Well spoken?

Post Reply New Topic

Someone once told me that I am really well spoken and that most people don’t talk like that.

What do you think well spoken means in your opinion?

Posh.

They're saying you sound posh.

during my alcoholic days i was very essex chav
now i am well spoken
nobody said they dont like it why would they not like it ?
the people you hang about with in those silly bars

Received Pronunciation - Posh

Cockney - not so posh

(no insult to CockneyRebel!

Well-spoken doesn't necessarily mean RP.
imo it means a person is articulate, with a wide vocabulary.
It usually means the person is polite and considerate to others.

The opposite would be a boorish cad who swears and can't hold a conversation.

I know that....I meant more that the IMPRESSION is that RP is "posh."

Where I live, I think it means not speaking with a strong accent, because if you do people think you're Cletus the slack-jawed yokel. Look at Newfoundlanders, people in Canada are always making fun of the way they talk and there are maybe a million jokes about them being dumb.

From my direct experience, a well-spoken (or articulate) person enunciates clearly, uses proper syntax, and expresses a sesquipedalian vocabulary with ease.  This is often mistaken for condescension or an affectation of mental superiority.  Someone with this 'quirk' has a way with words and can explain complicated things simply, clearly, and effectively.

Of course, there is also the negative aspect of being called "Well-Spoken": The person telling you this may actually be trying to tell you in a nice way that he or she expected you to use a more common "Chav-Like" way of speaking -- "dese", "dem", and "dose" instead of "these", "them", and "those" for example, while peppering their speech with "ain't" and double negatives (i.e., "Ain't not got").

Did the person possibly say something like, "You seem well-spoken for a ______"?

Could mean, one (or more than one) of any number of things.

Could mean that you're articulate. And can convey things well. Have a good vocabulary. Ive been accused of being "quite articulate".

Probably a compliment.

But it could have some kind of class connotation. Like "you speak posh" as opposed to speaking like your blue collar peers in the neighborhood. Might not be an unvarnished compliment.

Once at work I overheard a telling conversation between some young Black women. Heard one gal say "so THATS why she talks so proper" when she found out that another Black woman they were all talking about was an immigrant from Trinidad. Some segments of the native born Black population expect their peers to not "sound too White" so they get thrown when they meet a young person of their own race who grew up in the Caribbean and who speaks even better English than ...ME...and sounds even more "White" than do most White Americans!

Well spoken means Posh