The English accent compared to an American accent.

a reply to: jafo1973

Because you're not accustomed to English.

Try understanding Welsh 'the original language' It's impossible! Never could understand my Uncle.

a reply to: jafo1973

I'm from the West Coast US and I have trouble understanding people from 'The South' sometimes. You will find more than one accent in America.

originally posted by: schuyler
Dick Van Dyke's Cockney..
Haven't heard it. Was he attempting to be serious, or was he attempting to be funny? Serious question. I really don't know the answer.

As in his part in Mary Poppins.

originally posted by: ketsuko
Actually, I tend to hear CAYR - i - bee - uhn around this area. cuh - RIB - ee - uhn is from other part of the country.

So your people move the stress forward two syllables instead of one. That American assertiveness even more vigorous.

My theory on the difference between English GARage and American GarAGE is that "garage" is a loan-word, so American punctiliousness results in conforming more closely to the original French.
(P.S. It may be that much of my understanding of "American" English comes from the Californian tones of Hollywood)

a reply to: schuyler

My sister-in-law's late papa was from Fife, heavy accent. His was unreal & he had a penchant for speed-talking, I can't tell you how many holiday get-togethers we had where we sat around with him telling stories & whatnot that only she fully understood. My brother somewhat acclimated to the accent and could understand it, but the rest of us kind of...faked it, lol. As soon as he was out of earshot, "WTF did your dad say for the last half hour? I can't understand him!" Took me about 20 years to "decipher" most of his speech, and then he died out of the blue I miss the "might as well be Ancient Greek" holiday storytelling sessions.

originally posted by: Neith
a reply to: jafo1973

Because you're not accustomed to English.

Try understanding Welsh 'the original language' It's impossible! Never could understand my Uncle.

The Welsh and English languages are entirely unrelated linguisitically. Maybe you mean the English language with a Welsh accent?

I find that pretty beautiful myself. Welsh accents in young ladies are frankly willy-bait.

originally posted by: skalla
The Welsh and English languages are entirely unrelated linguisitically. Maybe you mean the English language with a Welsh accent?

I took that person to mean Welsh as the original language of Wales, being more difficult to understand than accented English.

originally posted by: DISRAELI

originally posted by: skalla
The Welsh and English languages are entirely unrelated linguisitically. Maybe you mean the English language with a Welsh accent?

I took that person to mean Welsh as the original language of Wales, being more difficult to understand than accented English.

Mm, i just fail to understand how someone would state that they dont understand things when someone speaks in an unknown foreigh language.

Maybe i just need more tea

There would probably be at least, 10 to 15 distinct dialects in the British Isles.

Its well know that Germany has 17 distinct dialects. I understand, is not uncommon for people from Berlin, for instance, to travel elsewhere in the country and Not understand the local people, even tho they are speaking German.

What may surprise a Lot of Americans, is how many of "Their" actors are Not American, and actually speak "American"....as an act.

If you are a "Walking Dead" fan, you may not know, but both Rick and Maggie are English, and put on that Southern Drawl.

If you like the sifi show "The 100", you may not know that the 3 lead young actors are Aussies, and put on American Accents.

Charlise Theron is Seth Efrican, and puts on an American accent......as does Elon Musk.

Errol Flynn, the Very Famous ladykilla American Actor, was an Aussie....as was Peter Finch, Robert Taylor and the guy who mainly played Native Indians in US westerns of the 50s and 60s, Michael Pate.

As an Aussie, the worst accents that make us cringe, are the New Zealand accent, with their backward vowel pronunciation, and the South African white fella accent.

The English dialects sound positively Normal......because there are still people here, and coming here everyday, with their home accent from the UK.

a reply to: skalla

Agreed.
I speak Welsh and English, two completely distinct languages of different origin.
When I speak English I have a Welsh accent, but quite mild as I've lived in sw England for a couple of decades.
When I'm back in Wales after a couple of pints then my sw Wales accent comes back with passion, and depending on who I'm with I'll be speaking English, Welsh, or Wenglish which is a fluid mixture of both.

There are many accents in Britain, I can tell which part of Wales someone is from when they speak English or Welsh.

originally posted by: crazyewok
We invented English so it is Americans that talk badly

And the English ascent is a panty dropper

Ummm...your right...the English accent IS a lispish...nancy boyesque...limp wristed...nose to the sky example of all it means to sound freaking unintelligible...

Panty droppers...well...we all know how much women adore guys that wannabe gals...


It's weird...when I was a wannabe Aussie...the Shiela's flocked to...anything with an American accent...Whichever of the 14 American English dialects didn't matter...

Fun times...and I proudly display my culturally appropriated GDay...whenever the occasion befits...

Gday Mate...knock you up...ina marnin...


YouSir

a reply to: YouSir

Which English accent?
Do you mean the 1940's BBC newsreader type?
I'd probably agree with you there, but few people speak like that these days. Many accents in England, I only have to drive 10 miles and it changes, quite dramatically.

a reply to: jafo1973
Have you heard a Brit say "aluminum"?

a reply to: Skid Mark

2 different spellings

We spell it aluminium.
Americans spell it aluminum.

It's not our fault Americans are so lazy they spell things shorter

a reply to: Skid Mark

Why would a Brit say aluminum?
Every other country in the world says aluminium, maybe Canada doesn't, but the international scientific name is aluminium, America is just being petulant, same with your stupid non metric measurements.

a reply to: grainofsand

Yeah!

Bloody Americans, stealing our language and using it wrong.

Get off our lawns!

a reply to: grainofsand

Lets not get into metric versus imperial (of its many different types)

Lets just say that my dad who was an engineer for a good few decades at least had a simple motto "if its in imperial then measure it that way, and if metric do it that way as conversion can cause errors", his biggest customer was a French tyre producer and some of the stuff even though you would of though it would all be metric came in both, dad had two sets of stuff so he could drill and mill to both sizes with no confusion...obviously the imperial stuff just got a metric number put on the bit to keep people happy.

originally posted by: TerryDon79
a reply to: grainofsand

Yeah!

Bloody Americans, stealing our language and using it wrong.

Get off our lawns!

Isn't that "gardens" instead of "lawns"?

originally posted by: DBCowboy

originally posted by: TerryDon79
a reply to: grainofsand

Yeah!

Bloody Americans, stealing our language and using it wrong.

Get off our lawns!

Isn't that "gardens" instead of "lawns"?

Garden is the area.
Lawn is the grass.

That's why we have lawnmowers

So it would be as follows..

Get OUT of my garden!

Get OFF my lawn!

English speaking wannabes! Can't even get the wrong things right!

Get off our lawns in our aluminium fenced gardens!

a reply to: Maxatoria

Imperial measurements are ridiculous these days though, only the US and possibly Canada use it.
No excuse for non metric now, just petulance.