Accents of English Speakers

[monster]

So....
Americans can't tell Brits and Aussies apart
Brits can't tell Canucks and Yanks apart

I'm kind of embarrassed that -having been for for 11 years- sometimes I hear an "accent" and I can't tll if it's Brit or Aussie......

but kind of feel more justified about that tonight as I saw an "Australia's got talent" clip on youtube and realized they say Chooseday and Choona for Tuesday and tuna.

Who can't you tell apart?

[Flint]

I've always thought that the Aussie accent was very distinct. Now, I might not be able to tell them from New Zealanders.

[monster]

Heretic!

How do you feel about sheep?

[Flint]

I know why kilts do not have a zipper.

[zippyt]

And Zip dont have no kilts !!!

[Aliantha]

Kiwi and Aussie is a very different accent. specially kiwi's from the south island. They have a very thick accent.

If you hear an Aussie from SA (eg. Zengum) they sound much more British. Very proper sounding vowels etc. The further north you go the worse the accent gets (generally). Mind you, if you go to Victoria, you'll hear a lot of european influence, particularly in urban areas thanks to the massive Greek, Lebanese and Italian population.

As an Aussie, I can generally pick the Canadians from the Yanks, but not always. Usually the 'eh' at the end of everything gives them away.

[infinite monkey]

Originally Posted by monster

So....

Who can't you tell apart?

Cleveland and Brooklyn.

[glatt]

That Liverpudlian-Texan girl who got voted off American Idol. I couldn't place her accent at all. Had to look her up.

[Clodfobble]

If I stop and really listen, I can tell a Kiwi accent from an Australian, but if I casually hear it I'll default to assuming the speaker is Australian. I also can't separate Welsh from the huge range of British accents. I know it's different, but I don't think it's any more than the difference between, say, Newcastle and London.

[Sundae]

Kiwis generally pronounce their e's as i's.
If they say "Ten pens for my hens" they're Aussie.
If it's "Tin pins for my hins" they're Kiwi.

Not a usual comment but the vowel exchange is easy to listen out for.

I have problems telling Canadians from Americans.
Because I have little to go on. So few Canadian TV programmes/ films available in this country.

Clod - watch Gavin and Stacey. You'll hear a Welsh accent much better then. It's a consistent feature of the show.
Oh! What's occurring?

[Happy Monkey]

I might not always be able to tell from one person speaking, but if I hear one of each* speaking, I can probably pick out which is which.

* Brit, Aussie, Kiwi

[DanaC]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

I might not always be able to tell from one person speaking, but if I hear one of each* speaking, I can probably pick out which is which.

* Brit, Aussie, Kiwi

Same here. But change Brit to American or Canadian :P

Clod: the Welsh accent is very different to most other British accents. It has a very different rhythm and distinct speech patterns (beyond the usual dialect differences). It's the English language, but with the cadences and rhythms of an entirely different language.

[Sundae]

Although to be fair, so is Belfast, Glaswegian and Geordie.
At their strongest (broadest?) I have a seconds delay catching up meaning. Yes I can identify them immediately, but they have their own language within English, let alone having another one without.

Not disagreeing, discussing.

[DanaC]

Yeah, those as well :p

Really, meant that it is distinct from the majority of English accents (Geordie being the main exception) which are distinct dialects within broadly the same language. You'd have to hear a broad Lancashire dialect for example to get the really distinct rhythms, whereas the Welsh can use far fewer dialect words yet display greater distinction in rhythm.

[Sundae]

You said British though you bad girl.
Yes it is very different than English accents.

That's not me with the pedant stick.
Just trying not to confuse the Merkins.