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Aside from the dreaded California/Valley Girl English and the generic Estuary speech of London, what accents are holding up against globalization-induced dialect levelling?
I've heard that Australians born after about 1991 are beginning to sound more American or British and less Aussie, speaking like a valley girl or Harry Potter - unless the cultural cringe declines, this is likely to only get worse over time.
The Scottish accent still sounds like it's going strong, and New Zealand and American Northern Cities accents seem to only be getting stronger among the younger generations. And thanks to Cheryl Cole, I've read that the Geordie accent is starting to spread into Cumbria. The Scouse accent has spread into northern Wales in recent years though it sounds quite a bit different than it did when the Beatles were a band.
The Southern American dialect seems to be turning into a non-regional 'country' accent throughout the United States and increasingly no longer signifies that a person is from the southeastern US. In fact many people who display Rebel flags live in far-off states such as Oregon, Ohio and New Hampshire, so I think the southern accent is ultimately connected to a culture that is rural at heart. Young southern liberals seem ashamed of their accents and many imitate the West Coast type accent to signify their beliefs and viewpoints.
Hip hop of course has spread so-called 'ebonics' throughout the English speaking world, though that might be somewhat declining nowadays.
Accents have changed, largely because of the global media and internet, plus people are far more mobile than they were say half a century ago. We are all exposed to so much more global media now, particularly from American. The British English you hear on television and radio now sounds nothing like the old BBC English you would have heard during the 60's and prior.
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I think regional accents are coalescing into larger regional accents. So instead of a separate Manchester, Lancashire, North Midlands accent you might have a 'generic northern accent' most influenced by the centres of media like Manchester. This 'generic northern accent' might be holding strong but at the expense of more local accents which can only be preserved by isolation.
Accents have changed, largely because of the global media and internet, plus people are far more mobile than they were say half a century ago. We are all exposed to so much more global media now, particularly from American. The British English you hear on television and radio now sounds nothing like the old BBC English you would have heard during the 60's and prior.
I dont think that this is because the accents have changed, its more to do with the 'rules' that the BBC used to have in place. I do think however that regional accents are not as 'strong' as they used to be.
I dont think that this is because the accents have changed, its more to do with the 'rules' that the BBC used to have in place. I do think however that regional accents are not as 'strong' as they used to be.
Yeah, you're probably right.
Another thing I notice is that many American words have crept into our English. I put that down to the influence of American television being far more accessible than it was 30 years ago.
Immigration has also had a major influence on our accents, with millions of immigrants arriving since the 1960's from India, Pakistan, the West Indies and more recently, Eastern Europe.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by easthome
I dont think that this is because the accents have changed, its more to do with the 'rules' that the BBC used to have in place. I do think however that regional accents are not as 'strong' as they used to be.
I think the posh accent has/is changing. Even the way say Christopher Hitchens speaks is pretty different to how Neville Chamberlain spoke.
I've heard that Australians born after about 1991 are beginning to sound more American or British and less Aussie, speaking like a valley girl or Harry Potter - unless the cultural cringe declines, this is likely to only get worse over time.
Other than the increasing number of Americanism's Oz English doesn't really sound less Australian. It's essentially still a mix of the various regional dialects of the British Isles.
I dont think that this is because the accents have changed, its more to do with the 'rules' that the BBC used to have in place. I do think however that regional accents are not as 'strong' as they used to be.
What exactly do you mean? Do you mean the regional accents are becoming increasingly hybridized with Estuary English, but still have enough of their old features they are still regionally distinctive to an extent?
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