British Accents

[mac-er]

I am aware that there are different types of British accents (e.g. Cockney, Posh, Mancunian, etc, etc). But, I've never heard enough to be able to tell the difference between all the different types. And, like most Americans, couldn't identify what the accent was if I heard it.

I assume the actors in the Harry Potter movies have pretty diverse accents given the shear number of British actors in the movie (at least it sounds like they are diverse).

Can someone tell me what type of accents the various actors have?

[CubaTBird]

i like how the british say mullet. its funnay. muualit! lol

[skunk]

Come back, Dick Van Dyke, all is forgiven.

[raggedjimmi]

i say mullet as "mull-it" no crazy tone change on the 'it' part ;)

i've never seen Harry Potter so I cant comment on the accents. all I know is that I can tell (assuming they've been brought up in the same place) where somebody lives around here. Uppermill has its own accent, less than a mile away in Mossley they have another. *remembers the Fresh Prince joke where the butler meets an english girl and traces her exact location just by her accent :D *

[Sogo]

eh, raight abouut that time eh chaps?

Righ ooh.

....ok i tease...


Yea I cant tell the difference, but I am fairly good with my british accent. The hardest part is really learning the different vocabulary.

[dobbin]

I assume the actors in the Harry Potter movies have pretty diverse accents given the shear number of British actors in the movie (at least it sounds like they are diverse).

Can someone tell me what type of accents the various actors have?

I haven't watched Harry Potter for a while, but I don't remember any of the characters having strong regional accents, certainly no Geordies, Scousers, Brummies, Mancs, or Tafs in the main characters (Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Wales respectively).

As I remember they are mostly middle class "Queen's English" accents that are hard to place geographically.

Generally, I find that middle class people tend to have less of an accent, perhaps partly because they are more likely to move around the country and/or mix with more people, and partly because they tend to have a higher level of education. That is a massive generalisation though, and not meant to be offensive in any way to people with accents, or anyone else.

[Kernow]

I haven't watched Harry Potter for a while, but I don't remember any of the characters having strong regional accents, certainly no Geordies, Scousers, Brummies, Mancs, or Tafs in the main characters (Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Wales respectively).

As I remember they are mostly middle class "Queen's English" accents that are hard to place geographically.


Definitely for the main characters, this is true. A lot of the minor characters have regional accents though.

[edesignuk]

Tally ho chaps, where's my tea. Says the Essex boy... :o

[dcv]

Buy me a few drinks and I'll demonstrate all manner of regional accents :D


I haven't seen the Harry Potter film so I can't comment on which part of the UK they're from.

I have a 'normal' boring SE England/London acccent... not quite sure what you'd call it... a hybrid form of RP and Estuary English I guess. I pick up other people's accents really easily and in fact mine varies depending on the situation. I'm easily confused :p

[kwajo.com]

nothing beats a good old thick Welsh accent, or maybe one from Somerset - ARRRRR!

[mpw]

...I assume the actors in the Harry Potter movies have pretty diverse accents given the shear number of British actors in the movie (at least it sounds like they are diverse)...

Obviously they didn't go to the same vocal coach as the famous British actor Sean Connery. I've seen that guy play Eygitian, Scotish, Irish, American, Russian etc. with flawless accents each time. He's like a chameleon.

[Applespider]

Yea I cant tell the difference, but I am fairly good with my british accent.

I'll lay bets that most Brits could tell it was fake though; just as you could probably pick our fake American accents out of a lineup regardless of how good we think they are ourselves.

I'd agree with the middle-England bit. Oliver Wood, the Quidditch captain in the first 3 movies, did have a Scottish accent as does Cho Chang in this one. And there's another kid, who is obviously Irish.

[kwajo.com]

I'll lay bets that most Brits could tell it was fake though; just as you could probably pick our fake American accents out of a lineup regardless of how good we think they are ourselves.


this is true. if you've ever seen the movie "The Shipping News" which takes place on Newfoundland, you've got both brits and americans trying to get the Newfie accent and it is obvious they are all faking it, and I'm only from New Brunswick.

[IJ Reilly]

Some very fine actors can't do accents. As good as he is, Kenneth Branagh can't really do a convincing American voice. OTOH, Ralph Fiennes can, also Helen Mirren.

Regional accents are a lot of fun. When I was living in England a number of years ago, I enjoyed the game of guessing where people I met were from -- and managed to be right much of the time. Some of them are really easy, though.

[strider42]

I am aware that there are different types of British accents (e.g. Cockney, Posh, Mancunian, etc, etc). But, I've never heard enough to be able to tell the difference between all the different types. And, like most Americans, couldn't identify what the accent was if I heard it.

I assume the actors in the Harry Potter movies have pretty diverse accents given the shear number of British actors in the movie (at least it sounds like they are diverse).

Can someone tell me what type of accents the various actors have?

My parents are English, and because of that I can't hear a lot of English Accents. There are a number of actors and actresses I didn't know were english, or even south african, for years because the pronunciations sound normal to me. I can't hear the accents in the harry potter films to tell you the truth, at least not of harry and hermione. I can hear Ron's accent, and Hagrit's. If its anything close to an normal London accent, it sounds the same to me.

[edesignuk]

Buy me a few drinks and I'll demonstrate all manner of regional accents :DI will vouch for that, wai ai man ;) :D

It's actually quite scary...

[Blue Velvet]

What do you fellows and fellowesses think of Catherine Zeta-Jones's American accent?

I thought Renee Zellweger's was borderline OK in Bridget Jones's Diary.

[Applespider]

Hugh Lawrie's American accent in House seems pretty good to me. One of my US pals was astonished when she saw him on Leno (or the like) and realised that he was actually British.

[BakedBeans]

anyone seen Jason Statham's american accent (he is 'turkish from snatch, and does the accent in the new italian job and transporter)

very very very funny.

[dcv]

What do you fellows and fellowesses think of Catherine Zeta-Jones's American accent?

I thought Renee Zellweger's was borderline OK in Bridget Jones's Diary.

Catherine ZJ's American accent actually sounds rather convincing to me... but then I'm British and crap with American accents. Renee Zellweger's British on the other hand to me does sound pretty fake and over-emphasised. Although I have to say hers is so much better than Gwyneth Paltrow's dreadfully nasal and whiny British accent in Sliding Doors. Aaarrgh.


Hugh Lawrie's American accent in House seems pretty good to me. One of my US pals was astonished when she saw him on Leno (or the like) and realised that he was actually British.

Hmmm, I'm really not convinced. I saw a snippet of that and thought it was *weird*. Perhaps it's just because he has a very distinctive voice, that him speaking anything other than 'posh' British just sounds wrong to my ears!

[IJ Reilly]

And what did the Brits think of Gwyneth Paltrow's Olde English accent in Shakespeare in Love?

[IJ Reilly]

Hugh Lawrie's American accent in House seems pretty good to me. One of my US pals was astonished when she saw him on Leno (or the like) and realised that he was actually British.

No matter what else he does, Hugh Laurie will always be Bertie Wooster to me.

[Lacero]

What do you fellows and fellowesses think of Catherine Zeta-Jones's American accent?
There's no such thing as an American accent, or is there? :rolleyes: She's Welsh, but she sounds pretty Americanized in HW movies.

It's everyone else in other parts of the bloody world who have bloody accents. Not us Americans and Canadians.

Although in rural Americana, they speak a sort of slurred redneck accent that's pretty funny.


Here's to the Crazy Ones http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=35452 (http://www.uriah.com/apple-qt/movies/think-different.mov)

[Lord Blackadder]

I went to a theme restaurant in NYC and a couple of the actress/waitresses were sporting some appalling "stage English" accents that were hilariously bad.

I've been watching BBC America and lots of syndicated UK shows for years and I'm still no good at picking out regional differences in accent. I can recognize differences but don't know the different regions.

I have to laugh at the stereotypical "Cheerio chaps, time for tea, scones and cricket" way-over-the-top UK accent that often makes it into US video games, televison commercials and whatnot. I guess it's only fair judging by the bizarre American accents I've heard some Brits sporting.

On a slighty OT note, I speak American English without an accent, like newscasters. Southerners call us Ohioans too nasal; or at least that's what they supposedly say, I can't understand that drawl they call a language. :p :rolleyes:

[Blue Velvet]

There's no such thing as an American accent, or is there? :rolleyes:

Maybe not an overall one, but even I can tell the difference between someone from Brooklyn and someone from say... Texas.

[Kobushi]

I'll lay bets that most Brits could tell it was fake though; just as you could probably pick our fake American accents out of a lineup regardless of how good we think they are ourselves.

I'd agree with the middle-England bit. Oliver Wood, the Quidditch captain in the first 3 movies, did have a Scottish accent as does Cho Chang in this one. And there's another kid, who is obviously Irish.

Seamus Finnegan has the Irish accent. Although, I couldn't hear a Scottish accent on Cho Chang in the 2 lines she spoke and had pretty much dismissed it as Irish.

The Cockney accent is hard to understand. They can't seem to distinguish between 'f' and 'th' (i.e. three and free sound the same). I used to give my co-worker so much guff over that. :D The closest Harry Potter character I've heard (or read) would be Stan Shunpike (the bus conductor in Chamber of Secrets).

[aloofman]

Hugh Lawrie's American accent in House seems pretty good to me. One of my US pals was astonished when she saw him on Leno (or the like) and realised that he was actually British.

I've long prided myself in being able to tell when someone is faking an American accent, but recently I found out I was being totally fooled...twice.

Mark Addy, from the "Still Standing" sitcom is British. Never saw that coming.

Melanie Lynskey, who plays the stalker neighbor on "Two and a Half Men" is from New Zealand. Didn't even guess it until I finally got around to seeing "Heavenly Creatures."

[DavidLeblond]

What exactly is an American accent? Like the British accent, the accent changes drastically based on where you live. Hell, even where I live in North Carolina the accent can vary city to city. I can pick out someone who lives in Greenville, NC (where my mom is from) by hearing them speak one word (I've done it several times too without fail.) And then the people who live on the outer banks (the High Tiders) don't sound ANYTHING like the rest of NC.

[Toreador93]

Colin Farrell and Hugh Jackman can do pretty convincing American accents. When I first heard Colin Farrell on the Tonight Show, I was amazed at how thick his accent was!

[m-dogg]

Maybe not an overall one, but even I can tell the difference between someone from Brooklyn and someone from say... Texas.

Absolutely. Or Boston. Or the Southeast. Or the Midwest. Or New Orleans. Or the North-central states (though some may say that's just Canadian, eh?) - there are definitely a lot of regional dialects & accents in the US.

Come to think of it, I can often tell what area/state in New England someone is from by their accent.

[Kernow]

No matter what else he does, Hugh Laurie will always be Bertie Wooster to me.

Or as the Prince Regent in Blackadder III. Definitely seems odd seeing him play gritty American roles after the very English comedy characters he used to play

[aloofman]

Obviously they didn't go to the same vocal coach as the famous British actor Sean Connery. I've seen that guy play Eygitian, Scotish, Irish, American, Russian etc. with flawless accents each time. He's like a chameleon.

Don't get me wrong. I like Sean Connery a lot. But I don't see how someone can say he's good at accents. His attempt at Russian in "Red October" was laughable and if he was Irish in "The Untouchables," then it was in name only.

[nbs2]

Obviously they didn't go to the same vocal coach as the famous British actor Sean Connery. I've seen that guy play Eygitian, Scotish, Irish, American, Russian etc. with flawless accents each time. He's like a chameleon.
except, i have yet to find a russian or long time russia resident who doesn't compare his russian to nails on chalkboards.

[IJ Reilly]

Maybe not an overall one, but even I can tell the difference between someone from Brooklyn and someone from say... Texas.

LOL. I'd like to be a fly on the wall when somebody from Brooklyn tried to communicate with someone from Texas. They're virtually different languages!

[edesignuk]

Don't get me wrong. I like Sean Connery a lot. But I don't see how someone can say he's good at accents. His attempt at Russian in "Red October" was laughable and if he was Irish in "The Untouchables," then it was in name only.Sarcasm ;)

[IJ Reilly]

Or as the Prince Regent in Blackadder III. Definitely seems odd seeing him play gritty American roles after the very English comedy characters he used to play

I don't think that series has ever been broadcasted over here, sadly. I've also never seen Laurie in the American TV show he's in now, which I could well watch but haven't.

[ibook30]

There's no such thing as an American accent, or is there? :rolleyes: She's Welsh, but she sounds pretty Americanized in HW movies.

It's everyone else in other parts of the bloody world who have bloody accents. Not us Americans and Canadians.

Although in rural Americana, they speak a sort of slurred redneck accent that's pretty funny.

indent]

I have been working with a group in Canada, another in Texas, and one in NYC - and I (could be having auditory hallucinations) hear a strong difference.

My take on it- in the Southern parts if the US folks talk a little slower and with a drawl. In the Northern regions of the US I hear fast clipped speech. Both have a whole list of colloquialisms. Canadians have a different sound too - eh?

Bar none the most intriguing American accent to my ear is the Cajun accent from Louisianna. If you go far south into Lousianna, it is really difficult to understand these guys! Little english, little french, little of something I swear they made up...

One consistant accent across the US is the redneck. Wether it is backwoods Alabama, or upstate NY - the rednecks are keeping it real.....

[ATD]

There's no such thing as an American accent, or is there? :rolleyes: She's Welsh, but she sounds pretty Americanized in HW movies.

It's everyone else in other parts of the bloody world who have bloody accents. Not us Americans and Canadians.

Although in rural Americana, they speak a sort of slurred redneck accent that's pretty funny.


Here's to the Crazy Ones http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=35452 (http://www.uriah.com/apple-qt/movies/think-different.mov)


I could almost be fooled by an Canadian accent until you hear that tell tail "eh" at the end of the sentence.
:p

[Danksi]

My Brit accent obviously isn't very clear, as I've had people assume I was from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa!

Bleedin' Canardiens.... :rolleyes:

[ibook30]

Colin Farrell and Hugh Jackman can do pretty convincing American accents. When I first heard Colin Farrell on the Tonight Show, I was amazed at how thick his accent was!

I heard Colin Farrell was called out by old school buddies. They said he was laying down a phony accent on American TV- thicker than anything they had heard from him..

[edesignuk]

I heard Colin Farrell was called out by old school buddies. They said he was laying down a phony accent on American TV- thicker than anything they had heard from him..Maybe that's because he's a complete prat :eek: :D :p

[Danksi]

I heard Colin Farrell was called out by old school buddies. They said he was laying down a phony accent on American TV- thicker than anything they had heard from him..

Sounds like Catherine Zeta-Jones, she seems to switch between her 'original' Welsh, to a more Americanised accent willy-nilly.

I guess it's the business. Accents are nice at times, but for the most part it's also handy to be able to speak in a way that most understand first time around - this is differcult to do with strong accents.

[kwajo.com]

canada has numerous accents too, especially in the maritimes it is concentrated. I can tell the difference between people from Cape Breton, PEI, New Brunsiwck, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. If i really tried you can make out different regions of PEI and Newfoundland too, and to a lesser extent Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. for example I live just outside the city of Saint John and I can recognize someone from further along the coast only about a 30-45 minute drive away. the unfortunate thing is that these accents are fading where they used to be very distinctive. too many people got made fun of when they travelled and others developed Upper Canadian accents because we are supposedly not as good as the rest of Canada :rolleyes: . anyway, the point is just as maritime culture is an extension of the UK, so are our accents, and their regional nature, so don't be grouping us in with the rest of our confederation :D

[Danksi]

...canada has numerous accents too, especially in the maritimes it is concentrated. I can tell the difference between people from Cape Breton, PEI, New Brunsiwck, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. ...

I remember watching my first Canadian newscast for the maritimes years ago, I thought there were just a lot of Scots/Irish people living there ;)

[Mr Skills]

Although I have to say hers is so much better than Gwyneth Paltrow's dreadfully nasal and whiny British accent in Sliding Doors. Aaarrgh.

Huh? So often I've been chatting with someone about movies and the subject of how *good* Gwyneth's accent is in Sliding Doors comes up. It's flawless. I'm from exactly that part of London, they use one of my local tube stations for some scenes. I genuinely thought she was British when I saw that film. Maybe that means my own voice is 'whiny' ;)

[Metatron]

Maybe not an overall one, but even I can tell the difference between someone from Brooklyn and someone from say... Texas.

As much as I hate to say it, Texan's do have a southern accent. It never crossed my mine until I went up north to visit some old family friends. A few days went by before they told me how unique I sounded.

God Bless Texas - the most powerful state in the nation. :D

[mpw]

Don't get me wrong. I like Sean Connery a lot. But I don't see how someone can say he's good at accents. His attempt at Russian in "Red October" was laughable and if he was Irish in "The Untouchables," then it was in name only.

except, i have yet to find a russian or long time russia resident who doesn't compare his russian to nails on chalkboards.

So Americans can't do accents or sarcasm. I was joking guys.:D

[Danksi]

As much as I hate to say it, Texan's do have a southern accent. It never crossed my mine until I went up north to visit some old family friends. A few days went by before they told me how unique I sounded.

God Bless Texas - the most powerful state in the nation. :D

Rene Zellweger does a pretty good Brit accent in Bridget Jones, especially when you hear her 'normal' Texan accent.

[mouchoir]

anyone seen Jason Statham's american accent (he is 'turkish from snatch, and does the accent in the new italian job and transporter)

very very very funny.

It's so shockingly bad in 'The One', that even he seems to give up on it half way through!

[garybUK]

Fred & George Weazley have a Brummoy accent (Birmingham) :)

When I went to chicago everyone asked if I was from France or Germany ... uugh i think they were taking the p!ss though :)

I can't believe they don't know what a serviette is, the woman in Subway looked at me like I was from Mars.

[Danksi]

Originally Posted by BakedBeans
anyone seen Jason Statham's american accent (he is 'turkish from snatch, and does the accent in the new italian job and transporter)

very very very funny.

Why do they insist on Brits having to do American accents, or worse Brit's having to act like American actors, doing a poor Brit accent (e.g. Ocean's 12 - the other Snatch actor putting on an awful cockney accent).

It's not as if there aren't any Brit's (& others) living and working in America!

[portent]

Why do they insist on Brits having to do American accents, or worse Brit's having to act like American actors, doing a poor Brit accent (e.g. Ocean's 12 - the other Snatch actor putting on an awful cockney accent).

It's not as if there aren't any Brit's (& others) living and working in America!
It's all about character. If you're playing an American, or whatever, you'd better fake the accent. No matter how bad you are.

As much as I hate to say it, Texan's do have a southern accent. It never crossed my mine until I went up north to visit some old family friends. A few days went by before they told me how unique I sounded.
Don't try to pass it off as a "southern" accent. Texas has an accent all its own. Go to Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina...you'll still be recognized as a Texan.

[swiftaw]

Or as the Prince Regent in Blackadder III. Definitely seems odd seeing him play gritty American roles after the very English comedy characters he used to play

To add to the comedy value, you also have Billy Kennedy from Neighbours as one of his staff :)

[Jaffa Cake]

Yea I cant tell the difference, but I am fairly good with my british accent. The hardest part is really learning the different vocabulary.Then this (http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/) might interest you – the BBC's guide to the myriad of accents we have here in Englandshire. Pick the area of your choice, learn the words, listen to the accent... you'll be talking like a native in no time. :)

[Peterkro]

Then this (http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/) might interest you – the BBC's guide to the myriad of accents we have here in Englandshire. Pick the area of your choice, learn the words, listen to the accent... you'll be talking like a native in no time. :)
The bollocky BBC won't talk to Safari( the registration page for language labs)I guess I could use the debug menu and fake IE but can't be bothered.

[Sogo]

I'll lay bets that most Brits could tell it was fake though; just as you could probably pick our fake American accents out of a lineup regardless of how good we think they are ourselves.

I'd agree with the middle-England bit. Oliver Wood, the Quidditch captain in the first 3 movies, did have a Scottish accent as does Cho Chang in this one. And there's another kid, who is obviously Irish.


Oh im sure they would able to tell im a complete lie. The funny thing is, I have been practicing on my bad American Accent, or Fake American Accent for the last several days. I was reminded of Abu when he tried to get his Citizenship...lol...


Oh and thank you Jaffa Cake!

[liketom]

whats weird is , i was born in the south east and moved up to lincoln( Mids) at the age of 9

so right now i sort of got a northern accent , but when i go vist my family down south lol i turn all southern again

weird , i think it happens just around south mims :D

[greatdevourer]

Although, I couldn't hear a Scottish accent on Cho Chang in the 2 lines she spoke and had pretty much dismissed it as Irish. Well, you're wrong. Even if it isn't Scottish, it sure isn't Irish.

Personally, I have the bästard child of Oxbridge and Corkish Irish :D

[tsaxer]

I grew up here in Alabama, the land of the dialects (generations of community isolation makes this a really dialect/accent heavy state) but never took on much of a southern accent...until I lived in Japan. For some reason, with the lack of SAE from the TV, I reverted to a more southern accent than I ever have had.
But I really don't mind, I southern, not stupid. (Yes there's a difference:D ) And it's not all that thick, just enough to identify me as being from here.

[Nermal]

I went to Indonesia 5 years ago, and you just speak a word or two and everyone immediately says "ah, New Zealand". In one case, after a few sentences, the guy even correctly determined which town I was from! :eek:

[Kobushi]

As much as I hate to say it, Texan's do have a southern accent. It never crossed my mine until I went up north to visit some old family friends. A few days went by before they told me how unique I sounded.

God Bless Texas - the most powerful state in the nation. :D

Heh, when I was 3 and my mother heard me say bread as "bray-add" she decided it was time we moved from Texas.

[Kobushi]

Well, you're wrong. Even if it isn't Scottish, it sure isn't Irish.


Chill.

Maybe it's some Chinese-Irish combination. :rolleyes:

[nbs2]

So Americans can't do accents or sarcasm. I was joking guys.:D
Sorry about that. I have met too many people who actually think he can pull off any role he wants, always sounding natural, to let that one go. My bad.

[Lord Blackadder]

I don't think that series has ever been broadcasted over here, sadly. I've also never seen Laurie in the American TV show he's in now, which I could well watch but haven't.

Blackadder was definitely broadcast in the US, on BBC America. Oh yea! Still is, trust me on this one. :)

Of course, I'm only assuming that you are in the US, Mr, Known World. :D

I really have neglected to follow Laurie's career outside Blackadder, but now with all of you mentioning it I'm going to go watch more of his stuff. He was a great comedic actor in the Blackadder series.


As for Sean Connery, he did appear in a silly Disney movie about leprechauns sporting an amusing Irish accent. I certainly am in no position to judge its quality though. But he was almost as bad in Red October as Kevin Costner was in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Well, maybe not quite that bad. :rolleyes: :D

[liketom]

I really have neglected to follow Laurie's career outside Blackadder, but now with all of you mentioning it I'm going to go watch more of his stuff. He was a great comedic actor in the Blackadder series.


http://imdb.com/name/nm0491402/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnx0dD0xfGZiPXV8cG49MHxrdz0xfHE9aHVnaCBsYXVyaWV8ZnQ9MXxteD0yMHxsbT01MDB8Y289MXxodG1sPTF8 bm09MQ__;fc=1;ft=20

for your readin up pleasure -

;)

[Danksi]

whats weird is , i was born in the south east and moved up to lincoln( Mids) at the age of 9

so right now i sort of got a northern accent , but when i go vist my family down south lol i turn all southern again. weird , i think it happens just around south mims :D

Same sort of thing happens with me. I was born in Middlesbrough, Dad joined the RAF, so we moved around a LOT, never really grew up anywhere long enough for an accent to stick.

I have what my Northern Family considers a Southern accent and a more Northern Accent to my friends from the South - and of course I'm now an occasional Australian to my Canadian friends!

[cslewis]

Did anybody see december's National Geographic? They had a map of US accents, and said that regional accents around the world and the US are actually growing stronger. Here's a different map of US accents (I don't agree with some of it, but oh well).
_______________________________________________________

General Northern (green, yellow, and blue)

This is sometimes also refered to as General American and is used in almost two-thirds of the country. It breaks down into the dialect regions below.

Northern

New England
Many of the Northern dialects can trace their roots to this dialect which was spread westward by the New England settlers as they migrated west. It carries a high prestige due to Boston's early economic and cultural importance and the presence of Harvard University. A famous speaker is Katherine Hepburn. They sometimes call doughnuts cymbals, simballs, and boil cakes.

New England, Eastern (1)
This is one of the most distinctive of all the American dialects. R's are often dropped, but an extra R is added to words that end with a vowel. A is pronounced AH so that we get "Pahk the cah in Hahvahd yahd" and "Pepperidge Fahm remembuhs."

Boston Urban (2)
Like many big cities, Boston has its own dialects that are governed more by social factors like class and ethnicity than by geographic location. Greater Boston Area is the most widely spoken and is very similar to Eastern New England. Brahmin is spoken by the upper aristocratic class like Mr. Howell on Gilligan's Island. Central City Area is what most of us think of as being the "Boston Accent." In the last few years, Saturday Night Live has featured this dialect among a group of rowdy teenagers who like to videotape themselves. Also think of Cliff on Cheers, the only character on this Boston-based show to actually speak a Boston dialect.

New England, Western (3)
Less distinctive than Eastern, but more influential on the other Northern dialects.

Hudson Valley (4)
New York was originally a Dutch colony, and that language influenced this dialect's development. Some original Hudson Valley words are stoop (small porch) and teeter-totter. They call doughnuts (which were invented by the Dutch) crullers and olycooks.

New York City (5)
Unlike Boston and other urban dialects, New York City stands by itself and bears little resemblence to the other dialects in this region. It is also the most disliked and parodied of any American dialect (even among New Yorkers), possibly because many Americans tend dislike large cities. When an R comes after a vowel, it is often dropped. IR becomes OI, but OI becomes IR, and TH becomes D as in "Dey sell tirlets on doity-doid street" and fugedaboudit (forget about it). This pronounciation is particularly associated with Brooklyn but exists to some extent throughout the city. The thickness of a speaker's dialect is directly related to their social class, but these features have been fading within all classes over recent decades. Famous speakers are Rosie Perez, Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinnie, Archie Bunker, Bugs Bunny, and (if you're old enough to remember) the Bowery Boys.

Bonac (6)
Named for Accabonac Creek in eastern Long Island, this dialect is rapidly dying out due to the influx of people from other areas. Back when New York City belonged to the Dutch, this area was part of New England, and Bonac shows elements of both dialects.

Inland Northern (7)
Combines elements of Western New England and Upper Midwestern. Marry, merry, and Mary are pronounced the same. They call doughnuts friedcakes.

San Francisco Urban (8)
Unlike the rest of California, which in the early twentieth century saw an influx of people from the South and other parts of the West, San Francisco continued to be settled by people from the Northeast and Northern Midwest, and elements of their dialects (North Midland, Upper Midwestern, Inland Northern) can be found. Mission dialect, spoken by Irish Catholics in a specific part of the city is very much like the New York City dialect.

Upper Midwestern (9)
Originally settled by people from New England and New York State who brought those dialects, this area was also influenced by Southerners coming up the Mississippi River as well as the speech patterns of the German and Scandinavian immigrants and the Canadian English dialects from over the border. It's sometimes referred to as a "Midwestern twang." They call jelly doughnuts bismarks. Minnewegian (Minnesota / Norwegian), a subdialect spoken in the northernmost part of this region was spoofed in the movies Fargo and Drop Dead Gorgeous.

Chicago Urban (10)
Influenced by the Midland and Southern dialects. Often spoken by the late John Belushi (Chicago's Second City comedy theater supplied many Saturday Night Live actors). SNL used to spoof it in the "Da Bears, Da Bulls" sketches. They call any sweet roll doughnuts.

North Midland (11)
Created as the people in Pennsylvania migrated westward and influenced by Scotch-Irish, German, and English Quaker settlers. This and the South Midland dialect can actually be considered a separate Midland Dialect region that serves as a transition zone between the north and south. They call doughnuts belly sinkers, doorknobs, dunkers, and fatcakes.

Pennsylvania German-English (12)
This was strongly influenced by Pennsylvania Dutch, a dialect of German spoken by people in this area (in this context, "Dutch" is actually a mispronunciation of the German word, "Deutsch," which means "German"). Its grammar allows sentences like "Smear your sister with jam on a slice of bread" and "Throw your father out the window his hat." They call doughnuts fasnacht, and they also invented dunking - from the German "dunken" (to dip).

Western

Compared with the Eastern United States, the Western regions were settled too recently for very distinctive dialects to have time to develop or to be studied in detail. Many words originally came from Spanish, cowboy jargon, and even some from the languages of the Native Americans: adobe, beer bust, belly up, boneyard, bronco, buckaroo, bunkhouse, cahoots, corral, greenhorn, hightail, hoosegow, lasso, mustang, maverick, roundup, wingding.

Rocky Mountain (13)
Originally developed from the North Midland and Northern dialects, but was then influenced by the Mormon settlers in Utah and English coal miners who settled in Wyoming. Some words that came from this dialect are kick off (to die), cache (hiding place), and bushed (tired). They also call jelly doughnuts bismarks.

Pacific Northwest (14)
Influenced by settlers from the Midwest and New England as well as immigrants from England, Germany, Scandinavia, and Canada. Much earlier, a pidgin called Chinook Jargon was developed between the languages of the Native American tribes of this area. It would later also be used and influenced by the European settlers who wished to communicate with them. A few words from Chinook Jargon like high muckamuck (important person) are still used in this dialect today. (Note that, in this case, the word "jargon" has a different meaning from the one discussed above)

Alaska (not shown)
Developed out of the Northern, Midland, and Western dialects. Also influenced by the native languages of the Alutes, Innuit, and Chinook Jargon. Some words that originated here are: bush (remote area), cabin fever, mush (to travel by dog sled), parka, stateside.

Pacific Southwest (15)
The first English speakers arrived here from New York, Ohio, Missouri, New England, and other parts of the Northeast and Midwest in the 1840s, bringing the Northern and North Midland dialects with them. Words originally used by the gold miners of this period are still used today: pay dirt (valuable discovery), pan out (to succeed), and goner (doomed person). The early twentieth century saw an influx of people from the South and other parts of the West. The people here are particularly fond of creating new slang and expressions, and, since Hollywood is located here, these quickly get spread to the rest of the country and the world (the influence of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was examined in Verbatim : part one, part two). During the late 1970s and early 1980s, an extreme exaggeration of this dialect that came to be known as "Valley Girl" or "Surfer Dude" was popular among teenagers and much parodied in the media with phrases like "gag me with a spoon" and "barf me back to the stone age." Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Whoopie Goldberg in her one women show are two famous examples.

Southwestern (16)
By the time this area became part of the United States, there had already been as many as ten generations of Spanish speaking people living here, so the Mexican dialect of Spanish had an important influence on this area that became a melting pot for dialects from all over the USA. Some local words are: caballero, cantina, frijoles, madre, mesa, nana, padre, patio, plaza, ramada, tortilla.

Hawaii (not shown)
The original language of the Native Hawaiians is part of the Polynesian family. English speakers arrived in 1778, but many other settlers also came from China, Portugal, Japan, Korea, Spain, and the Philippines to influence the modern dialect. Hawaiian Creole developed from a pidgin English spoken on the sugar plantations with workers from Hawaii and many other countries. Some words are: look-see, no can, number one (the best), plenty (very). It isn't widely spoken anymore. Nonstandard Hawaiian English developed from Hawaiian Creole and is spoken mostly by teenagers. Standard Hawaiian English is part of the Western dialect family but shows less influence from the early New England dialect than any other American dialect. It has many words borowed from the original Hawaiian as well as some from the other Asian languages mentioned above: aloha, hula, kahuna, lei, luau, muumuu, poi, ukulele.

[aloofman]

So Americans can't do accents or sarcasm. I was joking guys.:D

That was just a little too dry for me. Since I've heard people honest-to-God like his accents, it didn't occur to me. I'm normally good at sarcasm. Really!

[cslewis]

General Southern (purple and red)
This dialect region matches the borders of the Confederate states that seceded during the "Confederate War" and is still a culturally distinct region of the United States. Since it was largely an agricultural area, people tended to move around less than they did in the north, and as a result, the subdialects are much less uniform than those of the General Northern regions and have much more clearly defined boundaries. Other languages that had an important influence on it are French (since the western region was originally French territory) and the African languages spoken by the people brought over as slaves. People tend to speak slower here than in the north creating the famous southern "drawl." I is pronounced AH, and OO is pronounced YOO, as in "Ah'm dyoo home at fahv o'clock." An OW in words like loud is pronounced with a slided double sound AOO (combining the vowel sounds in "hat" and "boot"). Some local words are: boogerman, funky (bad smelling), jump the broomstick (get married), kinfolks, mammy, muleheaded, overseer, tote, y'all.

South Midland (17)
This area, dominated by the Appalachian Mountains and the Ozark Mountains, was originally settled by the Pennsylvania Dutch moving south from the North Midland areas and the Scotch-Irish moving west from Virginia. A TH at the end of words or syllables is sometimes pronounced F, and the word ARE is often left out of sentences as they are in Black English. An A is usually placed at the beginning of verb that ends with ING, and the G is dropped; an O at the end of a word becomes ER. ("They a-celebratin' his birfday by a-goin' to see 'Old Yeller' in the theatah"). A T is frequently added to words that end with an S sound. Some words are: bodacious, heap, right smart (large amount), set a spell, and smidgin. American English has retained more elements of the Elizabethan English spoken in the time of Shakespeare than modern British English has, and this region has retained the most. Some Elizabethan words that are extinct in England are: bub, cross-purposes, fall (autumn), flapjack, greenhorn, guess (suppose), homely, homespun, jeans, loophole, molasses, peek, ragamuffin, reckon, sorry (inferior), trash, well (healthy).

Ozark (18)
Made famous by the Beverly Hillbillies, this isolated area was settled by people from the southern Appalachian region and developed a particularly colorful manner of speaking.

Southern Appalachian (19)
Linguists are still studying the specific differences with South Midland, but most of the research has concentrated on the many archaic words that are still alive in its vocabulary rather than on its grammar and usage. A popular myth is that there are still a few remote regions here that speak an unchanged form of Elizabethan English, but it isn't true.

Smokey Mountain English (25)
One such region that is notable for the many archaic features in its pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar is the Smoky Mountains, a small, thirty by sixty mile area located on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee (the size is exaggerated on the maps). However, while it has preserved a great many elements that once were - but no longer are - used in Britain, it has also developed a large number of unique features of its own. "They" is used in the place of "there"; subject-verb agreement can differ; and plural nouns may not end with an "s" ("They's ten mile from here to the school"). An "-est" can be placed at the end of a word instead of "most" at the beginning (workingest, completest). Irregular verbs may be treated as regular verbs and vice versa, or they may be treated as irregular in a different way from more general dialects (arrove, blowed, costed). Like many of the other dialects discussed on this page, the decrease in isolation caused by the increases in mobility and literacy has caused Smoky Mountain to be much less spoken today than it was at the beginning of the twentieth century. Some local words are withouten (unless) and whenevern (as soon as).

Southern
As the northern dialects were originally dominated by Boston, the southern dialects were heavily influenced by Charleston, Richmond, and Savannah. They tend to drop Rs the way New Englanders do, but they don't add extra Rs. Some words are: big daddy (grandfather), big mamma (grandmother), Confederate War (Civil War), cooter (turtle), fixing to (going to), goober (peanut), hey (hello), mouth harp (harmonica), on account of (because).

Virginia Piedmont (20)
When an R comes after a vowel, it becomes UH, and AW becomes the slided sound, AH-AW. Thus, four dogs becomes fo-uh dah-awgs. Some local words are: hoppergrass (grasshopper), old-field colt (illegitimate child), school breaks up (school lets out), weskit (vest).

Coastal Southern (21)
Very closely resembles Virginia Piedmont but has preserved more elements from the colonial era dialect than any other region of the United States outside Eastern New England. Some local words are: catty-corner (diagonal), dope (soda, Coca-Cola), fussbox (fussy person), kernal (pit), savannah (grassland), Sunday child (illegitimate child). They call doughnuts cookies.

Ocracoke (26)
Named for the island off the coast of North Carolina where it is spoken, this dialect is also called Hoi Toide (because of the way its speakers pronounce the long I sound in words like "high" and "tide") and Outer Banks English to include the coastal regions of North Carolina and Virginia where it is also sometimes heard. OW becomes a long A so that "town" becomes "tain". Unlike other Southerners who tend to drop their Rs, Hoi Toiders actually emphasize their Rs. Overall it tends to resemble the Scottish and Irish dialects and is another area that is often incorrectly believed to be speaking an unchanged form of Elizabethan English. Some local words are mommuck (to bother) and quamished (nauseous).

Gullah (22)
Sometimes called Geechee, this creole language is spoken by some African Americans on the coastal areas and coastal islands of Georgia and South Carolina and was featured in the novel on which the musical, Porgy and Bess, was based. It combines English with several West African languages: Mende, Yoruba, Wolof, Kongo, Twi, Vai, Temne, Ibo, Ewe, Fula, Umbundu, Hausa, Bambara, Fante, and more. The name comes either from the Gola tribe in Liberia or the Ngola tribe in Angola. The grammar and pronunciation are too complicated to go into here, but some words are: bad mouth (curse), guba (peanut - from which we get the English word goober), gumbo (okra), juju (magic), juke (disorderly, wicked), peruse (to walk leisurely), samba (to dance), yam (sweet potato).

Gulf Southern (23)
This area was settled by English speakers moving west from Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas, as well as French speaking settlers spreading out from Louisiana, especially the Acadians (see "Cajuns" below). Some words are: armoire (wardrobe), bayou (small stream), bisque (rich soup), civit cat (skunk), flitters (pancakes), gallery (porch), hydrant (faucet), neutral ground (median strip), pecan patty (praline).

Louisiana (24)
There's a lot going on down here. Many people in southern Louisiana will speak two or three of the dialects below. Cajun French (the Cajuns were originally French settlers in Acadia, Canada - now called Nova Scotia - who were kicked out when the British took over; in 1765, they arrived in New Orleans which was still French territory) carries the highest prestige of the French dialects here and has preserved a number of elements from the older French of the 1600s. It has also borrowed some words from the Spanish who once controlled this area. There are many local variations of it, but they would all be mutually understandable with each other as well as - with some effort - the standard French in France. Cajun English borrows vocabulary and grammar from French and gives us the famous pronunciations "un-YON" (onion) and "I ga-RON-tee" as well as the phrase "Let de good times role!", but movies about cajuns usually get the rest wrong. A famous authentic speaker is humorist Justin Wilson, who had a cooking show on PBS, with his catch phrase, "How y'all are? I'm glad for you to see me." New Orleans is pronounced with one syllable: "Nawlns." There is another dialect of English spoken in New Orleans that is informally, and some would say pejoratively, called Yat (from the greeting, "Where y'at"), that resembles the New York City (particularly Brooklyn) dialect (more info). Provincial French was the upper class dialect of the pre-Cajun French settlers and closely resembles Standard French but isn't widely spoken anymore since this group no longer exists as a separate social class. Louisiana French Creole blends French with the languages of the West Africans who were brought here as slaves. It is quite different from both the Louisiana and standard dialects of French but is very similar to the other creoles that developed between African and French on various Caribbean Islands. Married couples may speak Creole to each other, Cajun French with other people, and English to their children.
___________________________________________________

We Americans have no regional accents? :D

[aloofman]

Why do they insist on Brits having to do American accents, or worse Brit's having to act like American actors, doing a poor Brit accent (e.g. Ocean's 12 - the other Snatch actor putting on an awful cockney accent).

It's not as if there aren't any Brit's (& others) living and working in America!

Especially since there are so many British actors who only get work in Hollywood because a lot of Americans are duped into thinking the accent is distinguished in some way.

[liketom]

General Southern ................. and English to their children.

you think a link might be easy on the eye ??

[Danksi]

Especially since there are so many British actors who only get work in Hollywood because a lot of Americans are duped into thinking the accent is distinguished in some way.


... sure we all sound like Hughe Grant and Liz Hurley. :)

[Benjamindaines]

Regional accents are the best... I love going into a pub with one of my mates and guessing where people are from. After a few drinks we start to get WAY off as you can imagine ;). As for me (originally from just west of london then moved to stafford, and work in birmingham) people can't really tell where im from by my accent, other then somewhere in the UK. As for the actors in Harry Potter, I can't tell where they are from. But I don't like American accents.

[greatdevourer]

Chill.

Maybe it's some Chinese-Irish combination. :rolleyes: It's Scottish (a friend who just got back from it confirmed it for me). I suppose you're American, though.

Same sort of thing happens with me. I was born in Middlesbrough, Dad joined the RAF, so we moved around a LOT, never really grew up anywhere long enough for an accent to stick. Me too. It kinda drifts depending on whether I'm at home or at school. Summat that I've been known to do is begin a sentence in 1 accent and end in another :p

[CompUser]

I love listening to british people trying to speak like an american. Most of the time they sound like southerners or they over prenounce words.

My dad can tell the difference between a south african and a british person because he used to go to Africa on business for weeks at a time.

[cslewis]

you think a link might be easy on the eye ??

http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/1906/dialects.html

God knows, he's probably some yahoo, but here it is.

[Benjamindaines]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isnt Sean Connery South African?

[Applespider]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isnt Sean Connery South African?

Assuming you missed the /humour tag off there since he's most definitely Scottish; Fountainbridge, Edinburgh IIRC

[Danksi]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isnt Sean Connery South African?

He was born Thomas Connery in Fountainbridge, in the south-west of Edinburgh, on the 25th of August, 1930.....

...and has 'Scotland forever' tattoed to his right buttock, even though he lives on the small island that appears in 'Man with a Golden Gun' and yes, it is a real laser canon, which he uses whenever the tax man comes knocking. Odd job clears up the mess afterwards. Seriously!

[Benjamindaines]

Assuming you missed the /humour tag off there since he's most definitely Scottish; Fountainbridge, Edinburgh IIRC
hmm... than who's the actor thats south african (as you can tell I don't pay attention to pop culture magasines.

[Chundles]

I love listening to british people trying to speak like an american. Most of the time they sound like southerners or they over prenounce words.

My dad can tell the difference between a south african and a british person because he used to go to Africa on business for weeks at a time.

Not exactly difficult, the Sud Efrican eccent is one of the most obvious in the world and widely regarded as the most diabolical.

We are starting to develop stronger regional accents here - it's funny, we're a massive, sparsely populated nation and yet we all have pretty much the same accent. Although now it is possible to tell people apart:

Sydney: "Hello, latte and biscotti please, ooh look at that new Porsche!!"

Melbourne: "Hallo Halan, how are you liking Malbun?"

Adelaide: "Yes, we're free settlers here in Sarf Ostraylia so we have a more British accent."

Brisbane: "Hello...there...would...you...like...a...XXXX...?"

North Quensland: "G'Day......mate......how's......it......going......alright......eh?"

[Danksi]

Not exactly difficult, the Sud Efrican eccent is one of the most obvious in the world and widely regarded as the most diabolical.

We are starting to develop stronger regional accents here - it's funny, we're a massive, sparsely populated nation and yet we all have pretty much the same accent. Although now it is possible to tell people apart:

Sydney: "Hello, latte and biscotti please, ooh look at that new Porsche!!"

Melbourne: "Hallo Halan, how are you liking Malbun?"

Adelaide: "Yes, we're free settlers here in Sarf Ostraylia so we have a more British accent."

Brisbane: "Hello...there...would...you...like...a...XXXX...?"

North Quensland: "G'Day......mate......how's......it......going......alright......eh?"

... so which part is 'G'Day Cobba!' from? :)

[IJ Reilly]

Blackadder was definitely broadcast in the US, on BBC America. Oh yea! Still is, trust me on this one. :)

Including the third series? I remember only two, possibly because I don't subscribe to BBC America. The others were shown on PBS.

[Chundles]

... so which part is 'G'Day Cobba!' from? :)

The 1940's.

[Danksi]

The 1940's.

I'm sure they used to say it in Neighbours or Home & Away!

[skunk]

Not exactly difficult, the Sud Efrican eccent is one of the most obvious in the world and widely regarded as the most diabolical.

We are starting to develop stronger regional accents here - it's funny, we're a massive, sparsely populated nation and yet we all have pretty much the same accent. Although now it is possible to tell people apart:

Sydney: "Hello, latte and biscotti please, ooh look at that new Porsche!!"

Melbourne: "Hallo Halan, how are you liking Malbun?"

Adelaide: "Yes, we're free settlers here in Sarf Ostraylia so we have a more British accent."

Brisbane: "Hello...there...would...you...like...a...XXXX...?"

North Quensland: "G'Day......mate......how's......it......going......alright......eh?"Where's Western Australia?
:confused:

[Spectrum]

Are you guys crazy???

She is quite obviously Glaswegian.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Leung

Chill.

Maybe it's some Chinese-Irish combination. :rolleyes:

[Chundles]

Including the third series? I remember only two, possibly because I don't subscribe to BBC America. The others were shown on PBS.

There were four, I still see Hugh Laurie as Lieutenant George - all goggle-eyed and gung-ho.

God it was a funny series, haven't seen much of the 1st series but I have the other three on DVD, they still make me laugh. If only they'd done the 5th series with Blackadder as the manager of a 1960's band, the drummer was named Bald Rick.

[Chundles]

Where's Western Australia?
:confused:

I don't know anyone from Western Australia so I can't comment.

[mpw]

...I really have neglected to follow Laurie's career outside Blackadder, but now with all of you mentioning it I'm going to go watch more of his stuff. He was a great comedic actor in the Blackadder series...
Some of his funniest stuff was in "A bit of Fry & Laurie", a BBC (I think) sketch show where he got to show off his comic and musical talent alongside the enormously talented and ludicrously intelligent Stephen Fry who is IMO a God.

Is Fry known in the US?

[Chundles]

I'm sure they used to say it in Neighbours or Home & Away!

Probably Flamin' Alf Stewart in Home and Away, that character is permanently stuck in antiquity for his dialogue.

[mpw]

He was born Thomas Connery in Fountainbridge, in the south-west of Edinburgh, on the 25th of August, 1930.....

...and has 'Scotland forever' tattoed to his right buttock, even though he lives on the small island that appears in 'Man with a Golden Gun' and yes, it is a real laser canon, which he uses whenever the tax man comes knocking. Odd job clears up the mess afterwards. Seriously!
Two stories about Sean:
1) He was my Mum's milkman when she was a teenager in Edinburgh.
2) He's always banging on about Scottish nationalism and how fantastic Scotland is. A couple of years ago the Scottish tourist board were looking for a new slogan and took submissions on their website. One submission was "Scotland; So wonderful Sean Connery visits sometimes"

[Lord Blackadder]

Some of his funniest stuff was in "A bit of Fry & Laurie", a BBC (I think) sketch show where he got to show off his comic and musical talent alongside the enormously talented and ludicrously intelligent Stephen Fry who is IMO a God.

Is Fry known in the US?


No, not outside Blackadder at any rate. I remember being stunned after reading his bio though, a veritable genius. He must be incredibly interesting to talk to. :eek:

I think the only time I've seen him outside Blackadder was an appearance on Top Gear. :o

Including the third series? I remember only two, possibly because I don't subscribe to BBC America. The others were shown on PBS.

I admit I never saw the third series on PBS, but they definitely put all 4 series on BBC America. Not sure about the Christmas special though. Anyway, you need to get the full DVD set. Best $120 I ever spent.:D

[barneygumble]

On the topic of accents try and pick the differance around australia!

Hint: their isn't one we all speak the same accent, i'll let you guess what it is. I cannot tell the differance anywhere in the country, i think it is becasue we are only 217 yrs and never really developed an accent becasue transport was considerably easier then than 500 yrs earlier

[OutThere]

Apparently I have a relatively strong New-England/Hudson Valley accent...though I wouldn't know it. (I get called on it a lot by relatives from the midwest..."put another lahg on the fire" :D )

On the topic of British accents...for some reason for the past few years I've astonished myself and my friends by being able to identify quickly and simply various dialects...without even knowing I could. Maybe it came from listening to ungodly amounts of Virgin Radio (a really bad habit I picked up a while back curse you iTunes radio!). I instantly picked up on Cho Chang's Scottish accent and Seamus Finnegan's (sp) Irish accents in Harry Potter, though between the two of them they only had about 3 lines.:p

[kiwi-in-uk]

On the topic of accents try and pick the differance around australia!

Hint: their isn't one we all speak the same accent, i'll let you guess what it is. I cannot tell the differance anywhere in the country, i think it is becasue we are only 217 yrs and never really developed an accent becasue transport was considerably easier then than 500 yrs earlier

Wrong-g-g !!
Easily detected in how people say a few words, and otherwise the words they use.
e.g. Many Sydneysiders say "pewl, skewl" (pool, school)
Most Melburnians say "Essedon" (Essendon)
Adelaide accent approaches an Auckland (NZ) accent without the "fush, chups, and sux"
etc
etc

[Chundles]

Melbourne, Helen, Castlemaine

Sydney: "Melbun, Helen, Carslemayne"
Melbourne: "Malbun, Halan, Casslemayne"

There are a number of regional accents here, people from Albury/Wodonga sound different from people from the south coast.

Surely being from Newcastle you'd be able to recognise a few accents of your own.

Sydney: "Would you like another lahr-tay?"
Newcastle: "Do youse wannaother cuppa tea?"

Don't start with me, I'm a Novocastrian by birth.

[840quadra]

I would love to hear a Brit, attempt a Midwest US accent once or twice :) . I have lived here all my life, and I would assume I have an accent from my region. But like others have said, it is hard to hear your OWN accent!

If you think the Movie Fargo is what we sound like, lets just say I think we sound much less odd ;) .

Too bad we cannot attach sound files. It would be cool to do recordings from everyone saying a somewhat complicated phrase that would bring out the accents from all over the macrumors world!

[pivo6]

I had moved to Brainerd, Minnesota right when the movie Fargo opened up. The movie is supposed to take place here. You can't imagine how many people here said that their accent didn't sound a bit like the one in the movie. Of course to me, who had never heard that accent before, it sounded right on.

[IJ Reilly]

Some of his funniest stuff was in "A bit of Fry & Laurie", a BBC (I think) sketch show where he got to show off his comic and musical talent alongside the enormously talented and ludicrously intelligent Stephen Fry who is IMO a God.

Is Fry known in the US?


Known to those who know, yes. He played Jeeves to Laurie's Bertie in the Wodehouse series a number of years ago. He also recorded a very nice BBC radio tribute to his late friend, the barking mad genius Vivian Stanshall.

[OutThere]

Fargo accents (and character portrayals) are spot-on. I've been to Minnesota many times, and know many people who live there, and, in complete truth, it's SO much like Fargo it scares me. Don't believe any of the people in denial, strong Minnesota accents are strong! :D

[840quadra]

I had moved to Brainerd, Minnesota right when the movie Fargo opened up. The movie is supposed to take place here. You can't imagine how many people here said that their accent didn't sound a bit like the one in the movie. Of course to me, who had never heard that accent before, it sounded right on.

Possibly, however even in Minnesota, there are unique accents within this state. People from near the Twin Cities (were I live) tend to have less pronounced accents then the further north rural populations. However, even the people in Brainerd, Bemidji or other small towns cannot compare to the strange sound from Fargo (well to my ears).

[Chundles]

Is that the "oh yah, dontchya know?" accent?

[mikebatho]

I only watched the first Hazza Potta movie, because he sucks, but the accents in that film are mostly public school, so have a tone of class & wealth about them (many brit films that are to be pushed heavily abroad stick to very crisp, stereotypical upper-class accents).

I guess it's the same as anywhere else here. There are an endless number of accents and sub-accents, just in smaller territories.

I have a Cumbrian accent, and people around Manchester often assume I'm from up Bolton or Wigan way....

Some are lyrical & friendly sounding, and some irritating and hard edged. We all must have accents that annoy us. Some of those around Manchester can grate on my like crazy. I've met a number of Americans over the years, and while finding them to be agreeable on the whole, the accent does set my nerves on edge a little. That'll annoy some people who think it isn't just 'one' accent, but while they can't tell the difference between a Bolton and Wakefield accentover here, it's exactly the same for us.

We know the obvious 'stand-out' accents, like the New York drawl, or the southern, sister-marrying (joke) twang, but would still generalize on an overall 'American' accent.....

[barneygumble]

Melbourne, Helen, Castlemaine

Sydney: "Melbun, Helen, Carslemayne"
Melbourne: "Malbun, Halan, Casslemayne"

There are a number of regional accents here, people from Albury/Wodonga sound different from people from the south coast.

Surely being from Newcastle you'd be able to recognise a few accents of your own.

Sydney: "Would you like another lahr-tay?"
Newcastle: "Do youse wannaother cuppa tea?"

Don't start with me, I'm a Novocastrian by birth.

That has nothing to do with accent, merely vocabulary. Of course they are differant but my point is the accent is the same

and FYI in newcastle it is where the f**k is centrelink:p

[Chundles]

heh, nice one.

The Sydney/Melbourne accent difference is very real though. South Australians definitely sound different to us on the East Coast. I didn't notice it here but when I went overseas for a year I really noticed the number of different Aussie accents. Mine is relatively mild, with a slight british overtone and the odd american twang coming from being schooled at three different and formative stages in my life as a young man in three different countries, but others are very harsh, the okker accent is very easy to pick up on but mine is not quite so easy.

[barneygumble]

heh, nice one.

The Sydney/Melbourne accent difference is very real though. South Australians definitely sound different to us on the East Coast. I didn't notice it here but when I went overseas for a year I really noticed the number of different Aussie accents. Mine is relatively mild, with a slight british overtone and the odd american twang coming from being schooled at three different and formative stages in my life as a young man in three different countries, but others are very harsh, the okker accent is very easy to pick up on but mine is not quite so easy.

I don't notice it, must be because i am as ocka as they come:eek:

[nomad01]

Huh? So often I've been chatting with someone about movies and the subject of how *good* Gwyneth's accent is in Sliding Doors comes up. It's flawless.

I thought she was good too. I also thought Rene did pretty well in Bridget Jones. A bit affected maybe but I dn't think I'd have twigged if I didn't know she was American already.

I also remember being amazed to find out that Nancy Travis was American. After seeing her in the Three Men and Baby/Little Lady films, I actually was tempted to accuse her of doing a bad American accent when I saw her using her own voice. It just seemed wrong.

Not seen these films for ages so I may be remembering wrong but did anyone else think her accent was good?

[nomad01]

Fred & George Weazley have a Brummoy accent (Birmingham) :)

And amazingly, they actually picked Brummies to play most of the Weasley family rather than the bl00dy awful fake Brummie accents you usually hear on TV.

[mikebatho]

Americans aren't good at regional accents.

That's why you only get a fairly generic, plumy voice goming from those who try. Either that or an over-the-top Cockerney apples & pears monstrosity like Daphne's brother in Frasier......

Paltrow, Depp, Zweglieregerreer (?), Lithgow.....no regional dialects....

And don't get me started at TLJ in 'Blown Away'...that was learned at the Dick Van Dyke school of accents (just not the campus in Ireland!)

Ha....

But then we always talk about how good Gary Oldman is at the American accent, but to me it's only usually a generic New Yorker, I couldn't tell you if he can do US regional....

[Kobushi]

It's Scottish (a friend who just got back from it confirmed it for me).

Goundskeeper Willy doesn't count :P

I suppose you're American, though.

If that's inclusive of all Americas between N and S poles, "yes". Although, I fail to see what that has to do with anything.

Are you guys crazy???


Only clinically. The voices tell me not to believe them, though.

She is quite obviously Glaswegian.
Well, thanks for clearing that up. It really did sound kinda mumbled and fake to me. "Cho Chang".....clearly Scottish born :rolleyes:

[Kobushi]

Is that the "oh yah, dontchya know?" accent?

Yeah, although I've never heard them say that unless it's in jest. They do use the "aboot" that I hear from Canadians and hang onto their 'o's for quite some time. My study buddy is from Minnesota and went to undergrad in North "Da-kooooh-tah", she's funny to listen to. :)

[greatdevourer]

If that's inclusive of all Americas between N and S poles, "yes". Although, I fail to see what that has to do with anything...

...Well, thanks for clearing that up. It really did sound kinda mumbled and fake to me. "Cho Chang".....clearly Scottish born :rolleyes: Think about what you said in my quote, then you might understand why I said what I did.