Accents

[Ruptga]

I just heard my first real-life Irish accent and it was almost unintelligible (granted we're in a crowded room). It made me wonder, do Americans sound like that to the Irish, etc?

 

[Gooberlx2]

Americans and Canadians probably have the easiest-to-understand English accents, with certain regional exceptions.

As a result, we also have the most boring English accents.

 

[Farang]

Irish are notorious for this. It's because they're always drunk.

 

[KeithTalent]

Newfies can be like that too. I used to work with a guy we called Newf back in my restaurant days and every 15 minutes you would hear someone yell "NEWF! ENGLISH!" because nobody could understand the guy.

KT

 

[Inspector Jihad]

me and 2 buddies used to frequent an irish pub where one of the bartenders had just come over from ireland. he was a cool guy but when he'd talk to us, all 3 of us would have to listen very intently and usually only one of us would understand what he said and reply. the other 2 would have to figure out what the guy said based on the reply.

 

[Lonyo]

Irish people are probably used to American accents from exposure through media.

 

[TubeTote]

Hmmm well when I was growing up our family hosted 3 Irish children over the summers. I didn't find the accent difficult to understand at all...it was more about the different words they use (such as 'lift' for elevator, 'lorry' for truck, ect).

According to our Irish friends, we sound as foreign to them as they do to us.

What is funny about all this is that I'm from Minnesota originally. I have seen Fargo, heard the stereotypes and all that shit. I never really believed that I sounded any different from anyone...

Until I moved away. I still didn't notice my own accent though many pointed it out. The time I really noticed is when I called friends back home and listened to them talk. It was like a revelation...'oh my God is that what I sound like to people?'. Now I can REALLY hear the accent. It's wierd.

 

[Ruptga]

Newfies can be like that too. I used to work with a guy we called Newf back in my restaurant days and every 15 minutes you would hear someone yell "NEWF! ENGLISH!" because nobody could understand the guy.

KT

Isn't Newfoundland basically the equivalent of Minnesota or Wisconsin?

 

[Gibsons]

I think they aren't so hard to understand unless they're a fast talker. Then it can be really difficult. So you just ask them for their Lucky Charms, or if they can carve a bar of soap with a knife.

 

[brblx]

i don't really see how a standard, flat, midwestern 'accent' can really be considered such. it's the epitome of plain english. northeastern or southern accents are different, but i would still imagine they're a lot easier to understand for outsiders as compared so something like a strong irish accent or certain english ones.

 

[mmntech]

I've had family come visit us from over from England and I sometimes can't understand them. A lot of Brits have a bad habit of mumbling or slurring their speech.

 

[Kirby]

I've watched Trainspotting with subtitles before. Begbie is so hard to understand.

 

[Paperdoc]

Anyone who speaks as I do has no accent. It's all the rest of you guys that give me trouble!

Seriously, though, I agree with TubeTote. You do tend to adopt the speech patterns, including both accents and vocabulary, of the area in which you live without realizing it. I also have found that my ability to understand depends on extent of exposure. Years ago in graduate school research labs I worked with people from England, Ireland, India, Australia, China, Japan, Pakistan and Kenya. They didn't have to be in the lab very long before I got used to their accents and was able to understand almost everything they said. But my first meeting with, say, someone with a Russian accent would not go well. We learn through exposure and listening.

Local dialect can become intimately entwined with all life aspects, including cultural norms. I had a manager who told an interesting story. He grew up in Newfoundland. There, he says, it is or was normal to refer to any man as "boy", with the exception that certain people, especially older ones, who deserve extra respect are addressed as "Capt'n". In other parts of the country we might use terms like "guy", "buddy" "sir", etc. Later in life he managed a large factory in Alabama, where he realized VERY quickly that nobody addresses anybody as "boy" unless you want to risk a major dispute with racial overtones.

 

[WHAMPOM]

I just heard my first real-life Irish accent and it was almost unintelligible (granted we're in a crowded room). It made me wonder, do Americans sound like that to the Irish, etc?

Just the natives putting one over on the foreigner.

 

[WHAMPOM]

I've had family come visit us from over from England and I sometimes can't understand them. A lot of Brits have a bad habit of mumbling or slurring their speech.

Cold air hurts their rotting teeth.

 

[lxskllr]

Anyone who speaks as I do has no accent. It's all the rest of you guys that give me trouble!

Seriously, though, I agree with TubeTote. You do tend to adopt the speech patterns, including both accents and vocabulary, of the area in which you live without realizing it. I also have found that my ability to understand depends on extent of exposure. Years ago in graduate school research labs I worked with people from England, Ireland, India, Australia, China, Japan, Pakistan and Kenya. They didn't have to be in the lab very long before I got used to their accents and was able to understand almost everything they said. But my first meeting with, say, someone with a Russian accent would not go well. We learn through exposure and listening.

I pick up on other's accents very quickly, and I'll start to use them myself

I'm not sure why that is, but I'll pick up a bit of an Irish accent talking to Irish for only a little while. Same thing with redneck. If I were talking to a country boy, you'd think I was from the eastern shore after only a little while.

 

[Cheeseplug]

I have a very good ear for accents. If it's in English, chances are I can understand it without much trouble. Except a Cork accent, can't understand a thing those fuckers say.

My dad is Irish, and both of my parents are academics so from a young age I was exposed to lots of different foreigners. It is pretty weird actually, growing up I knew lots of foreigners and most adults I knew had a Ph.D, or at the very least a masters degree. When I went off to college and started talking to people, most didn't know many, if any foreigners and Ph.Ds are extremely rare.

 

[Nitemare]

Irish and New Hampshire/Vermont are nearly incomprehensible.

I'd rather listen to a Spanish/Chinese/Indian ESL person talk.

 

[Colt45]

I've never had a problem with hiberno english... I rather like it actually.

I think I have the hardest time with indian accents.