# He Thinks All Short Men Rest On Their Laurels: An Accents Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 11, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171 "2008-09-11T22:19:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/21 "2008-09-12T02:27:38Z")
This is a great thread, actually. I have listened to everyone’s contributions 3-4 times. **jsgoddess** ’ voice is beautiful, worthy of reading books. Everybody sounds so interesting! I wish I could do mine now, but I need to hunt down my headset (that’ll work, right, since I don’t have a mike?) Where is the quote from? What does it mean? ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/22 "2008-09-12T02:42:52Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Where is the quote from? What does it mean? Check out the link at the top of the OP. It was another poster’s example sentence to illustrate the difference between his perceptions of England English and American English. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/23 "2008-09-12T02:45:21Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > **jsgoddess** ’ voice is beautiful, worthy of reading books. Thanks! I’ve done a lot of poetry readings for various broadcasts, but I haven’t had the opportunity to record prose. I’d love to try it. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/24 "2008-09-12T02:56:26Z")
Oh boy! Another Vocal Samples Thread! Here’s [me](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/thread3/laurels.mp3). Southern Ontario born and bred. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/25 "2008-09-12T02:58:20Z")
Aw…I tried mine but my mike gets too much static, even when I speak really close. I’ll try again tomorrow… ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/26 "2008-09-12T03:00:07Z")
**JSGoddess** - I second that you have a beautiful voice. And all you Irish and UK dopers do, too. I can’t decide who is sexier-sounding - Mangetout or An Gadai. I wonder if there’s a built-in microphone on my computer somewhere? StG ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/27 "2008-09-12T03:29:39Z")
After listening to the other samples, I had fits recording the line with my own voice. My own accent is a bit of a muddle, so I tend to mimic others. Regardless, here it is: [Box](http://www.box.net/shared/398ya4x0fu) I grew up in Louisiana, and I’ve lived in Texas for the past 12 years. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/28 "2008-09-12T03:41:03Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I’m down in SE Ohio, the Appalachian part. I don’t exactly have a standard accent for around here. My mom was very strict with us when it came to pronunciations. I was gonna say. I grew up in Zanesville and you really, _really_ don’t sound like you’re from around there. This may be taken as a compliment. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/29 "2008-09-12T03:44:04Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I was gonna say. I grew up in Zanesville and you really, _really_ don’t sound like you’re from around there. > > This may be taken as a compliment. 🙂 Zanesville! I’m in Perry County. No laughing. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/30 "2008-09-12T04:40:21Z")
[Laurels](http://www.box.net/shared/b09akk5h11). [Gettysburg address](http://www.box.net/shared/gcsiinzfnq). ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/31 "2008-09-12T05:32:17Z")
[Here’s me](http://www.box.net/shared/9ypacfp6ai). Raised from age 2 in West Central Florida by a Hoosier mother. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/32 "2008-09-12T08:02:12Z")
And now something exotic… [http://www.box.net/shared/tj61mijg9s](http://www.box.net/shared/tj61mijg9s) (Germany, obviously) Listening to your own voice is always a bit odd but a foreign language adds a whole new layer of strangeness. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/33 "2008-09-12T08:38:04Z")
I have no way (that I know of) to record my voice, which sounds one way when I am doing it for someone and other ways in other situations, but glory, the audio porn in this thread. Even one of the two slightly lispy voices worked. I was born in California, but I was raised on Upper Midlands (a lot of TV broadcasts, a lot of a very exacting father’s voice), so that’s what I sound like. But I can slide into any accent I’m exposed to given a little time to get the phoneme change right, if only for the duration of the exposition. Useful for fitting in in new places. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/34 "2008-09-12T10:11:34Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Merchant Ivory. 🙂 More Radio 4, I thought. I was expecting the shipping forecast. [This is me.](http://www.veeblefetzer.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/Short%20men.wav) ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/35 "2008-09-12T12:48:35Z")
[Me.](http://www.box.net/shared/oe8600ptv7) Born and (mainly) raised in the East Midlands. ---
**Author:** ![Sqwerticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@Sqwerticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sqwerticus)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/36 "2008-09-12T14:04:13Z")
Gah! I knew I should’ve created a different account for my soundclip. Some charmer has now hacked that one up there (post #15) and trashed everything else that was stored in it. ---
**Author:** ![ShakWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@ShakWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShakWave)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/37 "2008-09-12T14:12:31Z")
My voice file is at the link below, try to guess where I’m from. [http://www.box.net/shared/7caztnxs8n](http://www.box.net/shared/7caztnxs8n) ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/38 "2008-09-12T14:21:51Z")
Mmmmm I love Mangetout’s voice! He sounds like Jude Law, who I listened to all last weekend as narrator of A Series of Unfortunate Events. I’m going to record mine now … Fun! ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/39 "2008-09-12T14:22:10Z")
> [@iampunha](#): > > I have no way (that I know of) to record my voice, which sounds one way when I am doing it for someone and other ways in other situations, but glory, the audio porn in this thread. Even one of the two slightly lispy voices worked. Do you have a cellphone? That’s how I do my samples. I use the audio recorder on it and then send the file to my computer via e-mail or Bluetooth. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171/40 "2008-09-12T14:31:51Z")
[Here’s my sample](http://www.box.net/shared/ftb1nlrpj9) I live in Central Kentucky, in the heart of thoroughbred horse country. I’ve never lived anywhere else. When I hear recordings of myself, I think I sound like a big old hick. See what you think. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-thinks-all-short-men-rest-on-their-laurels-an-accents-thread/463171.md?page=3)