Post in your accent!

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Uiy doon't noo wat yrrr tlkin aboot. Uiy doon't hev un ucksent.

Ok, it isn't quite that heavy anymore, as I no longer live on the border with Ontario, but you get the picture.

Lanky accent topic

Your recording is not compatible with my Windows 11.

It might sound similar to a Yorkshire/ Manchester accent.

Laike ah sayed, it's hard t' taype the' accent if people cain't hear instead.

That's quite a difficult thing to do. As I see it, I usually just speak standard English, with a few geordie pronunciations here and there, but I suppose my accent would seem distinctive to people from different places; for example, Americans seem to usually pronounce "can't" as something like "caynt", while we English people usually say "Carnt".

Well, let's take a look at this: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/accent

Now, it's a very long list, but these particular definitions seem relevant: "a mode of pronunciation, as pitch or tone, emphasis pattern, or intonation, characteristic of or peculiar to the speech of a particular person, group, or locality" and "such a mode of pronunciation recognized as being of foreign origin". Well, neither of those recognise the concept of a certain language variety being "correct", so that's irrelevant; the fact that standard English is standard doesn't mean it's not an accent. English speech is certainly peculiar to the English; we speak differently in England from the Irish, the Scottish, the Americans and just about anyone else who speaks our language. Which one is "correct" is irrelevant. Maybe you don't notice your accent because it's normal to you, but that doesn't mean you don't have one. Your speech is different from everyone else's, even if just because of a few little nuances, even just the tone of your voice. Now, as for the second definition, well, of course your pronunciation is not foreign to you, but it will be to the Americans. From your point of view, they have an accent; from theirs, you have an accent.

No. English is a language spoken in many countries around the world. The regional differences in pronunciation (in any language) are called "accents". More extreme regional variations are called "dialects".


quote]Actually, accents and dialects are different. As The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language puts it: "Accent refers only to distinctive pronunciation, whereas dialect refers to grammar and vocabulary as well." http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dialect You see? This definition mentions grammar and vocabulary, while, if you'll look at my previous post, the definition for "accent" does not. Please forgive my pedantry; language is one of my obsessions.