Language/Accents

[Herlock Sholmes]

I thought I’d move the discussion on language/accents from the survey thread to here….



It’s interesting how someone can either pick up or lose (at least partially) an accent. I remember when I was younger my brother went to live for 6 months with his new girlfriends family in Swansea and we were surprised how quickly he picked up so much of the accent. I think it would be sad if accents completely died out but I’m wondering if this might eventually happen? I still have an accent but it’s nowhere near as strong as my parents or grandparents. It sounds like so many kids today speak in a kind of approved accent. Where the word ‘like’ is pronounced ‘lake.’

Most annoying language trait at the moment……it probably doesn’t irritate others as much as it irritates me but…..people who begin every sentence with “so!” Where has that come from?

An example of old phrases for you. I have an 85 year old aunt who is my late father’s twin. Every so often instead of just saying “road” she’ll say “hoss road.” Like….”he was standing in the middle of the hoss road.” You’ve probably guessed that it means “horse road.” And no, we don’t live in a kind of Amish community. My dad used to use the phrase too.

[Herlock Sholmes]

I used to drink with a guy who came from the same area as John Humble (Wearside Jack) His voice was very similar in tone too. We used to annoy him by saying “go on Tom, say it.” Eventually, and just to shut us up, he’d say “I’m Jack. I see you are still having no luck catching me.” It was pretty eerie.

[Ms Diddles]

I used to drink with a guy who came from the same area as John Humble (Wearside Jack) His voice was very similar in tone too. We used to annoy him by saying “go on Tom, say it.” Eventually, and just to shut us up, he’d say “I’m Jack. I see you are still having no luck catching me.” It was pretty eerie.

Ha! Everyone needs a party piece!

Similarly I have a Russian friend who (usually after a few g & t's) I persuade to sit in my swivel chair whilst stroking my cat and say "Mr Bond, we have been expecting you!" in a sinister tone.

I never tire of hearing it!

[Herlock Sholmes]

Ha! Everyone needs a party piece!

Similarly I have a Russian friend who (usually after a few g & t's) I persuade to sit in my swivel chair whilst stroking my cat and say "Mr Bond, we have been expecting you!" in a sinister tone.

I never tire of hearing it!

[Fleetwood Mac]

In response to Iconoclast's Mackems v Geordies post:

The two boxers in the first clip are Mackems. Michael from Alan Partridge is obviously a Geordie (in the second clip)

Luke & Pat McCormack: TERRIFIC TWINS dish the dirt on each other | GB Boxing - YouTube

Misunderstanding Geordie Dialect. I'm Alan Partridge. Comedy. - YouTube

[Fleetwood Mac]

Sound recordings of British accents and dialects | The British Library (bl.uk)

Weird and wonderful accents of Britain.

Some of these are barely intelligible.

Dorset, Norfolk and Durham are farmers and so probably not subject to outside influences. I know the Durham clip is of a fella from the Wear Valley who probably lived in the hills all of his life.

The Yorkshire accent and dialect at the end is a beauty.

[Sam Flynn]

Most annoying language trait at the moment……it probably doesn’t irritate others as much as it irritates me but…..people who begin every sentence with “so!” Where has that come from?

Worse, I think, is what I call the "trailing so", beloved of sportsmen/women being interviewed after the end of a game/event. "I thought the boys did a really good job out there today, so..." or "I've been working on my technique for months I'm pleased with the result, so..."

[Aethelwulf]

Worse, I think, is what I call the "trailing so", beloved of sportsmen/women being interviewed after the end of a game/event. "I thought the boys did a really good job out there today, so..." or "I've been working on my technique for months I'm pleased with the result, so..."

Where I'm from everyone ends just about every sentence with 'like' e.g just going to the shop, like'. I was born and raised there and spent most of my life there, but moved away few years ago and have gradually dropped the like ending. Agree with herlock, the 'so' at the beginning of everything is really annoying like!

[Wickerman]

Most annoying language trait at the moment……it probably doesn’t irritate others as much as it irritates me but…..people who begin every sentence with “so!” Where has that come from?

Yes, idiosyncracies, I pick up on them all the time, and these days there seems to be more than ever.

"Soooooo", is something I have noticed extremely common among Asian students, Orientals, Chinese. Every question you ask, they often begin response with "Soooooo".
Another one is "of" for "have", young ones today seem to have mutated the English language. Another very common one here is to say "either" when they mean "neither".

I'll tell you something I've noticed, we get British channels here in Canada and that new Britains News channel have their reporters say a phrase that to me is totally wrong from a language perspective.
They say something like 'Britains News Channel", which is correct, "Britains" is a term in the possessive sense, meaning "belonging to", people who belong to Britain. But then they say another phrase, "Britains are watching", which is wrong, it should be 'Britons". This, from a news channel is surprising, they are supposed to have editors who monitor the scripts.

I wonder if you'd noticed in some Bond movies they take a stab at Americans for bad spelling. In one scene they have CNN up on screen and intentionally have the headlines misspelled, which I thought was humorous.
However, once last year (only once mind you), I noticed a BBC headline with a "their' that should have been "there". When the Beeb make mistakes like that, we must be nearing the End of Days.....

[Herlock Sholmes]

Worse, I think, is what I call the "trailing so", beloved of sportsmen/women being interviewed after the end of a game/event. "I thought the boys did a really good job out there today, so..." or "I've been working on my technique for months I'm pleased with the result, so..."

I know that it shouldn’t but it does irritate me. And let’s face it, I’m hardly Jacob Rees-Mogg when it comes to speaking. One thing that used to annoy me was when people can’t say the word “really” without saying it twice. So everything is “really really” good. Or even worse, something that sets my teeth on edge, when younger people frame every sentence as if it should have a question mark at the end.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Yes, idiosyncracies, I pick up on them all the time, and these days there seems to be more than ever.

"Soooooo", is something I have noticed extremely common among Asian students, Orientals, Chinese. Every question you ask, they often begin response with "Soooooo".
Another one is "of" for "have", young ones today seem to have mutated the English language. Another very common one here is to say "either" when they mean "neither".

I'll tell you something I've noticed, we get British channels here in Canada and that new Britains News channel have their reporters say a phrase that to me is totally wrong from a language perspective.
They say something like 'Britains News Channel", which is correct, "Britains" is a term in the possessive sense, meaning "belonging to", people who belong to Britain. But then they say another phrase, "Britains are watching", which is wrong, it should be 'Britons". This, from a news channel is surprising, they are supposed to have editors who monitor the scripts.

I wonder if you'd noticed in some Bond movies they take a stab at Americans for bad spelling. In one scene they have CNN up on screen and intentionally have the headlines misspelled, which I thought was humorous.
However, once last year (only once mind you), I noticed a BBC headline with a "their' that should have been "there". When the Beeb make mistakes like that, we must be nearing the End of Days.....

The BBC making a mistake?! I’m afraid that you must have imagined it Wick.

[Aethelwulf]

I know that it shouldn’t but it does irritate me. And let’s face it, I’m hardly Jacob Rees-Mogg when it comes to speaking. One thing that used to annoy me was when people can’t say the word “really” without saying it twice. So everything is “really really” good. Or even worse, something that sets my teeth on edge, when younger people frame every sentence as if it should have a question mark at the end.

Another one, why does every kid no matter where they're from sound like some sort of Essex wide boy/chav? Suspect it's watching too much **** TV you tube.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Another one, why does every kid no matter where they're from sound like some sort of Essex wide boy/chav? Suspect it's watching too much **** TV you tube.

Yup. That’s annoying. Even tv presenters are sounding like that now.

[Wickerman]

I know that it shouldn’t but it does irritate me. And let’s face it, I’m hardly Jacob Rees-Mogg when it comes to speaking. One thing that used to annoy me was when people can’t say the word “really” without saying it twice. So everything is “really really” good. Or even worse, something that sets my teeth on edge, when younger people frame every sentence as if it should have a question mark at the end.

What about "teeny tiny"?
Why isn't just "tiny" good enough?

[Wickerman]

Another one, why does every kid no matter where they're from sound like some sort of Essex wide boy/chav? Suspect it's watching too much **** TV you tube.

Are you talking about these northern You-tubers who've adopted the southern twang?, It's seems to have become popular now for even northerners from Manchester & Leeds to say things like; "wiv", "bruvver" and "noffing" like our very southern neighbours.
They've also adopted Americanisms, as if you have to address every one of your mates as "Hey Bro", to sound cool.
Today's youth must be desperate for a life, of some sort...