To wonder what your views are on 'working class' accents

[Timri]

And think people need to learn the difference between the words correct and standard
Inspired by a comment by somebody saying they didn't look down on anybody's accent, but hated words being pronounced 'incorrectly' such as 'bovvered'.
Uhm, it's called th fronting and it's one of the central features of a cockney accent FFS.
Please tell me I'm not alone in this?

[TesticleOfObjectivity]

I think there is a variation in southern accents. In London there is sometimes even a difference just between boroughs.

[Destinysdaughter]

I really struggle with the long/short 'a', long sounded ok in London but pretentious in the Midlands!

[Timri]

Oh, that's brilliant!! I like that story, good on Pixar!

[TaliZorah]

I can't tell the difference between London accents. That's why I think it depends where you're from, if you're from London you'll hear the difference if not you won't

[Timri]

I know loads of people who can accurately tell whether someone is from N/E/S London.

[Timri]

I'm from London, and I can only tell sometimes, I think South and East London accents are getting closer, plus people move around so much nowadays.

[Imustgodowntotheseaagain]

There must be some posh Northern accents - there's a lot of landed gentry up there! Maybe they just speak 'generic posh' rather than Northern.

[Orda1]

I live an hour from London and I can't, but I was talking it more general terms.

[SilverOldie2]

I speak with an RP accent and really dislike East London/Essex accents - hearing sumffink, nuffink etc makes my toes curl under with irritation.

[Timri]

Orda I think some people just have 'an ear' for accents too.

[SilverOldie2]

Oh not forgetting the glottal stop [shudders]

[Timri]

Well I'm sorry to tell you, but the glottal stop is spreading like wildfire.
Mwahaha

[longingforfun]

I don't care about accents but I don't like it when people can't speak a sentence without using phrases like 'init', 'ennat', 'like' and y'know'.

[CherryPits]

I like hearing a variety of accents and its a shame a lot of them are disappearing up the arse of standardization.

[BarbaraofSeville]

In Yorkshire we can tell the difference between people from different cities eg Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield.

Some southerners can barely distinguish Yorkshire and Lancashire which sound totally different to locals.

It depends what you are used to.

[musicforthemasses]

I'm a YamYam and proud! I lived in the South East for a few years and just gave up telling people I was from Wolverhampton and just agreed I was a Brummie.

[BarbaraofSeville]

During the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, there was a hoaxer that taunted police by sending in tapes claiming to be him.

They believed the hoaxer really was the ripper at the time and they used linguistics experts to work out where the voice on the tapes was from, tracking it down as far as a village in the north east.

Languages, accents etc is a fascinating subject that I know little about. I love threads like these.

[Bodicea]

Orda if you are looking for a posh northern accent much of the ribble valley is rather posh - sort of countrified, moneyed types. Lytham is rather posh, old money. And Cheshire I suppose. I am only familiar with the north west. I suppose to a southerner the subtleties would be lost on them a bit and they would all sound generically northern.

[Sameshitdiffname]

My accent is very strong it's nothing to do with fitting in is just how I talk and I don't care if people judge me for it, I come from a good family, I've had an excellent education 4xA* 1xA a level and I'm currently doing very well in university.

My accent doesn't define who I am but it's a part of me.

[VenusRising]

I was talking with someone from Carlisle the other day, and I just felt so stupid as I couldn't understand a word she said. I think she was speaking English. We just bobbed and smiled at each other, a bit like elderly Korean ladies.

Reminded me a bit of going up to see friends in Aberdeen. I'm not sure they were talking in the pub- though after a while it didn't seem to matter.

[Sameshitdiffname]

I think it's strange that people can't tell the difference between northern accents

Scouse Geordie Yorkshire Manc all sound different to each other

Then there's very different Scottish accents.

I guess some people can just hear them more than others.

[gasman]

I'm Scottish. I sound Scottish but I only use dialect for effect or when no other word will do.

I live in London.

I notice that a lot of people assume that because I have an accent I'm either stupid or poor. Or sometimes both. This seems especially prevalent amongst non Engkish speakers.

However, if you are a scottish my accent tells a tale of my private education and parental refusal to accept glottal stops. You would probably be able to have a stab at where I'm from too although I did get that wrong for a similarly neutral Scottish friend last week. Living in the a South East for years has altered it further.

So at home I get mocked for sounding posh (getting me to say Glasgow -long a- can entertain my siblings for at least 10minutes - they are short a people) but in London I am marked out as somehow substandard because I have a regional accent....

[Postitblue]

Try being 'middle class' (maybe I read too much daily mail but that's how I would consider myself! reaches for the aldi wine) - and from Essex. I speak quite properly in the office but do slip into the Esssssix shaaahap accent after a few. What's funny is if you are northern with a strong accent people take it as that's just how you talk, but being from the land of the tan it's acceptable to rib people for our accent. Anyway that's my 2 cents worth- personally I love a strong accent- gives you character :)

[Grapeeatingweirdo]

Interesting posts about the perception of accents and the supposed correlation between accent and social class. I grew up in a seaside town in Dorset and have inflections of the accent to match. I'm also about as working class as they come.

I grew up in social housing on a couple of locally notorious housing estates and can tell you that the accent there was very specific and definitely did convey where on the class ladder you stood. My own accent is an offshoot of this but diluted from having gone to college, university and mixing with people from all walks of life in my career.

I was definitely laughed at when at college for saying "glass" and not "glarse" to the extent whereby I actually code switch in certain social situations and switch on a less Dorsety version of my accent. You'd mistake me for middle class if you met me at an event; you'd have no idea of my origins. It's a shame and I actually try not to code switch as often now. I'm Dorset and proud!

When I'm angry though or excited, it really comes out anyway.