Do you understand a word I say?

I have just watched an interesting biopic of the Proclaimers and much water was made about them singing in their own accent. One of their most famous records which P&O use at sail aways was banned in the USA because they thought the word "haver" was rude (it's not).

It reminded me of a club dining experience I had where those at the table had a real problem with my accent. I don't think that I have a particularly broad accent but those we dined with really struggled. After a few days they "tuned in".

Have you had issues with people understanding you or indeed you understanding other people?

I sometimes have a problem with a Rab C Nesbit accent but do know that crew members can have difficulty understanding my English. We talk to the crew just like we would at home and all those regional variations, Idioms etc can be confusing, especially if they are peculiar to where you live.

My Dad was from Glasgow so I can tune in pretty quickly ;)

I sometimes have trouble making myself understood, even in nearby Yorkshire, although I have little trouble understanding most other British accents. The problem arises with regional dialects. My home county, Northumberland has at least four regional dialects, which are quite different. Folk from other parts of the UK group us all together as Geordies, which we most definitely are not.

While on a cruise to Norway I had a long conversation with an elderly Norwegian and I discovered that a fair few words used in our part of the world are similar or identical to words spoken in Norway. He spoke good English and he found me very easy to understand.

My mother had a very broad Northumbrian accent and once when she was in Norway, she was mistaken for a German - by a German lady.

I'm afraid to say that I have always have trouble understanding a Scots accent, despite my husband's maternal grandparents being Glaswegian. They lived in London for 50 years but never lost their accent. I never understood a word 'Little Nan' ever said!

In my job, I deal with Edinburgh call centres a lot and have even more trouble as it is impossible to lip-read over the telephone. Strangely we were watching Kevin Bridges last week on an old 'Live at the Apollo' and he was doing a piece about this very subject. It was funny and really resonated in our household. However, on a more positive note, apparently a Scots accent has been declared the most trustworthy British accent :D.

I sometimes have a problem with a Rab C Nesbit accent but do know that crew members can have difficulty understanding my English. We talk to the crew just like we would at home and all those regional variations, Idioms etc can be confusing, especially if they are peculiar to where you live.

A very good point. I have often thought how difficult it must be for crew with so many different accents that even people from the UK cannot always understand. And we all have an accent of some kind.

Yes it must be hard for the crew dealing with so many different accents and also words. I use words that are not standard English without even thinking about it eg when the horseradish dish comes round I'll have a "wee bit".

I have also heard people from other ares using the odd colloquialism that I did not understand.

While on a cruise to Norway I had a long conversation with an elderly Norwegian and I discovered that a fair few words used in our part of the world are similar or identical to words spoken in Norway. He spoke good English and he found me very easy to understand.

 

I had to smile at this. Once on a Norway cruise, I took a few pictures of signs we came across. Privat parkering and Varm Ovn come to mind. I don't think a translation is needed.:)

 

Regional accents aren't usually a problem for me, but I will admit to using subtitles occasionally when watching fast talking comedians on TV.

We are from Sunderland and sometimes people mistake us for Irish!!!

People always tell me they find it easy to understand my accent (I'm Scottish) but I personally find it very difficult to understand Essex or Birmingham accents. Sorry if you're from those areas

 

Have you had issues with people understanding you or indeed you understanding other people?

Not so long ago on the Azura my wife fancied a meal in the Glass House .Her treat she said.

We both decided on the Surf and Turf so when the waiter came back we gave our food order.

Went a bit like this :-

Mrs Kalos " Can I have the Surf and Turf Please"?

Waiter " Yes Murrm " (in his Indian accent) ..."and you Sir"?

Kalos " I will have the same but can I have peppercorn sauce as well" ?

Mrs Kalos " Oh can I have Peppercorn as well " ?

Waiter (Jotting down the order and looking at my wife ) " Cardamom"

Mrs Kalos " No thanks I want peppercorn "

Waiter (shakes head ,smiles) "No, no Cardamom ,I want your Cardamom"

I think it was about then the penny dropped and she realised he was saying " ! want your card Madam" .

Further endorsed by the fact he was pointing at her cruise card she had in her hand.

People always tell me they find it easy to understand my accent (I'm Scottish) but I personally find it very difficult to understand Essex or Birmingham accents. Sorry if you're from those areas

Not so long ago on the Azura my wife fancied a meal in the Glass House .Her treat she said.

We both decided on the Surf and Turf so when the waiter came back we gave our food order.

Went a bit like this :-

 

Mrs Kalos " Can I have the Surf and Turf Please"?

 

Waiter " Yes Murrm " (in his Indian accent) ..."and you Sir"?

 

Kalos " I will have the same but can I have peppercorn sauce as well" ?

 

Mrs Kalos " Oh can I have Peppercorn as well " ?

 

Waiter (Jotting down the order and looking at my wife ) " Cardamom"

Mrs Kalos " No thanks I want peppercorn "

Waiter (shakes head ,smiles) "No, no Cardamom ,I want your Cardamom"

I think it was about then the penny dropped and she realised he was saying " ! want your card Madam" .

Further endorsed by the fact he was pointing at her cruise card she had in her hand.

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Absolutely hilarious,thank you for brightening up my evening, can't stop laughing.😂 🤣

Not so long ago on the Azura my wife fancied a meal in the Glass House .Her treat she said.

We both decided on the Surf and Turf so when the waiter came back we gave our food order.

Went a bit like this :-

 

Mrs Kalos " Can I have the Surf and Turf Please"?

 

Waiter " Yes Murrm " (in his Indian accent) ..."and you Sir"?

 

Kalos " I will have the same but can I have peppercorn sauce as well" ?

 

Mrs Kalos " Oh can I have Peppercorn as well " ?

 

Waiter (Jotting down the order and looking at my wife ) " Cardamom"

Mrs Kalos " No thanks I want peppercorn "

Waiter (shakes head ,smiles) "No, no Cardamom ,I want your Cardamom"

I think it was about then the penny dropped and she realised he was saying " ! want your card Madam" .

Further endorsed by the fact he was pointing at her cruise card she had in her hand.

[/quote

 

Absolutely hilarious,thank you for brightening up my evening, can't stop laughing.😂 🤣

Sounds like ' it aint half hot mum lol.

Hi,no need to apologise,but Essex is the same accent as London, other than the posh parts,lol,cheers,Brian.

Well call it Estuary English, the kind of accent I associate with Essex. Lived in SW London and nothing like that accent!

Well call it Estuary English, the kind of accent I associate with Essex. Lived in SW London and nothing like that accent!

I often to struggle to understand a strong Liverpool accent and also struggle to understand the words used by the "I don't know nuffin innit" lot.

I .... also struggle to understand the words used by the "I don't know nuffin innit" lot.

(y)(y)

I often to struggle to understand a strong Liverpool accent and also struggle to understand the words used by the "I don't know nuffin innit" lot.

(y)(y)

By agreeing with same steriotyping,you must sound like Russ Abbott.

Why aye man.

Why aye man.

Sunderland gadgee.

Sunderland gadgee.

Saying 'yes of course'

I'm from East London ( from a family of cockneys) and to me the Essex accent is a more extreme version of the cockney accent 😂😂😂

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I live in Staffordshire, I dont have an accent but venture north from my home town of Stafford to Stoke on Trent and everybody gets called " duck " and they all "look (luke) in the cooook boooookk ".

Travel the other way and you are in Wolverhampton where the accent is the polar opposite - My Brother in law has the " Midlands " accent.

My family are Scottish, I`ve grown up listening to my grandparents broad Scottish accent. I can understand it perfectly

My personal favourite accent is Northern Ireland, Having travelled all over Ireland its amazing to me that you can go from the harsh Northern Irish then go down the road to Dublin where they all sing their words and Cork where everything sounds completely different altogether...

I live like an hour from Liverpool, I love the Liverpudlian accent and can take it on amazingly well to the point that I`ve been asked when taking on a customers Liverpudlian accent " Where are you from in Liverpool "

I could talk accents and regional dialects for hours as we have such a wide range of accents in the UK... I find it incredibly fascinating