What accent do you really hate? and which one you love?
you know, that's true as stupid as it sounds. i've never really thought about how i sound to other people, or considered the way i speak a particular accent. i'm from pittsburgh, pennsylvania, but i was born in el paso, texas, and i moved around a lot throughout my childhood (father's in the army), so i might be neutral... if that's possible???
i just thank jesus i don't have a pittsburgh accent (i call it the country version of the new york city "tough guy" accent). it's not too attractive.
but to answer you question, coming from another perspective, i agree that west coasters really don't seem to have a destinguished accent. i'd say the biggest difference between the american accents are between the southern and northeastern "city" accents. but suprisingly, it's interesting how different some of these northeastern cities can be from one another when it comes to slang and terminology. i go to school at drexel university in philly, and i asked someone where the "pop" machine was and they looked at me like i had three heads. they call it "soda", apparently. i'm still in the process of learning all the lingo.
***I think British accents (more on girls) are gorgeous, and Southern male accents. All I've ever heard of a cockney accent was in Oliver. haha***
This is a wee bit intriguing. Exactly why do you consider "British accents" to be more attractive "on girls"? Correct me if I'm wrong here, but you're thinking of the standard RP English English accent are you not? You did use the plural, and as we've mentioned in this forum loads and loads of times, there are loads and loads of British accents. My own accent is British......Edinburgh version.
It's the same old situation really when it comes to Americans' perception of the "British accent"...that bloody Hugh Grant thing again! Ha! Good old English posh boy Grant.....a tad foppish (certainly to Scottish ears anyway)......and maybe even considered effeminate. I answered my question to you myself..... In that case I can understand why you said:
***I think British accents (more on girls) are gorgeous***. The plural though......Scottish, Cockney, Geordie, Scouse, Welsh, Brummie, Black Country, West Country, North Country, East Anglian.....get acquainted with all of those... (try to diss the RP accent from your mind)... and see if you consider them "more gorgeous on girls". I doubt it.
It's strange how we are all prone to innate and subsconscious prejudice in one way or another. When I hear broad Scouse it always seems more acceptable (for want of a better word) coming out of the gob of a bloke than that of a lassie. Conversely a posh, refined, cut glass English English RP accent sounds sweeter coming from a lassie than a bloke. Silly really, isn't it? That's why I could see where you were coming from, Tallulah. btw...that name? Where does it come from? I've never heard of it before.
That's a British viewpoint anyway....Scottish brand.
No, I think it's a common phenomenon to find a accent more attractive on one sex or another. Makes no sense linguistically, perhaps, but here I think it's more wrapped up in sexual attraction/turn-offs -- it's more about social cues than sounds.
For example, if you find an upper-class English accent "feminine" for some reason, that quality may grate on you in a man, but be pleasant in a woman.
(To John! ).....The so-called Boston "accent" is actually not an accent at all, but improper diction , passed down from generation to generation of very illiterate speakers, mostly lower elements of people in our state, not the well-spoken ones! (Martha Stewart even used that phrase 'improper diction', as she cringed, listining to her Massachusetts assistant stockbroker, who was obviously raised in a household of parents speaking poor English). I was born and bred in Massachusetts (all of my relatives too, all well-educated, highly intelligent, successful people, one a Boston judge, who do pronounce their "r"s! Even a Boston travel guide states that "the so-called Boston accent originated from the lowest of the working-class and the streetwise of the South End , or North End..") I realize all too well other regions believe the embarrassing way of attempting to speak, as an "accent", but to be recognized all over as you said, makes me cringe. LISTEN to yourselves! You really believe that pronouncing 'LIBRARY' as "LIBWARY" sounds like civilized proper speaking??? Or dropping final "r"s sounds like an accent??? It is definitely the lower-class families who speak this way, NOT ALL OF MASSACHUSETTS (or RI and NH too). BTW Kerry , Teddy Kennedy and JFK spoke the Harvard accent, NOT the low-class Boston accent! Your "accent" sounds low-class and is due to illiterate improper diction from whomever taught you to speak early on. Spread the word!
<<<<Your "accent" sounds low-class and is due to illiterate improper diction from whomever taught you to speak early on. Spread the word! >>>
This is very similar to the 'Scots' v. English argument.
Is 'Scots' a language worthy of study, or is it a corruption of proper English.
To take this one stage further, there is a similar argument over:
Welsh v. English
When Welsh was much more widely spoken than it is today, it was strongly discouraged in Schools. In recent years this position has actually been reversed and 'Welsh' is now a compulsary subject. Also, Welsh is given official status in anything to do with government, and to be able to speak some 'Welsh' is an important qualification for jobs in Government.
(Look up: Lloyd George if you are interested in this subject.)
Personally, I believe that the world would be a much happier place if everybody spoke the same language, with the same accent, etc. But it is just not going to happen.
Incidently, I recently came across a book called "Watching the English" by Kate Fox, which is a study of English mannerisms, and verbal peculiarities.
<Personally, I believe that the world would be a much happier place if everybody spoke the same language, with the same accent, etc. But it is just not going to happen.>
Nah, that'd just be plain boring.
greg, Thanks a lot for writing something in English on the English forum.
english hae a pure annoyen accent. mon the scots.
I Hate the brummie accent and I like the edinburgh accent :o) p.s im From Ireland
I think accents are great. i like the sounds of Americans who ahve mellowed their accents by living in Ireland (do they have lots of American over there?). And why do so many Irish sound American?
The best accents are some North of England, Anglia, any Southern Irish accent, especially the soft SE of Ireland, New York has character and some Scots have an OK accent.
Peter, Essex (I don't have an Essex accent)
The New Zealand accent (Kiwi)
arrgghhh....
I'm from america, the east coast. i loveee irish accents. they are by far the cutest, hottest, sexiest accents ever. english are okayy. i also like new york CITY accents. (i live and i'm from new york STATE, and none of us in the state (besides people in the city) have that accent) becuase they are cute.