I'm Turning 'York-sure'!!

I love the Michael McIntyre sketch on t'.

Me, too--love it! 

Even though I hear it all the time, I'm sure I won't ever do it, it just grates on me too much, and I'm sorry if it sounds snobby to say it, but it just sounds very wrong.  I didn't do it in the US either even though I was surrounded by "youse guys" and "ain't" etc.  I'm not a stickler for grammar, but I'm a stickler for not using what just sounds wrong to me.

I agree with this. I'm from Brooklyn, but when I lived there you wouldn't have heard me say "I ain't got nuttin" or "Gimme dose tree tings over dere" or "We was at the store." I did know people who spoke that way.

Someone who was born and bred and Yorkshire would probably (hopefully) not say "I were on bus" at a job interview.

My husband, who was born in Yorkshire, his friends and his family do not use Yorkshire slang  unless they are joking around.

I think it's great that these dilaects/accents still survive, despite the ongoing march of globalisation through the media.  I can just about detect whether accents are from North, South, East or West Yorkshire. 

I am actually a bit distressed that my kids don't have much of a Yorkshire accent (yet), but I would really be horrified if they were ever to say 'I were on bus' in a formal situation!  I think it is vital everyone can also speak 'standard' English.

Oh no, I forgot about dropping h's.  I've done that once or twice when I wasn't paying attention.  I didn't realise that was a Yorkshire thing though, is it Mrs. R?  Mostly on the word home because dh will do that.  It drives me crazy when I do it.   

I'd agree that people here probably don't talk that way in job interviews but then again...most everyone speaks differently in very professional atmospheres than they do sitting at home on the couch chatting with their family.

Another thing is dropping 't's in the middle of words (I don't think this is specific to Yorkshire but not positive).  I saw an interview with Chipmunk yesterday and he said, "I wro' my firs' album when I was seven'een and eigh'een but now I'm nine'en....".  I hear this a lot in everyday conversations around here and on TV.

Another thing is dropping 't's in the middle of words (I don't think this is specific to Yorkshire but not positive).

You'll find this all over. It is not specific to Yorkshire.

I was agreeing with the comment "I hope they don't speak this way at a job interview" until my hubby said, "Well, it depends on the job". 

I'd agree that people here probably don't talk that way in job interviews but then again...most everyone speaks differently in very professional atmospheres than they do sitting at home on the couch chatting with their family.

That is true. But you need to be aware of what you're doing. I lived in Brooklyn for decades, so could easily go between "street" English and standard-ish American English. In fact, when I worked in the criminal justice system, I used to do that all the time, talking "street" with prisoners and "proper American English" with judges and lawyers.

But that control is something that you need to develop. I've lived here for 5 1/2 years and I still sometimes get confused about  which is the American term and which is the British term for something . I wouldn't want to develop a habit of saying things in an incorrect/slang way when I haven't got that instinctive control.

In fact, when I worked in the criminal justice system, I used to do that all the time, talking "street" with prisoners and "proper American English" with judges and lawyers.

Linguists use the concept of "register" here... different registers are used for informal interactions and more formal ones. Learning a language by immersion (and a new local variant of your native tongue) can lead to comical or embarrassing errors of register.

Linguists use the concept of "register" here... different registers are used for informal interactions and more formal ones. Learning a language by immersion (and a new local variant of your native tongue) can lead to comical or embarrassing errors of register.

Exactly.  When I lived in the US, I would sometimes hear immigrants from non-English speaking countries use incorrect/slang English, such as "ain't," or "no problem" instead of "you're welcome", and I wanted to correct them (though I never did) because I thought they had learned English incorrectly and I felt bad for them. What if they used those terms in a more formal situation?  I never had a desire to correct native English speakers who used those terms because I thought it was just the way that they chose to speak. They would have had enough exposure to "standard" American English to know what it is supposed to sound like.

My focus is on learning proper British English. I don't mean putting on a fake RP accent or hiding my American accent - just using correct grammar/terminology and enunciating my words/letters in a way that makes it easy for other people to understand me and so I can get by in any situation. Once that comes completely naturally to me - I say "star-ted" instead of "stard-id" without thinking, for example - I can start messing around with regional slang.

I find that interesting because I have a few friends here who are non-native English speakers and they use less slang than me.  I teast them that they speak academic English because it is extremely formal.  My friend from Greece often asks me for slang phrases which I really don't give her because I think it's better for her to learn British slang rather than American slang. 

I've also just never changed the way I spoke even to make myself understood.  People here seem to understand me fine without me having to change pronunciation.  I was listening to a few Americans in London the other day and I giggled a bit as they ordered a sandwich with to mah toes.  I ordered after them saying to may toes which brought a smile to the server's face after listening to the other girls ahead of me sounding like they are putting it on a bit.  I think everyone just has their own way of feeling they are adapting and that helped those girls with their adjustment. 

I was talking to my mom on the phone yesterday and I forgot the American word for 'sleepsuit' (long sleeve one piece thingie for babies to sleep in).   

I'm always quite happy when a bit of Yorkshire slips out so naturally.      I know it won't last once we move to the states.      
The last time I was "back home" my family noticed how I said car park, bread cake, curling tongs, etc.  And buTTer instead of buDDer.  But after a few weeks in their company it starts to fade away.