How many of you have experienced predudice because of your accent. Not got a promotion you feel you deserved because some la de dah, with the posh voice, and little all else, impressed the bosses with their public school accent. How many times have we been stereotyped into the "Yorkshire born Yorkshire bred thick in the arm and thick in the head." pidgeon hole.
I have a reasonably broad Yorkshire accent and have not lived in Sheffield for years I think I must be stuck with it. Even so, I can't think of any other accent that I would want.

You only have to look around this forum to see predudice towards accents.

I'm from the Wirral which is half Cheshire Half Merseyside and have what I believe is a mild north west accent..

nothing better than a mild one a it gives you a bit of character, whereas someone speaking with received pronunciation - could be from anywhere!

Way I look at it is that if you speak clearly and end your words properly then it doesnt matter what accent you've got (Within reason).. People should still understand you..

It's the same with every accent I originate from Essex but have lived here for nearly 30 years and still get comments about my 'cockney' accent usually from people who weren't even born when I moved to Sheffield.

The trick is to make your accent work for you, and speak it both proudly and with confidence. After all, it is part of you! I spent a year in Shropshire and they thought my Sheffield accent was contagious.

I have a fairly broad Sheffield accent, but will speak in different 'registers' depending who I am talking to and of course, where they are from.

Be proud of your accent, wherever you may originate from, but use your common sense and have consideration for the listener.

That's my motto.

Oreyt?

I talk in a rather broad yorkshire accent, probably a bit too broad at times as I have been pulled up for it at times.

But it's me, I come from Yorkshire, so I speak in my native Yorkshire dialect.... it's only stupid Londoners and other Southerners who think I talk as though I'm retarded or something.

Accents shouldn't define social class though, someone who talks posh is just the same as everybody else, just because they talk elequantly doesn't make them any better than the rest of us.

Aye, reet, thee and thou and all that business is part of my Yorkshire heritage and I'm buggered if I'm changing my accent just cos people don't approve.

... that duz reyt.

Aah, not menneh!

An accent doesn't make you pronounce words incorrectly.

IMO, there is nothing worse than hearing people saying things like reight instead of right. It's not an accent and if you speak like that, people will think you are uneducated.

Originally posted by underground
Aah, not menneh!

This is a perfect example of accent/dialect rather than awful pronunciation :)

Originally posted by Rich
I come from Yorkshire, so I speak in my native Yorkshire dialect.... it's only stupid Londoners and other Southerners who think I talk as though I'm retarded or something.

And it's only stupid northerners that think my cockney accent makes me posh. Taking the p*ss out of people with a "different" accent isn't just a southern practice you know!

Personally, I don't think a yorkshire accents make someone sound thick. West Country? Now that's a different matter!

You see, there are two many people who come from these parts who have a hang-up about how others perceive them, the way they live and the way they speak.

There is nothing wrong with the Yorkshire accent. If you think it sounds too 'strong', then you can console yourselves with the fact that as far as Yorkshire accents go, the Sheffield version of this ancient dialect is about the softest you can get.

We are so far south that it is hardly a true Yorkshire accent at all, me ducks.

When I first came to live in Florida I was at a petrol station filling up. At the time I had a Union Jack stuck on my back bumper. A guy pulled over and asked if I was British? He was too. So I told him where I was from and he said "ahhh you're a northerner?"
He judged me right there and then based on where I was from. So I thought" ahhh and you're an a**hole southerner!" I worked in London years ago and people treated me differently way back then. I didn't expect it 5000 miles away from home!

I agree with rinty...

there's a world of a difference between having an accent, which IMHO adds to a person's character and using slang which is lazy.

If you want to be understood abroad (i.e. outside the borders of this fine city) then it's worth making the effort to be understood!

Using slang is disrespectful, and probably does reflect badly on a persons' education in manners if nothing else ;)

(from dictionary.com)

Slang:

1. A kind of language occurring chiefly in casual and playful speech, made up typically of short-lived coinages and figures of speech that are deliberately used in place of standard terms for added raciness, humor, irreverence, or other effect.
2. Language peculiar to a group; argot or jargon: thieves' slang

"IMHO" is an example of slang. Innit?

See, this hoity-toity attitude to language gets right on my nerves. We all use slang, every single day - it's context that's important.

Without slang, language - in particular, the kind of technology-driven language we all use - would not evolve.

And it will evolve, like it or not. So sit back and relax!

I believe that it's case of getting the right balance between slang and dialect.

Slang (rather like swearing) can be dramatic and when implemented in certain circumstances, and used sparingly, can richly enhance speech to great effect.

Tony Capstick was good at this.

Greenback - can you look up the difference between Slang, Jargon and abbreviation please :P

Originally posted by alert_bri
Greenback - can you look up the difference between Slang, Jargon and abbreviation please :P

Can you get lost please? :P

Originally posted by escafeld
How many of you have experienced predudice because of your accent. Not got a promotion you feel you deserved because some la de dah, with the posh voice, and little all else, impressed the bosses with their public school accent. How many times have we been stereotyped into the "Yorkshire born Yorkshire bred thick in the arm and thick in the head." pidgeon hole.
I have a reasonably broad Yorkshire accent and have not lived in Sheffield for years I think I must be stuck with it. Even so, I can't think of any other accent that I would want.


Interesting how you talk about prejudice (or predudice as you so intelligently mispell it) yet in the next line go on to display your own prejudice to people with a 'posh' accent, stating they can offer the boss "little all else" when going for promotion. A blatant case of double standards on your part.

Well I've noticed at Uni that people with accents (not just Sheffield, other accents as well) are looked down to. Although the ones with the accents are probably the ones paying for their own education, instead of relying on their parents.

Originally posted by Rich
Accents shouldn't define social class though, someone who talks posh is just the same as everybody else, just because they talk elequantly doesn't make them any better than the rest of us.


They do define social class, as a 'posh accent' generally means you're well educated.
when I was at boarding school I was under constant pressure to speak in Received Pronounciation, though
as someone who's lived in 3 different countries I have to say that the Sheffield accent is one of the nicest I've ever come across, there's something so raw, sincere and unpolished about it. I didn't know Sheffielders are victims of linguistic discrimination though:(

Now look: I possess the ability to speak as posh as posh can be if I so desire, but for most of the time my Sheffield accent suffices quite nicely. It really is no disgrace at all to communictae naturally.

Consider this also: a Sheffield accent is much more authentic than standard English as the indvidual sounds are much closer in value to the individual letter sounds and dipothongs of the latter. For example the 'u' as in gun is phonetic, as is the the 'a' in grass, and we call them drawings, not drorings etc, etc. Get my drift?

So: this not only makes us much more easily understood by foreigners, but it also makes a foreign language much easier for us flat-capped Northern buggers to learn.

Originally posted by Sam Miguel

Consider this also: a Sheffield accent is much more authentic than standard English as the indvidual sounds are much closer in value to the individual letter sounds and dipothongs of the latter. For example the 'u' as in gun is phonetic, as is the the 'a' in grass, and we call them drawings, not drorings etc, etc. Get my drift?




What about the way the Sheffield accent pronounces words like "grey" as "grehhhhh" or "water" as "watter" or "down" as "dahhn".

Must admit I find it really difficult to try and speak "proper." I work with kids so I have to speak nicely, but I do have problems with the dialect and accent as such, especially the ones mentioned above. "Darrn" instead of DOWN and "narrhh" instead of NOW. I suppose it'll grow on me... but for the time being, I'm not ashamed and I won't be made to feel that way either! *ahem*

Sorry, I wasn't talking about true dialect here, just the natural manner in which we pronounce things, which is more natural to the way they pronounce things down South.

A French lad used to work at my workplace and he used to say how much easier we were to understand than southerners.

Originally posted by Sam Miguel
Sorry, I wasn't talking about true dialect here, just the natural manner in which we pronounce things, which is more natural to the way they pronounce things down South.

A French lad used to work at my workplace and he used to say how much easier we were to understand than southerners.

I think any accent thats strong is difficult to understand. The worst one to understand IMO is the Scottish accent which to me can sound foreign when strong enough.

But then agian, there are different Scottish accents. I find a heavy Glasgow accent almost impossible to make out, but then again, some more-rural one's are much softer.

And they find the rolling of the 'r' as in say Spanish, much easier to master than the English do.

Originally posted by Sam Miguel
But then agian, there are different Scottish accents. I find a heavy Glasgow accent almost impossible to make out, but then again, some more-rural one's are much softer.


Hence why I specified *strong* Scottish accents. ;)

I initiated this post mainly because as a new reader of this board I was so suprised to find that back home you were still hung up on this class thing and dialect seems play a very large part in it.
How can you aspire to be a decent middle class "good safe" person if you sound common and therefore have no education. It's awfull to think that your own self worth can be limited by your accent

I did feel discriminated against in England particularly when I worked in the south. Within six months of emigrating to Australia I was given a promotion and over the next five years went on to run one of the largest engineering companys in Queensland.
In twenty years out here never felt as if my Sheffield dialect has held me back. Most people find it quite charming. In particular the ladies.

For anyone else who wants to run this through a spellchecker there are no mistakes. It's just my accent

I am originally from Southampton. Since I have been living up here I have been told that I am a 'posh cockney'. Me???? Posh??? Cockney???? Nah???

P.S I think the Yorkshire accent is a very sexy accent.

Greenback - can you look up the difference between Slang,
Jargon and abbreviation please :P

Just illustrating the point that everyone uses language you won't necessarily find in the dictionary - even those who profess to dislike it. Never saw "IMHO" being used before the internet was around - I could well be wrong though...

I think any accent thats strong is difficult to understand. The
worst one to understand IMO is the Scottish accent which to
me can sound foreign when strong enough.

Think you're spot on. Any accent can be difficult to understand when spoken broadly enough - consider the Royals' bizarre pronunciation of "Althorp" as "All-throp"! RP is just an accent, but through historical accident it has acquired a prestige that it doesn't deserve.

Originally posted by Greenback
Just illustrating the point that everyone uses language you won't necessarily find in the dictionary - even those who profess to dislike it. Never saw "IMHO" being used before the internet was around - I could well be wrong though...
IMHO is a commonly accepted abbreviation (In My Humble Opinion)... not an accent nor slang...

I just think trying to speak clearly, especially when you're talking to someone with a different accent shows respect :thumbsup:

Originally posted by alert_bri

I just think trying to speak clearly, especially when you're talking to someone with a different accent shows respect :thumbsup:

I totally agree with this statement. It's something I always try to implement. I will tailor the way I speak to fit the situation I'm in.

Ey up pal, owz it angin? your eight?
Owsthabin, athagoinaat later? . . if thy aar corforusatafpast an al cumwithy. Asthadad stillgorrajag? cuz if eeztekkinit then thez no point in gerrinbuss.

If you understood the above then you're a true Sheffielder, isn't it funny how many of us still speak in this mixed-up language that is born of Yorkshire. I love it!

Originally posted by Lestat
Ey up pal, owz it angin? your eight?
Owsthabin, athagoinaat later? . . if thy aar corforusatafpast an al cumwithy. Asthadad stillgorrajag? cuz if eeztekkinit then thez no point in gerrinbuss.

If you understood the above then you're a true Sheffielder, isn't it funny how many of us still speak in this mixed-up language that is born of Yorkshire. I love it!

You'd also be forgiven for thinking anyone who talks in that kind of dialect comes from Barnsley.... Cos they all wuk dahn t'pit theer tha noze.

Harold Wilson had a Yorkshire accent and he became Prime Minister.
I had to moderate my accent when I moved to Canada.
This was necessary to be understood.
It always fascinates me how many accents there are in such a small area.i.e UK.
I used to be able to tell which town or city people came from by their accent.
Like Penistone or Burnley.
On reflection ,I could only tell Yorkshire and Lancashire dialects

Its weird, of all the areas of the Uk i've been to, the Sheffield area seems to be the only one stuck in Shakesperian times for words.

One saying I find particularly irritating is the word 'while' substituted for the word 'til' or 'until' Nine while five instead of nine until/til five.

My accent and dialect is very strange. I'm from the East Midlands/East Anglia boundary, yet use scottish words and phrases as there's lots of scots in the town.

Speaking of scotland, I find the glaswegian easy to interpret (its mainly glaswegians in Corby) but towards Dundee/Edinburgh, the accent is v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y s-p-o-k-e-n and every sound of every word is emphasised.

I'm sure i've posted this before though....

If I can add my two penn'orth--as an Australian who has lived in Sheffield for about three decades, I am well attuned to the accent now (and to other Northern dialects) and have become very fond of it. I like the down to earth attitude and would never condescend to a native speaker, but rather celebrate the varieties of Enlgish which make it so rich a language. I don't habitually speak it myself but can put it on when I want, though I think over the years a few Sheffieldisms have entered my speech.

Incidentally it is a sobering thought that as far as Standard English goes, if William the conqueror had not chosen London as his capital, but had settled for Winchester, which was the capital of the Anglo-Saxon kings, we would all have ended up speaking a version of the South-western dialect as our standard. Oohh ahh, now there be a thought, my dearios!

Originally posted by alert_bri
[B]I agree with rinty...

there's a world of a difference between having an accent, which IMHO adds to a person's character and using slang which lazy

Using slang is disrespectful,

What a load of rubbish!

Some terms we use to day, which you call slang come from the way we spoke years ago. A lot of these are dying out because people are told that its wrong.

Im from the north east. We had a sort of regional thing called pit matic ( it has a proper term but I dont know it ). It was how the old miners used to talk. When I go home now its sad to see it going and even sadder to see it being replaced with that Australian thing of the rising inquisitive.

Ask a kid up there now what a "shuddle" is or ask them if they would like a "bullit" and there wouid be no reply.

Im sure its the same here.

Its our past, not stupidity.

P.S why do loads of people down here ask me if Im Welsh!!!!

IMHO a strong accent and/or execessive use of slang do make you sound less educated.
I'm born and bread in Sheffield (well, up the motorway a short way), but i've never had a very strong accent. To the point that people from the North generally peg it as vaguely southern and people from the south generally think it's vaguely northern.

I have a range of friends spanning the 'social' classes and you can here the difference in the strength of the accent straight away.

A strong sheffield accent is more than pronouncing flat u's and a's though. I do that, and apart from them softening when i spent a year living in Portsmouth I always will. But I certainly wouldn't want my accent to be any stronger.

Originally posted by starchild
They do define social class, as a 'posh accent' generally means you're well educated.
when I was at boarding school I was under constant pressure to speak in Received Pronounciation, though
as someone who's lived in 3 different countries I have to say that the Sheffield accent is one of the nicest I've ever come across, there's something so raw, sincere and unpolished about it. I didn't know Sheffielders are victims of linguistic discrimination though:(

i know what you're saying but i went to a grammar school where a lot of people spoke 'nicely' and some with mersey accents and some with a bit of both..

nowadays i dont believe an accent suggests you have not been well-educated unless maybe it is a very broad or strong accent...?

We should celebrate the huge diversity of accents in this country. How many other places in the world would it be possible to tell if a person came from a town just 10 miles away just by their accent. The Chesterfield accent is quite different from the Sheffield one.

Aaah luv me yorkshire accent. Un anyone who dunt int rayt bright.

Accents are cool, imagine if everyone spoke the same it would be boring.

Originally posted by Whelk
It's the same with every accent I originate from Essex but have lived here for nearly 30 years and still get comments about my 'cockney' accent usually from people who weren't even born when I moved to Sheffield.

I've just moved here from Romford, and I get the same thing.

Originally posted by escafeld
How can you aspire to be a decent middle class "good safe" person if you sound common and therefore have no education. It's awfull to think that your own self worth can be limited by your accent

That's presuming that people want to be middle class, and presuming that middle class-ness is preferable to anything else.

When I was in primary school I used to get the **** taken out of me because I had a semi-London accent because that's where my parents were brought up, even though I was born in Netheredge hospital. My accent now has kind of morphed into a semi-yorkshire accent (so usually I say grass like mass, and not arse(!)) and I like it. The accents are a lot less strong in the area where I now study...the affluent area of the city, and I miss being around strong accents. It adds a bit more personality to a person, somehow.