shelley

Thanks for the tip. Looks like a good film but is ufortunately unavailalble in the US and is in some kind of DVD format that doesn't work over here. too bad.

For me I can definitely tell the difference between Sean Bean's accent and Hugh Grant's. I would venture to say, however, that this is not the case with most Americans. I mean, if you hear them speak side-by side, people might notice a difference. Otherwise, I doubt people notice. This is also somewhat true in distinguishing accents from Ireland, South Africa, and Australia. I would say that many people would have a hard time identifying from which country an accent comes from. Since a majority of the country doesn't see a lot of tourists, don't see much, if any, foreign media, and can't afford long flights to other areas of the world, people are just not used to making these distinctions. However, I don't want to make too many generalizations, since this is not the case for many. Doesn't Sean Bean still live in Sheffield?

That's interesting because to me, the accent sounds rather nice although I guess can't describe why exactly. Though you're probably aware of this, I might point out that in general, Americans aren't used to differentiating various regional accents within England. It all just sounds like "English accent" which when heard alongside American accents, as in films, often gives an impression of the person being either snobby or well-educated, depending on the context. It is an odd phenomenon. I have seen The Full Monty but can't remember the accent distinctly. I'll have to check it out again. I saw Sean Bean in the Sharpe series - of which I am a big fan.

Wow - thanks for all the responses. The "was" "were" question arose after watching a film in which one of the actors is from Sheffield (Sean Bean). I was convinced that I'd heard him say "were" in places where I would say "was" several times but this was disputed among some friends. (I also work at an English language institute at a university so I have a sort of interest in such things). As far as the poker is concerned, I am an avid poker player and run a website devoted to it. I was wondering if England was a growing market in terms of interest in poker. Currently it is huge in the U.S. In response to the person who referenced the Texas accent. I live in Michigan - pretty far from Texas and also not known in the U.S. for any type of very distinctive accent. I did at one point, however, run into a comparison of the Michigan and Texas accent that made the following distinction: Michigan: Got inta'a baad AKcidih' with my rennel cahrr. Texas: Got inta a bay-ed wreck in mah rent cawr. Thanks again, everyone!

Thanks hotphil, much appreciated. Do you think you, or anyone else, could give me an example sentence?

Hi, I have never been to Sheffied and, in fact, live in the U.S. A few questions have come up recently between myself and some friends regarding the Sheffield dialect. While looking on the internet for an answer, I stumbled across this forum and thought I'd place a post to see if anyone could provide an answer. The question is this: Does the Sheffield dialect ever use the word "were" in place of "was"? For example, "She were.." instead of "She was.." Or in any other context where "was" might be replaced by "were"? I also have another, unrelated question about England in general. Has it been the case at all that poker has become more popular in recent months or years? For example, are there televised poker games or tournaments or any type of new "poker trend" that you have noticed? I realize my questions probably sound kind of strange but I would really appreciate any response you could provide. Thanks very much.