# Britons: I love your Pronunciations! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2004, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551 "2004-04-06T14:45:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2004, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/41 "2004-04-08T08:06:19Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Aside of the Ozzy-Osbournian Birmingham accent and exaggerated Cockney or Glaswegian, pretty much any British/Irish accent comes off as distinguished and/or elegant to American ears. Nope, I’m sorry - I’m absolutely sure you have _never_ heard a Suffolk accent … and Norfolk isn’t much better (eh **Tuco**? 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2004, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/42 "2004-04-08T09:41:54Z")
> [@Small Clanger](#): > > Did I see someone praising a South African accent 😕 . And lordy have you ever heard someone speaking Afrikaans ::eek-squared:: Hey, I like Afrikaans. But then I’m Dutch. It’s a language rather than an accent, though and that’s another thread. Some people have taken my accent for Afrikaans, but it’s really a bizarre mixture of south eastern English, west of Ireland English and Dutch. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2004, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/43 "2004-04-08T13:08:30Z")
> [@Exgineer](#): > > I don’t want to derail a nice thread, but I feel compelled to mention that I find the British pronunciation (and spelling) of “aluminum” incredibly annoying. > > I have no idea why it bugs me so much, and it really shouldn’t, but it does. The American version is one of those few Americanisms I can TRULY get worked up about. It sounds stupid and it really grates when I hear it. Now, c’mere ya big lug and gis’ a hug. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2004, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/44 "2004-04-08T13:19:25Z")
> [@Shrinking Violet](#): > > Nope, I’m sorry - I’m absolutely sure you have _never_ heard a Suffolk accent … _sulks_ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![helieo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@helieo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/helieo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/45 "2004-04-10T00:14:31Z")
[QUOTE=bordelond] I once worked in New Orleans with an English waitress (from Surrey). The male staff constantly complimented her on her pleasant accent. She told me once that her accent was more or less the speech of the underclass in her hometown./QUOTE] The thing is with England is, the way you speak determines which social class you were born into. If you have a regional accent it pretty much means that you came from a working class family. If you come from the north and go to a private school you still speak the “Queen’s English”. So if you call pull off a fake posh accent people will think you were born into money. The thing with America is, if you have an English accent, everyone loves it no matter what. I was born in South London but came to the US 17 years ago; I still have an English accent (not quite Cockney 'cause my parents are both Irish), and for the longest time I would find that the numerous people every day telling me how my accent was adorable extremely demeaning. Now I work in retail and I still get the accent comments (every f\*cking day), though in (un)fairness to most Americans they think I am from: a: Australia b: Ireland c: England Now I just smile and take it. They can’t help it. I used to think my accent was a detriment but now I try and use it to my advantage. ---
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/46 "2004-04-10T03:21:28Z")
> [@helieo](#): > > The thing is with England is, the way you speak determines which social class you were born into. If you have a regional accent it pretty much means that you came from a working class family. If you come from the north and go to a private school you still speak the “Queen’s English”. So if you call pull off a fake posh accent people will think you were born into money. The thing with America is, if you have an English accent, everyone loves it no matter what. It’s much the same in Australia. When I was younger, one could usually tell if someone had gone to a private school as opposed to a Catholic or public school by the way they spoke. Not quite so obvious these days as many Catholic school and public school kids have adopted the college accent. > [@helieo](#): > > Now I work in retail and I still get the accent comments (every f\*cking day), though in (un)fairness to most Americans they think I am from: > > a: Australia > b: Ireland > c: England > > . I’m from South Australia but both Americans and Australians from the eastern states have mistaken me for English. English people have thought me one of their own or mistaken me for a Kiwi, and only a couple of New Zealanders have picked me for an Aussie so I guess it’s not always easy to tell. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/47 "2004-04-10T03:56:54Z")
Do any of you have the habit of picking up the accent of people who speak English as a second language? I don’t do it intentionally. Once I had a boyfriend who was a Dane. Even when we visited my parents, I spoke English with a Danish accent. I wasn’t trying to be pretentious. I just couldn’t seem to help myself. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/48 "2004-04-10T13:35:22Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by Nutty Bunny_ > There’s something sexy about an Australian accent. > [@](#): > > _originally posted by Maureen_ > Australian accents make me swoon; my first bf was Aussie. Can anyone explain this? I just don’t get why we’re so damned attractive. Any novelty accent is cool, but i’m really into U.S accents. Boston ones are pretty cool, but southern chicks rock my world. Did anyone see Darrah on the last Survivor? It wasn’t her looks, it was the way she spoke! Day-umn! Also, real, all-American mid-west accents. Particularly if spoken by a perky blond cheerleader from Iowa or something. Mmm. > [@](#): > > _originally posted by Ross_ > Everybody who thinks they like Scottish accents should spend a couple of days hanging around the poorer areas of Glasgow. Our local hardman accent (that of the neds) is a whining, nasal thing that even a mother couldn’t love. Have you seen the film _Sweet Sixteen_? Cuz, weren’t they neds? And if that’s what neds sound like, hey, bring on the neds. ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/49 "2004-04-10T13:39:14Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > _sulks_ > > 😉 Nehw doan’ tayk affens Grilla … 😉 I find Suffolk very difficult to represent textually - there are vowel sounds which simply don’t exist elsewhere in the Universe, and emanate from so far back in the throat they seem to come from the knees! 😃 BTW - although Suffolk born and bred, the only time in my life I’ve spoken with a Suffolk accent has been since I left the area, and talk with my family on the phone - doesn’t happen when I visit them. Very weird! ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/50 "2004-04-10T13:54:39Z")
I LOVE a British accent! But beyond the accents, I also like the _way_ they say things. For exampe: _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_: Hermione is explaining to the boys why they aren’t in any danger of being caught. Moaning Myrtle haunts that bathroom and no one ever goes in there. Hermione says > [@](#): > > It’s awful having a pee when Moaning Myrtle’s about. So polite and genteel. 🙂 An American girl Hermione’s age would have said, > [@](#): > > You can’t pee in there 'cause that damned ghost keeps bothering you! ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/51 "2004-04-10T16:25:53Z")
I love Polish and Russian accents. Think it must be the echoes of the cold war. I also love certain American South accents, particularly Georgia and Florida, and RP British accents - which is handy, as I hear an awful lot of those! @ **Bojangles** - I have a ‘standard English accent,’ and I say sekretry with three syllables. I’m also a teacher of English as a Foreign Language, and that’s the pronunciation I teach, because it’s the accepted BE pronunciation, not slovenly at all. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/52 "2004-04-10T20:59:33Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Do any of you have the habit of picking up the accent of people who speak English as a second language? I don’t do it intentionally. I pick up all accents. When I’m around my dear friend from Australia for a weekend, I come away sounding vaguely Australian. When I talk on the phone with any of the home folks from Mississippi, I come away sounding like Scarlett O’Hara. When I worked in an office with a Chicagoan and a Minnesotan, I had very broad vowel sounds almost constantly. One of my weirdest accent mindbinders came when I spent a weekend with my former pastor, from Chicago, his wife, from The Bronx, and a bunch of visitors from Poland and Czechoslovakia. After that weekend, I wasn’t even sure if I spoke English anymore. My new favorite hobby is listening to British celebrities speak extemporaneously, in interviews and the like, and trying to place their accents. Some are tricky – Sting, for instance, affects a very good public school lad until he slips on certain words and his working-class Geordie roots (well, Wallsend, really) come flying right out of his mouth. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/53 "2004-04-11T15:47:11Z")
I empathize completely, _TeaElle_. I’m a born Chicagoan, raised by people who had heavy South-Side Chicago accents (for those not in the know, these are the people who say “one, two, tree” and “dese, dem and doze.”) I worked to get rid of my Southsider accent, although most people who hear me speak can still guess my birthplace within thirty miles. And I pick up accents as well. I once worked in an office with a man who was born in Dublin, Ireland, a woman from Georgia, and another guy who was from Brooklyn. We’re talking some fun accents here. At the end of the day, no one could understand me. But back to Brits - maybe a British Doper can help me out here. What is the deal with “piss” ? I’ve heard English people use the word piss in SO many contexts: “He was completely pissed” - drunk “This is a piece of piss” - easy “I was just pissing about” - puttering “Aw, he was just taking the piss” - teasing “Piss off” - go away “I need a piss” - urination “I’m pissed off” - angry The last two are really the only ones in standard use in America, as far as I know, but I really love the idea of one word being so useful! Is this pretty standard among Brits, or have I just been listening to wankers? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/54 "2004-04-11T16:06:09Z")
The Wigan accent is sooooooooooo underrated. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551/55 "2004-04-11T22:09:22Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > But back to Brits - maybe a British Doper can help me out here. What is the deal with “piss” ? I’ve heard English people use the word piss in SO many contexts: > > “He was completely pissed” - drunk > “This is a piece of piss” - easy > “I was just pissing about” - puttering > “Aw, he was just taking the piss” - teasing > “Piss off” - go away > “I need a piss” - urination > “I’m pissed off” - angry > > The last two are really the only ones in standard use in America, as far as I know, but I really love the idea of one word being so useful! Is this pretty standard among Brits, or have I just been listening to wankers? 🙂 I would say standard. Pretty standard in Ireland and Australasia too. Maybe not _everyone_ would use those phrases but everyone would certainly understand them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-i-love-your-pronunciations/238551.md?page=2)