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What is your accent?
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Mike_2003



Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 344
Location: Bucharest, Romania

PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 3:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And don't forget the Brummie accent which has been known to cause the occassional titter on occassions.
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mjed9



Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 242

PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 9:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Actually there was a poll taken in England a while back about which accents were the best and Geordies came out top (if I remember correctly) as having the most friendly voice ... which is why if you phone any callcentre in the UK it will more often than not be answered by someone hailing from Newcastle

J
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Mike_2003



Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 344
Location: Bucharest, Romania

PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 9:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I remember reading about a similar study. Scots were chosen for financial call centres because of their well-known "thriftiness" in money matters. The Liverpool accent, if I remember correctly, wasn't favoured as it apparently came across as untrustworthy.
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Slim Pickens



Joined: 25 Nov 2003
Posts: 299

PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 1:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

X

Last edited by Slim Pickens on Tue Nov 01, 2005 7:17 am; edited 1 time in total
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dduck



Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Posts: 422
Location: In the middle

PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 5:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike_2003 wrote:
I remember reading about a similar study. Scots were chosen for financial call centres because of their well-known "thriftiness" in money matters.

The Scots aren't known for "thriftiness". The stereotype of the Scots is of people who hate spending their money, ignoring the fact that Scots, time and time again, give more money (per head of population) to charity than any other region in the UK. The people in London are the most tight-fisted, if I remember.

According to the blurb I read, the Scots accent is popular, in call centres, because it's considered the most honest when it comes to money. A mild Scottish accent is also considered to be one of the easiest accents for students to understand.

Iain
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guty



Joined: 10 Apr 2003
Posts: 365
Location: on holiday

PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 5:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Although I think what most of the people have posted about accent and regional stereotype is true, I think call centres originally relocated to the North east for the same reason they are now moving again, this time to India, because its cheaper.
Any ideas what the preconceptions of Indian accents will be when all our quieries are answered by people from the subcontinent?
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mjed9



Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 242

PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 8:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry about this but I used to work setting up callcentres and apparently the test customers' only criticism of Eastern-based callcentres was that they were too polite.

They didn't even realise that these people were not "western".

Embarassed
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dmb



Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Posts: 8397

PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2003 9:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"teacher teacher math teacher very bad. He not say 'Thousand' he say 'Tousand'
A quote from my student who started Maths lessons yesterday
{The maths teacher is from India} So I'm happy because at least I know the student listened to my 'th'lesson. Very Happy
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shenyanggerry



Joined: 02 Nov 2003
Posts: 619
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2003 7:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I find the rhythm, stress and intonation of people from the Indian subcontinent particularly difficult to understand. I had occasion to teach a group of them twenty years ago. It took me weeks before I stopped asking them to repeat almost every phrase.
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