Accents

[Grauntie Mag]

Are there any other people here who have moved to a different area only to have people mimic their accent? When I lived in the North for a year people would speak in a cockney accent to me. I come from Kent so they were a bit out! Poor old OH has had the reverse for 44 years! One particular couple slip into a ‘northern’ accent whenever they are in his company. They don’t seem to grasp how rude it sounds.
Now we live in Southend, I can guarantee when asked where we come from the asker will say ‘Sarfend’ followed by jolly laughter. I don’t know many people here who speak like that. What is it about accents?
Maybe I should go and live on a tiny island and commune with the birds.🙄

[Daisy]

GM - I really sympathise. People try to tell me all the time that 'bath' has an r in it, and they just laugh at the way I say 'cook' - to the point where I call the thing in the kitchen that changes raw food to non-raw food an oven. Apparently 'cooker' is even more hilarious than 'bath' or 'cook'!!! OH has the same problem with 'saucepan' (he's Welsh) and one or two other words.

When I was training to teach shorthand (which is phonetic) I couldn't understand why students would confuse the words 'our' and 'are', but it gradually dawned on me that for southerners they are said the same. Teaching students how to write the suffix '-ing' was another laugh a minute, although I really couldn't see/hear why except that I do actually pronounce the 'G'!

Very few people can actually 'place' my accent, so I don't know why it's so funny! Still, it brightens someone's day!

[Grauntie Mag]

OH worked in BHS in Birmingham and said he was asked where the toys were. He directed the customer only to be told she wanted ‘Toy, toys that go round the neck, not toys that you play with.’

[Daisy]

GM - Hahaha - yes, I can 'hear' how they would sound the same!!!

[Plantaholic]

I love all accents, one of the nice things about our meet ups is to listen to the different accents.

[Oma]

Hate my accent and everyone tries to copy it without success
I always get "Oh your a Geordie then " NO I'm a Mackem , we have a different accent ,

Mackems don't pronounce our H's , like House and Hut is Ouse and Ut ours is slightly softer than Newcastle and we have different words .

Like if we say we are going home it would be( wear going home) as in the river Wear , Gordies would say ( werr going home ) more emphasis on the R
.
Its like when people cant pronounce your Surname isn't it

[Mimi]

It doesn’t matter where we go on holiday no one gets our accent correct. When we were in Newcastle we were thought of as Welsh. In Devon it was Bristol or Gloucester, When I did live in Wales I was told I spoke in a ‘posh ‘ English accent.
As we are on the boarder of Wales it’s easy to understand why we are mistaken for Welsh, but my Welsh families would disagree.

DD now speaks with a Welsh accent after living there for 10 years or more .

[Enfys]

I love hearing all the different accents but sometimes find myself slipping into them without meaning to. I hope people don’t think I’m mimicking them, but I just can’t help it! It was so nice on our meet up to hear people’s voices so now when I read posts I can hear the person speaking.

[Gemini]

As a northerner (I don't have strong accent, but do have one) who lived in London then Sussex for about 4 years, it did happen occasionally, but not too often.
I dislike it, it is very rude.

My Londoner ex husband has lived here in the north for 40 years now, and I don't ever remember him being mocked for his accent (which like mine, isn't a strong one)

[Gemini]

Oma, I love your accent. When OH and I have spent a day with you and your OH I find I think in that accent for a few hours afterwards
I love Welsh and Birmingham accents too, and some soft Scottish ones, like my SIL's.

As Plant says, it is interesting to hear all the accents when we meet up.

I am guilty of wanting to speak in a (very bad) American accent every time I am over there

[Oma]

I don't mind anyone trying to copy my accent just no one gets it quite right

[Grauntie Mag]

Even though OH has lived in the south longer than the north where he was born, he hasn’t lost his accent. I love it, it is a very comforting accent to me.
As for surnames, I can give mine, which is a fairly common one, and watch it being written as something completely different. Also when people who are reading our name when they phone, read it wrongly. What they say is quite funny. 😆

[Glammanana]

My accent is your typical "scouse" but slightly softer as I don't live in Liverpool not as thick as Cilla Black in her heyday,when I go over the water people who I sit and chat with can tell I am from "over the water" .
I do love the "geordie" accent and can listen to it all day,we where at one time going to move up that way to Acombe nr Hexham but changed our minds at the last minute,big mistake when I think back now.

[Gemini]

Liverpool is a nice accent too, like Ray Quinn

[Daisy]

Glamm, when I first went to work in Liverpool I found it quite hard to understand some people. I worked in an employment agency, so thee was quite a range of people from both sides of the water, and places like Wigan and Bootle.

But it’s a very ‘infectious accent’ and before long I’d ‘caught’ it. And I absolutely love the Scouse sense of humour. 😁