Faux accents...

[Cacophonix]

My sister has adopted this crystalline, chipped English accent. Our father is Afrikaans. I have photographs of us (i.e. me and my sis) holding hands on a beach in the Cape. I feel superior because I sound South African but am not an English barrister like her!

I blame my Afrikaans father for this. He would argue with my Anglo snob English mother. Their rows were legend. She clearly loved him, or the sex at least, and when their arguments were at their worst she would refuse to speak to him in anything but English. She of course, spoke perfect Afrikaans and he, of course, perfect English... In times of extremis he would refuse to understand her English as she would his Afrikaans. A bit like me trying to talk and make sense with BenThere I guess!

I guess the English won out in part of my family at least.

What does your accent say about you?

Caco

[Slasher]

What does your accent say about you?

It says I'm a real bloody irreverent unrefined rude crude larrikin mate!

[Cacophonix]

What does your accent say about you?

It says I'm a real bloody irreverent unrefined larrikin mate!

Strewth mate!

[bbvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNBy1D1Y0h4[/bbvideo]

Caco

[Capetonian]

Like the lady I got chatting to on a train in the UK who tried to convince me she was was from Cheltenham.
The colour of her skin was a bit of a giveaway and every now and then the accent betrayed her origins to the Cape Flats. Manenberg to be precise.

Or the Benoni girl I went out with once whose surname was Smit, but she was 'English'. She gave herself away by saying : Ha-h-ena instead of hyaena, cre-h-ate instead of create, and she drove a Toy-hota.

[ian16th]

Question:

If one has an accent, albeit regional or from speaking a different language as a 1st language, and that person takes lessons and now speaks with a different accent, is it a 'Faux' accent?

[A Lutra Continua]

One has no accent. You lot on the other hand...


TBQH I has been accused of being a filfy forriner, despite being borned and grootgemaak in ve Transvaal and living here my whole life. Die donderse mense dink ek's 'n uitlander.

[BackToAllNightLights]

What does your accent say about you?

A bit between here and there but always somewhere.

[Pontius Navigator]

Chap in the RAF had a Brummie accent you could cut with a knife. He was recommended for a commission but told to learn English first. He went to an elocutionist and it worked apart from one little thing.

HORSE

For some reason, instead of saying "Hey Shag", as most of us wot spoke proper did, he called every one Horse. Never found out why.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I'm not sure the accent matters as much as the vocabulary and the manners. Choosing the correct vocabulary and level of politeness for whomever you are speaking to makes a real difference to their willingness to accept and interact with you. What impresses the cognoscenti is that you have a selection of vocabularies and manners, and are able to select the correct ones for any given situation.
Arroight, my luvver?

[Groundgripper]

Brought up and educated in north west London, but whenever I went skiing in the States, I was continually being asked if I was australian.

On the other hand, when I was in New York I was asked by an american if I was from New England. My response was 'no sir, old England', which caused some amusement to all concerned.

GG

[Slasher]

Question:

If one has an accent, albeit regional or from speaking a different language as a 1st language, and that person takes lessons and now speaks with a different accent, is it a 'Faux' accent?

It is not knorn my friend. Brahma has bless mi with many tongue, yet Lakshmi continues to deny mi eartly welt. I dornor. As a poor farmer from the Gujarat I dorn't have enough rupee to learning what a "Faux" is. Do wite peo-p'ls use dat to eat?

Cannot lah. Guailo learn Singgish can ah, but ang mo no pretenn tork Brish Guy Fork wut like Singpor wun ok.

I spoze if yer bleedin' English lingo is orrite you can bung on one of them Folks accent thingys. Just don't go soundin' all real bluddy uppity and poshy or youz'l sound like yer torkin' outa yer flamin' bum.

That cleer as merd y'all?

[Pontius Navigator]

What impresses the cognoscenti is that you have a selection of vocabularies and manners, and are able to select the correct ones for any given situation.

So when there was some communications difficulty in communication with Karachi Tower the AEO put on his best Indian Curry accent and got through. The final response, in Eton English, was ". . . and you had better be a bloody Pakistani when you land."