Pelican Parts
Parts Catalog Accessories Catalog How To Articles Tech Forums
Call Pelican Parts at 888-280-7799
Shopping Cart Cart | Project List | Order Status | Help



Go Back   Pelican Parts Forums > Miscellaneous and Off Topic Forums > Off Topic Discussions


Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Rate Thread
Author
Thread Post New Thread    Reply
Registered
 
pwd72s's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Linn County, Oregon
Posts: 48,563
Accents and speech mannerisms

Why is it that many think a Brit accent denotes intelligence while a southern "country" accent denotes the opposite? Accents only tell us geographic information, giving us an idea of where someone was raised. Remember reading once that Johnny Carson's flat and accurate Midwest accent had a lot to do with his TV success. His accent meant he was easily understood all over the country. Johnny was raised in Omaha.

It's kind of sad that the USA is losing regional accents. Why? Television.

Regional phrases used also gives a clue. An RN in Albany, Oregon was taken aback a bit when I asked her where she was from that was East of the Mississippi? Her use of "yeah-yeah" gave me the clue...only hear that from East folks. She was from Pennsylvania. Out here only a "yep" or a single "yeah" when expressing agreement.

Yep...listen up! You can often figure out where someone was raised.

Any others here with similar observations?

__________________
"Now, to put a water-cooled engine in the rear and to have a radiator in the front, that's not very intelligent."
-Ferry Porsche (PANO, Oct. '73) (I, Paul D. have loved this quote since 1973. It will remain as long as I post here.)
Old 04-12-2024, 02:20 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #1 (permalink)
D idn't E arn I t
 
RANDY P's Avatar
You kidding? When I hear uppity Brit accents (not Cockney, the other one) it trips the gaydar- bigtime.


rjp
__________________
AOC/Hogg 2028
Old 04-12-2024, 02:24 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #2 (permalink)
Registered
 
pwd72s's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Linn County, Oregon
Posts: 48,563
Quote:
Originally Posted by RANDY P View Post
You kidding? When I hear uppity Brit accents (not Cockney, the other one) it trips the gaydar- bigtime.


rjp
Using that impression suggests Russell Brand or Lennox Lewis is gay. Hmmmm.
__________________
"Now, to put a water-cooled engine in the rear and to have a radiator in the front, that's not very intelligent."
-Ferry Porsche (PANO, Oct. '73) (I, Paul D. have loved this quote since 1973. It will remain as long as I post here.)

Last edited by pwd72s; 04-12-2024 at 02:35 PM..
Old 04-12-2024, 02:31 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #3 (permalink)
Registered
 
Zeke's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Long Beach CA, the sewer by the sea.
Posts: 37,792
This is a trick question. Fall for it at your own risk.
Old 04-12-2024, 02:34 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #4 (permalink)
Kantry Member
 
oldE's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: N.S. Can
Posts: 6,849
After working in tourism for a decade or so, I could often narrow down someone's point of origin to a region in North America or much of Europe.
There are many exceptions of course, but it was fun enquiring where they called home. So many regional differences in spite of television and 'received pronunciation '

Best
Les
__________________
Best
Les
My train of thought has been replaced by a bumper car.
Old 04-12-2024, 02:48 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #5 (permalink)
Get off my lawn!
 
GH85Carrera's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 85,094
Garage
Back in 2016 my wife and I dove my 911 to all the New England states. I had no issues with accents until we went to park near Plymouth Rock to see the rock. I pulled into a parking lot and the attendant had a horribly thick Boston accent. I understood about 1/4 of the words he said. I asked him to say it again about three times. Finally I figured out he said their lot was full, but I could park in the first spot if I left the keys and it would be $10 to park there. I declined, and then it took a few more tries to understand that I could use the lot to turn around and leave.

I found street parking a few hundred feet away for two bucks. It was enough to walk to the beach, see the little rock, and the tour the replica of the Mayflower. That was way cooler than the rock under glass.

As a kid we moved a lot as dad was an Air Force pilot. In 1970 we moved from Hawaii to Alabama. My first day in school a black kid behind me in class tapped me on the shoulder and mumbled something that could have been Klingon for all I could understand. Finally the kid next to me said he wants to borrow a pencil. I was used too pidgin English in Hawaii, but it took me a while to learn to understand the 60% of my black classmates.
__________________
Glen
49 Year member of the Porsche Club of America
1985 911 Carrera; 2017 Macan
1986 El Camino with Fuel Injected 350 Crate Engine
My Motto: I will never be too old to have a happy childhood!
Old 04-12-2024, 02:55 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #6 (permalink)
 
What?
 
Eric Hahl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Aumsville OR
Posts: 3,651
Garage
Always fun when I travel to my birth place and listen to folks talk. Yins, Sundee, Mondee, Tuesdee, Pilla, up air as in "I was up there".
__________________
________________________________________
Eric Hahl
85 911 to 73RS backdate, a.k.a. "Gretchen" (SOLD)
2015 981 Cayman S (Sold)
23 Outback Wilderness & 23 BMW R1250GS
Old 04-12-2024, 03:01 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #7 (permalink)
What?
 
Eric Hahl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Aumsville OR
Posts: 3,651
Garage
Oh, and Ward Burton back in the day getting "Rut side tars only"
__________________
________________________________________
Eric Hahl
85 911 to 73RS backdate, a.k.a. "Gretchen" (SOLD)
2015 981 Cayman S (Sold)
23 Outback Wilderness & 23 BMW R1250GS
Old 04-12-2024, 03:07 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #8 (permalink)
Kantry Member
 
oldE's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: N.S. Can
Posts: 6,849
2012 we were the only car taking the small ferry from the north end of the isle of Aaron to the Kintyre peninsula. There was a hurricane on its way and apparently the captain didn't want to turn the vessel around so sent the deck hand to us to see if I might be able to back our rental up the ramp. It took me three tries to understand what he was asking. It only took a moment more to figure out which side of the ramp I had to use in order not to interfere with would be passengers waiting on the dock.

Best
Les
__________________
Best
Les
My train of thought has been replaced by a bumper car.
Old 04-12-2024, 03:12 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #9 (permalink)
?
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 30,529
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric Hahl View Post
Oh, and Ward Burton back in the day getting "Rut side tars only"
He didn't need "Lef side tars"!

I'm outta this one
Old 04-12-2024, 03:18 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #10 (permalink)
Back in the saddle again
 
masraum's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Central TX west of Houston
Posts: 56,190
Quote:
Originally Posted by pwd72s View Post
Why is it that many think a Brit accent denotes intelligence while a southern "country" accent denotes the opposite? Accents only tell us geographic information, giving us an idea of where someone was raised. Remember reading once that Johnny Carson's flat and accurate Midwest accent had a lot to do with his TV success. His accent meant he was easily understood all over the country. Johnny was raised in Omaha.

It's kind of sad that the USA is losing regional accents. Why? Television.

Regional phrases used also gives a clue. An RN in Albany, Oregon was taken aback a bit when I asked her where she was from that was East of the Mississippi? Her use of "yeah-yeah" gave me the clue...only hear that from East folks. She was from Pennsylvania. Out here only a "yep" or a single "yeah" when expressing agreement.

Yep...listen up! You can often figure out where someone was raised.

Any others here with similar observations?
Accents don't denote intelligence. They may denote to some extent education. There are highly intelligent folks all over the place, some aren't terribly educated, but they excel at all sorts of stuff that would leave others mentally gasping for breath. There are also very educated folks that are avg at best but figured out how to work the system.

I work in IT, and have worked with some amazingly intelligent folks. I've heard "ghetto" accents, southern accents, Joisy accents, etc....

I've lived around the world and worked with highly diverse groups of folks. Something that I've observed is that some folks have a good ear and are able to mimic other's easily, while others don't have a good ear and aren't good mimics. I suppose it's possible there are folks that don't pair the two things up (hearing and mimicry). I don't believe that either denotes intelligence.

As an example that's very close to home (but not the only example) my wife is very intelligent, MS in molecular biology w/A avg and genetics and PhD candidate until circumstances caused her to stop, insatiable reader with huge vocabulary, etc... We can both hear someone in person or on TV that that has a foreign accent, or ever a heavy accent from somewhere in the US (like the NE), and she can barely understand them while I understand them fairly easily. I've folks that have been in the country for decades that were highly technical that had thick accents and had a tough time understanding someone American with an accent. I've also met technical folks that have been in the country a few years that had nearly no accent.

Still, yes, it's not unusual for a heavy accent to instill a negative opinion on most folks almost immediately, especially if it's a thick/heavy accents, whether it's ebonics, some flavor of southern, and some of the thicker accents from NY, NJ, or Boston.
__________________
Steve
'08 Boxster RS60 Spyder #0099/1960
- never named a car before, but this is Charlotte.
'88 targa SOLD 2004 - gone but not forgotten
Old 04-12-2024, 04:22 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #11 (permalink)
Registered
 
pwd72s's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Linn County, Oregon
Posts: 48,563
So, these three executives from Kansas City were in Louisville, Ky. for a business seminar. At lunch break they walked over to a fast food joint for a bite to eat. As they sat down at a table with their food one the execs said, "Well, here we are in Louis-ville!"

One of the other execs laughed, then corrected him. "It's not Louis-ville, Fred. It's Louie-ville."

The third exec said, "Bah! You're both wrong! It's Lowe-ah-vull!"

"Wait a minute!" said Fred. "I can settle this very easily. I'll just call that little restaurant girl over here and ask HER how it's said. She bound to be from Kentucky."

Fred calls the girl over and says, "I was wondering if you would help us out a little bit. We're having a disagreement, so what I'd like you to do is, as plainly and slowly as you can, tell us, just exactly where are we?

The girl gave them a half-confused look, but then said, "O-okay." She then straightened up, took in a deep breath and very slowly and seriously said... "Buuurrr-ger King."
__________________
"Now, to put a water-cooled engine in the rear and to have a radiator in the front, that's not very intelligent."
-Ferry Porsche (PANO, Oct. '73) (I, Paul D. have loved this quote since 1973. It will remain as long as I post here.)
Old 04-12-2024, 04:43 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #12 (permalink)
LWJ LWJ is online now
Registered
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Lake Oswego, OR
Posts: 6,081
^^^funny!


An idiom that I have only heard in Southern Oregon is the word “pert-near”. Which means “pretty near,”.

My Grandparents used it. And then I was shocked to hear a co-worker say this. Yep, from S Oregon.
Old 04-12-2024, 06:30 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #13 (permalink)
Back in the saddle again
 
masraum's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Central TX west of Houston
Posts: 56,190
Quote:
Originally Posted by LWJ View Post
^^^funny!


An idiom that I have only heard in Southern Oregon is the word “pert-near”. Which means “pretty near,”.

My Grandparents used it. And then I was shocked to hear a co-worker say this. Yep, from S Oregon.
I've heard pert near before, but I can't remember where. It may have been on TV.
Old 04-12-2024, 06:58 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #14 (permalink)
Registered
 
Bill Douglas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: bottom left corner of the world
Posts: 22,778
My favouritest accent is in Cornwall England. Where everyone speaks like a pirate.
Old 04-12-2024, 07:33 PM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #15 (permalink)
?
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 30,529
Quote:
Originally Posted by LWJ View Post
^^^funny!


An idiom that I have only heard in Southern Oregon is the word “pert-near”. Which means “pretty near,”.

My Grandparents used it. And then I was shocked to hear a co-worker say this. Yep, from S Oregon.
Must be a southern thang

I've heard it on occasion ... one friend in particular said it a lot...
Old 04-13-2024, 01:05 AM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #16 (permalink)
Registered
 
wdfifteen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 29,337
Garage
Quote:
Originally Posted by LWJ View Post

An idiom that I have only heard in Southern Oregon is the word “pert-near”. Which means “pretty near,”.
"Pert near," in Oregon. Hmm. It's pretty common in Appalachian too.

My Appalachian grandparents used "drectly" to mean "soon." "Ivamind" to mean "I'm planning to..." I can still hear my grandfather saying, "It's per near noon. Ivamind to go ta town drectly."

I used to think people who spoke with the Appalachian dialect were ignorant because, well, most of my relatives are pretty damn ignorant. Now I'm beginning to think of it as sort of charming, and I fall into it myself now and then just for fun.

In my family, "dinner" was the meal you ate an mid-day and "supper" was the evening meal. That's one of the first idioms I dropped as soon as I left the arms of my family and stepped out into the rest of the world.

I have an immediate and visceral reaction to speakers who drop the "T" in their words. I think it's a relatively recent fad, but I tend to dismiss the speaker as not serious or credible. If you want to sound credible, speak credibly.
__________________
.

Last edited by wdfifteen; 04-13-2024 at 03:23 AM..
Old 04-13-2024, 03:18 AM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #17 (permalink)
?
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 30,529
I'm fixin' to ....

Ain't gonna add "t"s tho'...

I'm just incredible
Old 04-13-2024, 03:44 AM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #18 (permalink)
 
Fleabit peanut monkey
 
Bob Kontak's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: North Canton, Ohio
Posts: 20,728
Garage
Quote:
Originally Posted by wdfifteen View Post
"Pert near," in Oregon. Hmm. It's pretty common in Appalachian too.
Absolutely. I occasionally used it as a young man in Oil City/Franklin PA when drinking and BS-ing. Don't remember it in Toledo, OH in the 60's early 70's. Don't hear it much in Cleveland/Akron now but most of the folks I run with have a complete set of teeth. Not a joke.

I have lots of stories but will keep it to two (and a half):

Cousin was a C130 pilot based in Little Rock. Early 70's. Took his old square Volvo on a camping trip deep into Arkansas. Axle breaks. Gas station guy says call CD Auto Parts. Looks in the telephone booth phone book. Nothing. Asks the guy. How do you spell CD in CD auto parts? Guy says c i t y.

Gloucester. SW England. Teenage kitchen help at the buffet type breakfast at the ancient hotel talking to each other. It was English but I could not understand it. Maybe a casual southern Wales accent? I was in line for grub so had some time to listen. Pretty cool. (Same in deep rural Louisiana. Got lost and entered old corner store for directions. Two elderly black men talking to each other. No comprehension and then when they tightened it up to give me directions I picked up just enough to get to my destination)
__________________
1981 911SC Targa
Old 04-13-2024, 04:35 AM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #19 (permalink)
Registered
 
recycled sixtie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Edmonton Canada
Posts: 5,952
Garage
Good topic Pwd. Originally from the UK my parents used to say fifty years ago that English folks could get a job in the US readily because of their English accent.
From my perspective some accents are more pleasing than others. Some are just plain
annoying and others are pleasing. Unfortunately it used to be but I do not know what is the case now but your odds of getting a job increased if you had a Southern England accent if you were applying in the London area.

I got a chuckle out of the gaydar comment. Also the main thing is that a person can understand another. Some Irish and Scottish accents prevent me from full comprehension.

Old 04-13-2024, 04:37 AM
  Pelican Parts Catalog | Tech Articles | Promos & Specials    Reply With Quote #20 (permalink)
Reply


 


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 04:12 PM.


 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2025 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page
 

DTO Garage Plus vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.