Are accents being lost?

bigpink

Noticed that kids seem to have a neutral or faux accent nowadays
Known older people to travel and move away and accents have changed
Anyone else notice this

Iwasfrozen

I think so, ease of travel and communication is blending accents and standardising our English.

A good thing, imo.

gramar

Those O'Donovan brothers went off to the Olympics for 3 weeks and you'd swear they'd been brought up in Brazil the way they go on now.

bigpink

gramar wrote: »

Those O'Donovan brothers went off to the Olympics for 3 weeks and you'd swear they'd been brought up in Brazil the way they go on now.

They aint losing the accent at all if anything playing it up more

gramar

bigpink wrote: »

They aint losing the accent at all if anything playing it up more

Whoosh!

bigpink

gramar wrote: »

Whoosh!

They have pure cork accents
I mean young kids that have a faux accent just noticed over the xmas

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

This horrible mid-atlantic accent. Some kids sound more American than Irish. I don't think its a good thing, not by a long stretch. Wrecks my head.

If someone is comfortable with themselves, be they 10 or 35, they won't feel the need to fit in with the accents their peers possess, whether that's an ex-pat living in London or Florida, or a kid whose friends develop a Nickelodeon accent.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

This horrible mid-atlantic accent. Some kids sound more American than Irish. I don't think its a good thing, not by a long stretch. Wrecks my head.

If someone is comfortable with themselves, be they 10 or 35, they won't feel the need to fit in with the accents their peers possess, whether that's an ex-pat living in London or Florida, or a kid whose friends develop a Nickelodeon accent.

Some people just subconsciously melt into the local accent. It's not necessarily a choice. I agree some people adopt an accent to fit in, but it's not universally true.

Lu Tze

I have a niece and nephew that sound american. Much to my shame my own accent has softened over the years, I used to sound like Jackie healy rae, now only sound like Danny Healy rae

Dirty Dingus McGee

It's really sad listening to people (mainly girls) only a few years younger than myself without a hint of their proper accent and having this horrible americanised accent.

It's clearly a deliberate affectation of an accent and not naturally occurring as I've watched 1000's of hours of American television and films and haven't picked up an accent.

Accents are good and anything different and unique in this increasingly homogenized world is good.

andekwarhola

Just because AH is annoyed by a particular accent in the media and small pockets of South Dublin doesn't actually mean every regional accent in the country is on course to be wiped out.

Laeot

bigpink wrote: »

They have pure cork accents
I mean young kids that have a faux accent just noticed over the xmas

Pssst ... I think he was being sarcastic..

mikhail

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

It's clearly a deliberate affectation of an accent and not naturally occurring as I've watched 1000's of hours of American television and films and haven't picked up an accent.

Naturally, everyone else is exactly like you, only less awesome.

Pablo Escobar

bigpink wrote: »

They have pure cork accents
I mean young kids that have a faux accent just noticed over the xmas

They have West Cork accents. They're from a place the same distance from Cork city as Dundalk is from Dublin. Now compare the Dundalk and Dublin accents.

SEPT 23 1989

I need subtitles listening to some country accents but it would be great shame to lose them especially to that new awful Dublin one

Hanwellian

What makes me laugh is these white kids that put on a 'Jamaican gangster' accent, even Indian/Pakistani kids do it as well, absolutely rife in London.

Here in Ireland, the kids all say like, like, like.

dd972

Hanwellian wrote: »

What makes me laugh is these white kids that put on a 'Jamaican gangster' accent, even Indian/Pakistani kids do it as well, absolutely rife in London.

Here in Ireland, the kids all say like, like, like.

London has become de-anglicised to the extent that what's called Multicultural London English is the accent that most working class youngsters have there now. The sort of London Cockney accent (the one that Irish people imitate all the time as if people spoke it in Sunderland) mainly exists in the Essex/Kent overspill area.

That tracksuited nasal, gibberish in Dublin wouldn't be any loss if it vanished, any time you hear it you automatically make an assumption that the speaker hasn't been beyond the M50.

MadDog76

gramar wrote: »

Those O'Donovan brothers went off to the Olympics for 3 weeks and you'd swear they'd been brought up in Brazil the way they go on now.

bigpink wrote: »

They aint losing the accent at all if anything playing it up more

gramar wrote: »

Whoosh!

I think the penny still hasn't dropped!

failinis

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

It's clearly a deliberate affectation of an accent and not naturally occurring as I've watched 1000's of hours of American television and films and haven't picked up an accent.

I know a few people who mimic in a mild way my accent if they spend the day with me, they just do it subconsciously.

Quick article on it

Now, I am sure some people do "put on" accents to be more in with a group or feel it is more classy. But I am sure watching a lot of US tv and such are accidentally watering it down.

InTheTrees

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

If someone is comfortable with themselves, be they 10 or 35, they won't feel the need to fit in with the accents their peers possess, whether that's an ex-pat living in London or Florida, or a kid whose friends develop a Nickelodeon accent.

No. It doesnt work like that.

I work in the USA and a lot of my co-workers are young americans with little experience of different accents.

If I didnt adapt to their way of speaking we wouldnt get much done. Saying something and getting a blank stare in return makes one adapt pretty quickly.

InTheTrees

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

It's really sad listening to people (mainly girls) only a few years younger than myself without a hint of their proper accent and having this horrible americanised accent.

You know whats scary? The group thats most responsible for driving change in any language is... teenage girls. And if you think about it, it makes perfect sense; demographically they are probably the most social and communicative.

tomthetank

InTheTrees wrote: »

If I didnt adapt to their way of speaking we wouldnt get much done. Saying something and getting a blank stare in return makes one adapt pretty quickly.

Yeah exactly this. Lived in US and Canada for years and through pure exhaustion at being told to "calm down" (because we speak pretty quick by their reckoning) or "you've got a charming accent" cue 30 minutes of the same conversation 20 times a day, I learned to tone it down and sound a little less "different". Nothing but pure necessity and practicality of getting my job done.

Do that long enough and it sticks, or the american inflection starts to infiltrate and you sound a bit different, a bit less Irish.

endacl

MadDog76 wrote: »

I think the penny still hasn't dropped!

Sure it's only cents that do be droppin' these days...

Omackeral

Anyone that pronounces charity as charidee deserves a swift kick to the crotch.

lookinghere

bigpink wrote: »

Noticed that kids seem to have a neutral or faux accent nowadays
Known older people to travel and move away and accents have changed
Anyone else notice this

I don't think so

feargale

Waterford uses the French uvular R and the T usually gets softened to D.

In the pub quiz Declan was asked: " Who wrote Pride and Prejudice?"

He answered: " I dunno who RoDe it. To tell you the tRuth I donD even know the name o' the tRaineR."

Cupcake_Crisis

I heard myself on the work snapchat the other day and I sounded pure canadian. Can't help it, I pick up accents really quick.

I'm going home next week so need to knock it on the head pretty sharpish or my life won't be worth living for the slaggings.

BorneTobyWilde

Ask Jimmy from Fair City .

me_right_one

Candie wrote: »

Some people just subconsciously melt into the LOCAL accent. It's not necessarily a choice. I agree some people adopt an accent to fit in, but it's not universally true.

Los Angeles is not local to anywhere in Ireland

bigpink

lookinghere wrote: »

I don't think so

Just seen it kids from country area.
Sound very neutral even a bit d4 all saying mom not mam or mum

endacl

bigpink wrote: »

Just seen it kids from country area.
Sound very neutral even a bit d4 all saying mom not mam or mum

*ahem*

"Mammy"

bigpink

endacl wrote: »

*ahem*

"Mammy"

Yes that too

FTA69

Omackeral wrote: »

Anyone that pronounces charity as charidee deserves a swift kick to the crotch.

F*ckin Ryanair scratchcard ad on the plane. "Make a biiiig difference to awl are great charidees"

The J Stands for Jay

Cupcake_Crisis wrote: »

I heard myself on the work snapchat the other day and I sounded pure canadian. Can't help it, I pick up accents really quick.

I'm going home next week so need to knock it on the head pretty sharpish or my life won't be worth living for the slaggings.

Work Snapchat?

monkeysnapper

Close where we live we have a Romanian ,Welsh, Irish,Polish and Slovakian family's , all have kids around ages of 3 years to 10 and I've sat listening to them talk , its a beautiful sight to be honest ,and the accents are wonderful to hear with that twist of Irish.

All the family's have become real close friends through our children. Pity the whole world couldn't adapt the same .

Flippyfloppy

dd972 wrote: »

London has become de-anglicised to the extent that what's called Multicultural London English is the accent that most working class youngsters have there now. The sort of London Cockney accent (the one that Irish people imitate all the time as if people spoke it in Sunderland) mainly exists in the Essex/Kent overspill area.

That tracksuited nasal, gibberish in Dublin wouldn't be any loss if it vanished, any time you hear it you automatically make an assumption that the speaker hasn't been beyond the M50.

How can one be balanced about the Londoners and switch to being so judgemental about the Dubs!

steddyeddy

I love hearing different accents or langauges around me. Variety is the spice of life.

circadian

me_right_one wrote: »

Los Angeles is not local to anywhere in Ireland

It's the same hemisphere, close enough.

biko

bigpink wrote: »

They aint losing the accent at all if anything playing it up more

Are you from America? You sound American.

Ragnar Lothbrok

I've spent the last 30 years in Cork, but I still sound like I've just "cum up from t' pit"

And why do certain Irish people insist on asking me if I'm "owrite moite" in an Eastenders accent? God, I hate that :mad:

BrokenArrows

The typical "american" accent is essentially what you get when you mix a whole bunch of nationalities/accents together.

So anyone who has spent a lot of time traveling, living and working in multiple countries over a long stretch of time tends to pickup a bit of an americanised accent.

As for kids with the accents, it mostly depends on the school. If they go to the school with nothing but Irish people from the same area they will end up with a strong irish accent.
However if their class is a mix of lots of accents then will probably have an american accent.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

InTheTrees wrote: »

No. It doesnt work like that.

I work in the USA and a lot of my co-workers are young americans with little experience of different accents.

If I didnt adapt to their way of speaking we wouldnt get much done. Saying something and getting a blank stare in return makes one adapt pretty quickly.

I spent a summer in New York working with mainly young Americans. Fair enough, I had to adopt some Americanisms (sidewalk, fender, etc), but as long as I spoke clearly, I didn't need to adopt an American accent for them to understand me. Maybe its different outside the major cities.

Wibbs

bigpink wrote: »

all saying mom not mam or mum

*twitches*

BrokenArrows wrote: »

The typical "american" accent is essentially what you get when you mix a whole bunch of nationalities/accents together.

Nope, it really isn't. It is coming from American media which is all pervasive in the anglophone world and beyond. Those non native speakers who hear/learn the language are far more likely to be first exposed to American english and accents via Hollywood.

Never mind that there isn't really a typical "american" accent in America. They have quite the few. The mid Atlantic drawl more prevalent outside the US of A is a different beast and the Irish version is of a much more recent origin. It was extremely rare before the 1990's and indeed was seen as tacky as fook, the accent of cheesy radio and dishhhco DJ's.

Then again Ireland has had its fair share of apparent insecurities when it came to accents. This country had a real hard on with elocution lessons in schools, particularly girl's schools well into the 80's. Elocution teahcers mae good livings for a time. All too often to scrape off the scent of culshie for kids of parents who moved to the various big smokes in the 50's and 60's.Even by the 1980s I remember young women and men with the early iteration of the Dort Accent whose parents had very strong and for my money far more "authentic" regional accents.

biko wrote: »

Are you from America? You sound American.

"Ain't" is and has been found in pretty much all accents and dialects of English and going way back with it. It's found in Shakespeare and Swift to name two, if memory serves. It did tend to be found more among the lower social classes as time went on, but American in origin it is not.

sbsquarepants

tomthetank wrote: »

Yeah exactly this. Lived in US and Canada for years and through pure exhaustion at being told to "calm down" (because we speak pretty quick by their reckoning) .

I've never lived there, and don't actually know any actual Americans, but we're all constantly exposed to their movies and tv. Whenever I listen to American podcasts, or watch talks on the internet with American speakers, if it's an option i'll always play it at 1.2 or 1.5 times normal speed because they just talk so god damned slowly - in some cases it's like listening to someone recovering from a stroke! I had assumed it was a deliberate ploy to be understood by non native English speakers, I didn't realise they just spoke that way!

tomthetank wrote: »

Do that long enough and it sticks, or the american inflection starts to infiltrate and you sound a bit different, a bit less Irish.

Oh dear god, that inflection is appaling - almost as bad as the Essex one.

Lt Dan

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

It's really sad listening to people (mainly girls) only a few years younger than myself without a hint of their proper accent and having this horrible americanised accent.

It's clearly a deliberate affectation of an accent and not naturally occurring as I've watched 1000's of hours of American television and films and haven't picked up an accent.

Accents are good and anything different and unique in this increasingly homogenized world is good.

Thing is though, of all the accents, why adopt an American accent? Good heavens, that does not make one sound intelligent. This is the Queen's language after all.

IamMetaldave

I had a cousin from West Meath who worked all around the world from the age of 18 - 50 and never lost or needed to change his accent. I have friends in Sweden that sound American and they all say the same thing, it's the influence of American TV on them. From a personal point of view my parents and brother would have a neutral Dublin accent due to us being from DunLaoghaire area, however all my friends were Tallaght/Blanch from my teenage years forward and there a distinct difference in my accent to my family's.

beerbaron

Lt Dan wrote: »

This is the Queen's language after all.

German ?

Omackeral

FTA69 wrote: »

F*ckin Ryanair scratchcard ad on the plane. "Make a biiiig difference to awl are great charidees"

Exactly, that's what prompted me to say it. Only landed back the other day from a Ryanair flight. I was half wishing the plane would just blow up rather than hearing that again. Good gravy.

Captain Havoc

Accents are changing, languages evolve, that's just the way it is and always has been.

The_Captain

Is this the first "I'm a muck savage and I hate Dublin" thread of 2017?

GreenFolder2

Certainly not in Cork anyway or Dublin.