Accents??

[pax]

I'm one of those people who absorb accents -usually in a very short space of time. ( Embarrassing when talking to the German CEO, or worse, as a child, when the teacher had a lisp.) A decade or so ago I was travelling around the UK for acouple of weeks and was stopped in London by someone trying to get people to donate to the local hospital fund. She didn't believe I was Australian. I rang some family on return, and they thought I was one of the Scottish relatives.

I have heard it's common among autistics - some sort of echolalia or something.
I was told when younger that I sounded a bit British, possibly due to growing up with the Goodies, Dr Who, Catweazle, monty python, fawlty towers etc. etc. American accents always sounded weird and grating to me - so Sesame street etc had no effect.

 

[James Hardy]

I'm one of those people who absorb accents -usually in a very short space of time. ( Embarrassing when talking to the German CEO, or worse, as a child, when the teacher had a lisp.) A decade or so ago I was travelling around the UK for acouple of weeks and was stopped in London by someone trying to get people to donate to the local hospital fund. She didn't believe I was Australian. I rang some family on return, and they thought I was one of the Scottish relatives.

I have heard it's common among autistics - some sort of echolalia or something.
I was told when younger that I sounded a bit British, possibly due to growing up with the Goodies, Dr Who, Catweazle, monty python, fawlty towers etc. etc. American accents always sounded weird and grating to me - so Sesame street etc had no effect.

so i take it you run into people thinking your mocking them? when i first meat a few of my Irish friends they thought i was mocking there brogue because i had accidentally picked it up and adopted it

 

[WildCat]

Hey, Jonathan, I, too, have a southern accent and proudly say "yall". IMHO, "yall" sounds more refined than "yous guys" like I hear from New Yorkers and Bostonians or that nasal "you guys" from Californians. I've lived in numerous parts of the USA and have been harassed about my accent, too, especially by airhead Californians as you mention. If the harasser is really nasty to me, I just stare at them like they are rotten fish and ask them if they are racist in addition to being a regionalist. That usually stops them in their tracks while their feeble brains try to decipher what I just asked them. Another cool tactic is to point out that African Americans sometimes refer to Caucasians as "honkies" because westerners (mostly Californians) speak through their noses (honk, honk, honk like Canada geese) whereas we southerners project our voices from our throats. Maybe that's why the south has produced so many outstanding singers and musicians when compared to the rest of the USA. I'm proud of my accent and say go to hell to anyone who belittles it. Ignorant rednecks!

*slow clap*

I can't think of a proper response to this post...all I can say is amen to this!

 

[WittyAspie]

Well if you're British you technically don't have an accent as we are the ones who invented the modern-day language. There are however regional accents of course but otherwise our accent is as flat as a diet coke left open for days whereas the yank and auzzie accent has a fizz and a tang to it.

I do have a couple of questions for Americans though; How do you tell the difference between someone saying 'ant' and 'aunt'? Or 'party' and 'potty' or 'council' and 'console'????

I pronounce aunt just the same as ant, so you would have to rely on context. However, some Americans pronounce aunt a little differently. Party and potty are easily distinguished by the lack of 'r' in potty. Council and console sound different on both syllables, so I don't see how anyone would get those mixed up.

For reference, I am from the South, but I have lived many places. I was in the Army, so I constantly worked around a plethora of accents. I have gotten to the point where I hardly hear them anymore.

 

[pax]

so i take it you run into people thinking your mocking them? when i first meat a few of my Irish friends they thought i was mocking there brogue because i had accidentally picked it up and adopted it

Yep

 

[Hopeless_Aspie_Guy]

not a marine, and don't you like your own history.

I was gonna say 'private' and not 'marine', hell I could've even said 'cadet' just be insulting in a jocular way , but because I have aspegers I worried no-one would understand what I meant if I said 'private' .

I pronounce aunt just the same as ant, so you would have to rely on context. However, some Americans pronounce aunt a little differently. Party and potty are easily distinguished by the lack of 'r' in potty. Council and console sound different on both syllables, so I don't see how anyone would get those mixed up.

Ironically I've always wanted to say that based on your pic you do look very 'witty'.
See see, you've just said 'aunt' and 'ant' sound the same (distinguishable only by context), score one for the british accent in which no words that sound alike in american sound the same in british
Yes context does help I agree, but my mum didn't know if this american girl was going to the 'potty' or a 'party' when she was speaking to her (incidentally she was being potty trained at the time, so either was plausible until she asked for clarification).
I've heard a few TV programmes whereby 'council' and 'console' do sound the same, as a kid I couldn't distinguish.

Sorry I just had to take pride in my britishness there everyone

 

[Lady Penelope]

I love using accents. As a kid i changed our ph answering machine weekly with new accents. Totally confused my nana!
I was on holiday for 2 weeks as a teen and spoke in a cockney brit accent the entire time even to kids who were from london!
...done that a few times.

I pick up the accent of foreign languages easily ... my local French cafe must think I'm being rude.
When i learned swedish my teacher swore i was a native and told me i was wasting her time.
My every day aussie accent is quite soft and it probably has a twinge of posh english to it as i hate poor enunciation and bastardised language. Always have, i corrected both adults and kids in my class when i was young. Can't do that these days without risk of being stabbed

 

[Keigan]

I love accents and I pick them up quickly.

 

[Mary Terry]

I was gonna say 'private' and not 'marine', hell I could've even said 'cadet' just be insulting in a jocular way , but because I have aspegers I worried no-one would understand what I meant if I said 'private' .



Ironically I've always wanted to say that based on your pic you do look very 'witty'.
See see, you've just said 'aunt' and 'ant' sound the same (distinguishable only by context), score one for the british accent in which no words that sound alike in american sound the same in british
Yes context does help I agree, but my mum didn't know if this american girl was going to the 'potty' or a 'party' when she was speaking to her (incidentally she was being potty trained at the time, so either was plausible until she asked for clarification).
I've heard a few TV programmes whereby 'council' and 'console' do sound the same, as a kid I couldn't distinguish.

Sorry I just had to take pride in my britishness there everyone

I'm confused by your statement that no words that sound alike in American sound the same in British. How do Brits pronounce "their", "there", and "they're"; or "its" and "it's"; or "meat" and "meet"; or "stare" and "stair"; or "counsel" and "council"? Don't all those words sound the same in British English as they do in American English?

 

[Jimbo]

The first five years of my life I lived in a rural backwoods area and I picked up a strong southern hillbilly accent. Then we moved to the suburbs where people were from all over the U.S. so everyone thought I was some country hick.

I've had quite a few people who couldn't figure out my accent. A few thought I had a French Cajun accent.

 

[James Hardy]

I was gonna say 'private' and not 'marine', hell I could've even said 'cadet' just be insulting in a jocular way , but because I have aspegers I worried no-one would understand what I meant if I said 'private' .

actually my profile pic is 5 years old im not a privet anymore, actually im not even a solder anymore. during our yearly checkup in November 2016 the military diagnosed me with Asperger and shoved an honorable medical discharge up my ass. i had two years left and my unit had just come under the command of tenth mountain so we would have seen a deployment within a year.

 

[Judge]

actually my profile pic is 5 years old im not a privet anymore, actually im not even a solder anymore. during our yearly checkup in November 2016 the military diagnosed me with Asperger and shoved an honorable medical discharge up my ass. i had two years left and my unit had just come under the command of tenth mountain so we would have seen a deployment within a year.

Thanks for your candor, James. I think it's important for us in this community to be aware that such things can happen in our military. Where policy still seems to reflect relative uncertainty and precariousness for those on the spectrum seeking employment in our armed forces.

It always haunted me to think that my father (career naval officer) thought I would be a good fit in our armed forces, while my mother was quite adamant that this was not the case. Though neither of them actually knew or thought I could be on the spectrum of autism. I nearly enlisted in the Air Force at one point, but something inside me kept me from doing so.

That all said, y'all can get back to those accents.

 

[Hopeless_Aspie_Guy]

I'm confused by your statement that no words that sound alike in American sound the same in British. How do Brits pronounce "their", "there", and "they're"; or "its" and "it's"; or "meat" and "meet"; or "stare" and "stair"; or "counsel" and "council"? Don't all those words sound the same in British English as they do in American English?

I was talking about words that do sound alike for american accents but don't with the british. You can't find me a single word that sounds alike with a typical british accent but not in american. That's what I meant.

actually my profile pic is 5 years old im not a privet anymore, actually im not even a solder anymore.

Posing as an office still eh, the military police will hear about this you mark my words

Thanks for your candor, James. I think it's important for us in this community to be aware that such things can happen in our military. Where policy still seems to reflect relative uncertainty and precariousness for those on the spectrum seeking employment in our armed forces.

Yes this hardly seems fair I agree.

 

[SpaceCadet]

I was talking about words that do sound alike for american accents but don't with the british.

"Party" and "potty" sound VERY different in MOST of the United States, especially in the Midwest where the R sound is extremely pronounced. The only area those two words would sound the same is New England or maybe New York City. And as someone pointed out, "council" and "console" sound completely different in the U.S. So I don't know where you even got that idea. At any rate, "potty" isn't a word Americans even use much. Sort of like "loo." If that helps!

 

[SpaceCadet]

And of course my experience in California has always been that natives tend to mock pretty much anyone with any kind of accent.

The funny thing is, native Californians DO have an accent? And it's a really annoying one? The way they tend to put an implied question mark after every comment? I mean it's, like, really, really annoying?

 

[savi83]

I'm from Liverpool and thought I had a Scouse accent, but when people first meet me they think I'm Irish.

 

[Mia]

This is one of the only Canadian accents I can't do: Newfoundland's although I understand it pretty well.

 

[SpaceCadet]

This is one of the only Canadian accents I can't do: Newfoundland's although I understand it pretty well.

LOL - I've been to Newfoundland and enjoyed it, though I could have used a translator a few times. An American place that befuddles me sometimes is "Phluphia":

 

[Mary Terry]

The funny thing is, native Californians DO have an accent? And it's a really annoying one? The way they tend to put an implied question mark after every comment? I mean it's, like, really, really annoying?

You're cracking me up? I think it's Valley Girl speak?

 

[WildCat]

The funny thing is, native Californians DO have an accent? And it's a really annoying one? The way they tend to put an implied question mark after every comment? I mean it's, like, really, really annoying?

It's not just annoying, it's hella annoying

...I'm only kidding, my fellow Californians! Er...fine, get at me, y'all know I deserve it