Is Estuary English chic in America?
How is Estuary English perceived in America?
I think Americans would associate it with London (am I being too charitable?), or at least with the working class.
I think Lord Mountbatten had one of the best accents (RP, I assume?)
Can anyone point to an online recording with a "perfect" example of "Estuary"?
Can anyone point to an online recording with a "perfect" example of "Estuary"?
I don't think anyone would consider Estuary English to be "chic" in any way at all! I can understand people linking it to London as it emerged in the first place as a variation of the one time Cockney accent which in its original form is now virtually dead in the water.
No way is it "chic" as I say but it has gained ground enormously in recent years so that it is quite widespread across South East England in particular, and to a lesser degree in other areas of Southern England and East Anglia, and now in many other parts of the UK but with local overtones. For instance, we have our own version of Estuary here in Scotland - in an insidious way it crossed the border from England at Berwick-upon-Tweed, Coldstream, Carter Bar and Gretna Green without any restriction or check whatsoever, but here it shows itself by the gradual disappearance of the letter "t".
Estuary could also be said to be largely class based, and to a certain degree on the education levels of people - and younger people in particular as it is much more common among people below the age of 35 - maybe 40, I'm not sure. The voicing of the letter "t" doesn't seem to present any difficulty in older people. You are much more likely to hear Estuary in all its glory being spoken on council estates in places such as Dagenham, Essex or Watford, Hertfordshire, than you would in the more upmarket, leafy avenues of Weybridge, Surrey, or Sandbanks, Dorset, using just a very few examples, but even these places are by no means immune from Estuarisation.
Bit by bit Estuary is losing its "class based" connection to, so much so that even the younger members of the British Royal Family are displaying signs of it in their speech - Prince Harry and Prince Andrew have been known to discreetly drop a "t" now and again, but of course they don't go overboard on it.
You have to be careful not to confuse true full blooded Estuary with the much less "posh" Standard English English Received Pronunciation now the norm across Southern England, East Anglia, South West England and much of the English Midlands, and also in more localised areas elsewhere across England. The further north in England you go the less obvious it is.
I was on the Northumberland coast this past weekend - in the extreme north east of England - and I noticed that some of the local young people spoke more like standard EERP than the more distinctive local North East England twang of the older people in the area, which was Bamburgh (pronouced as BAM-bruh - much like the way Edinburgh should be pronounced - Ed'n'-bruh).
Many Americans are only familiar with basic standard EERP - perhaps of the more "posh" variety which they would naturall assume to be THE British accent, the one and only! I imagine pure Estuary could well come as a shock to their system, and I reckon no "chic" accent would ever have that affect on people. Hence my negative response to the question posed by one of the represetatives of the controversial Guest Clan in this Forum.
No way is it "chic" as I say but it has gained ground enormously in recent years so that it is quite widespread across South East England in particular, and to a lesser degree in other areas of Southern England and East Anglia, and now in many other parts of the UK but with local overtones. For instance, we have our own version of Estuary here in Scotland - in an insidious way it crossed the border from England at Berwick-upon-Tweed, Coldstream, Carter Bar and Gretna Green without any restriction or check whatsoever, but here it shows itself by the gradual disappearance of the letter "t".
Estuary could also be said to be largely class based, and to a certain degree on the education levels of people - and younger people in particular as it is much more common among people below the age of 35 - maybe 40, I'm not sure. The voicing of the letter "t" doesn't seem to present any difficulty in older people. You are much more likely to hear Estuary in all its glory being spoken on council estates in places such as Dagenham, Essex or Watford, Hertfordshire, than you would in the more upmarket, leafy avenues of Weybridge, Surrey, or Sandbanks, Dorset, using just a very few examples, but even these places are by no means immune from Estuarisation.
Bit by bit Estuary is losing its "class based" connection to, so much so that even the younger members of the British Royal Family are displaying signs of it in their speech - Prince Harry and Prince Andrew have been known to discreetly drop a "t" now and again, but of course they don't go overboard on it.
You have to be careful not to confuse true full blooded Estuary with the much less "posh" Standard English English Received Pronunciation now the norm across Southern England, East Anglia, South West England and much of the English Midlands, and also in more localised areas elsewhere across England. The further north in England you go the less obvious it is.
I was on the Northumberland coast this past weekend - in the extreme north east of England - and I noticed that some of the local young people spoke more like standard EERP than the more distinctive local North East England twang of the older people in the area, which was Bamburgh (pronouced as BAM-bruh - much like the way Edinburgh should be pronounced - Ed'n'-bruh).
Many Americans are only familiar with basic standard EERP - perhaps of the more "posh" variety which they would naturall assume to be THE British accent, the one and only! I imagine pure Estuary could well come as a shock to their system, and I reckon no "chic" accent would ever have that affect on people. Hence my negative response to the question posed by one of the represetatives of the controversial Guest Clan in this Forum.
Satisfied with Damian in Edinburgh's reply to one of the represetatives of the controversial Guest Clan in this Forum.
Any link?
I haven't got a clue what you're talking about, but I've watched a lot of British TV, so I must have heard it.
I haven't got a clue what you're talking about, but I've watched a lot of British TV, so I must have heard it.
I don't think a lot of Americans would even know what Estuary was if they heard someone speak it. They'd probably think it was Cockney or Australian.
>>>Any link?
I haven't got a clue what you're talking about, but I've watched a lot of British TV, so I must have heard it. <<<
If you watch a lot of British TV then you've probably heard Estuary English before:
http://www.lowlands-l.net/anniversary/sound/estuary.mp3
>>>Any link?
I haven't got a clue what you're talking about, but I've watched a lot of British TV, so I must have heard it. <<<
If you watch a lot of British TV then you've probably heard Estuary English before:
http://www.lowlands-l.net/anniversary/sound/estuary.mp3
That was so uncanny - the last recording about Annabelle the Sheep. The guy speaking sounds EXACTLY the same as my mate from uni who comes from Epsom, in Surrey, just to the south of London, although he is now temporarily living and working in Salisbury, Wiltshire. It could well be him talking there - I could swear on oath that it was him. The accent is so typical of that area - or the whole of South East England in fact, with its strains of Estuary, and when the guy said "'Orrib-oow(l)" - the L is hardly pronounced at all and the H certainly isn't - for "horrible" it's exactly how they say it down there, including my mate. The voice is identical as well - it was like having him here in the room with me reading that bit out. Nice one!
I'm supposed to be studying fo some exams but this is time-out time and anyway it's getting a bit late now anyway. Do all of you guys have your posting times set to GMT or is it just us here in the UK? We will be officially back on GMT again from 26 October when our clocks go back on the hour.
I'm supposed to be studying fo some exams but this is time-out time and anyway it's getting a bit late now anyway. Do all of you guys have your posting times set to GMT or is it just us here in the UK? We will be officially back on GMT again from 26 October when our clocks go back on the hour.
I myself tend to think of Estuary as just how most actual English English people from the southeast of England speak, despite the many RP-speaking English people that Americans are more familiar with in media content. Aside from that I really have no particular opinion about it, and do not see it any differently from, say, northern variants of colloquial spoken NAE.