Loss of the classic brit accent?

[mailee]

But why is it that most of the youngsters of today sound like West indians? :?

 

[Digit]

Well Jacob can say what he likes, but round here the classical Welsh accent is getting rarer. The difference between the modern generation and their grandparents is very noticable.

Roy.

 

[Modernist]

it does sound rather affected but it has nothing to do with class

Do you really believe that Roger? Amazing. The whole of society in that period was everything to do with class and the BBC was not only no exception but a prime perpetrator.

 

[Digit]

BBC was not only no exception but a prime perpetrator.

No Brian, the BBC's efforts were for quite the opposite reasons, they wished everybody to speak the same, hence 'classless.'
I'm now 71, in my early teens I lived in a tiny Berkshire village, the older generation spoke English with such a strong accent and such a strange dialect that I could not understand them, this was the stated reason for the BBC's efforts, to make us all able to understand each other, to eliminate dialect and accent.
My teacher was a Scot and I had to tell him that I could not understand him!
Running a business from home, as I did, and as my son does I can assure you that I can make a fair guess at a Welsh person's age over the phone by their accent, if they have a strong accent they will be middle aged or older, the younger generation have virtually no Welsh accent.
The BBC's latest effort is for the planet URANUS!

Roy.

 

[Modernist]

BBC was not only no exception but a prime perpetrator.

No Brian, the BBC's efforts were for quite the opposite reasons, they wished everybody to speak the same, hence 'classless.'
I'm now 71, in my early teens I lived in a tiny Berkshire village, the older generation spoke English with such a strong accent and such a strange dialect that I could not understand them, this was the stated reason for the BBC's efforts, to make us all able to understand each other, to eliminate dialect and accent.
My teacher was a Scot and I had to tell him that I could not understand him!
Running a business from home, as I did, and as my son does I can assure you that I can make a fair guess at a Welsh person's age over the phone by their accent, if they have a strong accent they will be middle aged or older, the younger generation have virtually no Welsh accent.
The BBC's latest effort is for the planet URANUS!

Roy.

I agree their may be some truth in that (BBC English) but why then did they adopt the language of the toffs? UK society was and is riddled with class and it has cost us dearly. The toffs of the time assumed that anyone with a regional accent was inferior (non U).

I speak as a Northumbrian and there is nothing in language so toe curling as a regional native attempting to speak "Queen's English". If you are stuck for an example remember Jack (Junket) Cunningham. An grasping aspirant if ever there was one.

 

[Digit]

I agree their may be some truth in that (BBC English) but why then did they adopt the language of the toffs?

Lord Reith, who had an Aberdonian accent, chose RP for two reasons, one, as being the mostly widely understood accent, and two, to prevent the alienation of those who disliked any given accent.
In other words he chose what was an artificial, also neutral, accent.
You must remember Brian that if, for example, the news broadcasters of the day had spoken with the Devonian accent of the time, 1922, most of Britain simply would not of understood what was being said!

Roy.

PS. This is a comment from the British Library Brian.

RP probably received its greatest impetus, however, when Lord Reith, the first General Manager of the BBC, adopted it in 1922 as a broadcasting standard - hence the origins of the term BBC English. Reith believed Standard English, spoken with an RP accent, would be the most widely understood variety of English, both here in the UK and overseas. He was also conscious that choosing a regional accent might run the risk of alienating some listeners. To a certain extent Reith’s decision was understandable, and his attitude only reflected the social climate at the time. But since RP was the preserve of the aristocracy and expensive public schools, it represented only a very small social minority. This policy prevailed at the BBC for a considerable time and probably contributed to the sometimes negative perception of regional varieties of English.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

What I would call queens English, is a real turn on for me. Think the way Angelina Jolie spoken in the films Tomb Raider. That really gets me going ??????? Maybe its just her ....... The queen certainly don't do it for me.

 

[Jacob]

Well Jacob can say what he likes, but round here the classical Welsh accent is getting rarer. The difference between the modern generation and their grandparents is very noticable.

Roy.

There is no "classic" welsh accent. There may be a popular caricature of a generalised welsh accent (we can all have a crack at it boyo) but it's a fiction.

 

[Digit]

Really! I wonder what it is I hear every day? Any suggestions?

Roy.

 

[RogerS]

.... you'd have to look at regional accents which change very little over time.

.....Far more changeable than regional accents. ...

......There is no "classic" welsh accent. ...

Make your mind up, Jacob :lol:

 

[Digit]

He'd have nothing to argue about then would he?

Roy.

 

[Mike.C]

As long as we Londoner's don't loose our Cockney accent that's all that matters :lol:

Cheers

Mike

Strange... Listening to the new /'Cockneys' especially the youngsters, I fear that it's the traditional cockney accent that's suffering most of all. That's where I hear the 'rap-speak' the most. And it makes me cringe to hear it; especially the missing 'T'.
E.g.
Priori'y, liabili'y, compu'er and so on, innit then . I 'so' do not like it!!! :twisted:

John

You have to be joking John, most of these idiots are white guys trying to be black/afro american :roll:

As for dropping a letter, listern to the true Cockney and we drop our H's

To most people it's all rather silly, but I'm proud to come from London.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Richard T]

Everybody read Pygmalion then come back on this: not before - not before you've read it ... (I'll be asking questions) 8)
And don't think watching "my Fair Lady" will do ... ' cause it won't.

 

[Jacob]

.... you'd have to look at regional accents which change very little over time.

.....Far more changeable than regional accents. ...

......There is no "classic" welsh accent. ...

Make your mind up, Jacob :lol:

It varies just like "Yorkshire" or any other accent, changing from one end of the country (or county) to the other, merging imperceptibly with the next "regional" accent at the edges e.g. where west country meets Wales.

 

[Benchwayze]

Everybody read Pygmalion then come back on this: not before - not before you've read it ... (I'll be asking questions) 8)
And don't think watching "my Fair Lady" will do ... ' cause it won't.

Indeed Richard.

Although GBS took liberties with the written word. He considered the apostrophe as redundant for a start!
For the possessive apostrophe, with a name ending with an 's', then maybe he had a point! (E.g. James's !)

John

 

[Digit]

For the benefit of Jacob's pedantry, the local Welsh accent is dissapearing, to be heard at its strongest only amongst the older generation.
Happy now Jacob?

Roy.

 

[JMcK]

For the benefit of Jacob's pedantry, the local Welsh accent is dissapearing, to be heard at its strongest only amongst the older generation.
Happy now Jacob?

Roy.

But then for the sake of pedantry, it might be more accurate to say that the different Welsh accents are disappearing.

However, as a Scot, it isn't a problem for me as I don't have an accent. (Cannot fathom how you couldn't understand your teacher, Roy.) :lol: :lol:

 

[Digit]

That was the point of my statement John, I'm going back 60 yrs, his Glaswegian accent was broader than anything I've met in more recent years.
As with the older generation in Berkshire that I couldn't understand, I could understand my class mates, but their grandparents had me completely baffled.

Roy.

 

[fluffflinger]

Sadly, IMHO, it is now trendy to be thick/uncultured. It would seem that there are precious few (actually I can think of none) role models for young people, who I would describe as well spoken and mosy of the abuses of the English language are born of laziness.

Just my feelings based on personal experience over the last five decades.

 

[studders]

The 'Gangsta Rap' whities really get on my chuff. Don't they realise just how stupid they sound?