Funny accents - Page 2

MikeH · July 24, 2003, 06:55

I understand how absurd it is. That said, if there was a standard it wouldn't make sense to choose any other would it?

loinburger · July 24, 2003, 10:38

Quote:

Originally posted by Oerdin
The habit mid-westerners have of inserting "R" sounds into words which don't have Rs in them is quite funny. Nothing like hearing someone say they are going to warsh their car.

I haven't heard that habit much -- I think that may be more of a middle-Southern thing. What seems more common in the midwest is that they'll clip their soft s's (like at the end of "his") turn them into hard s's (like at the end of "hiss"), so that words like "there's" sound like "there'ss."

Kramerman · July 24, 2003, 13:21

the boston accent is funny. They say r's at the end of words were they arent supposed to be (usually words that end in 'a'), and dont say them in words they are supposed to be in.

Such as, "I pahked the caah in back of the yahd"

and then they'll continue to say htinks like, "i have an idear about space and time..."

Bugs ****ing Bunny · July 24, 2003, 15:00

The Bristolian equivalent of that is "I got an ideal 'bout space an' time. 's gert lush."

Provost Harrison · July 24, 2003, 15:29

Actually to me, Mike possesses next to no accent. Now the Hull accent is truly awful...but surely nothing can top the Brummie accent (the accent of Birmingham)...if you can find a sample of that you'll love it. Scouse as well (the accent of Liverpool)

Paul Hanson · July 24, 2003, 15:39

ERRRRRRRRRR NERRRRRRRRR!!!!!

Ah, the joys of the Hull accent.

Agathon · July 24, 2003, 15:42

Quote:

Originally posted by Lung
New Zullund!

What's funny is that the educated ones that go overseas and sound funny don't speak nearly as funny as those New Zullunders who don't!

There's a famous bit of graffiti coming out the tunnel on Sydney's eastern suburbs train line that says:

"AUSTRALIA SUX!"

Underneath a clever aussie wrote:

"NEW ZEALAND NIL"

And all the stuff about "Lord of the Rungs".

mindseye · July 25, 2003, 06:44

In China there are some accents in which consonants are transposed, as opposed to English in which most of the variation is in vowel sounds.

Some Chinese mix up L and N, others swap H and F. This can be extremely confusing to foreigners who speak Chinese!

MikeH · July 25, 2003, 07:20

Quote:

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
Actually to me, Mike possesses next to no accent. Now the Hull accent is truly awful...but surely nothing can top the Brummie accent (the accent of Birmingham)...if you can find a sample of that you'll love it. Scouse as well (the accent of Liverpool)

YEAH! I have no accent, I rule.

The Viceroy · July 25, 2003, 07:28

I pray the day never comes, when people who say BARTH, instead of Bath, and Grarse, instead of Grass .. are ever considered Standard.

Ive lived all over the shop in the UK, born in Chester, which has its own accent (although, slightly scouse to the ears of southerners), lived in Portsmouth (they all sound like Pirates to me), Nottingham (Eyy me duck), London - hounslow (Init), Newcastle (way-hay man) and now im off to Reading ..

Bombay has its own accent of English, and there's also a sub-accent of "I want to sound as American as possible" .. which is really sad.

Drake Tungsten · July 25, 2003, 07:31

Quote:

and there's also a sub-accent of "I want to sound as American as possible" .. which is really sad.

I think it's an intelligent move on the part of those who speak it. The Queen's English is dead; American English is the international language.

FrustratedPoet · July 25, 2003, 07:39

Quote:

Originally posted by The Viceroy
I pray the day never comes, when people who say BARTH, instead of Bath, and Grarse, instead of Grass .. are ever considered Standard.

That day came when the BBC Home Service started about 75 years ago.

It isn't the 'most correct' or anything (using northern or other regional pronunciation isn't 'wrong'), it's just that Oxford-English, Queen's-English, BBC-English or whatever else you want to call it is a kind of recognized standard. Which is why people like PH say that Mike "doesn't have an accent".

The Viceroy · July 25, 2003, 07:42

Ha ha .. nahh .. it has nothing to do with the words they use, they all use American English as standard (my wife still says tomAYto .. even after 5 years of being in the UK).

Some of the younger generation (amongst the upper classes) are so besotted with being American, they try to pretend they are .. by making a false american accent, which sounds rather embarresing.

Were talking about a group of people. that until recently, use to walk around holding their mobiles out for all to see.. thankfully, everybody in Bombay has them now, and thats put an end to that sad practice.

What I was really trying to say was, that there is a large group of people, who try to have an accent, they quite obviously don't have , and that in itself has spawned a sub-accent all of its own.

I know of no other place where people on such a scale, attempt to sound like an accent.

MikeH · July 25, 2003, 07:49

Barth is the correct way to say it. The people who live in a place should know how to pronounce it wouldn't you say?

Therefore it's also NOT Newcarstle.

FrustratedPoet · July 25, 2003, 07:54

Quote:

Originally posted by MikeH
Therefore it's also NOT Newcarstle.

Out of interest, do you actually pronounce it "Noo-cassel" then?

I should, because I believe what you just said is true, but I never do.

MikeH · July 25, 2003, 08:21

I do when I remember but I have to conciously do it, it's not natural to say it wrong.

LTEC! · July 25, 2003, 09:31

Quote:

Originally posted by Kramerman
the boston accent is funny. They say r's at the end of words were they arent supposed to be (usually words that end in 'a'), and dont say them in words they are supposed to be in.

Such as, "I pahked the caah in back of the yahd"

and then they'll continue to say htinks like, "i have an idear about space and time..."

Met a while ago some people from Hahvaehd. They're cute.

OliverFA · July 25, 2003, 10:24

I don't know which is the funniest accent, but the most difficult to understand is the Irish one. Are they really speaking in English?

OliverFA · July 25, 2003, 10:27

And speaking about accents, there is a funny thing about it in Spain. Spanish speakers from Barcelona and Madrid are very difficult to distinguish. In fact people from Barcelona with Spanish as their mother tongue are often took for Madrid people (except by the Madrid people, who are the only ones that notice the difference).

Bugs ****ing Bunny · July 25, 2003, 12:36

Quote:

Originally posted by MikeH
Barth is the correct way to say it. The people who live in a place should know how to pronounce it wouldn't you say?

Actually in the local accent, it's pronounced "Baaath". It's just that the city's chock full of posh types from forn paaarts.

Japher · July 25, 2003, 12:40

Quote:

I don't know which is the funniest accent, but the most difficult to understand is the Irish one. Are they really speaking in English?

I once drank with a guy from Wales. Started aroun 4pm, couldn't understand a word he was saying, but he was speaking english... But, I was able to understand almost every word he was saying after around 12am... And, by 4 am, I was speaking just like him!!!

So, I hope that clears up your dilema

Al B. Sure! · July 25, 2003, 13:19

Sikander:

Quote:

After a lifetime of only hearing German spoken by concentration camp guards and soldiers it was nice to hear the softer side of it.

thats damn true! you never hear no german or german accents in movies, tv, or anything aside from nazis.

Al B. Sure! · July 25, 2003, 13:22

as for the funniest sounding... it's obvious yall are forgeting our asian brothers, especially the japanese... come on... they mix up L's and R's

and by the way the midwest accent is disgusting... so flat it makes my ears hurt

Victor Galis · July 25, 2003, 13:45

I'm not sure what my accent sounds like, but at certain parts of my life, I've had both a Bostonian accent and a Quebeqois accent (only while speaking French). I've since lost both, but without really picking up a distinctive replacement (though I'm told I pick up a Romanian accent while talking in English to my parents, which tends to happen if you change languages in mid sentence).

Funny accent: Bavarian accent. Can't understand a word of it, they might as well be speaking Dutch.

Al B. Sure! · July 25, 2003, 13:58

i don't have an accent

cinch · July 25, 2003, 13:59

What kind of shoddy accent-project is this where there's not a single sample from Alberta! And FIVE from Saskatchewan!

Damn KU!

Ah, for all I know, I probably just sound like the Saskatchewaners anyway. Still, boo to that.

Arrian · July 25, 2003, 14:01

Fools, it is I who has no accent!

Seriously, though, Connecticut's "accent" is pretty benign (or boring, depending on how you look at it).

Personal favorite? Geordie, without question.

-Arrian

Q Classic · July 25, 2003, 14:01

over 75% of asians have cataracts.

the other 25% drive rinkons and chevorays.

===

(it's because r and l are not distinct sounds in korean or japanese: if it's the final consonantal sound, it takes the l, but if it's the initial, it takes the r.)

Japher · July 25, 2003, 14:04

Richelieu (if he's watching):

What do you call a one legged white girl? -Ilene

What do you call a one legged asian girl? - Irene

Al B. Sure! · July 25, 2003, 14:06

lol