I've been to Airdrie. I think it's quite a nice place. Compared to Glasgow, it's heaven.
The state of British English
''By far the best way to determine whether Brummie is inherently ugly, however, is with the aid of a simple quantitative test. If the Birmingham accent really is universally unappealing, then foreign speakers unaware of the social connotations which Brummie possesses will also respond to it negatively. In May 2002, I recorded short samples of 20 different accents of English, one of which was Brummie. In order to limit the influence of extraneous variables, the speakers chosen were all male, white, aged between 35 and 40, and upper-working to lower-middle class. These recordings were played to 96 native and 109 non-native English speakers who were then asked to briefly describe each accent and rate each one on a scale of 1-10 (1 = very unpleasant, 5 = neutral, 10 = very pleasant).
It was found that native speakers reacted predictably. The French, Southern Irish, Edinburgh Scottish and Geordie (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) accents received the most favourable responses (none, incidentally, described the very nasal French accent as 'nasal'), the American and rural accents such as Cornish and Norfolk also did well, but Welsh, RP (Received Pronunciation), Northern Irish and accents associated with large urban conurbations such as London (Cockney) and Liverpool (Scouse) fared badly. No prizes for guessing which accent came bottom. Black Country. Yes, people often mistake Black Country speech (an accent associated with the South Staffordshire area of the English Midlands) for Brummie, and when given the option obviously prefer the latter. Birmingham did come nineteenth, however, and evaluations were consistently negative - ranging from the slightly more expressive 'unsexy' to the boring 'boring', 'wrong', 'mispronounced', 'irritating', 'grating', 'nasal', etc.
The responses of non-native speakers, on the other hand, were inconsistent - ranging from 'harsh' (for Brummie), through 'nice', to 'melodic', 'lilting' and 'musical', and from 'clear' (for Southern Irish), through 'boring', to 'disgusting'. Although there was no significant difference between the overall scores for each accent, many appeared to prefer the characteristically Brummie 'rising' and 'high tone at the end of sentences', criticising instead the 'cold and unemotional' character of Edinburgh Scottish - one respondent even going so far as to describe the Scottish speaker as 'untrustworthy'. Scouse was also praised on many occasions for its intonational distinctiveness - its clarity, 'pleasant tonality', and dynamic 'rolling of the r', but reactions on the whole were generally mixed, and there was little evidence to suggest that foreign speakers were dipping into the same adjective cluster as their British counterparts - no high occurrence, for example, of the words 'nasal', 'common', 'whingey', or 'wrong' to describe the Birmingham accent. In fact, whenever these or similar adjectives were used, it was often to describe other accents. One respondent, for example, criticised the RP speaker for talking 'with his nose' - a criticism that is usually levelled against the Birmingham accent.
These findings demonstrate that non-native speakers work to a totally different set of criteria when evaluating English accents, and do not discriminate on the same grounds as native English speakers. Judgements of the perceived beauty or ugliness of accents are based almost entirely upon a knowledge of the social connotations which they possess for those familiar with them. Aesthetic judgements of Birmingham English therefore do not appear to be based upon any inherent qualities of unpleasantness. Brummie is not ugly. Far from it, foreign people unaware that it is the working-class accent of a formerly heavily-industrialised area, and who are not bombarded with stereotypical images of Birmingham speakers on a daily basis by the media, find it a very attractive accent indeed.''
Find out more about Brummie and Birmingham:
www.virtualbrum.co.uk
www.birmingham.gov.uk
www.birminghamuk.com
Steve Thorne is a born and bred Brummie and a lecturer in the History of the English Language and Modern English Language at the University of Birmingham.
source; http://www.askoxford.com/worldofwords/wordfrom/brummie/
It was found that native speakers reacted predictably. The French, Southern Irish, Edinburgh Scottish and Geordie (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) accents received the most favourable responses (none, incidentally, described the very nasal French accent as 'nasal'), the American and rural accents such as Cornish and Norfolk also did well, but Welsh, RP (Received Pronunciation), Northern Irish and accents associated with large urban conurbations such as London (Cockney) and Liverpool (Scouse) fared badly. No prizes for guessing which accent came bottom. Black Country. Yes, people often mistake Black Country speech (an accent associated with the South Staffordshire area of the English Midlands) for Brummie, and when given the option obviously prefer the latter. Birmingham did come nineteenth, however, and evaluations were consistently negative - ranging from the slightly more expressive 'unsexy' to the boring 'boring', 'wrong', 'mispronounced', 'irritating', 'grating', 'nasal', etc.
The responses of non-native speakers, on the other hand, were inconsistent - ranging from 'harsh' (for Brummie), through 'nice', to 'melodic', 'lilting' and 'musical', and from 'clear' (for Southern Irish), through 'boring', to 'disgusting'. Although there was no significant difference between the overall scores for each accent, many appeared to prefer the characteristically Brummie 'rising' and 'high tone at the end of sentences', criticising instead the 'cold and unemotional' character of Edinburgh Scottish - one respondent even going so far as to describe the Scottish speaker as 'untrustworthy'. Scouse was also praised on many occasions for its intonational distinctiveness - its clarity, 'pleasant tonality', and dynamic 'rolling of the r', but reactions on the whole were generally mixed, and there was little evidence to suggest that foreign speakers were dipping into the same adjective cluster as their British counterparts - no high occurrence, for example, of the words 'nasal', 'common', 'whingey', or 'wrong' to describe the Birmingham accent. In fact, whenever these or similar adjectives were used, it was often to describe other accents. One respondent, for example, criticised the RP speaker for talking 'with his nose' - a criticism that is usually levelled against the Birmingham accent.
These findings demonstrate that non-native speakers work to a totally different set of criteria when evaluating English accents, and do not discriminate on the same grounds as native English speakers. Judgements of the perceived beauty or ugliness of accents are based almost entirely upon a knowledge of the social connotations which they possess for those familiar with them. Aesthetic judgements of Birmingham English therefore do not appear to be based upon any inherent qualities of unpleasantness. Brummie is not ugly. Far from it, foreign people unaware that it is the working-class accent of a formerly heavily-industrialised area, and who are not bombarded with stereotypical images of Birmingham speakers on a daily basis by the media, find it a very attractive accent indeed.''
Find out more about Brummie and Birmingham:
www.virtualbrum.co.uk
www.birmingham.gov.uk
www.birminghamuk.com
Steve Thorne is a born and bred Brummie and a lecturer in the History of the English Language and Modern English Language at the University of Birmingham.
source; http://www.askoxford.com/worldofwords/wordfrom/brummie/
**the 'cold and unemotional' character of Edinburgh Scottish**
The only residents of Edinburgh who can reasonably be called cold and unemotional are those who have permanent residency in the City's cemeteries but even they have been known to re-animate come Hogmanay. Well, if the accounts of some of the quick are to be believed .....such is the power of Bonnie Scotland's golden nectar.
All of the UK's accents and dialects are precious irrespective of their aesthetic qualities and should be preserved. Nobody wants them to be consumed by English English Estuaryspeak or, at the other end of the spectrum, English English RP.
There are signs that some regional accents are actually gaining lost ground again.......it seems that Geordie is in the lead on that one. Wha hey mon! I like the way their sentences all seem to end on a high note....statements sound like questions somehow.
Brummie and Black Country (Coontruh-ee) just sounds plain comical...sort of ...Jasper Carroty
Scouse sounds as if they all have a catarrhal throat condition
Bristol sounds plain weird.....they add an L to any word that ends in a vowel. I went to the operal last night. What the **** is that all about?
East Anglian sounds......well, rustic and bumkinish.
Cornish......divine and unique in England
Welsh...the Valleys....can be melodiously raucous like they are all going to bingo, the pub or to the Rugby, probably all three in one night.
Welsh...the North West......typically Land of Songish....musical, poetic, like they are all either going to chapel or to the Eisteddfod then the pub...maybe not all three in one night.
Welsh...the North East.....you can tell England and in particular Scouseland is just over the border....
Scotland: lay off! I have never, ever heard of Scots or their various accents being connected with coldness or lack of emotion - well, yes I have tbh ....but only when Sassenachs are involved, :-)
The only residents of Edinburgh who can reasonably be called cold and unemotional are those who have permanent residency in the City's cemeteries but even they have been known to re-animate come Hogmanay. Well, if the accounts of some of the quick are to be believed .....such is the power of Bonnie Scotland's golden nectar.
All of the UK's accents and dialects are precious irrespective of their aesthetic qualities and should be preserved. Nobody wants them to be consumed by English English Estuaryspeak or, at the other end of the spectrum, English English RP.
There are signs that some regional accents are actually gaining lost ground again.......it seems that Geordie is in the lead on that one. Wha hey mon! I like the way their sentences all seem to end on a high note....statements sound like questions somehow.
Brummie and Black Country (Coontruh-ee) just sounds plain comical...sort of ...Jasper Carroty
Scouse sounds as if they all have a catarrhal throat condition
Bristol sounds plain weird.....they add an L to any word that ends in a vowel. I went to the operal last night. What the **** is that all about?
East Anglian sounds......well, rustic and bumkinish.
Cornish......divine and unique in England
Welsh...the Valleys....can be melodiously raucous like they are all going to bingo, the pub or to the Rugby, probably all three in one night.
Welsh...the North West......typically Land of Songish....musical, poetic, like they are all either going to chapel or to the Eisteddfod then the pub...maybe not all three in one night.
Welsh...the North East.....you can tell England and in particular Scouseland is just over the border....
Scotland: lay off! I have never, ever heard of Scots or their various accents being connected with coldness or lack of emotion - well, yes I have tbh ....but only when Sassenachs are involved, :-)
Yeah, Damian; if there's one thing I never associate with Scots, it's a lack of emotion!
Thanks URIEL.......it's true.....the only Scot who lacks emotion is...well....just deid.
There's naethin much wrong with Airdrie apart from traffic paralysis....I'd only been there once before but been through it or close to it loads of times....I just resented the fact that I had to go on a job there yesterday which I didn't fancy doing. Soz to all Airdrieonians.......it's a bonny place really....shame I don't support United.
There's naethin much wrong with Airdrie apart from traffic paralysis....I'd only been there once before but been through it or close to it loads of times....I just resented the fact that I had to go on a job there yesterday which I didn't fancy doing. Soz to all Airdrieonians.......it's a bonny place really....shame I don't support United.
I like Devonshire accent. It's close to American accent: lot[lat], writer [raid@r]...
<<Damian: ...shame I don't support United. >>
Hmmm ... or did we just uncover the REAL reason you don't like the place?
Hmmm ... or did we just uncover the REAL reason you don't like the place?
;p
re: Kenna D Thu Sep 08, 2005 12:12 pm GMT
I like Devonshire accent. It's close to American accent: lot[lat],
writer [raid@r]...
What's this business about?
re: Kenna D Thu Sep 08, 2005 12:12 pm GMT
I like Devonshire accent. It's close to American accent: lot[lat],
writer [raid@r]...
What's this business about?
Briefly, American accent is like UPPERS. It stimulates your tongue to speak perfect English whereas British accent is like DOWNERS it really makes you feel asleep. A good example can be heard on any TV show.
I swear if England is playing against Brazil and the commentator is English, you are going to have forty winks soon.
I swear if England is playing against Brazil and the commentator is English, you are going to have forty winks soon.
Harsh!
I would say it's that particular game that puts people to sleep....
I would say it's that particular game that puts people to sleep....
>>Briefly, American accent is like UPPERS. It stimulates your tongue to speak perfect English whereas British accent is like DOWNERS it really makes you feel asleep. A good example can be heard on any TV show.
I swear if England is playing against Brazil and the commentator is English, you are going to have forty winks soon. >>
And I think, what a load of crap, so-called 'xpert'. An entirely subjective opinion, presented as objective 'fact'. And where on earth do you come from, to use an expression like 'forty winks'?? That went out with the Ark.
I swear if England is playing against Brazil and the commentator is English, you are going to have forty winks soon. >>
And I think, what a load of crap, so-called 'xpert'. An entirely subjective opinion, presented as objective 'fact'. And where on earth do you come from, to use an expression like 'forty winks'?? That went out with the Ark.