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

QUOTE:

Jo,
It happens all the time.
Both my wife and I have English roots as she was born and raised in Barbados while I was born in England.
Though we both now live in Canada , we have idioms and accents that are not considered Canadian as in, oh, you have an accent.
The family joke is that when we go to Barbados to visit family , her accent and mannerisms become very strong as when she lived there while within two days I then pick up the accent though it sometimes comes across as a sing song like a Trinidadian.
.

I sometimes pick up OH's family accent when I'm with them (think of the Queen....), but it just comes out affected, and sounds as if I'm putting it on- I'm not, I just have a good ear ....but the old Yorkshire vowels let me down.
Jo.

I am said to be tone deaf and have noear and for me all northern accents sound the same.
I was brought up in SW London and still watch alot of British TV. Now, however, my English isn't 'pure'. In Malta everyone speaks English and many of us speak English between ourselves as well. However, I notice that my English when I speak to a Maltese is different to when I am speaking English to English folk.
I suppose it's the same as when English people revert to their original accent as soon as they return home.
Malta is only about 17 miles long and yet many villages have accents so strong that it's sometimes difficult to understand. In the days when transport was a problem and the children would spend all their childhood in the village the accents weremuch more pronounced.
What amazes me is how easily they switch from their accent to basic Maltese. At work there was a man who would speak basic Maltese to us and then when a person from his home village turned up would automatically switch.
Jill - what accent do you think I speak with ?
Nadya

QUOTE:

I am said to be tone deaf and have noear and for me all northern accents sound the same.
I was brought up in SW London and still watch alot of British TV. Now, however, my English isn't 'pure'. In Malta everyone speaks English and many of us speak English between ourselves as well. However, I notice that my English when I speak to a Maltese is different to when I am speaking English to English folk.
I suppose it's the same as when English people revert to their original accent as soon as they return home.
Malta is only about 17 miles long and yet many villages have accents so strong that it's sometimes difficult to understand. In the days when transport was a problem and the children would spend all their childhood in the village the accents weremuch more pronounced.
What amazes me is how easily they switch from their accent to basic Maltese. At work there was a man who would speak basic Maltese to us and then when a person from his home village turned up would automatically switch.
Jill - what accent do you think I speak with ?
Nadya

That's very interesting Nadya. As for your accent- I would never have said it was English. Although I have visited Malta, I didn't really notice any specific accent by the Maltese people and so couldn't compare it with any other Mediterranean accent. So I suppose that the best answer I could come up with regarding your accent is exactly that-Mediterranean.

I read a post on another thread today about people mocking certain regional accents.

As I find different British accents interesting, I was somewhat surprised and puzzled as to why anyone should laugh/sneer at an accent that isn't the same as their own.
Do we stereotype others purely from the way they speak?- Maybe we do.
Today's example was from Cornish Girl, whom I've met and has a true Cornish accent. Having read her post, it made think of what her accent signified to me. I came up with a vision of rugged scenery, warm sunny days and lots of seaside bays.
Now I could be wrong because I'm ashamed to say, that I've only visited Cornwall on 2 occasions, both a long time ago. I must put Cornwall on my list for a re-visit.
What do different accents signify to you?

QUOTE:

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

As CG knows I'm Cornish and when I am in Cornwall will often speak with a cornish inflection but you would have to be a linguist or from "down there" to pick it out when I'm up here.

The accent and words arrangement I find amusing is that of a true Bristolian. If a word ends with a vowel they add an "L" to it and are completely unaware that they are doing it. For instance I went out with two girls from Bristol, one called Gloria and the other Sandra but when the said their names it always came out as Glorial and Sandral and a phrase that always stuck in my mind was when a friend said to me, [I]" Course you know Africal is a malarial areal[/I]. ....Neil

QUOTE:

As CG knows I'm Cornish and when I am in Cornwall will often speak with a cornish inflection but you would have to be a linguist or from "down there" to pick it out when I'm up here.

The accent and words arrangement I find amusing is that of a true Bristolian. If a word ends with a vowel they add an "L" to it and are completely unaware that they are doing it. For instance I went out with two girls from Bristol, one called Gloria and the other Sandra but when the said their names it always came out as Glorial and Sandral and a phrase that always stuck in my mind was when a friend said to me, [I]" Course you know Africal is a malarial areal[/I]. ....Neil

A family member moved to the Bristol area from here in the S.E. London suburbs. After a few years, I noticed that each sentence she spoke sounded like a question, in as much as the last word or two was in a higher pitch than the beginning of the sentence. Strangely, her accent has stayed the same, unlike her daughter of course, who has a true Bristolian lilt.

QUOTE:

A family member moved to the Bristol area from here in the S.E. London suburbs. After a few years, I noticed that each sentence she spoke sounded like a question, in as much as the last word or two was in a higher pitch than the beginning of the sentence. Strangely, her accent has stayed the same, unlike her daughter of course, who has a true Bristolian lilt.

Jill it's an affliction called upspeak and it's not confined to any particular area or country.

QUOTE:

Jill it's an affliction called upspeak and it's not confined to any particular area or country.

......and is very popular with young people of all areas...once thought to be influenced by "Home and Away" from Australia.
Jo.

QUOTE:

......and is very popular with young people of all areas...once thought to be influenced by "Home and Away" from Australia.
Jo.

Well if that's the case, 'upspeak' must have taken hold in the Bristol area about 20 odd years ago. I've never heard anyone else speak quite like that mand I worked in schools for 17 years. I'll talk to my kids about it.

QUOTE:

Well if that's the case, 'upspeak' must have taken hold in the Bristol area about 20 odd years ago. I've never heard anyone else speak quite like that mand I worked in schools for 17 years. I'll talk to my kids about it.

Luckily, not all teens/young people are 'afflicted' but it isn't a new. Don't know of you were primary or secondary, but its def. in many sec. schools.

As Jo said, Australian soaps have a lot to answer for but so do some US imports.