bala

most of time i understand people from ireland saying but i have some i just havn't a clue what they saying so i just nod my head pretending i understand

shinny

I suppose the same could be said of a scouse, jordie or brummie accent, you know. Any lyrical accent is always harder to understand, but then that's what makes it unique. I think.

I do agree that we, in general, talk fast. However, I've learned to slow myself down from years of dealing with non Irish people!!

bala

if you go university you get good range people  accents-that how i learnt understand different people accent-i found that interesting

commando

If anyone's heard of Dara O'Briain or Dylan Moran - they are my stereotypes for strong Irish accents.
Geordie is easy - I know a couple. Brummie and Scouse are a bit different, don't know anyone from there so I don't really get them.
America-wise, I have no real problem, but what gets me is why every waitress says "ah-ha" at the end of a statement, e.g. "You have a nice day now, ah-ha" Any explanations?

kwargalla

Wow - I'm glad I was away for the weekend and missed the canada in not a state portion of the thread .  The only thing i'm gonna say about it is - Bala - during the winter yes parts of canada are really cold, other parts are moderately cold BUT during the summer it gets REALLY HOT.  Canada has 4 complete seasons.

waterlilybarb

Regarding the accent thing, I find it hilarious when people can't understand someone who is a native English speaker because of their accent.  I was channel surfing a couple years ago and saw a film with sub-titles.  I stopped, curious as to where it was from and what language it was.  They were speaking ENGLISH!   It was from Scotland - Glasgow, to be specific - and I know a Glaswegian accent is hard for some to understand.  I just found it very comical that there were English subtitles (and they weren't even correct ) on an English language film.  

The high school I went to was the center for English as a 2nd language students, and I have a good ear so was one of the few who could understand almost anyone - no matter how thick the accent.  Because of that, I was an English tutor for some of those students.  There are so many people being transplanted to different parts of the world now, that it's a huge asset to be able to understand broken English.  I WILL say, it's much harder to understand over the telephone though, and I sometimes wish more call centers would be located in places where the companies could be certain that people could understand the person trying to help them.

bala

Well it depends on what expose to-if you never heard something before in a diffrent accent it's difficult to understand.

casper27

I have heard that you are pretty good at mimicking accents Barb, How is your yorkshire accent?

shinny

The funniest thing that was ever said to me regarding my accent was when I was in New York a few years back. We got talking to some guys and girls from the UK. Out of nowhere one of them says "I can see now where the Irish twang on some of the New York accents comes from" I can't see it myself at all !!

The strangest thing that was every said to me was when I was in Macy's in San Francisco years ago. This perfume lady stopped us and we were chatting away to her and she said "Where are you guys from" and we said "Ireland" then she asked "Idaho?" and we said no "Ireland, in Europe" and she "Oh wow, your English is so good"
I hadn't the heart to tell her it was our first language so I would hope so. I'm still not sure where she really thought we were from !

waterlilybarb

When I'm around it, it's pretty good.  Some years back I was visiting friends.  They also had company from Doncaster, which I spent the day with (mostly the children).  In the evening another friend stopped by (who I'd known for years) and asked me how long I'd be in Canada.  Apparently my day with the kids had caused me to pick up their accent.  When I told him it was me, he said he thought I looked familiar, but the accent threw him off.

I have another friend from Australia who also enjoys doing other accents.  We discovered this upon our first meeting.  I was explaining how I knew where he was from - not where he lived, as I recognized his accent as a NSW one, and at that time he lived in Western Australia.  I said it was the same in Canada - that we had regional accents.  By the time he went back I asked him if he noticed the difference.  He said he could, somewhat, but that my accent was an original, as it was rarely the same.  Apparently my accent changes all the time, depending on the company I keep, the movies I've watched or the books I've read.  It's not conscious, but I found it amusing.

p.s.  That's too funny Shinny!  I wonder where she thought you were from?  I can't imagine she was so stupid as to think that people in Ireland don't speak English - there are plenty of Irish people in the States.

shinny

Quote:

Originally posted by waterlilybarb at 6-8-2008 20:18  

p.s.  That's too funny Shinny!  I wonder where she thought you were from?  I can't imagine she was so stupid as to think that people in Ireland don't speak English - there are plenty of Irish people in the States.

I dunno Barb, maybe she thought the same as Paris Hilton that all "Europeans" speak French

waterlilybarb

I wouldn't be shocked.  People can be stupid.

funny-girl101

Idaho's a state in the Northwest of the US. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho

Speaking of accents, geography and people being stupid...Shinny's story reminded me of this clip of Kellie Pickler's (from American Idol) appearance on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? a while ago. It's priceless.

waterlilybarb

I know where Idaho is!   

I saw that episode of the show.  She's sweet, but she's dumb.  Doesn't say a whole lot for the education system, that's for sure.

shinny

Oh that is hilarious. The face on Nathan when she said "I thought Europe was a Country" Very funny.

The Idaho thing was because she mis-heard me saying Ireland. We know were it is & so does she (I think ).
I was saying that after I thought she understood where Ireland was she said that we spoke great English, so I can only assume she either thought Ireland was somewhere else or we don't speak English here !

casper27

Thought this was hilarious when I saw it. I know it's old and based purely on an urban myth but funny as hell anyway.

[ Last edited by casper27 at 6-9-2008 18:44 ]

waterlilybarb

That's TOO funny!   Thanks Craig - that was just what I needed.

bala

it doesn't work for me

casper27

http://www.youtube.com/v/Bkt_jXHm6u0&hl=en
This is the direct link mate.

bala

ok, it worked

it was funny

OFF-SIDE RULE

[ Last edited by bala at 6-9-2008 17:30 ]