Favourite accents

[Pacion]

Which accents/voices do you like? :wink:

This week in the British newspapers:

As James Bond, he memorably asked for a Martini shaken, not stirred. Now silver-tongued Sean Connery has topped a poll of favourite accents.

He is joined by broadcasters Trevor McDonald and Terry Wogan, and plummy-voiced actor Hugh Grant as the most pleasant speakers.

But it seems we cannot bear to listen to Tony Blair :shock: or David Beckham and would least like to talk like a Brummie*, according to 1,000 people questioned for the BBC's Voices project.

* Brummie is the abbreviated name given to someone who comes from a UK town called Birmingham (and its surrounding areas I believe).

[BrookeErin]

am I the only woman who is not impressed by a French accent?

[honeydragon]

Well.. that American Southern accent just tickles my heart. :oops: *sigh...

Other accents just don't do anything for me.

[amrimi]

I just love to hear scottish accent, but I got to hear not very often. I think there used to be a scottish guy on bfbs, but I don't know if he is still there because lately I don't listen to radiostadions anymore.

[Sagitta]

Accents? :?

[randomMysh]

I'd take Blair over Bushie any time. At least he knows English! :shock:
And I actually used to like the Southern twang before....:(

[pygmalion]

Hugh Grant? :shock: Uh. Not for me, thanks. :lol: :lol:

Scottish is nice. 8) Trinidadian (sp?) is nice too. :wink:

[Phil Owl]

Accents I Love:

ANY American Southern accent, especially on a woman, downright charming and melts my heart!

Irish, again, sounds especially wonderful on women!


Accents I Can't Stand:

That "New Joizey" accent

[pygmalion]

Oh yes! I'd forgotten about Irish. Sounds good on the gents, too. :wink: :D

And American Southern? Jury's still out. Since coming to Texas, I've suddenly realized that the word ma'am actually has two syllables ... if you say it slowly enough. :lol: :lol:

[Swingolder]

My son-in-law is from New Zealand and I love the way he talks. He is a HUGE guy, bald, tatoos all over his body, and the neatest accent! My daughter says she has to translate sometimes because folks just can't understand what he is saying.

[Lockstep]

scottish! also pretty easy to mimic...wonderful fun to read the scottish government's official site,...in scottish. pretty weird to see it written down, but it helps u if u wanna practice!

[amrimi]

scottish! also pretty easy to mimic...wonderful fun to read the scottish government's official site,...in scottish. pretty weird to see it written down, but it helps u if u wanna practice!

Do you have a link?

[amrimi]

That "New Joizey" accent

I always thought jon bonjovi was from New Jersey and I think I like his accent. I might be wrong though.

[Pacion]

Oh yes! I'd forgotten about Irish. Sounds good on the gents, too. :wink: :D

:shock: Pierce Brosnan :shock: Thank goodness he isn't chocolate! With a voice like that, he would be in permanent melt status :lol:

[cocodrilo]

Pierce Brosnan has a very sexy voice!

Can't stand the likes of cockney Beckham nor do I like Tony Blair. I also can't seem to make heads or tails out of what most taxi drivers in London are saying, either.

I always bug my best buddy about his Bostonian accent, especially when he sez;
"Hey KAAAHren, let's PAAAHty!". :lol:

[pygmalion]

That "New Joizey" accent

I always thought jon bonjovi was from New Jersey and I think I like his accent. I might be wrong though.

Is he from Jersey? I think so ... :? But he doesn't have that nasally Joizey accent I think Phil was talking about. Not everybody from Joizey does.

[Pacion]

I also can't seem to make heads or tails out of what most taxi drivers in London are saying, either.

Neither can I! :lol: And I live here :lol:

I think I should explain. Yes there is a variety of taxi drivers - immigrants, women, men etc etc. A lot of the taxi drivers however do come from East London and have "cockney" accents which are very strong. If you think of Michael Caine's accent, that is what a cockney accent sounds like, although it may be better than the non actors so that cinema viewers can grasp something of what he is saying.

Cockney: in a strict sense, a Cockney is a working class Londoner born in the East End. However, the word is often applied to all working class Londoners who have a characteristic accent (e.g. Michael Caine's).

[pygmalion]

Yikes. Watching PBS (a lot of British TV shows) has taught me one thing -- go to London, if you dare, but, if you go to the East End, listen very fast. And stay away from Wales... speaking of accents I don't get. :lol: :lol:

[amrimi]

scottish! also pretty easy to mimic...wonderful fun to read the scottish government's official site,...in scottish. pretty weird to see it written down, but it helps u if u wanna practice!
I think I found the page you were talkink about, but it's not about the accent but actually in Gaelic which is a language of is own as far as i know.

[Lockstep]

gaelic is...but there's also this site: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/language/scots/index.htm
that's what im talking about

[aimerrouge]

am I the only woman who is not impressed by a French accent?

Send the French men my way.

A Spanish accent specifically, the rolling r's, gets me everytime.

New England accent, not the mockery made of the Boston accent - "I pahked the cah in Hahvahd yahd."

Southern accents don't move me.

[DWise1]

Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic) is indeed a language all its own. It's a member of the Celtic language family, which is quite different from the Germanic (eg, English) and Romance (eg, French) language families.

The only example I have on hand is my email signature at work (it ties in with my reserve duty):
Am fear nach gheidh na h-airm 'nam na síth,
Cha bhi iad aige 'n am a chogaidh.
(Who keeps not his arms in times of peace,
Will have no arms in times of war. -- Scottish Proverb)


The Scottish form of English is called "Scots" and that is what that Parliment page is in and what forms the basis for what we hear as a "Scottish accent".

BTW, on that page, if you click on Gàidhlig it will take you to a page written in Gaelic. Alba is the name of Scotland.

And I think that they still refer to the English as "Saxons" (Gaelic for "Englishman" is Sasannach).

[ratherbdancing]

I love french, british, austrailan and people from bostons accents. Im not a big fan of irish or southerners though. (no offense to anyone of course)

[Bob]

Serbian (Serbo-croat as a whole), British, Spanish

[Pacion]

Im not a big fan of irish ... though. (no offense to anyone of course)

No worries. Just more for me to listen to :wink: :lol:

[ShyDancer]

I love to hear New York accents :D

Also the slow drawl of a spanish accent is enough to get me listening intently :lol:

although.... it also depends on whose mouth the accent is coming from :lol: :lol:
Out of Colin Farells mouth I adore the Irish accent!

[ratherbdancing]

I love to hear New York accents :D

Also the slow drawl of a spanish accent is enough to get me listening intently :lol:

although.... it also depends on whose mouth the accent is coming from :lol: :lol:
Out of Colin Farells mouth I adore the Irish accent!

Well i guess he is the one irish accent i adore. :wink:

[Sabor]

swahili :mrgreen:

[cocodrilo]

swahili :mrgreen:
"Nakapenda" to you, then! 8)

[Sabor]

naah.. u got say it where i can hear it coco :wink:

[MacMoto]

The Scottish form of English is called "Scots" and that is what that Parliment page is in and what forms the basis for what we hear as a "Scottish accent".
Whether "Scots" (also known as "Lallans" -- which means "lowlands'") is a dialect of English or a separate language that evolved from the same root as English is debatable.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialect#.22Dialect.22_or_.22Language.22 ("Dialect" or "Language")

Scots is the language Robert Burns wrote his poems in, but I'm not sure if anyone speaks it any more -- what you normally here in Scotland these days is English with a Scottish accent (there are many different Scottish accents) and peppered with scottishisms.

[DancePoet]

I'm a big fan of accents!

Southern, British, Scottish, Irish, French, Russian, Austrailian, Japanese, etc. ...

And of course there is that backwoods/downeast New England accent!

Ayuh. We had awicked Nor'Easta come though ouwa way yestaday. ;)

And this is not to be confused with the Bostonian accent which is ok, but not one of my favorites.

[MacMoto]

A few years ago around the VE day, I saw a short TV news clip in which a reporter interviewed an old French man. Apparently he came to Scotland as a young solder during WWII, married a local girl and, when the war ended, decided not to go back. He had been living in Scotland ever since. He had the most charming accent -- half French, half Scottish. :)

[cocodrilo]

I listen closely to newscasters, as I am keen on trying to pick up different accents. CNN has a whole bunch! There's a really sexy Indian-looking guy with a pretty British accent (his names Shihab something...Ooh, if I was single!!!). Then there's Dan Rather. Beautiful voice, eloquent speaker. He's got like Scots combined with mid-west. You figure that one out!

[DancePoet]

I like how some folks have small patterns accenting the top of the walls of a room in their house. :wink: :lol:

[cocodrilo]

I like how some folks have small patterns accenting the top of the walls of a room in their house. :wink: :lol:
I have small cobwebs...

[DancePoet]

I like how some folks have small patterns accenting the top of the walls of a room in their house. :wink: :lol:
I have small cobwebs...
That would work for Haloween. ;)

[randomMysh]

The one accent I don't get is the New York subway station announcers.
"Mreawergrawerserewensaaarrr...watchahclodoooooors!"
:lol:
That's what maps are for, I guess.

[Edit]
Ooops, the thread is about *favorite* accents. Ok....
I like New York accent(s). There's way more than one, and I'm having lots of fun trying to figure out just how many.
The subway accent is fun too. Just utterly incomprehensible. :roll:

[cocodrilo]

My friends & I used to mock the conductors of BART(the Bay Area Rapid Transit system linking the east bay to San Francisco). A lot of conductors announced the Rockridge stop as "RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRockridge" which we thought was just hilarious! :lol:

[Vince A]

I'm a big fan of accents!

Southern, British, Scottish, Irish, French, Russian, Austrailian, Japanese, etc. ...

And of course there is that backwoods/downeast New England accent!

Ayuh. We had awicked Nor'Easta come though ouwa way yestaday. ;)

And this is not to be confused with the Bostonian accent which is ok, but not one of my favorites.
Me too . . . esp Japanese, Russian, and French . . . instant seduction!

[Pacion]

I'm a big fan of accents!

Southern, British, Scottish, Irish, French, Russian, Austrailian, Japanese, etc. ...

:lol: DP, I guess I had better not let you hear my voice then :lol: