How the hell do you Yanks understand most Brits?...

[duranman]

I mean with the exception of you lot from the South you pretty much all the sound the fuckin' same despite your land being colossal. Our TINY island is full of the most diverse accents even I struggle with! Very few of us talk in posh 'Queen's English' and I'm guessing you guys often need an interpreter or subtitles even in the East End of London, let alone places like Birmingham or Newcastle. As for Glasgow.....

 

[Fata Morgana]

Scouse is worst. Horrible.

 

[Adre]

We understand when you sing. Otherwise we don't bother listening.

 

[hashtag45]

lol..

 

[duranman]

We understand when you sing. Otherwise we don't bother listening.

Cheers. You bastard....

 

[duranman]

Scouse is worst. Horrible.

Yeah, they always sound like they're conning you. But worse than Brum?....

 

[Fata Morgana]

Yeah, they always sound like they're conning you. But worse than Brum?....

It's a close toss up. Both awful.

 

[mdbigdee]

Are you nuts? The South is awash with different accents...a South Carolina lowlands accent sounds different than a West Tennessee accent which is different than a East Texas one.

 

[eyer]

I mean with the exception of you lot from the South you pretty much all the sound the fuckin' same despite your land being colossal. Our TINY island is full of the most diverse accents even I struggle with! Very few of us talk in posh 'Queen's English' and I'm guessing you guys often need an interpreter or subtitles even in the East End of London, let alone places like Birmingham or Newcastle. As for Glasgow.....

What accent does a limey racist piece of shit voice?

 

[Fata Morgana]

Best voice ever? Richard Burton.

 

[Everyday_Man]

Are you nuts? The South is awash with different accents...a South Carolina lowlands accent sounds different than a West Tennessee accent which is different than a East Texas one.

I imagine he's judging American accents from movies, where everyone is understandable.

I've watched Snatch a few dozen times in my life and old reruns of faulty towers, English accents no problem.

 

[duranman]

Are you nuts? The South is awash with different accents...a South Carolina lowlands accent sounds different than a West Tennessee accent which is different than a East Texas one.

But at least they're understandable. Yeah they're all fat ugly cunts who shag their sisters and mothers, but easily understood...

 

[duranman]

I imagine he's judging American accents from movies, where everyone is understandable.

I've watched Snatch a few dozen times in my life and old reruns of faulty towers, English accents no problem.

Well good luck with this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuk9xmHmjt0

 

[duranman]

What accent does a limey racist piece of shit voice?

Oh I'm a posh boy my dear man....

 

[parodyluvr75]

Yeah, we all sound alike.

 

[sr71plt]

In years of service abroad, I apparently only encountered upper-class British speak among diplomats and ex-pats (and people I worked with in the theater--theatre to you Brits), so I was always surprised when I went to England--particularly outside London--and listened to the accents. But I don't think this is any different for folks coming to the States and encountering "regional speak" there.

In fact, when I'd come back from a six-year tour overseas somewhere, the language in the United States had changed enough that I sometimes needed to request translation (e.g., "Where's the beef?").

 

[hashtag45]

English-speakers talking about not understanding each other… their accent. Just made my day.
So no need for us foreigners to try harder

 

[RedAllan]

Worst interpretation of a Brit accent has got to be Dick Van Dykes Cockney accent in Mary Poppins.

I have no trouble understanding other British accents, but some local idioms throw me, when has a child visiting relatives in Manchester I often turned down the offer of 'taffees' because I don't like toffee, and did not realise that the expression meant sweets in general rather then the stuff that either you chew for hours trying to free your teeth or just shatters into bits that shreds your mouth.

 

[Aquagal]

Yeah, we all sound alike.

That was really interesting. The differences within a state can even be vast.

 

[parodyluvr75]

That was really interesting. The differences within a state can even be vast.

Difference in dialects between a city and it's suburbs, can be pretty different, too.

 

[Aquagal]

Difference in dialects between a city and it's suburbs, can be pretty different, too.

How easily people that surround you can form your own dialect too. I liked how each person had a little write up about their upbringing.

The 4 that represented Alaska were unique to them and typical for native speakers, but there was no representation of non-native speakers which is quite a difference to my ears.

California only had southern and northern, no in between.

 

[Sean Renaud]

I tend to understand most Brits just find. Now the Irish don't so much speak as they do chew up words and spit them out but still it's easier to understand than Cajun, Bostonian, certain dialects of Deep South, Spanglish or Ebonics so there's that.

 

[parodyluvr75]

How easily people that surround you can form your own dialect too. I liked how each person had a little write up about their upbringing.

The 4 that represented Alaska were unique to them and typical for native speakers, but there was no representation of non-native speakers which is quite a difference to my ears.

California only had southern and northern, no in between.

I haven't fully explored but I think they are still adding to the database. Hopefully someone will suggest some good new additions.

There are so many dialects and yes they are regional and social. When I was in school my friends and I had our own code words and shortened inside jokes, so other people didn't know what we were saying about certain things.

 

[Conager]

Worst interpretation of a Brit accent has got to be Dick Van Dykes Cockney accent in Mary Poppins.

I have no trouble understanding other British accents, but some local idioms throw me, when has a child visiting relatives in Manchester I often turned down the offer of 'taffees' because I don't like toffee, and did not realise that the expression meant sweets in general rather then the stuff that either you chew for hours trying to free your teeth or just shatters into bits that shreds your mouth.

If you think that's bad, you should see Russell Crowe try to mumble an American accent. He sounds like Idaho but it's missing the drawl that you would get in Idaho. It doesn't sound like anywhere in America.

 

[Fata Morgana]

English-speakers talking about not understanding each other… their accent. Just made my day.
So no need for us foreigners to try harder

No one knows what the fuck you're on about anyway. Don't think it's anything to do with your country of origin.