# Do British and Irish people have a hard time understanding Americans speak? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2008, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903 "2008-09-10T05:01:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/222 "2010-09-15T10:41:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Here’s some examples of a [regional](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy_VjNkvIy0&feature=related) [Maine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecg_WizWicQ&feature=related) [accent](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAj8X4Y8SNw). How does it sound to people from Britain or Ireland? Sounds kind of Canadian. They seem to do that “aboat” thing. You also notice the “Septembah”, “neighbah” etc. It did actually remind me a bit of the Kennedys, Mayor Joe Quimby etc., although I thought people insisted that the Kennedy accent was unique to them. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/223 "2010-09-15T11:05:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Here’s some examples of a [regional](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy_VjNkvIy0&feature=related) [Maine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecg_WizWicQ&feature=related) [accent](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAj8X4Y8SNw). How does it sound to people from Britain or Ireland? As Ximenean says, they sound a bit Canadian mixed with _Kennedian_ :). Am I right in saying though that all those people linked are exaggerating the accents a tad for comic effect? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/224 "2010-09-15T14:43:55Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > > Here’s some examples of a [regional](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy_VjNkvIy0&feature=related) [Maine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecg_WizWicQ&feature=related) [accent](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAj8X4Y8SNw). How does it sound to people from Britain or Ireland? > > As Ximenean says, they sound a bit Canadian mixed with _Kennedian_ :). Am I right in saying though that all those people linked are exaggerating the accents a tad for comic effect? Probably. But I think [these](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VE2f-dg7qI) are authentic. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/225 "2010-09-15T15:06:56Z")
Some of those do occasionally sound a bit British. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still very definitely American and would be instantly identified as such by any Brit, but some of those vowel sounds are interesting. When Vern Ray from Greene says “probably [about] half an hour at a time” at 1:53, that could almost be an English farmer speaking. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/226 "2010-09-15T15:12:48Z")
> [@paulsroom](#): > > At work there is a guy from Glasgow in Scotland, who’s accent is so strong that most people have to ask him to repeat everything he says. You have to have a first pass at what he says then sort it out on a second hearing. I once saw an English film shown with English sub-titles, and I thought that this was odd. But the film was about Glasgow, and I soon realised that I needed the English sub-titles! I, a non-native speaker, was once asked by a Glaswegian friend “Do you really understand what T. from Elgin is saying? I don’t understand a single word”. The thing is, she also has a very thick accent and I have to concentrate hard when both are talking. I guess she might not have that habit when listening to someone talking her own language. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/227 "2010-09-15T15:32:28Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > > [@Cisco](#): > > > > Why? It’s not like I’ve ever even seen Marry Poppins. I’ve known a lot of Brits in the flesh. The lady I bought my last 2 cars from is from London, and she calls me all the time and yabs on forever about how she finks she can get me into a new moduww. I’ve been to England. That’s how I hear it. Ls and Rs are dropped or severely muted and TH is F or V. At least in my ears. > > Amazing. Amazing indeed. I’ve met tens of thousands of Brits and never come across anyone who spoke like that (apart from Dick Van Dyke). It reads like a ludicrously exaggerated parody of old-fashioned cockney. I suspect you were/are having the piss taken out of you. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/228 "2010-09-15T15:33:19Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > It’s a feature of most _English_ accents. It’s not found in Scottish or Irish accents, and I think not in Welsh. Glaswegian also has the intrusive R, so this isn’t strictly correct. To throw a spanner in the works re. the yanks, let’s try the [Outer Banks](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXs9cf2YWwg) accents. A couple - and just a couple - of the vowel sounds are strikingly West Country (“High Tide” = “Hoy Toyd”). The rest sounds American in a weird way, but those vowels really stand out. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/229 "2010-09-15T15:35:22Z")
> [@tagos](#): > > > [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > > > Amazing. > > Amazing indeed. I’ve met tens of thousands of Brits and never come across anyone who spoke like that (apart from Dick Van Dyke). It reads like a ludicrously exaggerated parody of old-fashioned cockney. I suspect you were/are having the piss taken out of you. You’re saying you’ve NEVER heard a Brit change a TH for an F, or drop the L off the end of a word . . . so if I go out of my way to find audio/video clips of native Britons doing this, you’ll be completely blown away? ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/230 "2010-09-15T16:49:37Z")
> [@tagos](#): > > > [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > > > Amazing. > > Amazing indeed. I’ve met tens of thousands of Brits and never come across anyone who spoke like that (apart from Dick Van Dyke). It reads like a ludicrously exaggerated parody of old-fashioned cockney. I suspect you were/are having the piss taken out of you. Watch\* Eastenders\* some time. Trust me, plenty of Londoners promounce “th” as “f” or “v”. BTW, tens of thousands of Brits? That’s more than I’ve met, and I’ve been one for 36 years! ---
**Author:** ![paulsroom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de053/32.png) [@paulsroom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulsroom)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/231 "2010-09-15T17:16:25Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > > [@tagos](#): > > > > I’m going to charitably assume this is a whoosh. > > Why? It’s not like I’ve ever even seen Marry Poppins. I’ve known a lot of Brits in the flesh. The lady I bought my last 2 cars from is from London, and she calls me all the time and yabs on forever about how she finks she can get me into a new moduww. I’ve been to England. That’s how I hear it. Ls and Rs are dropped or severely muted and TH is F or V. At least in my ears. I wouldn’t say that the change of th to f is actually a feature of accent or even dialect. Th is a difficult sound to produce if you haven’t mastered it already, It requires the tongue to press against the top front teeth and then blow through. F is a much easier sound, so some people use it - incorrectly okay, but it’s not always a feature of their accent. I’ve known people to say flim instead of film, because the i and the l look so similar when written. Likewise, I’ve heard people say Pacific for specific and this time it’s because of the mixture of s sounds made by all the c’s and the s. They simply get confused. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/232 "2010-09-15T17:21:39Z")
> [@paulsroom](#): > > I wouldn’t say that the change of th to f is actually a feature of accent or even dialect. Th is a difficult sound to produce if you haven’t mastered it already, It requires the tongue to press against the top front teeth and then blow through. F is a much easier sound, so some people use it - incorrectly okay, but it’s not always a feature of their accent. It’s not an issue of difficulty. It is a feature of particular accents. The [ð] and [θ] phones simply do not exist in certain dialects. Once you reach a certain age, it is difficult to learn any new phone. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/233 "2010-09-15T17:44:50Z")
Hijack time: This is an old thread. While reading it I noticed that **Chowder** hasn’t posted here since last January. What the hell happened to **Chowder**? He was a prolific poster for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/234 "2010-09-15T19:17:12Z")
> [@paulsroom](#): > > But then even English words can confuse us Brits. Where I live there is a town called Cosham and another called Bosham. Cosham is pronounced as it looks, but Bosham is pronounced Bozam. Only the locals would know this, although the train announcements at the station are correct, and don’t try to say Bosham. LOL. Some of the posher people in Cosham try to insist that it’s ‘Cozam’ ---
**Author:** ![paulsroom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de053/32.png) [@paulsroom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulsroom)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/235 "2010-09-15T22:49:13Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > > [@paulsroom](#): > > > > But then even English words can confuse us Brits. Where I live there is a town called Cosham and another called Bosham. Cosham is pronounced as it looks, but Bosham is pronounced Bozam. Only the locals would know this, although the train announcements at the station are correct, and don’t try to say Bosham. > > LOL. Some of the posher people in Cosham try to insist that it’s ‘Cozam’ Yes, I’m aware of the fact that some people say Cozam instead of Cosham, but it is not so universally accepted (and by that I mean locally) in the way that the sh sound is z in Bosham. And what gives credibility to this is that the train announcements distinguish the two. So they have done their research and not tried to pander to any specific group - simply followed the historical precedent. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/236 "2010-09-16T14:57:48Z")
> [@paulsroom](#): > > I wouldn’t say that the change of th to f is actually a feature of accent or even dialect. No, it really is. I’m surprised to hear fellow Brits disputing this. [Th-fronting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th-fronting) (yeah it’s Wikipedia but it has good cites at the bottom). Incidentally I spent most of my childhood in Bosham. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/237 "2010-09-16T17:59:14Z")
I visited Bosham for the first time in my life last weekend (although I’ve been to Cosham many times) - lovely place. Must go back there at high spring tide to see the cars get washed away. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/238 "2010-09-16T21:37:57Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > > [@tagos](#): > > > > Amazing indeed. I’ve met tens of thousands of Brits and never come across anyone who spoke like that (apart from Dick Van Dyke). It reads like a ludicrously exaggerated parody of old-fashioned cockney. I suspect you were/are having the piss taken out of you. > > You’re saying you’ve NEVER heard a Brit change a TH for an F, or drop the L off the end of a word . . . so if I go out of my way to find audio/video clips of native Britons doing this, you’ll be completely blown away? No, it was more about the hilarious defence you’ve mounted for a post pages ago. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/239 "2010-09-17T03:30:50Z")
Yinz tahk weird an’at. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/240 "2010-09-17T04:42:20Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Sounds kind of Canadian. They seem to do that “aboat” thing. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, for using an approximation of the pronunciation which actually approximates the pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903/241 "2010-09-17T04:47:13Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > > [@Cisco](#): > > > > You’re saying you’ve NEVER heard a Brit change a TH for an F, or drop the L off the end of a word . . . so if I go out of my way to find audio/video clips of native Britons doing this, you’ll be completely blown away? > > No, it was more about the hilarious defence you’ve mounted for a post pages ago. Huh? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-and-irish-people-have-a-hard-time-understanding-americans-speak/462903.md?page=13)