidge' for the equestrian stuff....

The Bajan dialect also incorporates many West African words and idioms.

Wunnuh is You,Plural.
Jook is poke. (pron. Juk)
There are several more, I just can't remember then now.


A known facet of West African language is to use two words to describe things
thus we have House-top =roof
Gate-door, Bull-cow!, Ram-goat, Sow-pig, Glass-bottle etc.
To 'have-on' is to wear something


Bajan is a very curious mix of Irish/West Country people
trying to teach Africans with lazy tongues
how to speak 'English' -Good LUCK!
.

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the Olympics will be a nightmare if they use 'Grinidge' for the equestrian stuff....

Wait for the Americans - to them it will be GreenWitch.

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And how different are we on the phone?
The first time I phoned home, my mum picked up the phone and I thought I'd dialled wrong number cos I didn't recognise her - her scottish accent was more pronounced on the phone - she'd all but lost it in normal speech.

My husbands accent changes noticably on the phone ~ his New Zealand accent comes out rather than his usual British all sorts mix.

I on the other hand have a very thick Oldham accent (where I went to school) layered onto my Stalybridge (where I grew up) twang that makes me sound "odd" basically ~ there are only about 5 miles between the towns but the accents are completely different ~ so I come out with things like "I'm t't buzz now" for I'm going for a bus now and it's worse when I've had a beer.

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Having just spent 2 days on board ship with such a diversity of different UK accents, it got me thinking....................

Actually, instead of the usual ice breaker- 'Oh hello, is this your first cruise?' when meeting people from different places, it's much more interesting to open a conversation with trying to guess where people were born (even if they've relocated) by guessing from their accent. I am quite chuffed that nobody guessed where I was born and raised by my speech. Most people gathered that it was/is south of the Watford Gap and a few even managed London but then of course, it gets complicated. Most Londoners can detect the subtle differences between say S.E / West/North/East London. Likewise, people who live in the Midlands have different accents within a distance of a few miles. The same in the North-where exactly is the dividing line between the Yorkshire/Lancashire accent? Liverpudlians are a similar case in question- who can tell me why some speak 'Scouse' and others don't? Geordies almost speak a language of their own and the Scots and the Welsh have so many variations too- I was delighted that the lady from Alloa that we met spoke a dialect I could understand. Did everyone understand me?
Now before anyone gets on their respective high horse- because let's face it, most of us are proud of our roots and the accent that comes with it, this thread is not intended to exclude any area- Cornish Girl, I nearly forget you! and is certainly not intended to offend. I just find it interesting and hope that some of you do too.
Any contributions?

Jill

Hi jill I didn't start speeching until i was 6years old and then had to go
to speech therapy until the age of 15,this made it hard for me to actually say what i wanted to say,So my dilect could give you a hard
job of trying guess my area ,i like to think of it as being saxon jibberish

QUOTE:

Hi jill I didn't start speeching until i was 6years old and then had to go
to speech therapy until the age of 15,this made it hard for me to actually say what i wanted to say,So my dilect could give you a hard
job of trying guess my area ,i like to think of it as being saxon jibberish

Hi Jamie. My OH says I talk jibberish most of the time and that the reason he says he doesn't hear me the rest of the time is because my diction is poor. Actually, he is as deaf as a post when he wants to be!

Jill

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Hi Jill. I have quite a strong Cornish Accent as you know, and am quite often asked if I am American, as Peter did the other night when I said his name,however travel across to the north side of Cornwall and their accent is harsher , in only only a matter of a few miles.
Devon, next door has a longer drawl and and instead of saying she's or he's going to town, they often say hers or hims going to town,Somerset has a very attractive burr.but it is a guessing game when trying to guess a West country accent.Marie

Oh Marie I have to disagree with you on the Devonian accent, as a Devon maid we tend to leave letters out rather than have a longer drawl but you are right about adding to at the end of sentances. It took me ages to loose that when I went to college, we wern't allowed to have strong accents. Love the Cornish accent though my dad was Cornish and would always refer to the morning as the forenoon Gerri:D:D

I am Welsh and I am often told, usually by English colleagues, that I do not have a Welsh accent, which is odd......as I speak Welsh!

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Wait for the Americans - to them it will be GreenWitch.

Standing next to an American at Blenheim Palace we heard him say to his wife ' Well honey we've seen Blenhyme Cassel ! ' :D