Re: English and how it is spoke
 

Originally Posted by SPUGGIE J
Worzels or Chas n Dave singing in proper English?

Neils not into Chaz n Dave or the Worzels something for the future he he he

Re: English and how it is spoke
 

My dad was quite broad (as in dialect) and people often said I swapped tongue when talking to him. Working in Cheshire amongst the Knutsford set I often get pulled for my accent. In fact one manager actually said it was one of my strengths in that people mentioned to him that my accent came across as straight talking and people tended to believe what I said where they might not have done if it had been anyone else. Also dealing with a lot of southern people(an philipinos and Indians) in my job it is sometimes good to stick some dialect in the conversation just to confuse them a bit :)

I would say that I do find it easy to 'drop' teh accent when I need to though(i.e. when a big wig from down south joins a phone conference)

Ian

Re: English and how it is spoke
 

Ian, you should be proud of your Lancashire accent. Don't "drop it" just because your talking too some southern shandy drinker :D

Re: English and how it is spoke
 

I was always putting my foot in it by saying people were bonny when I first moved here. I told a chap I worked with that I thought his little girl was "really bonny" and he got quite upset and kept saying "Well, she's big for her age but she's not fat". :D

Re: English and how it is spoke
 

Entwisi, I work with a lady who is very much a "Knutsford Set" type (though I know Knutsford well, living very close to it, and it's not all that sophisticated). This lady speaks very, very precisely with a drawling accent that's more Westminster than Warrington (my office is in Warrington), is lady captain of her golf club and has a lifestyle like something out of "The Lady".

One day I was chatting to one of our typists, a nice woman who originates from one of the former large Council estates and has a broad Warrington accent. She was talking about her primary school, on the estate, and just happened to mention that the other lady was in the same class as her at school. "Oh yeah," she said, "She lived just round t'corner from me. Her dad worked on t'railway".

One never knows, does one? ;)

Re: English and how it is spoke
 

Heh, No they don't. Knutsford actually has some really dodgy council estates. One thing that I find funny is that 95% of people are living hocked up to the eyeballs to keep up appearences. Very rarely do you see people leaving much cash when you read teh local obits.

Neil, I am proud of my accent. I drop it occasionally because thay ask for a technical overview and its hard enough to understand what I am saying without an accent nevermind Websphere for Lankies. :)

Ian

Re: English and how it is spoke
 

My cousin Bill (whom Cashman knows) has a curious accent - he has lived in the States for years, and his is part Lancs and part Yankee.

Re: English and how it is spoke
 

Pendy now there is a confused accent.

Re: English and how it is spoke
 

What's wrong with the accent in the south east (or is that sarf east?), or lack thereof.

I don't talk like Chas and Dave, and I also don't talk like they do on the BBC, just normal english (no accent!)

Re: English and how it is spoke
 

There's nothing wrong with any of the many accents of the South East but the region does have varied accents. Cockney, of course, is very distinctive though a lot of Northerners don't know it from any other southern accent. I particularly like the Essex accent, and I mean "old" Essex, not the London overspill type. I had an uncle who was, originally, an Essex countryman. His accent was a little like the Suffolk one, and not dissimilar to "old" Kent. I can always remember him calling my dad, "Harry booy (boy)", a typical Essex expression. I have 2 friends from Surrey and their accent is different again, far more like the London accent but not as nasal. Oh, and there's a difference between North and South London too.

By the way, I just love the way Chas and Dave speak. Long live ALL accents! :) (I, of course, haven't got one. ;) )

Re: English and how it is spoke
 

can,t see owt wrong at all with regional accents, it defines differant areas and i hate everybody equally lol

Re: English and how it is spoke
 

Re: English and how it is spoke
 

There's no such thing as a definitive English accent. There are as many variations in the South-east as the rest of the country, some as irritatingly lazy to the ear as the Brummie accent is.

As for the Queen's English, that clipped, quietly delivered, slightly germanic lisp, is thankfully unique to her Majesty.

Re: English and how it is spoke
 

My Dad used t say to be when i was little.
Thara Bonny B****r when i'd done sommat daft.

Re: English and how it is spoke
 

I thought I'd heard or read somewhere that the purest form of English was spoken in Inverness, so I did a google and found the following:




Scottish Dialect http://www.talentscotland.com/uploads/2322/ES_1947A.jpgThe Scottish Dialect

Scotland’s rich variety of dialects contains some of the clearest and most melodic English spoken anywhere in the world.

Scotland has a wealth of dialects but the key thing for the newcomer to remember is that while all these rich dialects exist, the majority of Scots speak standard English with an intelligible Scottish accent.

Indeed, Scottish accents are the most popular among call centre users across the whole of the UK and it is said that the Highlanders from around Inverness speak the clearest and most melodious form of English anywhere in Britain.

The majority of Scots speak standard English