Accents

I was brought up in Yorkshire & still have traces of my Yorkshire accent despite the fact that I lived in Middlesex (Surrey) for 23 years, longer than I lived in Yorkshire. For work I had to speak clearly so my accent became "well spoken", I later moved to Somerset & now Devon, I love the West Country accents.

Where I was brought up the accents varied from village/town to the next village/town. I love hearing dialect which is not lazy speech

When I was working one of my Bosses asked me to ring a client in Scotland as he couldn't understand the accent. I was expecting a broad Glaswegian until I dialed the number for Edinburgh & spoke to a lovely man with a soft Edinburgh accent.

I do have a slight problem with Brummie accent but not so much with the Black Country accent as there are similarities to Yorkshire dialect

Wolverhampton accent, which I do have but fortunately not too broad. I found it quite interesting when visiting Scotland recently a lot of people could pick up on our accent actually being from Wolverhampton. Most places in the south of England get it mixed up with the Brummie accent.

I had a complement the other day. We have returned to live in SW Wales. I have an Estuary English accent from living in the Home Counties for 60 years.
Walking aound Carmarthen , a tour bus stopped. One of the ladies who alighted asked me where M&S was. When I told her she said ' You have a lovely soft Welsh accent' . Made my day

I think it depends very much on who is speaking, I love Eamon Holmes speaking voice but find Christine Lampard's a bit grating, although I do think she seems to be a perfectly lovely girl. The Scottish accent is so varied , some lovely to listen to, some not so, especially when they pronounce i like a u (e.g. Wull instead of Will). And they do seem to say Eeehm a lot!!! My own accent is London, not Cockney, just nothing special, but I hate with a vengeance this faux South London Accent that so many kids use nowadays, with all the wivs and finks etc. I will say that I always liked a Northern accent, but as long as their diction is clear I can tolerate most, just don't mumble!!

When I was young we lived in Nigeria and came back to the UK to live with my grandmother in Yorkshire when I was 5. My father spoke RP and my mother who was German also spoke RP without an accent. I was sent to the local school, and I was told that I talked like the BBC! I soon learnt to adopt the local accent at school and reverted to RP at home!

Redrobin - I can never be accused of trying to speak "posh"
(will now retreat back to my corner!)

I always think Liverpudlians sound like they are spoiling for a fight! "Calm down, calm down........"

Wouldn't it be such a boring world if we all spoke the same. An accent has often helped start a conversation as you can ask someone what part of the Uk rest of the world they come from. I am from the Black Country but haven't got the very thick Black Country accent that some have but I can guarantee if people took the time to decipher our speechyou would find that we are the warmest, kindest people you could ever wish to meet.
Many people seem to have one accent for work and another for when they are at home. In my first job I became friendly with a girl who came froman area where the majority of people had a very pronounced accent but at work especially when she answered the phone it wasn't discernable. She invited me one day to go for tea and meet her parents and it was so funny when we got off the bus where she lived she went straight into a very thick Gornal accent, she could switch back and forth at will.
What I hate is when people try to speak "posh" and it just comes out as mannered and false. We are what we are may the wonderful diversity of our language carry on.x

I know exactly what you mean Harrigran. I was born at Sunderland General and lived 8 miles south of there. I am forever being called a Geordie but I am in fact a Mackem. Every part of the North East has its own little regional accent and yet people always call them Geordies. I love the accent and always will.

I love accents as I am from the North East, County Durham to be precise! I now live in the Midlands but I try and hold onto my accent as much as possible.

If you are not from Essex I don't really understand your accent at all! (wry smile)

I have been asked if I am a Geordie, no I am not, I am a Wearsider and the accent is different.
There is a Newcastle accent, a much different one at the coast in South Shields and then along the road in Sunderland it changes again. Move another ten miles along the road and you are in Durham and although still situated on the River Wear it has its own distinctive accent .... "where's your bother/sister/granny at" ?
I like Northumbrian accents they are quite sing song like the Welsh.

I'll reserve judgement on my family's assorted accents: my brother still has his Lancashire accent despite living in Birmingham for 30 years, his wife is Phillipino and her accent is very, very strong and both their children have unmistakeable "Brummie" accents.......my mind just boggles!

I find that the northern accents as well as the cockney from London are somehow part of their culture. They seem more homely and friendly (?)

Black Country is often confused with the Brummie accent. But true Black Country is held to be a dialect. It has a distinct grammar and syntax of its own and can be traced back to Anglo Saxon. For instance, 'Ar bist?' Meaning of course, 'How are you?' Modern day German, 2nd person singular 'Du bist' meaning 'You are...' There are many other examples of this distinct connection.

A while ago I did a course through Oxford Uni on the life and times of Richard III. As part of that course, I listened to recordings of scholars speaking as they thought medieval Englanders including the king, might speak. Very Midlands sounding, so that was the RP then.

Must admit, I find accents and the development of forms of language most interesting.

I was talking to a Scottish lady (I am not sure whereabouts she came from) recently who said her neighbour had just had a baby called "Peril".I thought that was a strange name thinking of "Beryl the Peril" but some of you will recognise that she was saying Pearl.?

I hate the Midlands accent (mine); I've lived elsewhere for nearly 30 years and the twange is still there.

I don’t mind accents ...must have one myself having come from north London ...we’ve all got accents haven’t we!?! It’s just that some snooty southerners think it’s only the rest of the country that has them. Truth be told though ...what the hell is that Birmingham accent about ...that’s all I’m saying! We’ve all got them.

I come from county durham and have a very pronounced accent , but moved to the south and got really annoyed to be asked if i was a Geordie nearly every day ( not that there is anything wrong with a Geordie accent, i just haven't got one)
But the accent i can't bear is the birmingham one I'm not sure why

I struggle with some Scottish accents, but by and large I have a good ear for them when I am listening to the radio or tv. I have half a South Yorkshire accent now, having spent so much time away from my home county - don’t drop too many aitches these days! We used to have a Norfolk friend whose very elderly mother had the loveliest Suffolk burr. I quite often struggled to understand everything she said, but I could happily listen to her all day. My favourite accent, by a country mile, is Geordie. DH has no ear for any accent other than his native Welsh, but we were lost in the wilds of Cardiganshire once and he went into a small shop to ask directions. He came out looking very embarrassed and asked me to go in because he hadn’t understood a word the lady behind the counter said and her husband apparently never used English! She obviously thought we were both complete plonkers, but we got there in the end!

The BBC has announcers with a wide variety of accents, railman, so can hardly be accused of universally using RP.

Pronouncing Glasgow as Glarsgow is prouncing it with an accent anyway.

I'm from the Valleys too Callis and work there sometimes. I've lost my own accent, but enjoy listening to the way the locals speak.

Yesterday someone said "yere wah" for "here you are" and "goiying" for going. And "coiyuh" for choir.

Here turns into yere, then by yere and finally by yuh.

So: "cum by yuh, Butt, I'm goiying to coiyuh so here's some money to buy somethin' up the shop. Yere wah"

I don't dislike any accent. I do have problems understanding some really strong accents - but that is my problem.

I love accents. I have lived all over Great Britain and I have picked up the local accent very quickly.
Now that I have settled I have reverted to my Yorkshire accent.
I agree with Kitty, however, lazy speech is something else. I hate 'compuuer' for example that isn't an accent.

RP is the worst of all accents/dialects. It is not either of those things, it is contrived, stiff and awkward sounding.

BBC are particularly bad with this - for instance, when referring to Glasgow, they inevitably pronounce it as Glarsgow, or France, which often sounds like Fraunce.

Long live accents and dialects, it makes us more interesting. Perhaps if there was less focus on RP, we might be better at learning and using other languages.

What's my favourite? Lancashire, Scots, West Berkshire, Northern Irish - variety is the spice of life isn't it.

Most recent favourites were heard on "Derry Girls" and "Still Game". Hardest on the ear as well as understanding - "East Enders".