Favourite Accent

Norn Iron, as my husband (from Belfast) says. And Donegal.

I have an identifiably Scots accent, but, although I was born and raised in Ayrshire, I don't speak with that local accent. I've been away too long! I'm happy to say I don't speak like Michael Gove - goodness knows where he developed that very prissy accent! The nicest Scottish accent, in my opinion, is the genuine West Highland accent of a native Gaelic speaker. I also love the accents of the Irish Republic and some from Northern Ireland. My Dil and my GP both come from Antrim and their accent is, to my ear, more attractive than a Belfast one.

Jalima, thanks for the info on Nick Grey. I tried to find a Worcester accent on YouTube but heard nothing like his.

Regional accents are fascinating. How on earth did it happen that we live on a small island and yet speak so differently. My OH is from Burnley and he can tell which nearby towns people come from, just by the way they speak and yet to me they all sound Lancashire and that's it. I'm a Brummie - horrible accent, all nasal and dopey sounding. I love a Liverpool accent, it sounds upbeat and cheeky to me.

rubylady- I wash born and raised in the French speaking part of Switzerland, of parents who had very flat non regional accents. I adopted a local accents to 'fit in' as a teenager.
I became bilingual in London, married to a Brit with a RP flat accent- but later picked up the Potteries and Leicester accent- but could switch them on and off.

Strangely enough, I have a very bizarre English accent- and oft been 'accused' of being Welsh or Sout African- which to me is strange, My mil had a strong Afikaans accent, by fil, typical RP.

In German I am very aware of my French accent- hate it. Apparently my Italian sounds quite good.

oldgoos, there are several fascinating books on how English developed, and the two still qutie distinct regions, the Danelaw and Wessex. One is by Melwyn Bragg- can't remember the title- my Italian teacher in Loughborough still got my copy! The other is by Bill Bryson.

The British are a mix of different tribes, cultures and languages (just like the Swiss, or the FRench, or the Italians).

Welsh is Welsh-grammar ,vocabulary pronunciation,mutations- whether spoken in North of South (or indeed Mid) although some words are different .I was born in N Wakes and have lived in Swansea and Abersystwyth .I've never heard a N Walian use 'cwtch'for a hug for example though theyd know what you meant (my first language was Welsh though I'm a bit rusty).My accent is faint (I do go up at the end of sentences though)unless I am in Wales when DH says it becomes far more pronounced.Very few people identify it as Welsh ,I think because its the S Walian accent people recognise and they are different
I lived with a Geordie friend for a while and people used to mix us up on the phone .
I don't know if it has anything to do with being bi -ingual but I pick up accents very easily. It isnt a deliberate attempt to imitate and it can be embarassing

One of the most fascinating accents is that of Lyse Doucet:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8qkLOf1Cpo

I think it is Acadian (French Canadian)

Haha love this thread! Our house sounds like the League of Nations! DH is aussie from Perth WA quite 'soft' accent as opposed to eastern states whivc is nasal and strong. I'm from Sunderland a makem not a Geordie-we live in Liverpool so DD has quite a soft Scouse accent and DS lives in Leeds and has very little accent at all!
Must sound strange to anyone who hears us altogether but none of us notice now!
Personally I love the Southern Ireland accent! especially the men ? !

David Crystal is probably one of the great authorities on the development of the English Language and his book 'The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language' is fascinating as he not only looks at the development of English but also the way in which regional variations have come about and then has a look at the way that international English is almost developing into a language of its own.

Another really interesting area was that researched by the Opies when they looked at children's games and language and how it varied from area to area: for example, the way that children asked to be excused from a game of chasing if they need the toilet etc. We used to say 'cruscis', but I'm sure others of you had different ways to do it. Language is absolutely fascinating!

I agree with anodomini the Antrim accent is very pleasant and are most of the accents of Ireland, both North and South. But the distinctive Belfast accent itself is very hard and grating.

Yes Badenkate I read that Opie book and agree it is fascinating. I said fainites as i lived in the north as a child. Lots of people say pax but that's latin and a bit public school. Ive moved around the country a lot and found the local accents and dialect words very interesting.

David Whyte - did you ever hear him read his poems? Every woman's dream (swoon).....his bio states "Poet David Whyte grew up with a strong, imaginative influence from his Irish mother among the hills and valleys of his father’s Yorkshire."
My two favourite accents rolled into one dishy package. Yum!

Having been born and brought up in the Black Country, and having moved away many years ago, I just love to hear the accent again. It makes me all nostalgic! It's not the prettiest in the world, but for me, it conjures up home all those years ago.

I annoy my family by moaning "that's not a Leicester accent" on the very few occasions a tv character is supposed to hail from my home town. For instance, when they dramatised the Adrian Mole diaries (many years ago!), they all had Brummie accents. And I've really enjoyed the recent "Love, Nina" series, but she doesn't sound like she has a Leicester accent to me...

I was brought up in the Potteries, but in the 50's went to High School, first thing they did was to get rid of our accent by giving us lessons."How now brown cow, grazing in the green ,green grass." Also walked up and down with books on our heads!

DH is aussie from Perth WA quite 'soft' accent as opposed to eastern states whivc is nasal and strong

Hey, hang on a minute kathw12 but eh?!!
Strong eh?, but nasal but? .....

I was brought up in the Potteries, but in the 50's went to High School, first thing they did was to get rid of our accent by giving us lessons."How now brown cow, grazing in the green ,green grass. I wonder if we had the same elocution teacher winifred I'm from a bit further south than you but she only came into school one day a week so she may have travelled around the schools trying to make us sound posher!

Love Welsh accents. Not keen on Scottish accents,mainly because often I cannot understand them!

I loved hearing Richard Burton reading, but suspect his voice had as much to do with smoking and drinking as the area he came from!

polly perkins
We said "Pax" at school in Cheshire, but I'm sure none of us knew at the time that it was Latin, and we weren't public shool kids either!
I apparently sound very slightly Scouse, but it's been mistaken for Geordie, which surprises me.
We spend quite a lot of time in New York (I loathe most cities, but love, love, love N.Y.) and many native New Yorkers mistake me for Californian???
My favourite accent........Liam Neeson!

I just love RP standard English and am sad to see it being chased off every medium.

Neversaydie, my daughters were brought up in Mid Wales but they have slight Merthyr valley accent which they picked up from me

lily I have a sneaky liking of RP too. I can't think of anybody much who speaks it though..apart from Her Maj.

Think HM speaks a tad posher than RP though? I like airline pilots to have a nice, confident, reassuring RP pronunciation. Makes me feel irrationally safer.