How to speak with a "British" accent

[papa_smurf]

I never knew there was such a thing as a "British" accent, so what does that make me then?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drKtozox34M&
( I REALLY hate the fact that some americans think we only have 1 accent/dialect, come to derbyshire and i'll show you different)

[DarkFish]

how do you mean? maybe you have to watch it agane, you clearly have to proh-cess a little better what she's telling you:hmmm:
Or have you simply bean too much in your garridge:06:

[PhantomLord]

Last december i had a brilliant tutorial in proper yorkshire style... compared to my american friend from Boston... it was a longer "proooh-cess" understanding that :haha:

[Lionclaw]

Hehe, every country has their dialects/accents. But when you've heard them on the television, you try imitate them, without really knowing what dialect it is. :O:

I've tried talking with a "English" accent, however my Swedish accent ruins it. :haha:

But when I'm speaking English in a conversation with another person it's just pure Swedish accented English. :)

[Seth8530]

LOL dont worry, it will never sound as funny to me as a German speaking English with an ENGLISH sub accent lol. I mean it made me smile everytime i heard it lol.

[UnderseaLcpl]

One of my favorite subjects! I love accents, words and everything linguistic. One of my personal weird hobbies is to imitate foreign dialects, syntax, sentence structure, and any verbal peculiarities. I can do pretty much any accent in the world, but my American accent comes out by making the vowels sound a little flat when pronouncing a word I haven't heard spoken before.

British accents are among my favorites because of the tremendous variety within a comparitively small space. Cockney English is probably the most fun to do, but I also love many Scottish accents for the way they flow. And then you get to Nairn and you have to speak out of your nose:nope:

My all-time favorite is Caucus Russian. For some reason, just speaking it makes you feel like you have a glass of vodka, especially when you use the syntax in English. I also like German, but I don't know all the regional accents that well. I mostly just imitate German war vets on documentaries.

Oddly enough, the accents I have the most trouble with are American accents, probably because of my own slight drawl. I'll often slip in an exaggerated vowel or a ya'll or fixin' to when I try to emulate Yankee accents.

[Jimbuna]

The linguistic contest :DL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYmrg3owTRE&feature=related

[UnderseaLcpl]

The linguistic contest :DL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYmrg3owTRE&feature=related
:haha:
I'm not laughing just because that was funny, but also because I didn't even know Hugh Laurie was British. His accent on House is almost perfect.

[Jimbuna]

:haha:
I'm not laughing just because that was funny, but also because I didn't even know Hugh Laurie was British. His accent on House is almost perfect.


He was born in Oxford in 1959 which makes him 'almost' English :DL

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

[UnderseaLcpl]

He was born in Oxford in 1959 which makes him 'almost' English :DL

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

He's not the only thing that is "almost" English, my heavily accented friend:DL Speaking of which, whatever happened with that goalie of yours? Did he turn out to actually be an American or what?

[Sailor Steve]

:haha:
I'm not laughing just because that was funny, but also because I didn't even know Hugh Laurie was British. His accent on House is almost perfect.
You've never seen Blackadder???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT52HhtJ6kU




[edit] One of my all-time favorites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwbB6B0cQs4

[Egan]

British accents are among my favorites because of the tremendous variety within a comparitively small space. Cockney English is probably the most fun to do, but I also love many Scottish accents for the way they flow. And then you get to Nairn and you have to speak out of your nose:nope:


The Nairn accent is, of course, a variant of the 'Inversnecky' (Inverness,) accent which is found in several areas of the highland, although it has been watered down a lot by Aberdonian over the years. Interestingly, The Inverness accent has been shown by several studies to be just about the most precise usage of English in Britain.

My favourite has always been the accent of the Scottish Northwest coast and the islands which has a very soft, lilting sing song quality. Elements of it can sound like a very soft Irish brogue.

As to the number of accents in Britain, I was always intrigued by the fact that in Aberdeen, a city of about 250 000 people, Aberdonians could tell what part of the city other Aberdonian's came from by the difference in their accents.

Accents are one of the things I love the most about Britain. The sheer number of them make the place feel much larger than it is.

[Weiss Pinguin]

Ever since I spent a few weeks with my cousins in London, I've always thought British accents were awesome. And Russian. And Jamaican. :yeah:

[MGR1]

As to the number of accents in Britain, I was always intrigued by the fact that in Aberdeen, a city of about 250 000 people, Aberdonians could tell what part of the city other Aberdonian's came from by the difference in their accents.

You can always tell if someone's fae Torry! There's a few others as well.:D

But you can aye tell a weegie when ye hear one - "There's been a murrderrr!":03:

Taggert and Rab C have a lot to answer for. Though I did find it funny that they put subtitles on the latter when they screened it south of the border!:har:

Shetlanders have an interesting accent as well - fower, not four, for example.

Mike.:DL

[Oberon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu7aj1SCE8k&feature=related

This scene always makes me laugh.
Contains strong language and cockney rhyming slang. :salute:

[Egan]

You can always tell if someone's fae Torry! There's a few others as well.:D

But you can aye tell a weegie when ye hear one - "There's been a murrderrr!":03:

Taggert and Rab C have a lot to answer for. Though I did find it funny that they put subtitles on the latter when they screened it south of the border!:har:

Shetlanders have an interesting accent as well - fower, not four, for example.

Mike.:DL

Naw naw naw. Those wee guys are pure heroes an that, but. Ah dinnae ken whit yur talkin aboot, yuh mad rocket. You're a pure dafty fur thinking that, by the way; wee Taggart's gallus. :D

I love broad Glaswegian. It's one of the most descriptive dialects I've ever heard - totally on a par with full bore Italian regional dialects in terms of sheer fun to listen too.

I lived in Aberdeen for a couple of years and found in utterly impenetrable on more than a couple of occasions. Loons and Quines and thats about as far as I ever progressed.

It's funny, my natural accent is Badenoch/Strathspey-Inverness and it usually takes about 30 seconds for it to come flooding back whenever I visit my parents. As soon as I get back to Glasgow it evaporates and I'm back to Weegie again. I love accents. My Manchester, Geordie and Cockney are pretty good, and my northern Irish is ok but not quite there. :)

As for subtitles, I remember watching some episode of Eastenders years ago and was simply unable to understand what one of the characters said. If they need subtitles they should definitely be two way.

I like the Shetland accent too. Also always found the Orcadian to be very interesting.

[nikimcbee]

American tourists:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egbAUf-7BVk

[nikimcbee]

Then there's Northerners.....:yeah:
(Mr Buna in his younger years, when there was hair.):D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkwBpNlHP70&feature=related

[papa_smurf]

This shows a few of our native accents (done brilliantly by Jonathan pryce)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1MgS46zLy0&feature=related

[mookiemookie]

LOL dont worry, it will never sound as funny to me as a German speaking English with an ENGLISH sub accent lol. I mean it made me smile everytime i heard it lol.

That's pretty much the entire English audio track of Das Boot.

[Happy Times]

In Finland there are several dialects but almost everyone can speak Finnish as it is taught in school.
Sometimes it seems some Brits can speak only their dialect, am i wrong?

[Platapus]

The United States of America and the Kingdom of Great Briton - Two great allies separated by a common language. :D

[DarkFish]

In Finland there are several dialects but almost everyone can speak Finnish as it is taught in school.
Sometimes it seems some Brits can speak only their dialect, am i wrong?In the Netherlands, historically it was not hard to hear from what village someone was coming, let alone from which part of the country. These differences are slowly disappearing, but our provinces still have quite differing dialects.
Though I've grown up in Arnhem I never really got the hang of the "Èrnems" dialect (Èrnem (IPA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPA_chart_for_English): "ɛr-nəm") as opposed to Arnhem ("ɑːrn-hɛm")). Now that I live in Eindhoven however, I do slowly adopt a certain Brabandish tongue:hmmm:

"Hedde wel es Broabants geheurd?" instead of "Heb je wel eens Brabants gehoord?":O:

[Oberon]

In Finland there are several dialects but almost everyone can speak Finnish as it is taught in school.
Sometimes it seems some Brits can speak only their dialect, am i wrong?

It depends, sometimes if you're born in one place in Britain and then move somewhere else then you pick up the new places dialect, for example my father was born in Scotland but has spent most of his life in South London and Kent, he does not have a Scottish accent nor does his brother.
I think a lot of it is the influence of the people around you, hearing them speak. It's all English after all (well...in most places) but it's just a different way of saying things.

[Buddahaid]

All I got from her lesson was that that accent was more just pronouncing the words like they're spelled.

[Jimbuna]

He's not the only thing that is "almost" English, my heavily accented friend:DL Speaking of which, whatever happened with that goalie of yours? Did he turn out to actually be an American or what?

The jury is still out but I've heard a rumour he may be standing against Obama at the next presidential election :DL

Then there's Northerners.....:yeah:
(Mr Buna in his younger years, when there was hair.):D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkwBpNlHP70&feature=related

Hey!...I resemble that remark :stare:

[STEED]

How to speak with a "British" accent

Dead easy, all you got to do is put lots of "F" word in what your saying, and if your really bold the "C" word.

Your soon pick it up by jumping on a bus full of school kids. ;)

[Dowly]

Dead easy, all you got to do is put lots of "F" word in what your saying, and if your really bold the "C" word.

Your soon pick it up by jumping on a bus full of school kids. ;)

I though that was the american accent. :DL

[STEED]

They stoled it from us. :haha:

[Dowly]

They stoled it from us. :haha:

Bastards. :nope:

[Lionclaw]

One thing I've noticed is the "r" pronounced if the word ends with an "a".

Idea(r)

Or something else.. "Issue" is pronounced "is-you".

:)

[PhantomLord]

Bastards. :nope:

It must be "bloody" bastards!? That´s one thing i noted during my time in York :D

And some nice handsigns showing other people how they drive their cars... bloody ******* :haha:

[Weiss Pinguin]

Or something else.. "Issue" is pronounced "is-you".
And apprees-iation?

[nikimcbee]

I though that was the american accent. :DL

You're thiking of New Jersey:haha:

[STEED]

Question for Americans, do you guy still say..."I'm going to bust your ass."

[papa_smurf]

Quote:
How to speak with a "British" accent
Dead easy, all you got to do is put lots of "F" word in what your saying, and if your really bold the "C" word.

Your soon pick it up by jumping on a bus full of school kids. ;)Indeed, you'll learn a whole new vocabulary when on a bus full of school kids:D

(woot! 1300 posts!)

[Tchocky]

Question for Americans, do you guy still say..."I'm going to bust your ass."

or I will....break your bottom!!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qyhZ9_eXCHM/SmkPGQBVoHI/AAAAAAAABgI/migEZaY5AEI/s400/basil+fawlty.jpg

[Oberon]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qyhZ9_eXCHM/SmkPGQBVoHI/AAAAAAAABgI/migEZaY5AEI/s400/basil+fawlty.jpg

It's a semitone higher!

[nikimcbee]

Question for Americans, do you guy still say..."I'm going to bust your ass."

Fracture your fanny

break your bum

[nikimcbee]

ruin your rump

[nikimcbee]

dash your derriere

[Jimbuna]

Question for Americans, do you guy still say..."I'm going to bust your ass."

LMAO :rotfl2:

[nikimcbee]

LMAO :rotfl2:

Chav in training:hmmm:?

[Jimbuna]

Chav in training:hmmm:?

You just keep to the front of me where I can keep an eye on ya :haha:

[STEED]

I'm going to have a spin at some American abuse as everyone here will not react to British abuse, take them by surprise. :)

[Sailor Steve]

dash your derriere
Trash your tush.

[Jimbuna]

By George...I think she's got it!

[Cohaagen]

One of my favorite subjects! I love accents, words and everything linguistic. One of my personal weird hobbies is to imitate foreign dialects, syntax, sentence structure, and any verbal peculiarities. I can do pretty much any accent in the world, but my American accent comes out by making the vowels sound a little flat when pronouncing a word I haven't heard spoken before.

British accents are among my favorites because of the tremendous variety within a comparitively small space. Cockney English is probably the most fun to do, but I also love many Scottish accents for the way they flow.

This is also a pet subject of mine, so it's genuinely great to see someone from the US who is interested in the regional nuances. Most Americans can't tell the difference between an Irish and Scottish accent, as I once uncomfortably found out!

And then you get to Nairn and you have to speak out of your noseNaaaeeiiirn - the fastest town in Scotland.

I consider myself pretty tuned-in to the differences in US accents from growing up on the Clyde near Site One at the Holy Loch, going to school where 1/3 of the class was American, hanging out at the Px, bowling alley, Dunkin' Donuts, etc., before I went to sea. Most British people have a fairly good ear for American accents due to a sort of involuntary training through movies, but I suspect there are many for whom the difference between a Massachusetts (or "Massive Chew Sets" as we used to call it) and New York accent is as indistinguishable as the disparity between the Liverpool and Manchester dialect is to Americans - obviously, a native British would be able to discern the difference in the latter instantly.

The interesting thing about American accents is how they tend to become more homogenous the further west you go. A lot of this has to do with the rapid expansion of the USA in the 19thC, and the lack of opportunity for isolated communities to develop (with certain exceptions: the sing-song Scandanavian/Canadian inflection you get in people from Minnesota and North Dakota, for example). By contrast, in some of the very old parts of the North East US, particularly the affluent ones, you get enclaves of very old communities who can immediately spot an outsider from their accent - even someone who grew up only 100 miles distant. Yet, there is no real difference between a San Francisco and San Diego accent (I've already thought of the lisping joke, so don't post it) despite being separated by about 500 or 600 or so miles - about the distance from Inverness to London.

And yes, people in Britain do use the "cu..." word far more. It is the verbal weapon we find closest to hand, and (uniquely) is not necessarily an insult. An American will usually say "faggot" or "mother****er" instead.