Accents Like/Dislike ? (1 Viewer)

bringbackrattles

Well-Known Member
My sons ex girlfriend was in the pub with her new bloke at the weekend,and we got chatting over a drink. He's Glaswegian and a decent bloke but I couldn't understand a word he said ! All I could do was just smile and nod now and then when he spoke before I shot off.
And also a couple of Indian lads who I talk football with are also at times hard to understand as their accent is a mixture of Cov and Indian. Then again it got me thinking maybe the Glasgow bloke didn't understand me ! What accents do you struggle with ?
 

olderskyblue

Well-Known Member
One of my best pals when I was an apprentice was a Scot's lad. Could understand him fine, but when I went round his house, he used to have to translate what his older brother was saying...
 

Houchens Head

Fairly well known member from Malvern
A strong Glaswegian accent sounds like a totally foreign language to me! Also can't stand Black Country accent.
 

Ranjit Bhurpa

Well-Known Member
Know what you mean BBR.
Once took a call from a Glaswegian customer, and this is how I heard the call....
'Is Carol there?'
'Pardon, who are asking for'
'Carol'
'I'm sorry but we don't have a Carol'
'Yes you do, I need to speak to Carol'
'Well we have an Emma, Janet, Maxine, Lindsay and a Dawn. But no-one called Carol'
'Oh yes you do, it's Carol spelt C-A-R-L, I spoke to him yesterday'

Cringeworthy moment. That said, I could listed to a female Glaswegian or Edinburgh accent all day long. Very seductive, might not understand it all but very seductive.
 

NorthernWisdom

Well-Known Member
Used to have to have phone conversations with my mate from Mid Wales twice, the first time to get my eye in with the accent, the second to actually understand him!

Wasn't sure in Newcastle if the barman was telling me how much my pint cost, or as offering to fight me.

Rab C Nesbitt I tried with subtitles, shame they spelt the subtitles as per the accent, so was still none the wiser.
 

Houchens Head

Fairly well known member from Malvern
Know what you mean BBR.
Once took a call from a Glaswegian customer, and this is how I heard the call....
'Is Carol there?'
'Pardon, who are asking for'
'Carol'
'I'm sorry but we don't have a Carol'
'Yes you do, I need to speak to Carol'
'Well we have an Emma, Janet, Maxine, Lindsay and a Dawn. But no-one called Carol'
'Oh yes you do, it's Carol spelt C-A-R-L, I spoke to him yesterday'

Cringeworthy moment. That said, I could listed to a female Glaswegian or Edinburgh accent all day long. Very seductive, might not understand it all but very seductive.

Yep. I heard they like to roll their arse. (Or was that 'R's?) :emoji_stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
 

bringbackrattles

Well-Known Member
I too like different accents it would be pretty boring if there was just one ! A customer of mine is from Belfast and what a strong accent that is.As I know him well I tell him, what was that you said John ? He laughs as he knows it is hard going. My favourite accents though are a Welsh female, and a soft Scottish female accent,and a Scandinavian female talking !
 

Houchens Head

Fairly well known member from Malvern
I too like different accents it would be pretty boring if there was just one ! A customer of mine is from Belfast and what a strong accent that is.As I know him well I tell him, what was that you said John ? He laughs as he knows it is hard going. My favourite accents though are a Welsh female, and a soft Scottish female accent,and a Scandinavian female talking !

I prefer them whispering - seductively!
 

Marty

Well-Known Member
Love South African and Australian. I can't understand the Birmingham accent at all
It's quite bad actually as I work in Birmingham and all my colleagues are Brummies. Mainly villa fans as well.
 

Monners

Well-Known Member
When I go to Dublin to see family I have to tune my ear in for the accent and the slang.

Cork however, what on earth are they talking about? Mate of mine who is English moved out there 20 years ago. It took him a while to adjust, and when I asked if he knew what they were saying he responded "Yes, I now know what they are saying, just don't know why they are saying it!"
 
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bringbackrattles

Well-Known Member
When I worked on the railway there were about 12 of us in our working gang. It was made up of a Jock, aTaffy,a Pole,2 Italians, a few English,and a couple of West Indians. But we got on great until we had a good drink,then it was a confusing babble !
 

duffer

Well-Known Member
Other than mockney, and people trying to fake a working class accent when they're posh and vice versa I really like proper regional accents and terms like "m'duck" etc.. Ditto with Indian subcontinent and Eastern European accents, maybe it's just me but it makes conversation a bit more interesting when you're trying to figure out where people are from.

I've always got a soft spot for an Irish accent because of my heritage, but Norn Iron and especially Belfast is harder to follow than full-tilt Glaswegian in my book, y'ken. The more you drink, the easier it gets is a good rule of thumb if you're struggling.

The best dublin accent I can recall in recent years was Michael Doyle, classic speedy mumbler "y'know'.

The one that I always remember is being stopped up in Cumbria by an elderly gentlemen who politely enquired, "Have yer got the time on yer cock?". There's really no answer to that. :)
 

Malaka

Well-Known Member
My Black friends speak good English, but when there is a gang of them a West Indian accent is suddenly adopted. They say they are speaking their language, but I understand what they are saying, they just put on a fake accent Jafakan.
 

bringbackrattles

Well-Known Member
What has always baffled me is how many people keep their accent even when they've been living here for decades.I know a couple of Scots who have lived in Coventry for at least 30 years, but for some reason their accent has got even more Scottish !
 

Monners

Well-Known Member
What has always baffled me is how many people keep their accent even when they've been living here for decades.I know a couple of Scots who have lived in Coventry for at least 30 years, but for some reason their accent has got even more Scottish !
My mother lived in the UK for 60 years and never lost her Donegal accent. She did forget a lot of irish though (came from an Irish speaking part)
 

bringbackrattles

Well-Known Member
Arsenal manager Wenger's accent gets more French season after season.Arsene has been here in England for years but you'd never guess. I've come to the conclusion people like to retain their accent/identity no matter where they live.
 
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Gazolba

Well-Known Member
Love South African and Australian. I can't understand the Birmingham accent at all
It's quite bad actually as I work in Birmingham and all my colleagues are Brummies. Mainly villa fans as well.
I also like the South African accent.
I find some Indian speakers very difficult to understand and others pretty easy. I guess it depends on their native language (hundreds of different native languages in India) and how well they learned English. Same thing with Chinese, some are very difficult to understand, some easier.
The Haiti accent is difficult since their native language is French but it sounds nothing like the French in France or Canada. Sometimes you have to listen very carefully to even tell it's French.
 
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Captain Dart

Well-Known Member
Have you noticed the increasing tendency to subtitle TV when someone is talking with a heavy accent.
I swear that listening to raw Geordie & Glaswegian accents on TV and having to concentrate to understand what they are saying is more beneficial than spoon feeding like that.
I find it exceptionally annoying where an American program subtitles an English voice.
 

Nick

Administrator
If we are going to get into dislikes, it's when people type / spell in their accent....
 

dancers lance

Well-Known Member
My hate is not so much an accent (even though the Aussie's do it all the time) but the upward inflection, the Australian questioning intonation, going all high pitch at the end of every sentence? What the fuck is that all about? .....................................(in a high pitch voice)
 

dutchman

Well-Known Member
My hate is not so much an accent (even though the Aussie's do it all the time) but the upward inflection, the Australian questioning intonation, going all high pitch at the end of every sentence? What the fuck is that all about? .....................................(in a high pitch voice)

I assume it's the result of years of watching Aussie soaps? I don't know though.
 

dancers lance

Well-Known Member
I assume it's the result of years of watching Aussie soaps? I don't know though.
People who do it would most definitely fit the demographic of 'Aussie Soap Watcher'
 

Astute

Well-Known Member
My eldest lad is getting married to a Glaswegian this year. I go up frequently. I am starting to feel like I have learned another language. I used to think that I couldn't understand a lot of what they said. But all it was is that they have their own words for things.

I work with a South African. He was talking to someone about arse cream. I was intrigued until I worked out it was really ice cream he was saying :rolleyes:

Have been in Cumbria for 10 years now. The longest word they have is no. It is spelt nooooooooooooooooo. Any word with an o in it is stretched. A batch is a roll. Unless you want a sausage batch. Then it is a sausage in a bun.

And I love the Irish accent on a bird. It just does something for me.
 

bringbackrattles

Well-Known Member
Another curious thing is you only need to travel a few miles and you hear a different accent. Go to Nuneaton or Bedworth and they've got their own language ! And when I go to my sisters over in Leicestershire the East Midlands accent is completely different than say Warwickshire.
 

Bumberclart

Well-Known Member
Can you take anyone seriously who had a Black Country/Brummie accent?
If Stephen Hawking had been given a Brummie voice, nobody would have paid him any attention at all.

I was born in Cov, to Mancunian parent, brought up in Evesham and have lived in Huddersfield for 24 years. I sound southern to northerners, and northern to southerners. I can also do a passable impression of most regional accents, which has got me out of a few scrapes whilst following City over the years.
 

Gazolba

Well-Known Member
I love the accents of Liz Hurley, Joanna Lumley and Diana Rigg.
 

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