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Haha, most of us can barely distinguish an English accent from an Australian accent. You may find that hard to believe but it's true! So you can safely assume that we won't be too discerning about British regions.
RP does kind of stand out, though, and mostly in a good way. It's associated with intelligence and sophistication.
I can make out a British accent from an Australian accent, but it was never easy. The difference is that the Australian accent is more rugged-sounding (more masculine), while the British accent sounds more refined and feminine. That's not saying refinement is a feminine trait, it's simply saying that it sounds more refined and less masculine than the Australian accent. No offense meant.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,606 posts, read 55,788,565 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stars&StripesForever
I can make out a British accent from an Australian accent, but it was never easy. The difference is that the Australian accent is more rugged-sounding (more masculine), while the British accent sounds more refined and feminine. That's not saying refinement is a feminine trait, it's simply saying that it sounds more refined and less masculine than the Australian accent. No offense meant.
I assume you mean the 'posh' accent, you have to specify which British accent you mean. Accents in the UK are far more diverse than the US, and the difference between a strong traditional Lancashire accent and a Norfolk accent is way more different than even southern US and New York. Which is why I said that even Americans should be able to tell that these accents are totally different, even if they don't even know what accents they are.
I can make out a British accent from an Australian accent, but it was never easy. The difference is that the Australian accent is more rugged-sounding (more masculine), while the British accent sounds more refined and feminine. That's not saying refinement is a feminine trait, it's simply saying that it sounds more refined and less masculine than the Australian accent. No offense meant.
You've obviously never heard a northern English accent. As mentioned, there are many different British accents - there is no one singular one, that's kind of what this whole topic is about.
I assume you mean the 'posh' accent, you have to specify which British accent you mean. Accents in the UK are far more diverse than the US, and the difference between a strong traditional Lancashire accent and a Norfolk accent is way more different than even southern US and New York. Which is why I said that even Americans should be able to tell that these accents are totally different, even if they don't even know what accents they are.
I have to disagree here. The Southern US accent and Northeast US accents sound nothing alike, not to mention the actual vernacular is different. The speed of speaking is faster in the Northeast compared to the South, plus the Northeast, especially the NYC accent, has been heavilly influenced by Southern and Eastern European nations while the South is more influenced by English and French.
I think the variety of American is accents is actually stronger than the variations in the UK, although both nations offer a wide variety of dialetcs.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,606 posts, read 55,788,565 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PatDJohns
I have to disagree here. The Southern US accent and Northeast US accents sound nothing alike, not to mention the actual vernacular is different. The speed of speaking is faster in the Northeast compared to the South, plus the Northeast, especially the NYC accent, has been heavilly influenced by Southern and Eastern European nations while the South is more influenced by English and French.
I think the variety of American is accents is actually stronger than the variations in the UK, although both nations offer a wide variety of dialetcs.
Never said they were similar...just emphasizing how different the British accents are. If you think Southern is so different from New York, then some of the British ones - and I could include Scottish here - are even more un-alike.
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