Accents and dialects

One thing about accents is that they change over time. I'll give you an example. I have another friend from Reading, who is about the same age as me. He has a kind of London-ish accent, but nothing very strong. I met his late father, who was a lovely man, several times. He was also born and raised in Reading, but his accent had a distinct rural burr, not dissimilar to that of the great cricket commentator John Arlott. I doubt whether anyone from Reading has an accent like that now.
 
There are some areas in Emilia Romagna (central region of which Bologna is the capital), especially in Parma and its surroundings, where the dialect and thus the accent is similar to French. This is due to historical reasons. I have friends in Parma and hearing them speak is like hearing French speak, they even have the 'r' rolled up.
The Bolognese or Modenese accent is completely different.

Val D'Aosta because of its borders has a pronounced French accent if not pure French.

In some parts of Calabria they speak Greek.
 
TastyReuben said:
When I first moved away from Ohio, one thing that many people made fun of me over was my use of the word "fix," as in "I'm about to fix supper," and also something like, "I'm fixing to go to Little Bob's."
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That's standard Texan. But, down here, you don't pronounce the "g,' it's fixin'. "I'm fixin' to make supper."

CD
 
Sticky Fingers said:
I sat and had a chat with my future father in law for an hour and did not understand much of what he said.

He was a forester from the Royal Forest of Dean.

ow bist old butty.
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When my wife first met my dad (and my brothers, but especially my dad), she could barely understand him at all.

The one phrase she did hear quite clearly: "...<hillbilly gibberish> New York Yankee <hillbilly gibberish>," and to be clear, "New York Yankee" referred to her, not a member of the baseball team. :laugh:
 
TastyReuben said:
When my wife first met my dad (and my brothers, but especially my dad), she could barely understand him at all.

The one phrase she did hear quite clearly: "...<hillbilly gibberish> New York Yankee <hillbilly gibberish>," and to be clear, "New York Yankee" referred to her, not a member of the baseball team. :laugh:
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The stories, oh love those...
I have not yet met my boyfriends' parents...so have no personal experience yet...would not expect a drastic difference, his town is not known for a particular dialect, but one never knows😊

My ex husbands parents are half Slovenian half Bosnian, and there were quite a few words needing translation...but mostly was fine...
 
Thought of a few others:

Most people in my family pronounce some words that end in "a" with "y" added, so extra becomes "extry." I had to laugh over that one, because while I don't say that, I do still think it, and I was just outside laying down some mulch and thinking, "I shouda got extry" because I was a little short. :laugh:

I remember getting made fun of for saying the word cement as SEE-ment instead of the more acceptable sah-MENT.

Oh, I also remember my brother telling me that he got laughed at after he left home for mixing the words learn and teach up, meaning he told someone he'd "learn you how to do that," instead of "teach you how to do that," and that's something that's still commonly said here.
 
I'm told the kiwis talk quite fast? I don't think I do. There's a Southland drawl where they roll their r's like a place called gore (goar) is pronounced gorrrre. Somehow my grandkids have picked it up as well, don't know how?
Aussies pronounce fish as feesh and six as sex. I speak proper English.

Russ
 
rascal said:
I'm told the kiwis talk quite fast? I don't think I do. There's a Southland drawl where they roll their r's like a place called gore (goar) is pronounced gorrrre. Somehow my grandkids have picked it up as well, don't know how?
Aussies pronounce fish as feesh and six as sex. I speak proper English.

Russ
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Are you sure about that? I've read a lot of your posts, and had to look up many of the words you've used. :laugh:

CD
 
Catherine was born in Cork and her family moved to England when she was six. She went to school and university in London, but later took a job with Bord Failte, the Irish tourist board, in Cork. Her Cork accent came back and it's still there, not a strong one but discernible, especially when she's had a few drinks...

The Cork accent is a very sing-songy affair, somewhat reminiscent of the accents you hear in the south-west of Wales.
 
Duck59 said:
Catherine was born in Cork and her family moved to England when she was six. She went to school and university in London, but later took a job with Bord Failte, the Irish tourist board, in Cork. Her Cork accent came back and it's still there, not a strong one but discernible, especially when she's had a few drinks...

The Cork accent is a very sing-songy affair, somewhat reminiscent of the accents you hear in the south-west of Wales.
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There is an old saying here. If you go anywhere other than the South, and speak with a Southern accent, people will automatically deduct at least 20 IQ points.

That's not an exaggeration, which is why I make an effort to NOT speak with any kind of distinguishable accent in certain circumstances.

When I'm hanging out with "the boys," or even dealing with a wealthy Texas businessman, I let my inner Texan run loose. But I'm very careful, otherwise.

On my trips to England, I have found that there are times when the Texan thing works. It sounds "exotic," in a way. "Oh Jonathan, he's from Texas." 😍 Other times, people think you are a moron raised in a barn. "Do you know what a 'University' is?" "Yes, I went to one.":facepalm:

CD
 
Duck59 said:
The Cork accent is a very sing-songy affair, somewhat reminiscent of the accents you hear in the south-west of Wales.
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Sounds like it is beautiful.
Similarly southern accents in Croatia are easily distinguished from any other.

We have co-workers from Split and Dubrovnik, who have lived and worked in Zagreb for a good number of years, but never really lost the accent.

We all speak the Standard Croatian, so communication is perfect, but the sound of it is lovely, accent has decreased and is not as loose as when they would speak to their family...but very easy to notice.
 
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