Your favourite English accent

Forum for English and all other languages.

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Maïwenn
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Post by Maïwenn »

Are you able to distinguish between American and Canadian accents ? Even though I spend some time with a Canadian recently, I still have no idea... But I remember that my American friend kept making fun of the speakers everytime she hears someone from Canada.
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SubEspion
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Post by SubEspion »

I never noticed any difference between the American and the Canadian accents also. I know that the vocabulary can be different (canadianisms) across Canada, but I never noticed anything. Anyway, I think it depends also from which American accent we are talking about. The Louisiana accent is really different, I'm not even able to understand one word.

I love the Jamaican and the Irish ones :hello:
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Post by ANTHOS »

It is possible to tell the Canadian and US accents apart but I can't (I don't meet enough people to do this). I suppose the same can be said of NZ-Australia accents.

A Canadian friend of mine finds it absolutely hilarious the way British people pronounce 'arse' - their pronunciation is reflected in the different spelling - 'ass'.

The Carribean accents are also a favourite of mine.
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Post by didine »

English accents can be tricky for interpreters, especially those of non-native speakers! The accent I dread most is the Scottish one. My favourites are the Aussie and South African accents. :)
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try again
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Post by try again »

didine wrote:. My favourites are the Aussie and South African accents. :)
well,the aussie pronounce water as wuter,right>?

and the african says gangtry intead of country, and /keip/ instead of /caep/(cap)...right? :roll:
and u like it?
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Post by didine »

try again wrote:and the african says gangtry intead of country, and /keip/ instead of /caep/(cap)...right? :roll:
and u like it?
Well, you're exaggerating it a bit. And they wouldn't say /keip/ for "cap" but more like /kép/ (é as in French). I like it because it's an accent I've been exposed to quite a lot, I have relatives back in Johannesburg.
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Post by grzespelc »

boulevard wrote:As for me, I used to "adore" the American accent, since everybody watches American movies, shows , etc.,
After getting to know some other accents, I prefer the British accent, but I can't do it well.
The same thing about me!

As for my favourite accent - I like to here people from rural parts of England, they sound so funny and I rarely get to understand them...
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Maïwenn
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Post by Maïwenn »

It seems that everybody is fed up with the US accent nowadays !
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Post by boulevard »

It seems that everybody is fed up with the US accent nowadays !
EXACTLY !
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Post by Dada »

I think I like the biritish accent most, because that's the one I learnt at school and it's easier for me to understand. But I'm not sure, it's hard to tell...
I like the Scottish accent too because it's funny, and their 'r' is stressed anr rolled, not like a english 'r' at all. Makes me feel less lonely when I speak english....
The Irish accent is very hard to understand I think. And the american slang/ bad boy accent is impossible...


In Canada there are several accents like in US. I would say there are 4 different accents:
- the BC one(British Columbia= Vancouver), very similar to the US western coast accent,
- the maritimes one (Newfoundland, Novia Scotia, ect = Atlantic Coast) sounds kind of Scottish or Irish to me, what makes sense since those provinces have a strong Keltic background. Other Canadians always make fun about "Newfies" and their accent (like Swiss accent in France).
- the Ontario one, the "typical" Canadian accent, close to the Eastern US accent, but with some Canadian touch.
- the Prairies accent in Alberta and Saskatchewan. It is hard to say that though, because there are so many immigrants in those provinces, everybody has a different accent (ukrainian, indian, chinese, german backgrounds). But if you go out of the big city find some "real" albertans (i.e. cowboys) i think they have a kind of Texas accent, but they don't like it at all when I say that :lol:
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J
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Post by J »

I don't know what accent to say I have, it's just "normal" :-? like RP, but not as posh. In fact it's got worse since I moved to a public school :lol: oh well.

The accents I do like are all from the united kingdom and Ireland, I don't tend to like any american ones. I actually find the South African one quite irritating and pretentious which I know is probably not a good attitude to have, oops :confused:. I don't really like australian (like in Home And Away) because their intonation makes them sound like they're constantly asking questions. I quite like accents from the west country, Liverpool, Birmingham and northern Ireland, but my favourite is probably welsh :king: I get to hear a lot of accents in Starbucks, as we get a lot of tourists. I had a lady tell me the other week "I know I'm talkin' English" because I couldn't understand her... she was from the deep south (america) :lol:

I agree with ANTHOS in saying RP is bland.
boulevard wrote: A question : When American actors have the roles of English or Scottish people etc, do you think most of them do the accents well ?
That depends ! I suppose some of them do but most of the time I think it's possible to tell. I think it's generally easier for British actors to do an American accent..
boulevard wrote: Another question : What accent did Nicole Kidman have in The Others ?(Please don't tell me it was RP)
The same question for Catherine Zeta Jones.
I think Nicole Kidman was doing an RP ? Catherine Zeta Jones has a very mixed accent, a combination of welsh, RP (or close to it) and American. She tends to change it depending on what country she's in which can be quite funny and Dawn French (British comedian) did a sketch about it. At the Oscars (or some award thing) she surprised the audiance with a strong welsh accent when she was probably expected to have an american one.
boulevard wrote: The last question : Did anyone like Scarlet O'hara's accent ?
Sorry, don't know who that is. Is that stupid of me ? :lol:

I have a question...
I've seen a lot of talk about different accents in the English language. Isn't there a large variety of French accents too ? Or has no one thought of making a topic about it ? Or maybe I've missed it :loljump:
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Post by didine »

J wrote:I have a question...
I've seen a lot of talk about different accents in the English language. Isn't there a large variety of French accents too ? Or has no one thought of making a topic about it ? Or maybe I've missed it :loljump:
Oh yes, there is a very large variety of French accents! You're right, we should make a topic about it!!!

:hello:
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Post by Dada »

There is a topic (or even several ones) in the french part of the forum.
I remember a terrible discussion about what was the "standard" french accent (ie pronunciation): Paris? Lyon? Val de Loire? and some claimed there could not be any standard....
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Post by grzespelc »

J wrote:
boulevard wrote: The last question : Did anyone like Scarlet O'hara's accent ?
Sorry, don't know who that is. Is that stupid of me ? :lol:
Remember "Gone with the wind?"
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try again
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Post by try again »

hey,does anyone watch “braokeback moutain”? do u understand the accent there?
i think it is quite diffrent from the normal american accent ,the accent we usually hear and talk。do u think so?
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