Zoochatters and their accents

[Brum]

Not to be rude @Brum, but I find myself laughing every time I hear them snubbing you.

That's cool, I aim to please!

 

[ZooBinh]

So I’m from the North US, and I have a northern accent. But, my first language is Vietnamese, and so on that language, I have a Southern accent.

 

[Ned]

Here's a proper accent for you, Somerset!

 

[Welsh Zootographer]

Here's a proper accent for you, Somerset!

That's not an accent, that's a speech impediment.

 

[Chlidonias]

Seemed fine to me. I understood it all clearly enough. Well, not the bit after the record started playing, but everything before that.

 

[agnmeln]

That's not an accent, that's a speech impediment.

Sounded like Old MacDonald to me!

 

[TNT]

Here's a proper accent for you, Somerset!

I say this with slight apprehension... I am from Somerset, but in no way have an accent like that! Most people from Somerset don't even have the typical "Somerset" accent... Haha!

 

[Welsh Zootographer]

I say this with slight apprehension... I am from Somerset, but in no way have an accent like that! Most people from Somerset don't even have the typical "Somerset" accent... Haha!

Most people that have an accent believe they don't.

 

[TNT]

@Welsh Zootographer As a uni student, I have had many discussions with my peers about this... Most have thought I was from the South East, not the south west. I do think I have a slight Somerset "twang" to my accent, but it's lessened with age.

 

[Ned]

Admi

I say this with slight apprehension... I am from Somerset, but in no way have an accent like that! Most people from Somerset don't even have the typical "Somerset" accent... Haha!

Admittedly there aren't many people left with that strong Somerset accent and there is a growing number of people with a sort of general southern accent but its certainly not the case that most people from Somerset don't have an accent, I don't think you can appreciate how strong the accent sounds unless you're from out of the area

 

[TNT]

its certainly not the case that most people from Somerset don't have an accent, I don't think you can appreciate how strong the accent sounds unless you're from out of the area

I'm not suggesting that people from Somerset don't have an accent, of course they/I do... Just not to the degree in which most people think - e.g the strong "farmer like" accent which actually sounds more Bristolian.

 

[Ned]

I'm afraid I disagree, people sound proper rural to me. I do think that an expansion of the middle classes and a reduction in traditional working class occupations has watered-down the accent some what.
Bristolian is a shocking accent and it's not just the pronunciation, there are unique words like "scrage" and odd terminology and that quirky Bristol habit of putting L at the end of word e.g ASDA becomes ASDAL and of course Brigstow became Brigstowl and now Bristol

 

[TNT]

I'm afraid I disagree, people sound proper rural to me. I do think that an expansion of the middle classes and a reduction in traditional working class occupations has watered-down the accent some what.

I agree it's been watered-down... But for me, it could also be because of where I live (Burnham on sea) as a significant proportion people who live there aren't from Somerset originally... We have lots of Brummies and a fair few from the South East. Due to this, we have a huge "mish mash" of accents turned into one. Haha!

 

[Ned]

Ahh, didn't mention that. I've heard that a third of the population of Burnham are from Birmingham.

 

[Ned]

Here's a bit of Bristolian for anyone who wants some

 

[TNT]

Ahh, didn't mention that. I've heard that a third of the population of Burnham are from Birmingham.

Up that to half in the summer haha! Many of our family friends are from Birmingham and moved down here the 90's so their accents have dulled a little.

 

[tschandler71]

My accent is similar to Woody Harelson.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

My accent is similar to Woody Harelson.

Who presumably is similar to Woody Harrelson, except he doesn't roll his r's quite as much

 

[elefante]

Coming from South Australia (the only Australian state not settled by convicts! *), we tend to have a very English accent - much more so than people from other states where Strine tends to be stronger.

When travelling in the United States, I was asked frequently whether I was English, to the point where I would make a point of greeting people "G'day mate, 'owzit gowin' ?" to try and give people a hint before they made an assumption.

(* - although ironically, my mother's family is directly descended from a 1788 First Fleet convict and my Grandmother and her family moved from Sydney to regional South Australia in the 1950s - while my father's side of the family emigrated from Germany to South Australia in the 1840s which was long enough ago that any German influence in accent has been lost, despite every generation marrying Lutherans until my Dad married my Mum!)

I have to admit I have confused an Australian accent with a British accent from time to time. One time I did it the guy was from South Australia. There were two women from Britain in the group who got more of a kick out of my mistake.

I speak with the general American accent but the Upper Midwest accent is spoken where I live so I sound a tad different. You can hear that accent on the movie "Fargo." It's exaggerated for humerous effect but it's still very close.