'strong' British accent

[ev-disinfection]

Eveton... What's that.
As far as I am concered, there are only 2 teams in Liverpool,
Liverpool and the Liverpool reserve team.

[JR8]

Ah that speaks something! Nah myself can't tell whether or not I have a UK accent to be perfectly honest! It's that people keep asking mentioning the adj 'strong'. Apart from some obvious regions say Midlands, I can hardly tell what accent you've got. Although some people I know from cities say Birmingham or Manchester asked if I lived in London but I am 100% sure my accent is nothing related to it. How can a person speak London accent whilst she has never stayed there for more than a week? Not to mention she never tries to imitate the accent, no way! That's why I found it confusing! Seriously, if you're from the UK, isn't it true that you can recognise any UK accents? Perhaps not? e.g. In my home country, we can distinguish between regions like the North or the South but can't really name the cities though.

Without knowing where you originate from, and whether you have spent time in the UK or immersed in UK culture it is a little hard to judge. But if you are say Indian then I go back to my original thought that you are speaking better ‘British English’ than peoples’ preconceptions expect from an Indian.

Two of my SGn nieces-in-law seem to have perfectly mastered California accents. It is quite shocking. It is not something they ‘put-on’, that is how they speak 24/7! Too much TV I think.

I have heard it said (don’t know if it is true, but it sounds as if it might) that there are more accents in the UK for the distance travelled than in any other country. For example you will see a distinct change in average accent from London to Oxford and that is only say 50 miles. But you have to be careful as as someone else suggested you will even have different accents within London. It’s tricky as you will have diverse cultures and classes that influence accent, but over time people tend to pick up localised geographic identifiers (like how you can identify Canadians vs USA by how they pronounce ‘about’ as ‘aboot’ ))

So yes, it is not that difficult to pin many Brits down to within 50-100 miles by their accent alone. What is surprising is that maybe only 300 miles from London you can hear accents that are so heavy they are difficult to understand. An extreme version I once heard was some west coast of Scotland trawlermen... had no idea what they were saying, none, and yet they were speaking English!

Enjoy

21 accents. Think the bird is a voice-coach or something.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UgpfSp2t6k

24 accents. For an 18 year old he is impressive, some cracked me up (caution: it is very sweary!).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dABo_DCIdpM

edit to add:
A very amusing TV as that played on English pronounciation...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z_3AhZh8Y0

[BillyB]

Better than being accused of being a scouser (Liverpool) which happens back home at times!!

You poor sod, you have my sympathy

JC (Mancunian too, well just outside )

Ha Ha!!

Then we shift onto the old football question after I have told them I'm in no way a Scouser.' What's your team'? Liverpool. 'Why, you are from Manchester'? I just give it the old.......I used to like the kit when I was young. The Crown Paints and Candy logo's did it for me!!

JayCee - do you mean 'outskirts' as in the posh part? Altrincham way by any chance?

[AminoAcid]

If I may, what do you guys make of LeeKY's accent? Born in Singapore (to immigrant Chinese parents, according to wikipedia), given the 'English education' in Singapore and attended universities in Britain.

Is his accent supposed to be what the Singaporean accent should sound like? I find his ministers taking after him too when they speak in public. Granted, the rest of us speak in real Singapore accent, (yes the sort that draws sniggers from you guys)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVDE0KPMaeY

How strong is his 'British' in his English?

[nakatago]

If I may, what do you guys make of LeeKY's accent? Born in Singapore (to immigrant Chinese parents, according to wikipedia), given the 'English education' in Singapore and attended universities in Britain.

Is his accent supposed to be what the Singaporean accent should sound like? I find his ministers taking after him too when they speak in public. Granted, the rest of us speak in real Singapore accent, (yes the sort that draws sniggers from you guys)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVDE0KPMaeY

How strong is his 'British' in his English?

He doesn't sound British (to me), he still sounds Singaporean but his accent not as 'thick' as most Singaporeans sound now and most people probably won't be able to tell if you didn't know who he was. His accent is fairly neutral in the British-Asian spectrum. So does his son.

This, guy, however, really sounds British (to me): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4w_SY9x-QU

[JR8]

If I may, what do you guys make of LeeKY's accent? Born in Singapore (to immigrant Chinese parents, according to wikipedia), given the 'English education' in Singapore and attended universities in Britain.

Is his accent supposed to be what the Singaporean accent should sound like? I find his ministers taking after him too when they speak in public. Granted, the rest of us speak in real Singapore accent, (yes the sort that draws sniggers from you guys)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVDE0KPMaeY

How strong is his 'British' in his English?

Yeah you can tell the speaker is 'foreign' but has likely had a better than average education. If it were a better recording (than a mish-mash), you would have time to listen more closely. As Nak suggests I think given a minute or two you could be sure it was Asian/well-educated.

p.s. bit of a nauseating vid btw. Referring to the Japanese as 'cruel' despite him - if I recall correctly - working for the Japanese Army as a translator during their occupation.

[nakatago]

If I may, what do you guys make of LeeKY's accent? Born in Singapore (to immigrant Chinese parents, according to wikipedia), given the 'English education' in Singapore and attended universities in Britain.

Is his accent supposed to be what the Singaporean accent should sound like? I find his ministers taking after him too when they speak in public. Granted, the rest of us speak in real Singapore accent, (yes the sort that draws sniggers from you guys)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVDE0KPMaeY

How strong is his 'British' in his English?

Yeah you can tell the speaker is 'foreign' but has likely had a better than average education. If it were a better recording (than a mish-mash), you would have time to listen more closely. As Nak suggests I think given a minute or two you could be sure it was Asian/well-educated.

p.s. bit of a nauseating vid btw. Referring to the Japanese as 'cruel' despite him - if I recall correctly - working for the Japanese Army as a translator during their occupation.

http://www.thoughtequity.com/video/clip ... 239_004.do

[JR8]

If I may, what do you guys make of LeeKY's accent? Born in Singapore (to immigrant Chinese parents, according to wikipedia), given the 'English education' in Singapore and attended universities in Britain.

Is his accent supposed to be what the Singaporean accent should sound like? I find his ministers taking after him too when they speak in public. Granted, the rest of us speak in real Singapore accent, (yes the sort that draws sniggers from you guys)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVDE0KPMaeY

How strong is his 'British' in his English?

Yeah you can tell the speaker is 'foreign' but has likely had a better than average education. If it were a better recording (than a mish-mash), you would have time to listen more closely. As Nak suggests I think given a minute or two you could be sure it was Asian/well-educated.

p.s. bit of a nauseating vid btw. Referring to the Japanese as 'cruel' despite him - if I recall correctly - working for the Japanese Army as a translator during their occupation.

http://www.thoughtequity.com/video/clip ... 239_004.do

Yeah you see, without images I would know that speaker was a Pilippino...

[longstebe]

Any Brit, Scot, Irish who speaks proper English to your slang, will be deemed to most locals as strong. To those locals who mix a lot with Expats, will just take it as normal,

I am a Liverpool Fan. I am a scouser at heart.

I knew you were one of the good guys.

After leaving home you learn to tame your accent but once you meet back up with your own, it's back to normal.

After reading the heading for this topic I knew someone was going to bring up the Scouse thing.

[nakatago]

Yeah you can tell the speaker is 'foreign' but has likely had a better than average education. If it were a better recording (than a mish-mash), you would have time to listen more closely. As Nak suggests I think given a minute or two you could be sure it was Asian/well-educated.

p.s. bit of a nauseating vid btw. Referring to the Japanese as 'cruel' despite him - if I recall correctly - working for the Japanese Army as a translator during their occupation.

http://www.thoughtequity.com/video/clip ... 239_004.do

Yeah you see, without images I would know that speaker was a Pilippino...

That was half the point I was trying to make, though.

...and you spelled it wrong (don't blame me; I didn't come up with the rules).

[JayCee]

Better than being accused of being a scouser (Liverpool) which happens back home at times!!

You poor sod, you have my sympathy

JC (Mancunian too, well just outside )

Ha Ha!!

Then we shift onto the old football question after I have told them I'm in no way a Scouser.' What's your team'? Liverpool. 'Why, you are from Manchester'? I just give it the old.......I used to like the kit when I was young. The Crown Paints and Candy logo's did it for me!!

JayCee - do you mean 'outskirts' as in the posh part? Altrincham way by any chance?

Well, I say "just" outside but it's about 20 miles actually, I was born in Macclesfield which I think it just about technically Greater Manchester but I'm probably not what would be classed as a true Mancunian although I lived there for a few years. Definitely not from a posh area though, but alderly edge, wilmslow etc... are just down the road.

Can't believe you're a liverpool fan if you're from Manchester though! Although you're more likely to be that than a city fan of course, as they're all from Stockport. After my comments on liverpool and city I'll let you take a wild guess who I happen to support )

[ev-disinfection]

Any Brit, Scot, Irish who speaks proper English to your slang, will be deemed to most locals as strong. To those locals who mix a lot with Expats, will just take it as normal,

I am a Liverpool Fan. I am a scouser at heart.

I knew you were one of the good guys.

After leaving home you learn to tame your accent but once you meet back up with your own, it's back to normal.

After reading the heading for this topic I knew someone was going to bring up the Scouse thing.

Ahhh shucks
You should have contacted more of us, when you were here.

[BillyB]

You poor sod, you have my sympathy

JC (Mancunian too, well just outside )

Ha Ha!!

Then we shift onto the old football question after I have told them I'm in no way a Scouser.' What's your team'? Liverpool. 'Why, you are from Manchester'? I just give it the old.......I used to like the kit when I was young. The Crown Paints and Candy logo's did it for me!!

JayCee - do you mean 'outskirts' as in the posh part? Altrincham way by any chance?

Well, I say "just" outside but it's about 20 miles actually, I was born in Macclesfield which I think it just about technically Greater Manchester but I'm probably not what would be classed as a true Mancunian although I lived there for a few years. Definitely not from a posh area though, but alderly edge, wilmslow etc... are just down the road.

Can't believe you're a liverpool fan if you're from Manchester though! Although you're more likely to be that than a city fan of course, as they're all from Stockport. After my comments on liverpool and city I'll let you take a wild guess who I happen to support )

I know Macc pretty well. Used to head to the flower pot on Thursday nights in my younger days.....they don't half like a good scrap those Macc's!!

I always get the Liverpool fan stuff. Even in Asia it still baffles people to this day. At least Manchester, despite the rivalry, is only 45 mins from Liverpool. They clearly haven't dug deeper into the scattered fan base of Man Utd - who I'm guessing you follow for reasons unbeknown to only you with the selection of great teams in the Northern Area!!!

I'm from Stockport (Rockport) myself but haven't really lived there for since schooldays. A visit back each year is nice just to put things in perspective and make me realise that I aren't missing too much by living oversea's!! Although I do miss Sky T.V!!

[Barnsley]

Any Brit, Scot, Irish who speaks proper English to your slang, will be deemed to most locals as strong. To those locals who mix a lot with Expats, will just take it as normal,

I am a Liverpool Fan. I am a scouser at heart.

I knew you were one of the good guys.

After leaving home you learn to tame your accent but once you meet back up with your own, it's back to normal.

After reading the heading for this topic I knew someone was going to bring up the Scouse thing.

I still have a pretty strong Yorkshire accent even after almost 20 years away from home, though its not as strong as my friends and family. My first conversation with anyone in the street when I am in my hometown is a good test of my hearing as it takes me a little time to pick up the pace and pronunciations.
I think my colleagues here are getting used to it now, but when we get new starters it takes them a while to understand if I speak a bit quick and throw in the odd bit of "Yorkshire".

[unrevealed]

Ah that speaks something! Nah myself can't tell whether or not I have a UK accent to be perfectly honest! It's that people keep asking mentioning the adj 'strong'. Apart from some obvious regions say Midlands, I can hardly tell what accent you've got. Although some people I know from cities say Birmingham or Manchester asked if I lived in London but I am 100% sure my accent is nothing related to it. How can a person speak London accent whilst she has never stayed there for more than a week? Not to mention she never tries to imitate the accent, no way! That's why I found it confusing! Seriously, if you're from the UK, isn't it true that you can recognise any UK accents? Perhaps not? e.g. In my home country, we can distinguish between regions like the North or the South but can't really name the cities though.

Without knowing where you originate from, and whether you have spent time in the UK or immersed in UK culture it is a little hard to judge. But if you are say Indian then I go back to my original thought that you are speaking better ‘British English’ than peoples’ preconceptions expect from an Indian.

Two of my SGn nieces-in-law seem to have perfectly mastered California accents. It is quite shocking. It is not something they ‘put-on’, that is how they speak 24/7! Too much TV I think.

I have heard it said (don’t know if it is true, but it sounds as if it might) that there are more accents in the UK for the distance travelled than in any other country. For example you will see a distinct change in average accent from London to Oxford and that is only say 50 miles. But you have to be careful as as someone else suggested you will even have different accents within London. It’s tricky as you will have diverse cultures and classes that influence accent, but over time people tend to pick up localised geographic identifiers (like how you can identify Canadians vs USA by how they pronounce ‘about’ as ‘aboot’ ))

So yes, it is not that difficult to pin many Brits down to within 50-100 miles by their accent alone. What is surprising is that maybe only 300 miles from London you can hear accents that are so heavy they are difficult to understand. An extreme version I once heard was some west coast of Scotland trawlermen... had no idea what they were saying, none, and yet they were speaking English!

Enjoy

21 accents. Think the bird is a voice-coach or something.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UgpfSp2t6k

24 accents. For an 18 year old he is impressive, some cracked me up (caution: it is very sweary!).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dABo_DCIdpM

edit to add:
A very amusing TV as that played on English pronounciation...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z_3AhZh8Y0

I didn’t spend long enough in Britain to improve my English to the extent that can not be distinguisable from the natives, instead I would sincerely rate my English a little over average. I myself do love British accent in whatsoever form it is as long as I can understand what you’re saying . I have no reasons behind it all but apparently I was fascinated about it by my former manager from Yorkshire. I didn’t know how Yorkshire accent really sounds but my ex boss had a very pleasant voice that even when he got on my nerves (rarely, well 2 or 3), his voice calmed me down at once .
Reckon it doesn’t matter what accent you have as long as you can make people understand you, true? (to add, body language comes in handy at some points doesn’t it?)
Thank you for sharing the videos, btw, can you tell me what accent this pinky lady is speaking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLd3-cfLlvU