Accents

[donnieitaly]

I'm playing the UK scenario and am slowly categorising the "Scots" accents.

That made me think. Do American accents sound so regional for Americans as Brit ones do to me?

I've been to the USA lots and can tell the difference between deep south and New York, but there must be differences in Southern accents perhaps discernable only to Southrons. is this true?

[travcrouse]

I grew up in Oklahoma. We were right on the 'border' between the North Midland, South Midland and Ozark dialect regions. Depending on the speaker's education and socio-economic background, I can tell someone is from western Arkansas instantly. To me there's a noticeable difference between someone from Georgia or Florida and someone from northern Mississippi or western Tennessee. A southern Louisiana accent is unmistakeable.

My 'favorite' American accent is Upper Midwestern (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakotas). The movie "Fargo" is a showcase for that dialect...

As an aside, I recently found a book at the library that goes into great depth on the various dialects of the UK. It even inlcuded a CD with recordings of various speakers from around the country to help learn to recognize the subtle and not so subtle differences between the dialects.

[Sequoia]

I botherered me a bit that some of the Canadians in CMAK had a bit of a Southern Drawl as they shared voices with the Americans. I haven't noticed any drawls in CMSF. Perhaps that was intentional as they most likey again share voice files.

But yeah, even us Californians can tell the difference between someone raised in Texas and someone from Tennessee, but the degree that people move around these days tends to confuse things alot.

[Rustman]

My 'favorite' American accent is Upper Midwestern (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakotas). The movie "Fargo" is a showcase for that dialect...

We hate that movie because we don't actually talk like that.

[travcrouse]

We hate that movie because we don't actually talk like that.

I knew I shouldn't have made a blanket generalization like that...

I guess it all depends on education and family background that determines how distinctively your regional accent is manifested.

Back when I was in the Navy, my squadron had an old salty Command Master Chief from Wisconsin. He spoke exactly like the characters in 'Fargo' (to my Okie ears). This guy was a big burly lumberjack of a man and it was obvious that his parents weren't bankers or lawyers. Concurrently we had officers from the same region who 'suppressed' their native dialect, making it difficult to figure out where they were from.

I didn't mean to offend anyone...

[Sixxkiller]

All people in the North Dakota area deny that they speak that way but I have to strongly disagree. I spent some time up there and I would say 8/10 people sounded like that. Not that it matters really, but I would say 11/10 people also hated that movie.

Even here in Colorado you can hear a small accent in some of the natives. Quite distinctive from a Bostonian.

[travcrouse]

I feel like a redneck. 'Fargo' is one of my favorite movies.

[Lets_All_Fight]

I remember seeing a documentary about a German project from WW1 where they recorded a bunch of British POWs reciting poems and singing songs and ended up accidentally preserving for posterity a collection of regional and local dialects that have now vanished. It was fascinating and a little bit spooky, especially the part where they had tracked down the children (now advanced in years,) of a couple of the POW's and played them their fathers' voices. It was a very moving moment.

Not quite what the poster was asking about, i know, but if any of you get a chance to see it you should do so. I can't for the llife of me remember what it was called, though. it was on BBC4 about 2-3 years back.

[travcrouse]

I'm a linguist geek.

Searching now...

[donnieitaly]

English English has it's variants too. The Liverpool accent is lovely (though maybe that's because Liverpudlians are amongst the nicest and kindest people in the UK) and the Geordie is...well, it doesn't use consonants, so I guess it's not understood by, well, even other Geordies.

Cockney is great but I would really have liked to hear an Upper Class Scot/English accent - we do still have them.

I live in Walsall where the accent is awful yet I can distinguish from the Birmingham accent which is all of eight miles away.

Cor blimey Guv'

[Lets_All_Fight]

I'm just glad that the voices don't make all the soldiers sound like they've stepped out of an Evelyn Waugh novel. The voice acting in the module is pretty good but an occasional 'toff' would certainly add a little something. Mind you, hearing a driver, say, suddenly announce 'I say, Old bean. One saw movement in that hice over there.' would probably be a little weird. Funny, though.

Accents are actually one of the things I like best about living in Britain. I remember years ago when I lived in Aberdeen a friend explained that you could tell what part of the city people came from by the difference in their accents - and this is in a town of 250, 000! - and he was right.

[flamingknives]

I recall a tale along the lines that the inhabitants of Northern Ireland could distinguish which church someone went to by their accent. Not the difference between Protestant and Catholic, but a specific church in a specific street.

Can't do anything like that myself.

[ScubaSam]

I recall a tale along the lines that the inhabitants of Northern Ireland could distinguish which church someone went to by their accent. Not the difference between Protestant and Catholic, but a specific church in a specific street.

Can't do anything like that myself.

I wouldn't say we're that good, but I can narrow an accent down to a town pretty well, and it's also easy enough to say, for example, which quarter (north, east, south, west) of Belfast somebody is from. Considering NI is a small place, I'd say after hearing an accent it could be narrowed down to within...15 miles-ish of their birthplace. 5 Miles if they're from the city

But I'm only young. Ask my mother and she'll probably tell you what side of the church they sit in...

[Frankster65]

We hate that movie because we don't actually talk like that.

Actually, from the part of Wisconsin I'm from, the movie was pretty acurate. Another movie I can think of that really kind of "showcases the midwest", particularly Wisconsin and Minnesota is "Grumpy Old Men."

I first saw that movie when living out east and it made me homesick.

[hcrof]

I am currently working with a load of Somerset builders and their accent takes a bit of getting used to - especially for a 'toff' like myself

My accent seems to change depending who I am talking too, from very posh with my family to something a bit less obvious when talking to my mates.

[DaveDash]

I'm just glad that the voices don't make all the soldiers sound like they've stepped out of an Evelyn Waugh novel. The voice acting in the module is pretty good but an occasional 'toff' would certainly add a little something. Mind you, hearing a driver, say, suddenly announce 'I say, Old bean. One saw movement in that hice over there.' would probably be a little weird. Funny, though.

Accents are actually one of the things I like best about living in Britain. I remember years ago when I lived in Aberdeen a friend explained that you could tell what part of the city people came from by the difference in their accents - and this is in a town of 250, 000! - and he was right.

Air Hair Lair Thair, Bandits 6:00, Tally Ho chaps!

[Kat Johnston]

English English has it's variants too. The Liverpool accent is lovely (though maybe that's because Liverpudlians are amongst the nicest and kindest people in the UK) and the Geordie is...well, it doesn't use consonants, so I guess it's not understood by, well, even other Geordies.

Scouse and Geordie are miles apart. People generally use "Geordie" as a blanket for the whole North East, but there are pronounced (to a local) differences between Geordie (Newcastle), Makem (Sunderland), Durham and 'Boro. That's a geographical area of maybe forty miles from top to bottom.

[DaveDash]

I imagine the reason they didnt include the Manc accent is because it would make the game R18+

[travcrouse]

My accent seems to change depending who I am talking too, from very posh with my family to something a bit less obvious when talking to my mates.

I've caught myself doing that as well. If I'm talking to the 'worker bees' out in the workshop I let my 'redneck' accent loose, but if I'm talking to the engineers propriety overrules upbringing...

[Apocal]

We hate that movie because we don't actually talk like that.

Yes, you do. Stop denying what you ah.

[travcrouse]

What's a 'toff'?

I've heard the word in movies but couldn't figure out if its a good or bad thing...

[Lets_All_Fight]

What's a 'toff'?

I've heard the word in movies but couldn't figure out if its a good or bad thing...

a 'Toff' is the polar opposite of a 'Chav.'

I believe it is short for 'toffee nosed' which, I think, probably refers to being stuck up and snobbish. Nowadays itrefers to anyone who went to private school and earns more

money than me.

Just joking - mostly. I suppose it usually refers to upper middle-class/upperclass types: the sort of people Britain has traditionally drawn it's officers from. Ever read any Jeeves and Wooster? Wooster is a toff, as are virtually any o the characters in 'Brideshead Revisited.

As for whether it's good or bad, that depends on whether you went to private school and earn more money than me.

[ScubaSam]

I was pleased to see BFC had got their accents spot on for British arty and air support. It just makes my day when your call for fire is responded to by a gruff "Fire Mission, out" from the Royal Artillery and a very refined "Rogah, I am a Fightah, approaching from thee eeest, ovvah" from the Royal Air Force

All the CAS needs now is the occasional "what what" to perfect it. 1.21 perhaps?

[c3k]

For the OP; I'm no linguist, but as a northerner who has now spent the plurality of his life in the US south, yes, there are quite a bit of differences in dialect. So much so that you can tell which region/city of each state someone is from. This was true, but as more and more of the US intermixes and gets inundated by cable TV, accents are slowly disappearing.

Regards,

Ken

[Dietrich]

As an American, I think I am qualified to note how it seems that most Americans think that pretty much all Britons speak in one of two ways (the former being the more common): (1) in the "cheerio, old bean" posh style; (2) the "cor blimey, guvnah" cockney style.

One of the reasons for these misconceptions is, according to my research, due to the contact that American soldiers had with Britons during WW1, at which time Britons (the more memorable ones, evidently) spoke in the manner of "I say, I say!" and such.

Basically, Americans think that upper-class British people talk like they're from the Victorian age and that lower-class British people talk like Cockneys. (The pervasiveness of this misconception can lead to strange casting in movies: No matter where the movie takes place and no what the nationality or native language of lower-class characters in a movie, they as often as not talk like Cockneys.)

And then there's Eddie Izzard's hypothesis that Britons play bad guys in Hollywood movies because of the Revolutionary War.

A certain BBC journalist who reports from China and who I hear on the BBC World Service has a certain odd je ne sais quoi about her pronunciation: for example, she pronounces "road" rather like "woad". Is this an aspect of an accent? I've heard several Britons speak with this pronunciational oddity.

My accent seems to change depending who I am talking to

Recently I was at my friend's house, and he had over a friend of his who is Russian and is fluent in English. When talking with the Russian fellow, I found myself talking in English (which is my mother tongue) with a Russian accent. :eek: (Evidently I've been doing too much joking around with my best friend using our 'Russian supervillain' accents!) But the Russian fellow didn't seem to notice. That, or he was too nice to even act like he noticed.