accents that most irk you

[GeckoGeek]

Re: accents that most irk you

Maddie

How is she doing?

Like everyone else, the accents that bother me are the ones I can't understand. By in large, an English or British accents are not a problem, but some of those Filipino ones can be hard!

[Vanguard]

Re: accents that most irk you

Least favorite accent: Russian

Most favorite accent: New Zealand

[DannyWilliams]

Re: accents that most irk you

Don't be hating on others on their accents.....

I find it fascinating! You zero right in and can tell where they are from and want to know MORE MORE!

And its not having the trouble of understanding the way the words are coming out of their mouths...... Its their lingo that gets misunderstood.

We should learn from each other cause what we say here may go by as something else here in the United States and where they are from may be similar or unheard of

[Surfingfarmboy]

Re: accents that most irk you

As an "outsider" (and will remain as one, evidently as long as I'm in town) living in the heart of New England, I find the regional accents spoken here interesting. I find the local propensity to drop "R"s where they exist in a word, while adding them to words that don't have them, somewhat unique among English speakers. Example: Most English speakers in the US will say "I went to Fall River to get a pizza." A hard core New Englander (especially one from the Cape Cod area) will say "I went to Fall Rivah to get a pizzer. Or for example, "My father had a hernier operation" (Instead of hernia). Loam (an arable soil) is pronounced "loom". The Sox, as in Boston Red Sox, becomes "Sawx".

I'm not really irked by accents. I find that that they add charm and individual character to the overall distinctiveness of a region.

[Honoruru]

Re: accents that most irk you

I agree with many here that the only accents that "irk" me are in situations where I need to understand what's being said, but can't ... like talking to a tech support person on the telephone, or "as Buzz mentions" at a drive thru intercom.

But quite often, I find unexpected pleasure in unexpected accents. I remember one day, about ten years ago, I was at Ala Moana Shopping Center when three local ladies (all in their 70s or 80s) came up to me to ask me where See's Candy had moved. They were from Kauai, and hadn't been to Oahu in a long time. They talked to me in heavy (and I mean heavy) pidgin. I'm local and grew up with pidgin, but their pidgin was a little different. I could understand what they were saying, but I had to really work at it. Here and there, words and phrases came up that I had not heard since the 50's. And some that I had never heard at all. They were here for an adventure. "Yeah, we rascals," they said, and everyone broke out laughing, including me. Meeting them made my day.

Even pidgin can have different accents ... different places, different times.

[SusieMisajon]

Re: accents that most irk you

I'm getting sick of the French accent.

[cynsaligia]

Re: accents that most irk you

as a local born filipina whose parents and grandparents came from the mother country, frank delima's and gregg hammer's versions of the filipino accent is offensive. they're badly done and for me, NOT funny. every time i hear either of them go, "nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah..." as a precursor to each sentence, i want to punch em straight in the eye. that's like saying every old japanese man exclaims 'YOOOOOOSH!" every time he opens his mouth.

and frank's filipino christmas song ticks me off, too.

i'm not saying don't use my people's accents in a humorous setting. i'm saying, if you're gonna do an accent and make it such a part of your act that you become known for it, then do the damn accent right.

i just remembered that gregg is part pinoy. if that's the case, then he really has no excuse.

[buzz1941]

Re: accents that most irk you

I'm getting sick of the French accent.

A primary reason that English is becoming the "international" language is because it doesn't rely on intonation to get the meaning across. No matter how badly things are pronounced, the essential meaning generally gets through. That's why it's used world-wide by air traffic control.

[cezanne]

Re: accents that most irk you

Hate the tone, don't hate the accent.

[Mike_Lowery]

Re: accents that most irk you

as a local born filipina whose parents and grandparents came from the mother country, frank delima's and gregg hammer's versions of the filipino accent is offensive. they're badly done and for me, NOT funny. every time i hear either of them go, "nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah..." as a precursor to each sentence, i want to punch em straight in the eye. that's like saying every old japanese man exclaims 'YOOOOOOSH!" every time he opens his mouth.

and frank's filipino christmas song ticks me off, too.

i'm not saying don't use my people's accents in a humorous setting. i'm saying, if you're gonna do an accent and make it such a part of your act that you become known for it, then do the damn accent right.

i just remembered that gregg is part pinoy. if that's the case, then he really has no excuse.

I'll co-sign this.

[EastCoastTropics]

Re: accents that most irk you

As an "outsider" (and will remain as one, evidently as long as I'm in town) living in the heart of New England, I find the regional accents spoken here interesting. I find the local propensity to drop "R"s where they exist in a word, while adding them to words that don't have them, somewhat unique among English speakers. Example: Most English speakers in the US will say "I went to Fall River to get a pizza." A hard core New Englander (especially one from the Cape Cod area) will say "I went to Fall Rivah to get a pizzer. Or for example, "My father had a hernier operation" (Instead of hernia). Loam (an arable soil) is pronounced "loom". The Sox, as in Boston Red Sox, becomes "Sawx".

I'm not really irked by accents. I find that that they add charm and individual character to the overall distinctiveness of a region.

I sometimes find myself saying cawn't instead can't. And I too sometimes drop my 'R' especially in my surname pronouncing the 'r' in my name as an 'awh'.

I love accents and find them fascinating. I remember when I was a little girl telling my mom that I couldn't understand a word her father was saying. He had a very, very thick filipino accent and she told me that the secret was to listen carefully to each word. I've since taken that advice and usually have no problems understanding someone with an accent.

[Peshkwe]

Re: accents that most irk you

I've got a weird accent.

I just recently was told I had a cute accent that sounded German. I was born and raised in Detroit, my school teacher brother says I speak in early eubonics...Diver Down thought I was from Fargo.

It's an odd sing-songy thing that goes getto with a Canadian flavor when I get extreme.

[tutusue]

Re: accents that most irk you

[...]It's an odd sing-songy thing that goes getto with a Canadian flavor when I get extreme.

I can't wait to meet you irl!!!

[glossyp]

Re: accents that most irk you

Madonna's upper-class British accent that she has affected since moving to the UK. Accents that come from where a person was born and/or raised do not bother me. Phony ones put on in adulthood are just plain weird.

That being said, I knew a woman who was from somewhere in the western U.S. and she was a very successful real estate agent on Guam. When I first met her I couldn't believe the way she talked to various customers. When speaking to a Filipino she would use a Filipino accent, talking to a Korean she would use a Korean accent and so on and so forth. I could not believe that people were not incredibly offended by what I initially perceived as condescending treatment. What I found out was that because she was always completely fair and professional in her treatment of customers, people trusted her and didn't think twice about that rather strange mode of communication. I guess what is in your heart is communicated much more loudly than the way it is said, if others are listening well.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: accents that most irk you

Madonna's upper-class British accent that she has affected since moving to the UK. Accents that come from where a person was born and/or raised do not bother me. Phony ones put on in adulthood are just plain weird.

I used to work with someone who had affected a British accent (he lived there for a few years as an adolescent.) Two other co-workers (who were from the UK) called it a "Lee Press-On Accent."

Note to Tikiyaki: you know this person, sort of. He wanted to hire your "orchestra" for a tour in Seattle.