AIBU to ask how "well" you speak?

[buggerthebotox]

Saw and article in the Mail (sorry!!) about "declining standards of spoken English" and I am wondering how you all speak and whether you consider yourselves to be "well spoken"?

rockstock and morloth there was a thread not long ago about how much everyone would like to punch JO in the face

I talk well posh, me.

My eldest son has started to drop his aitches. I have to suppress the urge to bark "Ave? Ave? The word is Have!" every time.

Depends - I'm well spoken but I'm married to someone who's english is limited, my dm's english is limited and I've worked in an industry where so called well spoken people are mistrusted.

So, I adapt. I speak in a way that non native english speakers can understand and adapt it to their language when needed. I speak well on the phone to suppliers etc and I just swear at all other times.

My ds is 5 and at reception. His df's influence on his english makes him sound like and east end kid. Also it affects his accent and his pronunciation is a mixture of mine my dh's and my dm's so it can be quite bonkers. I personally don't care. I just care that he's articulate at this point. I'll worry about his accent when it starts to worry me. Hasn't yet.

I hate my voice. Really hate it. I sound dated.

I'm a job stealing immigrant who came over 22 years ago and thanks to my Irish best mate and a husband from Leeds i have a very bizarre accent. Its a bizarre hybrid of the two mixed with my Albanian accent.

I do have a telephone voice which is very posh English or the person on the other end would never understand me.

I sound common and high pitched - in my head I am a gravelly voiced minx on telephone I am a whiney chav Plus i swear like a navvy.

Depends who I'm speaking to. I am wll spoken at work (PA to 2 Board directors of large corporate company), relax it off quite a bit at home and my DH says it stoops to rough when with my family/friends! We're all North Londoners living in Surrey but when we get together you would think we were in Tottenham High Street, much to my poor DH's horror. I also, weirdly, swear like a trooper when with my folks yet have NEVER sworn in the office.

Most would say i talk with a posh public school accent.
Wouldnt say I am common at all. Well spoken !

Ai soeak laike The Queen.

sPeak, even...
...or maybe sQUeak?

I have no regional accent, and think I sound averagely well spoken. Would love a slight Bristol accent though.....

I grew up in Royal Tunbridge Wells. Draw your own conclusions!
Although I've toned it down a LOT.

I speak like noddy holder with a touch of the lenny henry thrown in for good measure.

I have a real Stokie accent, but am still amazed when I hear it on recordings. It's not hugley common sounding (honest), but does leave a few letters off most certain words. I went to school in neighbouring Cheshire and was constantly told about saying book, not buk, look not luk etc.

I am a southerner and have no recognisable accent.

I used to speak RP then estuarised for an easier life. I use linking R and intrusive R a fair bit.

It is often problematic to have a boss with a regional accent when you speak RP ime. Most people I grew up with have also estuarised their accents for the same reason.

I have a very clear voice with what I consider no accent

Many would call me posh,but I sound nothing like the Queen and it is not quite RP.

I have travelled so much that when I return to the UK, it will be obvious I have lived abroad because I used many different words now (from the US)

My children have what what my dad calls Mid-Atlantic accents,well apart from my little girl(2) she has a strong American one.

DH has a very soft voice,and sounds a mixture of Irish,British and Canadian-he is an American that has lived all over the world too:)

I think so. It's fairly received pronunciation and people do go on about it (if you like that kind of thing) and in part I kind of sell the right to listen to it even so it's a sort of business too.

As long as people realise what impact the way their children and they speak has on them in their private and business life there is no problem and they indeed change to speak in the way that fits in whether that's down the council tip, in the board room or whatever.

It depends what you mean. I think some people confuse "accent" with speaking "well". Having a strong regional acccent does not mean you do not speak "well". On the other hand having an "posh" accent but saying things like "pardon", "lounge", "notepaper" " horse riding" etc is not considered to be "speaking well".

For me if speech is polite and grammar is used correctly then a person speaks well enough. It is certainly not about accent, but pronnunciation is still important and there are a certain amount of "wrong" words that certain types of people will still pick up on as a sign of being rather lower class.

I used to speak a lot in public for a living and it was important that everyone could understand me - especially people from overseas. My voice is a very neutral difficult to place accent typical of North Yorkshire. It is neither plummy nor typically regional. I say words correctly with correct syntax in sentences.

If you have ever heard Rob Andrew (England Rugby coach) speak his voice is identical to mine.

accio - the inverted commas were the Daily Wail's, not mine. The article picked up on many of the points made here - children speaking differently from their parents, with princes William and Harry being a case in point. The main thrust seemed to be that certain influential people, such as Dave and SamCam, dumb down their "posh" way of speaking, and use Estuary English instead as a way of relating to people, as they feel it's more accessible.

The issue was not about regional accents, though. I love most regional accents as long as speech is clear and words are used correctly.

cat, that's three different issues.

1. Getting it right - using the right words
2. Class
3. Regional accents

(or may be 2 and 3 go together although you can speak "posh" but still use words which indicate you are a lower class.

We was
haitch

Examples of what might not be well regarded by some.

The other issue is interrupted speech. I record stuff occasionallyand when I'm recorded they tend to say I'm fluent - now that's just how I am. I'm lucky but if you listen to some other people they add words in like "like" or huge num bers of ums and ahs and similar things to that

I was talking about someone from a work thing recently. Very very clever man but they way he speaks means it is hard to understand and people don't take proper account of the really good points he makes. It may not matter as he's done very well but I'm sure it holds him back a bit. I suppose you can use that by being under estimated by people and then surprising them. An yway it's all interesting stuff.
Sathnam Sanghera had an interesting column in the Times recently about what the English value - and it is often form (how you present) over substance however unfair that is.

Ah taalk reet propah in mah opiniun. I wus a Lasseh frum Lancashyre but nah ah live dahn sowth sum folk caant always understaand mah.

So I have modified my accent somewhat! Although I feel my accent and dialect should be preserved. It is just as valid as an RP accent but not as intelligible!

I have been described as having an "educated" northern accent.

never had any complaints
im verbally fluent and confident in articulating myself

Interesting post Xenia.

I will forgive you for not taking the business opportunity offered wrt your website

Thanks for the reply though

I speak terribly, flat Estuary vowels but have always tried to used correct grammar and to beat instil it into the DC.

"It weren't me" is popular where we live and it isn't just the incorrect phrase but the philosophy which makes me sad. It is never the perpetrators fault, never. Even if caught red-handed. We have seen a lot of "it weren't me" in the year we have lived on this estate. I am utterly gob-smacked that children aged as young as three are encouraged to lie in this way as a matter of course.