Re: American accent in England(Regional Dialect Debate)

YOU could.
ALL of the world can tell the difference between a Welsh and Scots accent.

Erm...no I don't think all of the world can tell the difference.  I've sadly had to point out the difference between Scottish and Irish accents when watching movies with my friends, so I really doubt that ALL of the world would get be able to hear the difference.  Lots of Americans also can't differentiate between English and Australian accents very well...

Misch~  There are big differences in the Canadian accents as well.  For instance people from Nova Scotia have a very distinct accent.

I would have to disagree that there are more differing accents in the UK than there are in the US.  Maybe the differences are more extreme or instantly apparent, but I can tell you there are many, many accents just in the Great Lakes region.  (Right now I'm in Wisconsin and get picked on from time to time for having a Michigan accent...at least I don't sound all nasally when I say Wisconsin hehehe)  I do think it is truly AMAZING how many different accents and dialects there are in such a small region though.  It's just another fun thing about the UK

And to add my 2 cents-- NY accents are extremely different. Upstate NY and Manhattan people sound like they are 3,000 miles apart from each other. Eastern Long Island and Brooklyn sound another 3,000 miles. There is toooo much diversity in just states; let alone the country.

I can. I do. It is fact.

There you go again.  Confusing fact with opinion.  Fine.  If you think I'm getting into a long argument with you, I'm not.  But you canNOT possibly argue that the accents in the UK are more diverse.  They simply are not.  You obviously don't have enough experience of listening to US accents to be able to tell that they are wildly diverse.  And even people who have lived in both places for considerable amounts of time telling you that they are more diverse is not going to convince you.  Great.  Go on thinking what you want.  Whatever. 

There you go again.  Confusing fact with opinion.  Fine.  If you think I'm getting into a long argument with you, I'm not.  But you canNOT possibly argue that the accents in the UK are more diverse.  They simply are not.  You obviously don't have enough experience of listening to US accents to be able to tell that they are wildly diverse.  And even people who have lived in both places for considerable amounts of time telling you that they are more diverse is not going to convince you.  Great.  Go on thinking what you want.  Whatever. 

I'm honestly confused.  How is Cascode arguing that the UK has more diverse accents any less truthful than you saying the US has more?  I don't understand how his points can be lambasted as "opinion" but Mindy's as "fact", just because she said "you canNOT argue this." like it proves her point somehow.

If someone were to count them, or produce figures from other people who have counted them, I might be inclined to listen.  As it is, it's just a matter of expereince.  I'm from houston, a city with a massive range of international accents, but it's difficult for me to tell an Alabamian from a Missippian from a West Virginian.  Why?  Because I have little to no experience with those accents, while I can tell a Dallasinian or Austinian or San Antonian with no problems at all.  Why?  Because I *have* experience with those accents.

Internationally imitated accents such as Cockney, Scots, Welsh, and Irish, are more easily recognised by outsiders than things like regional Minnesotan accents.  There's just a massive exposure difference.

No where do I say it's fact.  But it's based on more than a few trips to visit.  It's based on living in both countries for a number of years.  Easily recognized is one thing, more diverse is quite another. 

No where do I say it's fact. 

But I did. And do say it is.
I have been all over USA and UK and many other countries.
I have a reasonable basis for claiming it as fact.

And a sense of humour............

Saying it does not make it a fact.  Otherwise, I could say that it's a fact that the sky is green.  And since when does having a sense of humour have anything to do with it? 
And you've traveled.  So what?  You don't win a prize and it doesn't make it a fact.  It's still your opinion.  And in my opinion, an incorrect one. 

Go in peace. 

Lexie
Given the generally good experiences posted here, maybe you have just been unlucky ? Or maybe it is more than just accent ?

Hmm, maybe there's something wrong with me, personally...hee hee. No, but seriously, it sounds like most of the people who've had favorable reactions to their American accents are the ones who speak regional dialects that the average person from the UK wouldn't normally hear much of on TV, movies, etc. My accent sounds like standard "Hollywood" English, which may be the reason for the negative reaction. Or maybe it just happened that the first few people I talked to were just rude in general and couldn't give a flying fark about my accent.

That being said, there is still accent snobbery in England

So, which British accents are considered posh? Which ones are looked down on?

Even here in the US, we have some degree of accent snobbery. In the north, we sometimes tend to unfairly think of southerners as backward country bumpkins - which is, of course, a totally ridiculous assumption, but it persists nonetheless. I hate to say this, but when I hear a southern accent, I unconsciously have a reaction that I have to force myself to overcome (even though I went to college in Texas and have wonderful southern friends who are definately not backward country bumpkins!).

And southerners (understandably) bristle at northern snobbery, so there seems to be a degree of accent discrimination on both sides. Would you agree, Misch?

Anyway, I've gotten the impression (although it could be totally false, mind you!) that the reverse is true in the UK - that people with northern and Scottish accents are the ones who are thought of as country bumpkins. (Personally, I think Scottish accents are very cute!)

Go in peace. 

Scoobie doobie doo!  

Sorry for the double post, but I wanted to just mention one other thing relating to the argument that Cascode and Mindy are engaged in.

I took a class called "History of the English Language" several years ago, and learned that there are, in fact, more regional dialects in the UK than in the United States. I can't remember the numbers exactly, but it was something like 30 different dialects in the UK compared to 13 in the US.

Even here in the US, we have some degree of accent snobbery. In the north, we sometimes tend to unfairly think of southerners as backward country bumpkins - which is, of course, a totally ridiculous assumption, but it persists nonetheless. I hate to say this, but when I hear a southern accent, I unconsciously have a reaction that I have to force myself to overcome (even though I went to college in Texas and have wonderful southern friends who are definately not backward country bumpkins!).

That makes me think of something Jeff Foxworthy says about the southern accent.           How would you like it if your brain surgeon (a good ole Southern grad), in discussing your upcoming surgery, said 'we'll just go in there and root around and dig that tumor right out!'.  

Ugh.........think I'll just pass on the surgery, thank you! lol

Sorry for the double post, but I wanted to just mention one other thing relating to the argument that Cascode and Mindy are engaged in.

I took a class called "History of the English Language" several years ago, and learned that there are, in fact, more regional dialects in the UK than in the United States. I can't remember the numbers exactly, but it was something like 30 different dialects in the UK compared to 13 in the US.

Where did you take this class?  How did they define "dialect"?

http://www.uni-mainz.de/FB/Philologie-II/fb1413/roesel/seminar0203/regional_varieties/AMhistory.htm

Here's an interesting website which explains alot.  It also puts American Regional Dialects at 24-although it accepts that there are many differences within these dialects.  And says that there are three major dialects in the US. 

Hello, Misch!  I'm also a German speaker, and the differences in German are beyond atrocious!  To hear someone from Bavaria and then compare them to someone from say the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern area, you would never believe they were speaking the same language at all.  I spent a semester in Sachsen-Anhalt, and let's just say it took a while to get used to their accent since I learned from a native of Frankfurt. 

At least we can all understand each other in the US, some languages and their dialects are too far gone to even be able to decently understand each other.

hmmm Misch's post seems to have disappeared.