h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm from the North West of England. There's a distinct Irish influence on our slang anyway...

I'm from Coventry ~ we get Sikh, Irish, Geordie, Jock and Taff influences on our slang.

'and Taff influences'

Do you say 'arse' as every 4th word then?

Canada is such a mixed bag of imports and accents and expressions, the one time that I visited the UK, ... no one asked where I was from. I think it confounded them. My bride, how-ever, was annoyed to be asked 3 or 4 times about what part of the US she was from. (She is fully Canuck)

Yeah, a lot of us really can't distinguish between any of the accents from over the pond - and yet we find it weird that some people can't tell the difference between an Australian or one of the UK accents.

The confusion over UK and Aussie accents is really on in the US telly programmes ... And the gazillions of folks influenced by them

Whoever thought Daphne Moon's accent on Frasier was a Mancunian accent needs shooting.

It's because young people in the UK now all seem to raise the pitch of the last syllable in a sentence, especially when asking questions. This is something I always associated with Australian speech.

Actually, the raising of the pitch/questioning? aspect is common among a lot of 'aboriginal' (I think that is today's word) folks in this country ...

I admit I find it hard to tell apart the Australian, New Zealand and (increasingly rare) English South African accents.

I think the most obvious difference between Aussie and New Zealand is the pronunciation of the letter "i": in NZ, big becomes bug.

Isn't that how everyone asks a question, by raising the pitch at the end

People are utterly confused by my accent

Yes. The difference is that the pitch is raised repeatedly? in the middle of a sentence? often with a slight pause? to make the listener constantly have to reaaffirm? that they are listening?

"The confusion over UK and Aussie accents is really on in the US telly programmes"

It's all down to one man. I don't know his name, but he's made a career out of playing a "British" journalist in US B-movies and TV series like "The West Wing". Whenever a meteor is hurtling towards the Earth he'll pop out of nowhere with a "British TV" camera crew and start interviewing "typical" American bystanders in, what sounds to me as, a distinctly Australian accent.

People in Yorkshire always found my Isle of Wight accent difficult to understand - especially bus drivers. I'd never noticed that I had one until I lived there for a bit.

<BB<

I'm from Peterborough with a dad from deep in the Fens and a mum from Northern Ireland. We had two of my mum's friends, woman from Goa and a woman from Glasgow, help look after us as we were latch-key kids, so that fact that my accent is understandable by *anyone* is a surprise.

Amen about the US confusion over TV accents.

You see, all British accents are supposed to be 'classy'. Even if the speaker pronounces 'teeth' as 'teef'...

I spent a good part of my early adolescence reading (and rereading) the script for "My Fair Lady." (That, and fantasizing about Julie Andrews* ) There seemed to be two versions of the British accent: the proper one that Henry Higgins/Rex Harrison used, and the Cockney one that Eliza/Julie was using in the early scenes. When Julie went on to make "Mary Poppins," the proper accent was the one she was using, while the Cockney (albeit a poor version of it) was assumed by Dick Van Dyke.

[Last year, for Valentine's Day, I wrote and sang a song called "Julie Andrews, I Love You." Poor Julie can't sing any more, but I happily go to see her in any movies she does. She is still a class act.]

Pastey, that's because you don't talk loud enough for anyone to hear you.

Paulh, while it is true that Julie Andrews did the stage show of My Fair Lady, she wasn't in the movie. The part of Eliza was played by Audrey Hepburn and sung my Marnie Nixon.

Oh Gnomon, you've not yet heard me once I've had a beer talking if which, you given in and coming to the meet?

Depends on how much Christmas costs.