Question Of The Day, Saturday 20th Of June.

Graceful-Lily

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I don't have an accent - at least, I don't think I do. Parents from Jamaica but I was born in Canada. If I talk like a Jamaica, it's because I'm trying to be funny.

I have a friend in the south (Florida/Georgia area) and she thinks I speak with an accent. But I think she has an accent. I guess when you live in a place where everyone talks like you, it's all you know so it doesn't sound weird. I was surprised when she thought that I sounded weird.

I just speak like a Canadian who grew up with English being their first language.
 

MonaLyssa33

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Accents I like are Irish, French and for some reason some very thick Southern American accents. I'm not sure what area they are from, but I'd have to research more on that.
I've been memeing my cats lately and this discussion reminded me of one I created recently. I also added the other related one too.

66879379_10114058052621790_1923050651638562816_n.jpg
67628747_10114058052551930_6746546224968499200_n.jpg
 

mightyboosh

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I like the British accent that is often referred to as BBC accent. I think it is from the London area. It is what most people in the U.S. think of as British. When I was stationed in Germany I met some people from northern England and their accent is very different. It took me a little time to acclimate to it so I could understand them.
This is quite good. By the way, I hate my own Lancashire accent, we all sound thick!

 

Willowy

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What does this Uff Dah mean? :headscratch:
Anything, really. You sit down in your recliner after a tough day and say "uff da, I'm exhausted!" You look outside and say "uff da! A rainbow!" Your kid brings home a bad report card and you say "uff da, an F?!?" It's really an all-purpose exclamation, lol.
("Uff" sounds like "oof")

I guess it's Norwegian but I don't know if it has an actual meaning or it's just a noise.
 

Elphaba09

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I dislike the Broad Australian, Brooklyn/New York in general, Bostonian, and Texan. I am sure there are more, but these bother me the most. I have a difficult time watching Australian when it is primarily spoken in Broad Australian. Cultivated and General Australian accents are okay, although the General accent is borderline for me.

What is the difference? Cultivated sounds like Cate Blanchette. General sounds like Hugh Jackman. Broad sounds like Paul Hogan. I loved Steve Irwin, but listening to him was nauseating.
 

NY cat man

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I kind of like the Australian accent, as well as the Scottish one. By the way, those of us from this end of the state sound nothing like those from the NYC area. We have almost no accent at all, except what they refer to as a flat 'a'.
 

Aico & Nacho

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I like hearing other accents than mine. My favorites are Irish, French, and Australian. I can't say there are any I truly dislike. There's just some that sound funnier to me than others.
 

Jem

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Question....
What would the CLOSEST dialect be to that of what Brad Pitt uses in the movie Snatch? I won't post a clip due to the language, but I love that movie and think that he did such a good job. It must have been so hard to talk like that. It makes me laugh every time.
 

susanm9006

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What does this Uff Dah mean? :headscratch:



Maybe Nashville or Texas?

Sort of a very emphatic “Oh My!”, or “darn it” or “oops”.

Here is what an found for online definition.

Uff da is of Norwegian origin. It's common in the Upper Midwestern states of the United States. It can be used to express surprise, astonishment, exhaustion, relief, and dismay. It roughly means "drats!," "oops!," "ouch!," "Oh no!," or "Okay!." It has become a mark of Scandinavian roots.
 

cassiopea

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WHAT. You don't like my regional Canadian accent????


How dare you!




(I'm joking! It's all good :lol:)



For the record, there is actually a long list of different regional Canadian accents and dialects - Maritime Provinces (Some Maritime provinces have people whose accent sounds like Irish or Scottish) including PEI, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia etc then of course the famous Newfoundland accent!

Then there is Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic, Western Canada depending on province and areas (Alberta, BC, Prairies etc) Ottawa Valley Twang or Brogue, Toronto/GTA and of course the long list of French dialects: Metis French, Quebec City, Valley French, Eastern, Central Dialect, Gaspésie, Brayon, Northern, Acadian French etc etc etc (French in Quebec in usually simply generalized as Quebec French)

And not to mention the variety of First Nations and Inuit. And no doubt I am missing others in general. In conclusion, we are actually very complex! Not so different than other countries.

I never thought of myself ever having an accent, but apparently I've had some folks think I sound a bit Irish! I guess it was from my time living in NS, along with having a mom from Ireland.



Anyway! I'll shoosh up now.




I really like:
German, Austrian, Russian, various English, Scottish and Irish and of course Finnish.


Dislike:
New York (Permanent nasal/whiny sound) and most Southern American Accents. And of course "Valley Speak" or "Valley Girl". And for some reason, while I adore so many other British accents, I am not a huge fan of Liverpool/Scouse :paperbag:

And I have the same problem with some Indian accents. Nothing against it at all, just have a hard time understanding them sometimes.
 

aliceneko

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I love Spanish, Southern Irish, French, Italian and Scottish accents. I'm not so enthused by Liverpudlian, Birmingham or Geordie/Newcastle accents though, and I've never been too keen on Southern US accents either.
I have relatives in Derbyshire and one of them has a really soft local accent (like the Yorkshire accent) which is lovely to listen to.
 
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DreamerRose

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My favorite accent is Australian. We have a news person here who works for Politico who is Australian - Jonathan Swan. I believe his dad is well known in Australia. Anyway, he's to drool over, and then he's got that yummy Australian accent. Wish I was 40 years younger.

Southern accents are very regional. When we lived in Atlanta, and my ear was tuned, I could tell what state someone was from, and sometimes even the city. My husband's great aunt was hailed in a train station in Scotland by someone calling "Yoohoo, you're from Charlotte, NC, aren't you?" Yes, very much so.

I can't hear my own accent, though. Years ago, I met someone and just couldn't place her accent after much thought. So I asked her, and she said she was from Arlington, VA, my own hometown. No wonder I couldn't hear the accent.
 

1 bruce 1

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I can't think of an accent I don't like, but my favorites are South African, New Zealand (a cross of South African and Australian, maybe some English, at least to my ears) and Swedish.
I like the Canadian accent. I knew some nice folks from Ottawa and their accent was slight, but you could hear it.
Not only that, but the regional dialogues for certain words are so different. Is it a traffic light or a stop and go light, is it a cook out, a BBQ, or a fry-out, is it a sofa, couch, davenport, chesterfield?
PS:
Coke, soda, or pop? ;)
 
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muffy

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I can't think of an accent I don't like, but my favorites are South African, New Zealand (a cross of South African and Australian, maybe some English, at least to my ears) and Swedish.
I like the Canadian accent. I knew some nice folks from Ottawa and their accent was slight, but you could hear it.
Not only that, but the regional dialogues for certain words are so different. Is it a traffic light or a stop and go light, is it a cook out, a BBQ, or a fry-out, is it a sofa, couch, davenport, chesterfield?
PS:
Coke, soda, or pop? ;)
Coke.
 
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Norachan

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(though hearing some Germans try to pronounce "squirrel" can be hysterical)
Japanese people can't say squirrel either. Or election. They always have trouble with "L" and "R". :lol:

If I talk like a Jamaica, it's because I'm trying to be funny.
Oh, Jamaican accents! I forgot about those, they sound really nice to me.

I hate my own Lancashire accent, we all sound thick!
My Dad's side of the family all have strong Lancashire accents. To me they sound a lot better than Yorkshire accents. ;)

What would the CLOSEST dialect be to that of what Brad Pitt uses in the movie Snatch?
I was going to say Pikey, but that's not a very nice word to use. :paperbag: It's supposed to be an Irish Traveler accent, which is different to the regular Irish accent or the Romany accent you hear some travelers in the UK use.

Could you understand what he was saying? I thought he did a pretty good job in that movie.
 
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