I've lost my northern accent. Leicester is to blame.

[FutileBreadMachine]

Where were you from? Cape Town didn't have that kind of pronunciation.

The amount of weird looks I got from late night cabs in my first few years here when I told them to turn after the robots.

Apparently the only tells of my saffa heritage is the use of 'mom' and how I say 'awf' rather than off. The rest is like some posh boy, so I am told.

I'm from Durban, so I have the lazy accent. You're right, Cape Town and Joburg people have a more posh sounding clipped accent. There are a few times I have heard Joburg people speak and I have had to listen carefully to tell if they are British or South African. There were loads of times when I first came here when I had to repeat things, and then I realised how terribly we pronounce things in KZN. I work with another guy from near where I used to live and he is still full on into his Afrikaans and slang which is quite funny to hear here in London.

 

[ruffneck]

*had to urban dictionary 'menk'

 

[krooton]

I'm from Durban, so I have the lazy accent. You're right, Cape Town and Joburg people have a more posh sounding clipped accent. There are a few times I have heard Joburg people speak and I have had to listen carefully to tell if they are British or South African. There were loads of times when I first came here when I had to repeat things, and then I realised how terribly we pronounce things in KZN. I work with another guy from near where I used to live and he is still full on into his Afrikaans and slang which is quite funny to hear here in London.

Nooit bru, lank swak hey?

On the topic of accents, just walked in earshot of the hottest woman in a 2000 person building for the first time, and hearing her low, nasal posh accent with a heavy lisp made her change massively in my eyes, lol.

 

[RomanNose]

I need to move up North to loose this stinking posh accent, can't even use my mic on XBL without having a torrent of abuse.

 

[Castiel]

*had to urban dictionary 'menk'

A nice little personal insult.

*shakes head*

 

[FutileBreadMachine]

Nooit bru, lank swak hey?

On the topic of accents, just walked in earshot of the hottest woman in a 2000 person building for the first time, and hearing her low, nasal posh accent with a heavy lisp made her change massively in my eyes, lol.

Are you as annoyed by British accents as I am? I can't stand most of the **** on TV here, they just cannot speak properly. Most of them don't pronounce "t" unless it's the first letter in a sentence, so they say "wa'a" instead of "water" and "be'a" instead of "better". It's not just chavs either, the whole of Essex speaks like that, so there are loads of guys in suits in London talking like used car salesmen.

The Liverpool accent is comical, my mate's girlfriend is Liverpudlian and sometimes she goes into full on Northern-mode and talks really high pitched. And people here always start of a greeting with "You alright?". At first I thought it was a legitimate question, like they thought I looked distressed or something, but then I realised it's like "Howzit!". And many people here no longer say "to" for going to a destination, they just say "I'm going Tescos", or "I'm going Spain.".

Have some pride people!

 

[Skidder]

It's not just chavs either, the whole of Essex speaks like that, so there are loads of guys in suits in London talking like used car salesmen.

you don't understand Britain yet, do you? The whole of Essex = chavs.

 

[Pate]

I got called Boris Johnson in counter strike yesterday.

 

[FutileBreadMachine]

you don't understand Britain yet, do you? The whole of Essex = chavs.

Hah, I knew someone would say that. But I thought chavs were poor people on benefits wearing tracksuits and saying "innit" a lot?

 

[sketchytom]

Are you as annoyed by British accents as I am? I can't stand most of the **** on TV here, they just cannot speak properly. Most of them don't pronounce "t" unless it's the first letter in a sentence, so they say "wa'a" instead of "water" and "be'a" instead of "better". It's not just chavs either, the whole of Essex speaks like that, so there are loads of guys in suits in London talking like used car salesmen.

The Liverpool accent is comical, my mate's girlfriend is Liverpudlian and sometimes she goes into full on Northern-mode and talks really high pitched. And people here always start of a greeting with "You alright?". At first I thought it was a legitimate question, like they thought I looked distressed or something, but then I realised it's like "Howzit!". And many people here no longer say "to" for going to a destination, they just say "I'm going Tescos", or "I'm going Spain.".

Have some pride people!

Im guessing your about 60 years old

.....

and to the northerner GOOD i can never understand you dammn northerners anyways

 

[krooton]

Are you as annoyed by British accents as I am? I can't stand most of the **** on TV here, they just cannot speak properly. Most of them don't pronounce "t" unless it's the first letter in a sentence, so they say "wa'a" instead of "water" and "be'a" instead of "better". It's not just chavs either, the whole of Essex speaks like that, so there are loads of guys in suits in London talking like used car salesmen.

The Liverpool accent is comical, my mate's girlfriend is Liverpudlian and sometimes she goes into full on Northern-mode and talks really high pitched. And people here always start of a greeting with "You alright?". At first I thought it was a legitimate question, like they thought I looked distressed or something, but then I realised it's like "Howzit!". And many people here no longer say "to" for going to a destination, they just say "I'm going Tescos", or "I'm going Spain.".

Have some pride people!

I don't mind, pretty much all the people I socialise with are well-spoken (but not posh) Brits, and I really like the accent.

The whole 'Going Tesco' thing does rile me up more than it should.

 

[Skidder]

Hah, I knew someone would say that. But I thought chavs were poor people on benefits wearing tracksuits and saying "innit" a lot?

They are, but putting a suit on a chav and giving it a wad of cash doesn't stop it being a chav. You can't polish a turd but you can roll it in glitter.

 

[Judgeneo]

"Pub?" is a genuine sentence anywhere not "south"
"Pub" is a genuine response meaning yes.

 

[=XDC=FluphyBunny]

What's the OP moaning about, doesn't he like sounding more intelligent or something?

With a Leicester accent

 

[InKursion]

*had to urban dictionary 'menk'

'tis a fine word, use it judiciously.

 

[Twirlywoos]

Thanks there seems to be some hope if I spend time with mancs, but I rarely get the opportunity now as I work in Leeds.

It's not only the southern'ish accent but the common phrases which I have picked up. Words like "mardy" when I find myself saying it ****es me off.

Loosing one's accent is almost loosing your identity, that's why I feel strongly about it.

 

[EdGey]

One of the reasons I can't wait to leave the north!

 

[Castiel]

<snip>

 

[InKursion]

Loosing one's accent is almost loosing your identity, that's why I feel strongly about it.

That's all very fine and well if you want to stay in a parochial Northern community all your life. But it can also work against you in professional situations and can actually hold you back on your career in more stuffy and snobby environments/career paths. That's why the industry and practice of elocution developed, after all. You can keep your sense of identity without a distinct accent.

 

[Cosimo]

'tis a fine word, use it judiciously.

Such a shame that most of the educated population don't know what it means.