Quote: Aaron @ September 20 2008, 10:40 PM BST3,630 of them. At least.
And it might've been 3,631 by now if you hadn't hurt him so much!
Accents you hate! (or like..) Page 12
Does the South have an accent?
Does the South have an accent?!! Are you kidding? Haven't you heard Jade Goody, or Jethro?
They're from completely different areas though aren't they? Or are you just speaking of the south in general?
What in tarnation are y'all talkin' 'bout?
Quote: Nil Putters @ September 21 2008, 1:59 AM BSTThey're from completely different areas though aren't they? Or are you just speaking of the south in general?
Mark asked if the South had an accent.
Quote: DaButt @ September 21 2008, 2:04 AM BSTWhat in tarnation are y'all talkin' 'bout?
Hey DaButt, are you aware of the term "Swamp Yankee"? I've got a mate from Rhode Island, and he said he was one of these.
Never heard the term.
I moved to Florida in 1973 when I was 10. The first thing a kid at school asked me was "Are you a yankee or a rebel?"
Apparently, the term applies to white, usually Anglo Americans, who are very much North Eastern Yankees, whose families may have been in the country for hundreds of years, but have a lifestyle more associated with Southerners. My mate's family own a lot of land in Rhode Island, with apple trees and pumpkin patches, etc.
By the way, where are you originally from?
I've moved around a bit:
Born in Las Vegas in 1963
Moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1966
Moved to Port Charlotte, Florida, in 1973
Lived in Georgia, California and Panama during the Army years of 1985-9
Back to Port Charlotte in 1989
Orange County, California, in 2001
San Antonio, Texas, in 2006
Quote: catskillz @ September 20 2008, 3:38 AM BSTBy the way, is there any other country that has as many different accents as England?
Indonesia.
Quote: DaButt @ September 21 2008, 2:33 AM BSTLived in ... Panama during the Army years of 1985-9
Was that during the '89 invasion to depose Noriega?
The manc accent is one that is often overlooked.
Apart from saying "Mad fer it" I don't think I have ever seen a good impression.
Quote: Tommy Power @ September 21 2008, 5:25 AM BSTIndonesia.
Wouldn't those be actual languages rather than accents? That is a rather a higher level of diversity.
Generally speaking linguistic diversity is a function of how the long a population has been speaking the language. For instance the Niger-Congo group of languages spoken in West Africa is highly diverse, but the Bantu languages of sub-equatorial Africa are rather similar, reflecting the relatively recent expansion of the Bantu out of their West African homeland.
English has been spoken in mainland Britain for around 1,500 years, and there was some imported diversity, as proto-English tribes originated on different parts of the North Sea coast and settled different parts of England. This has given some time for the language to diversify, though this effect has perhaps been reversed in recent decades by the impact of mass communication. North America has only been settled by English speakers for around 300 years, so accents are less diversified. One would have expected some imported diversity, but it seems as settlers from different parts of England mixed, a single accent predominated, possibly with its roots in the West Country, where many early settlers originated. Settlement by non-native speakers seems to have little impact on accent, except where there is a high concentration and a degree of isolation, such as the Scandinavians of Minnesota. More typical is the Pakistani with a thick Brummie accent.
Perhaps the most striking example is Australia, where the rich diversity of aboriginal languages has been replaced by the homogenous sub-Cockney Strine.
Quote: Spagett @ September 21 2008, 9:43 AM BSTThe manc accent is one that is often overlooked.
Apart from saying "Mad fer it" I don't think I have ever seen a good impression.
What about Daphne in Frasier!
Quote: catskillz @ September 21 2008, 1:57 AM BSTDoes the South have an accent?!! Are you kidding? Haven't you heard Jade Goody, or Jethro?
I meant the South where I come from (South East). Essex and West Country aren't in this bit of the south.
Quote: Tommy Power @ September 21 2008, 5:25 AM BSTWas that during the '89 invasion to depose Noriega?
No, I was there in 1988. Things were already starting to get ugly, with Noriega's cops and soldiers beating and harassing Americans. But it was a really nice place to spend a few months.
Quote: DaButt @ September 21 2008, 11:29 AM BSTNo, I was there in 1988. Things were already starting to get ugly, with Noriega's cops and soldiers beating and harassing Americans. But it was a really nice place to spend a few months.
Ah, those poor wittle Americans getting beat up by those nasty brown people! And to think, Noriega was set up there by the CIA to run the drug cartel. The ingratitude! The horror!
I'm from Bristol, but for some reason I don't have a Bristolion accent. I blame it on the influence of Ian Hislop.