# Most unintelligible english accent **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2007, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692 "2007-12-20T11:36:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/21 "2007-12-20T18:27:53Z")
it has got to be the north east of Scotland, specifically Aberdeen and the Torry area. It is a dialect known as Doric > **[Doric dialect (Scotland)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doric_dialect_%28Scotland%29)** > > Doric, the popular name for Mid Northern Scots or Northeast Scots, refers to the Scots language as spoken in the northeast of Scotland. There is an extensive body of literature, mostly poetry, ballads, and songs, written in Doric. In some literary works, Doric is used as the language of conversation while the rest of the work is in Lallans Scots or British English. A number of 20th and 21st century poets have written poetry in the Doric dialect. > The term "Doric" was formerly used to refer to ... Incomprehensible ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/22 "2007-12-20T18:45:24Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] As I understand it, Pikey isn’t a very kind term for the same thing I described. [/QUOTE] “Pikey” is an insulting word for “Gypsy”. Recently, though, “pikey” has come to mean members of a lower class. Brad Pitt’s character wasn’t a Gypsy in the strictest sense of the word (depsite what the script said) but a member of the Irish travelling community, which has preserved an Irish dialect, often despite generations in England. For a stereotypical Irish impression of the Irish traveller accent, see the character [Bridie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpAGNyAsdN0) from the satirical cartoon series _Thinkzoo_, who is equally unintelligible. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/23 "2007-12-20T19:13:48Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] “Pikey” is an insulting word for “Gypsy”. Recently, though, “pikey” has come to mean members of a lower class. [/QUOTE] I’d say that it’s more specifically come to mean petty thiefs. With consequential verbing. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/24 "2007-12-20T19:25:26Z")
1. Scottish. A group of Scottish curlers visited my curling club last year, and I struggled to understand most of them. 2. Appalachian. To my ears, many in deep Appalachia sound like _King of the Hill_’s Boomhauer, only “twangier.” Consider that many in Appalachia were descended from Scots-Irish immigrants. 3. I will do the needful and oblige very very much please and most kindly choose the Indian accent very very much please yaar. If you include those that don’t seak English as a first language, I’ll pick the English spoken by Chinese grad students in the US. It’s very breathy and barely enunciated. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/25 "2007-12-20T20:00:50Z")
I’ll pick any rural Irish accent spoken by someone over 70 with badly fitting dentures i.e. about 90% of my current patients, who are almost unintelligible to me without a lot of effort. ---
**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:** [December 20, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/26 "2007-12-20T20:07:54Z")
[QUOTE=Lobsang] The Scotish almost universally hate the English. It’s a kind of prerequisit of being Scotish. [/QUOTE] That’s utter pish. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/27 "2007-12-20T22:19:21Z")
Years ago, I was in France. Chartres, to be precise. I was in the cathedral, looking at a sign that explained some historical thing about the cathedral. The sign was in English, among other languages. A man was standing next to me, explaining something to his young son. I didn’t realize the man was speaking English until he started speaking numbers (he was telling his son what year the cathedral was built or something). Turned out he was Scottish. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/28 "2007-12-20T23:12:54Z")
If we’re including Americans speaking incomprehensible English I nominate Snoop from the HBO series “The Wire”. I just watched season 4 and I’ll be damned if I understood a word she said. Even when I backed up, turned up the volume and tried again. ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/29 "2007-12-20T23:15:19Z")
Inner-city Glasgow is the most incomprehensible English language accent. There’s not just one Glaswegian accent you know. Not the most annoying mind you. That’s reserved from anyone in the North. Geordies, Scousers & the like. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/30 "2007-12-20T23:37:58Z")
i’m going to second West Kerry. There’s a guy down at the pub who I’ve been talking to for 15 years and I have never understood a word he has said. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/31 "2007-12-20T23:47:07Z")
I used to know someone from Glasgow, and his accent was perfectly clear to me. There must be localised areas within the city that have more unintelligibly thick accents. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/32 "2007-12-20T23:51:06Z")
Any good YouTube videos displaying incomprehensible English? ---
**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:** [December 21, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/33 "2007-12-21T00:19:03Z")
[Jamaican](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlYR9xxn7Cs&feature=related) can be tough to follow. ---
**Author:** ![stucco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@stucco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stucco)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/34 "2007-12-21T00:20:56Z")
Glasgow. I spent a semester in Edinburgh and didn’t have that much of a problem understanding people (except on the telephone). Central Glasgow was ok, but when we ended up at a flea market outside the tourist area – everyone suddenly became incomprehensible. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/35 "2007-12-21T00:28:24Z")
[QUOTE=Mangosteen] Any good YouTube videos displaying incomprehensible English? [/QUOTE] [Of course](http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1D5AfX4YUag). ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/36 "2007-12-21T00:30:18Z")
[QUOTE=stucco] Glasgow. I spent a semester in Edinburgh and didn’t have that much of a problem understanding people (except on the telephone). Central Glasgow was ok, but when we ended up at a flea market outside the tourist area – everyone suddenly became incomprehensible. [/QUOTE] That sounds like you went to the Barras. Um, they speak Barrasish there, not Glaswegian 😃 Edit: Typo ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/37 "2007-12-21T00:53:31Z")
[QUOTE=Mangosteen] Any good YouTube videos displaying incomprehensible English? [/QUOTE] [http://www.youtube.com/results?search\_query=john+smeaton&search=Search](http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=john+smeaton&search=Search) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/38 "2007-12-21T00:58:42Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] I’d say that it’s more specifically come to mean petty thiefs. With consequential verbing. [/QUOTE] Not where I live, anyway. It’s applied to welfare recipients, beggars, Big Issue sellers, people who would shop at Iceland for their Christmas dinner, etc. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/39 "2007-12-21T01:07:08Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] [http://www.youtube.com/results?search\_query=john+smeaton&search=Search](http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=john+smeaton&search=Search) [/QUOTE] Aha, the man who smacked the shit out of a terrorist _who was on fire_. Top bloke. I’m amazed the [CNN report](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krtRxSpR5f0&feature=related) doesn’t have subtitles. “He’s a big boy but he’s nae fer bein’ subdued.” ---
**Author:** ![Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bag_of_mostly_water/32/1029_2.png) [@Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bag_of_Mostly_Water)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692/40 "2007-12-21T02:33:29Z")
I needed to turn on subtitles to understand [this movie](http://imdb.com/title/tt0298203/). I also spent some time near Newcastle and found the accent equally incomprehensible. The Edinburgh accent is a very close third. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-unintelligible-english-accent/430692.md?page=3)