Loss of the classic brit accent?

[Chems]

I've been watching this on iplayer, some of you may have caught it first time around in 1985, but seen as I wasn't born then first watch for me.

These soldiers, not top rank officer toffs or anything just normal english men, but you I haven't come across anyone with this sort of british accent anymore? Seems a bit of a shame, perhaps the influence of a lot of american tv?

 

[Richard T]

Plus Australian tv and rapper - speak innit?

 

[Benchwayze]

Nice to hear the expression 'Scrub-round' hasn't vanished from Navy/Marine speak!

 

[Max Power]

:roll: EEnglish, innit wot we used to speak before we woz all multicultural :mrgreen:

 

[Edwin]

I'm not sure what you mean by a British accent. Yorkshire, Essex, Fife and Cornwall accents are all British but all different. The qualities that all of them need are that they should be clearly articulated and that they carry a sort of "light and shade" that makes them easy (and interesting) for other people to understand. As you suggest, a British accent doesn't have to be "posh" or affected, and I find some "posh" accents really painful. For example, "The Queen's English" is a version I have never heard spoken other than by the Queen, and I'm grateful for that. The so-called "Oxford English" is also an affectation, and a bit of a myth; it certainly has little in common with the accent either of the city or the surrounding countryside.

So I hope you mean an accent that is recognisably British, is clear, and avoids most of the worst pollution of the modern "celebrity" and entertainment culture.

 

[Benchwayze]

There is an accent known as Standard English, 'as wot wos' once used by BBC presenters and announcers! It's dying a death. I also get aggravated by the number of actors, narrators, presenters on TV, who insist on pronouncing 'aitch' as 'Haitch'. (No names no pack-drill) They also tend to split-infinitives all over the place. Just because some learned twit in a University says it's now standard practice to split infinitives, doesn't make it right, or sound less clumsy!

However, in a country where probably 80% of the population is unaware when the Union Flag is shown upside-down; and also insist on calling it the 'Union Jack', I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

John :evil:

 

[milkman]

The past is a foreign country (and a foreign language?).

I recoil with horror as “innit” is obliterating all of our other question tags and as nouns get turned into verbs (impacting!!?).

But its inevitable, that’s what languages do, so you might as well pick up the new stuff you do like and run with it.

If the balloon went up one way or another, and 15 miles became your maximum day’s travel again I'm sure dialects, new ones, would very quickly assert themselves and very quickly we'd be unable to understand each other again, which used to be a big problem.

What does make me sad is that until very recently dialects weren’t recorded very well so its difficult finding out what people did say.

 

[Digit]

Language evolves, and I have no problem with that, but oftimes I wonder about the direction ours may be moving.
Somehow I doubt that some Gangsta rap enthusiast will compete with .....

WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

W.H. Davies.

Roy.

 

[Mike.C]

As long as we Londoner's don't loose our Cockney accent that's all that matters :lol:

Cheers

Mike

 

[Benchwayze]

As long as we Londoner's don't loose our Cockney accent that's all that matters :lol:

Cheers

Mike

Strange... Listening to the new /'Cockneys' especially the youngsters, I fear that it's the traditional cockney accent that's suffering most of all. That's where I hear the 'rap-speak' the most. And it makes me cringe to hear it; especially the missing 'T'.
E.g.
Priori'y, liabili'y, compu'er and so on, innit then . I 'so' do not like it!!! :twisted:

John

 

[Jacob]

There is an accent known as Standard English, 'as wot wos' once used by BBC presenters and announcers!.....

There's no such thing. If you listen to any archive programmes you find that the posh accents change quite a lot over time - the further back you go the weirder they sound. Very fashion driven and often very artificial as people struggle to fake it.
If you wanted a "standard" you'd have to look at regional accents which change very little over time.

 

[RogerS]

..... That's where I hear the 'rap-speak' the most. And it makes me cringe to hear it; especially the missing 'T'.
......

John

That's strange? I thought is was the 'C' that was missing :wink:

 

[RogerS]

There is an accent known as Standard English, 'as wot wos' once used by BBC presenters and announcers!.....

There's no such thing. If you listen to any archive programmes you find that the posh accents change quite a lot over time - the further back you go the weirder they sound. Very fashion driven and often very artificial as people struggle to fake it.
If you wanted a "standard" you'd have to look at regional accents which change very little over time.

That's tosh, Jacob, and you're letting your 'chips on your shoulder' speak for you agai. When the BBC started broadcasting, all announcers had Standard English pronunciation especially newsreaders, presenters and continuity announcers. There was a department dedicated to this. I agree that, to our ears, it does sound rather affected but it has nothing to do with class so give it a rest, eh? Stop trying to bring politics and your quaint world view into everything.

 

[Digit]

There was a department dedicated to this.

That is correct! All sorts of attempts were/are? being made to produce a uniform pronounciation throughout the UK. Apparently they considerable problems with Alcester and Cirencester.
That aside, can anyone remember posting something on here that Jacob didn't argue against? :lol:

Roy.

 

[Benchwayze]

I'm still trying to work out Roger's joke about the missing 'C'! :mrgreen:
John 8)

 

[RogerS]

I'm still trying to work out Roger's joke about the missing 'C'! :mrgreen:
John 8)

Rap...!

 

[Benchwayze]

I thought that was a game of die? :wink:

John

 

[Jacob]

There is an accent known as Standard English, 'as wot wos' once used by BBC presenters and announcers!.....

There's no such thing. If you listen to any archive programmes you find that the posh accents change quite a lot over time - the further back you go the weirder they sound. Very fashion driven and often very artificial as people struggle to fake it.
If you wanted a "standard" you'd have to look at regional accents which change very little over time.

That's tosh, Jacob, and you're letting your 'chips on your shoulder' speak for you agai. When the BBC started broadcasting, all announcers had Standard English pronunciation especially newsreaders, presenters and continuity announcers. There was a department dedicated to this. I agree that, to our ears, it does sound rather affected but it has nothing to do with class so give it a rest, eh? Stop trying to bring politics and your quaint world view into everything.

Yes they had a "standard" but it was a BBC standard - a kind of derived "posh" or better off sarf east accent (that's the class bit). It didn't stick, which is my point. If you listen to archive stuff it varies and changes, and is doing all the time. Far more changeable than regional accents. Those who try hardest often fail hardest too, think of Nigel Parsons or Robert Robinson (for the older ones amongst us) - you can tell they are riff-raff just like the rest of us!

 

[Digit]

you can tell they are riff-raff just like the rest of us!

Speak for yourself!


http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j& ... ZA&cad=rja

Roy.

 

[Benchwayze]

On my new DAB radio I can't get programmes older than three years Jacob.