Difficult to understand accents (from your own country)

[muikabochi 208]

As much as I like the sound of it, the Newcastle Geordie accent is sometimes just too difficult to catch for me. Scouse can be pretty extreme but I can usually get a handle on that.

[grungy-gonads 54]

Country Devon/Cornwall can be amusing trying to work out.

[HelperElfMissy 42]

I have a Geordie mate - and I LOVE his accent!

He is married to a Scouser, but she is quite refined in her accent.

 

I find the real heavy NZ/Islander accents a challenge sometimes - especially when they use colloquial language densely within a sentence.

[RobBright 35]

MB - go out and read a book called "World Englishes" - some proper mental accents going on there.

[thursday 1]

Singapore/Malaysian accents really drive me up the wall. Makes me want to leave the room lah.

[@tokyo 14]

But.. but.. I thought English was the same everywhere. Only Japan has regional accents.

Muzukashii desu ne!

 

[RobBright 35]

English has more varieties than any other language. Try travelling from London to say Edinburgh, and notice how many different varieties there are.

[@tokyo 14]

I was just kidding. You know when Japanese people ask those questions that they don't really expect an answer to. More statements than questions.

Like, "Japanese is the most difficult language, isn't it." (no question mark implied). One of them.

[thursday 1]

if it's on the train, in the same carriage, probably 2, Cockney and Scot Lowland.

[HelperElfMissy 42]

 

Here's a twist. How many of you pick up accents?

 

It seems that the more emotionally accommodating a person is the more likely they are to gravitate toward the accent of the person they are talking to - bit like matching body language.

 

I do it wicked bad! It is comically embarrassing and I have to work really hard to retain my own accents.

[RobBright 35]

My accent has become more and more received pronunciation, yet when i go home, bang, back to a cockney accent.

[thursday 1]

I try not to do that when in an Indian restaurant

[big-will 7]

 

When I go back it takes me a while to speak English 'normally'.

Obviously, I don't when I'm here.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

Aberdeen.... "fit like min?" "foos yer doos?". People from Fife can be hard to understand as well.

[Jynxx 4]

what's difficult to understand about Aussie accent is:

* It gets stronger as it get further away from the CBD (central business district)

* Add to that, it gets louder as it leaves home country and on to the ski slopes ie) you can hear an Aussie come up a lift half way down the mountain.

[HelperElfMissy 42]

Originally Posted By: Jynxx

what's difficult to understand about Aussie accent is:
* It gets stronger as it get further away from the CBD (central business district)

Agreed! I always have a little snigger at how OCKER some of the country folk sound! No one sounds like that around here.

Originally Posted By: Jynxx

* Add to that, it gets louder as it leaves home country and on to the ski slopes ie) you can hear an Aussie come up a lift half way down the mountain.

I dispute this.
They are just the posers!

[JA2340 16]

Surprised that noone has mentioned the American accents, (and the strange usages as well) supposedly speaking English.

 

Story from my dad, who was posted alongside a Yank Airbase in West Aus during WW2.

 

He went to the hangar and asked the blokes he saw in there "Where's the clerk?" They just looked up at the wall and continued their penny ante game. So, he repeated "Where's the clerk?" Again, they looked up at the wall, then back to him and went back to the game. He then realised that they were hearing his query as "Where's the clock?" and were looking at it for him. Pronunciation of clerk in Australian is "clark", pronunciation of clock in USian is "clark". the person he was looking for is pronounced with "er" in US.

[Jynxx 4]

Here's one for you. I was at Washington.DC, Dallas airport.

I asked at the information,

"Where's the locker?"

"huh?'

"Do you have lockers here?"

"We are all locals here"

[JA2340 16]

Try saying the following words ...

sex, six, sux. Then pronounce them as would a Kiwi, a South Australian, a Victorian and a Queenslander. All different.

 

Taught with a Victorian lass who always marked a girl called Mel absent because Mel refused to answer to Mal.

[Mantas 3]

I never have a problem with American accents, although they vary quite a lot, they still speak pretty slow and clear. It's the Irish, Scottish and Northern English one that I struggle with.

You know it's pretty bad when a TV show has to use sub tittles on someone who can speak English well.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

When I was in Oz backpacking, we spent 10 days out in the bush with minimal baggage, the rest of which we stored in 1 of my mates cars at the campsite we were staying at in Derby WA. Upon returning, we all looked like Robinson Crusoe so we got back to the car, had a shower and a shave for the first time in 10 days then headed down to the beer shop for a lot of ice cold beer. I asked the staff if the had any ice.....she looked at me funny and said.....

 

"sorry mate, dunno wot your saying"

 

I was thinking, WTF, so I tried again, she replied

 

"nah mate, dunno what that is"

 

to which I said perplexed....."ICE.....FROZEN WATER??!!"

 

she the let out a nervous laugh and said...

 

"OOOOHHHHH, you mean OI-CE!"

[Mantas 3]

that's funny.

 

The aussie bush accent is a classic. Not to hard to immitate either. Just jamb some dunny paper up your nose and off you go.

[thursday 1]

TB, she couldn't understand you 'cos of your Scots accent.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

Originally Posted By: thursday

TB, she couldn't understand you 'cos of your Scots accent.

really??!! ah wow, I'm glad you finally pointed that out!

[NoFakie 45]

Our American friends have a Geordie commentate on the football. Ray "Rocky" Hudson, an ex-toon player who ended up in the MLS. A definite graduate of the Sid Waddell school of commentary.

 

 

Pisses on Mark Bright etc., it must be said.