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[guest of Japan]

Every time I try to fake a British accent I sound Scottish. My accent skills used to be quite good. I spent several months working on a private yacht. My fellow crew members were Canadian, American, Scottish, British, and NZ. I used to be able to tell the any native English speakers country, but alas, that skill has faded.

[dduck]

Okay, as I explain it these days. The name of the island is Great Britain - everything on it is British, that is, it comes from that island. On that island you find three nations: the English (largest group), the Scots (next largest), and the Welsh (often confused with sheep).

Iain

[schminken]

I have a American Southern Accent. Not a "Gone with the Wind Scarlett" accent, more of an Applachian one. It's not very thick though.

A funny thing happened in class the other day. A student was talking about a video clip I had shown them and said, "Yes we need practice listening to other accents and not yours because you speak so slowly and clearly for our sake." Tee hee. I was shocked. It was my normal speaking voice and I have never "dumbed it down" for them. Oh well.

My grandparents lived deep in the Appalachian mountains and spoke a really interesting dialect. I usually never understood them. It was something close to Elizabethen English spoken with a thick southern twang. I wish I had gotten it on tape, because the dialect is slowly on its last legs.

[ha'anala]

schminken, where in the south did you grow up?

I was thinking I was the only American Southerner here...I usually don't admit where I'm from. The tendency here in the states is to assume anyone from the south is a little slow and far from intelligent. (but I guess the slow speaking does help out the students, eh?)

I grew up listening to my mother constantly butchering the English language...

It wasn't "argue" it was ar-gee.

wash became warsh (our president lives in Warshinten,DC)

There were no words ending in -ing in her vocabulary, everything was just -in:

fishin, warshin, pushin, etc...

Listening to this everyday was a constant reminder for me to work on my pronunciation. I sometimes like to speak with my version of a British, Irish or Scottish accent (nothing like the real thing), but if I do it regularly it helps to drive the southern drawl out of my regular speech.

Right now I'm living in the south, and most people around here will tell me that I have no accent. Of course if I go anywhere above the Mason-Dixon Line they can pick up my accent. Also if I hang out with people from work much (mostly good ole southern boys), then my drawl comes sneaking back in.

One of the biggest complements I ever received was when my former boss who grew up in Minnesota thought I was from the North.

[Capergirl]

[dduck]

[FGT]

Question: How many islands make up the British Isles?

Britain and Ireland, obviously. Then there's the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight, the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands. Am I right in thinking that the Channel Islands are not included?