# it's in the accent!

Category: Let's talk

## Post 1 by sugarbaby (The voice of reason) on Wednesday, 29-Jun-2005 8:05:06

I was listening to the radio earlier and the woman doing the travel news and reading out the text messages from listeners was welsh, very clearly welsh, and I remember trying to mimic her talking, because a clear welsh accent is truly very distinctive. And it got me thinking about people, and the way they talk, and the conclusions we often come to purely because of their accent. For instance, someone with a broad Liverpool accent for instance, or someone with a broad Wiltshire accent, (Wiltshire is where I come from but mercifully do not have the accent), could be thought of as less intelligent, purely because they speak in a certain way. Equally, someone from the deep south of the US might be perceived in the same way. And by the same token, someone with say, a broad northern irish accent might be perceived as being very aggressive, and a recent survey showed that people with welsh and Newcastle accents were thought of as being very trustworthy, hence why a lot of the call centres in this country are based in wales and Newcastle. And then there are the attractive accents, those that simply attract you to the person because of the way he/she speaks. So, does someone’s accent have an effect on you?

## Post 2 by Japanimangel (Account disabled) on Wednesday, 29-Jun-2005 10:04:57

I think it does, but it doesn't make me decide if I like them or not. I just think accents are just an other feature that makes us all unique. Apparently I have an accent but I hnever notice haha

## Post 3 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Wednesday, 29-Jun-2005 10:22:30

There is nothing mote attractive or effective than a good accent..to prove this,more employers are trying to recruit Scots or Irish workers, because, people just love the accent..of course in saying that, there is more than just one Scots/Irish accent, so its impossible to narrow the field to just 1 distinctive brogue...

## Post 4 by Ukulele<3 (Try me... You know you want to.) on Wednesday, 29-Jun-2005 11:48:16

I love accents!!! I think they are so romantic!!! I love how the person does not notice that they have one. People say that I have an accent but I don't think I do at all.
*sexy*

## Post 5 by angel and devil (Generic Zoner) on Wednesday, 29-Jun-2005 12:06:25

I am from the southern United States but have just moved up north. Men are just practically drooling over my accent. I think northern women though aren't necessarily as drawn to southern men as northern men are to southern women. I also think people from the south are often thought of as less intelligent.

## Post 6 by sugarbaby (The voice of reason) on Wednesday, 29-Jun-2005 12:17:54

for me personally, I think that there is a lot to be said for an accent. having said that, an atractive voice as well as an atractive accent is the key.

## Post 7 by wildebrew (We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?) on Wednesday, 29-Jun-2005 12:59:58

I think there's a lot to be said for accents. I've often been drawn to certain accents and found them very appealing. British ones especially but, oddly enough, Texas accents can be very appealing, Ouisiana accents as well, Alabama and the Carolinas are too southern for my taste and I'm not a big fan of the mid western and California accents but find the Minisota ones cute. I think accent adds to someone's personality just like looks, voice, perfume, clothing etc and I'm very happy most people have an accent of some description.

## Post 8 by Texas Shawn (The cute, cuddley, little furr ball) on Wednesday, 29-Jun-2005 13:57:01

lol. all you brits sound the same to me! well let me take that back sort of! I just don't know the difference in all those areas you listed sugarbabe!
I really like L1985's accent and sugars, so go ahead and tell me from what parts there from? huh huh?

## Post 9 by Harp (I've now got the bronze prolific poster award! now going for the silver award!) on Wednesday, 29-Jun-2005 14:28:29

both sugar's and louise-1985's accents hale from the south east of england.
o and sexy! everybody has an accent!

## Post 10 by Twinklestar09 (I've now got the bronze prolific poster award! now going for the silver award!) on Wednesday, 29-Jun-2005 14:53:03

I agree that everybody has an accent, as the accents would be in the perspective of the person listening, but since most people grow up around a certain culture, they wouldn't consider themselves having an accent because everyone else around them (or at least in their house) talks like them. I've been told I have a nice accent or that I didn't have a "Texas" accent. That, I think is weird when people think of Texans with accents. But the only reason I give is because I grew up around people more from Mexico or whose relatives were from there, so I don't have that "country" accent. If I do, it's hardly even noticeable anyway. *smiles* As for my opinion on accents, I find myself paying a lot of attention to and pretty much like British, most African, and black people's accents.
Leilani

## Post 11 by sugarbaby (The voice of reason) on Wednesday, 29-Jun-2005 15:52:04

well I grew up in south Africa, however, when I lived there, I primarily spoke afrikaans, and the only people I spoke english to were my parents who are from Swindon, where I live now, and had broad swindonian accents. Therefore, when I came back to this country, although I had a mildly south african accent I dropped it very quickly, altough mercifully did not pick up a strong swindon accent...

## Post 12 by bermuda-triangulese (Help me, I'm stuck to my chair!) on Wednesday, 29-Jun-2005 17:23:34

yeah, I think an accent can be quite a good thing. THe asian's I think have very melodic voices, also I think the Italian and French accents on girlsjust make them even more cool. The German is good, too, but difficult to mimick sometimes

## Post 13 by wonderwoman (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Thursday, 30-Jun-2005 0:19:52

well, I have heard 2 kinds of English accents. There is the one accent where they sound all prim and proper, even to the point of snobbishness, but I don't rate them as snobs just because their accent makes them sound that way, it's just the way the accent makes them sound. Then there is the other accent, where they don't pronounce their h's, like saying ome instead of home, ow instead of how, which almost makes them sound uneducated, like they never went beyond first grade, but I don't think, hmmm, this person sounds like he/she never went to school a day in their life. Again, it's just an accent. When I was younger, the first time I heard an australian accent, it made me want to giggle. I don't know why this was, but there was just something about it that, when I heard it, made me want to burst out laughing. I outgrew that though, hahaha. Some people in Tennessee talk very slow, and sound like the most gentle, patient people in the world, like they have all the time in the world and are never in a hurry. People in some of the northern states, certain parts of Iowa and Illinois sound very sharp and snappish, like they're mad all the time. Some people in new york, the Brooklyn area, have a way of talking that makes them sound like gangsters, no offense intended. I'm from the Carolinas, North Carolina, so I'm afraid wildbrew wouldn't like my accent, lol.
wonderwoman

## Post 14 by Twinklestar09 (I've now got the bronze prolific poster award! now going for the silver award!) on Thursday, 30-Jun-2005 2:06:58

Yeah. I'm curious where those 2 English accents come from, what parts of England. I've heard those 2 accents you mentioned also. To me they sound so different so that's interesting. Yeah, sometimes I think the same about black people's accents where I don't think they're bad people, but I stupidly would get nervous if one just started talking to me out of nowhere. I guess it's the idea of black people as dangerous because of most rap being about violence, sex, and stuff like that and the media's usually picturing them as poor or in gangs. I know that's usually not true of course, but yeah. Also, men with what I call "country" accents make me think that they always drink and chew tobacco. but I don't think people with that accent are bad either, but that thought does sometimes cross my mind when I hear that accent.
Leilani

## Post 15 by sugarbaby (The voice of reason) on Thursday, 30-Jun-2005 2:34:23

well, lots of accents drop their t's, but I imagine you're probably referring to the cockney accent, as for the well-spoken ones, well they can come from anywhere really, although well-spoken generally comes from middle/upper class society.

## Post 16 by wildebrew (We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?) on Thursday, 30-Jun-2005 8:46:26

&LT;grin&GT; oh wonder woman, I definitely havenothing against goold ol North Carolina accent y'all &LT;grin&GT; but it definitely doesn't captivate me, may be because Ihear it every day. After all I do live in Charlotte so I'm around NC speaking people and, admittedly, yankies (at work) all the time.
cheers
-B

## Post 17 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Thursday, 30-Jun-2005 11:30:33

Louis is picking up his Dad's strong Edinburgh accent which is wonderful to listen to...the cadence has a sing song quality and the tone is quite up and down and on the whole very expressive....smile
................
Tinkerbell those accents might come from London, the one where the H is not pronounced, is known as Cockney and is not very pleasant to listen to...the other comes from the west end of the city, which is very prosperous, hence the posh voices..smile I prefer it. However, the best english in Britain, is spoken in the Scottish Highlands, from Inverness upwards and on the western isles...

## Post 18 by louisa (move over school!) on Friday, 01-Jul-2005 14:51:21

Hello, I wouldn't judge someone by their accent. One accent I do like is the cornish accent. It's quite different but I think it's nice. As a wholethe uk is unique when it comes to accents. Regards. Bfn

## Post 19 by Harp (I've now got the bronze prolific poster award! now going for the silver award!) on Friday, 01-Jul-2005 15:02:50

i feel i need to point something out here. people keep mentioning accents where people drop there T's or H's. however, and please correct me if i'm wrong here but, dropping letters in words has nothing to do with accent does it? personally i'd put that sort of thing down as mannerisms of speach but not accent!
perhaps its a meaningless differential but i'm in a picky mood! lol.

## Post 20 by elmira (Veteran Zoner) on Friday, 01-Jul-2005 17:12:44

Well, I think some people may drop letters because of mannerisms, but when most speakers of certain accents do so, I would suppose it characteristic for those accents.

## Post 21 by sugarbaby (The voice of reason) on Friday, 01-Jul-2005 17:18:31

well, the cornish like to consider themselves as a law unto themselves, cornwall would like to think of itself as being separate from the rest of the UK ... as for the best english being spoken in scotland ... well ... if you've ever heard a glaswegian speak, one might be forgiven for thinking it's another language! especially once you add several large whiskies into the equasion ...