Korean Job Discussion Forums

[xhaktmtjdnf]

I suppose most people have their own issues with how other people speak, but as long as you can understand each other I think that's the important part. So, what annoys you about how other people speak English? I was reading the BBC today and saw this story and was wondering what people on Dave's thought.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/14130942

[isisaredead]

every word a south african utters.

[420trader]

To be honest, I have zero problems with how other people speak English - whether it's Brits, Aussie, Kiwi, Korean-accent, Chinese-accent, Indian-accent, ebonics (a lot of people have a problem with me speaking like this though), etc. There are certain accents and words that are difficult to understand but I've got no problem with it.

[Steelrails]

Yeah, it's just experience. I grew up in a mutli-culti city and could understand every kind of English accent by the time I was like, 12.

[tomstar86]

You've clearly never heard a Birmingham accent before. It makes me want to tear my hair out. It just makes the speaker sound...dim.

A generalisation I know (and one that probably makes me sound dim), but there...I can't stand it.

Or seriously broad Scottish...such a pain in the ass to understand. Especially when the speaker is yelling at you down a phone because they didn't pay their credit card bill on time...Give me Indian-English or an Aussie accent any day!

Tom

http://waegook-tom.com

[marsavalanche]

Indian English
British English
New Zealand English
Second generation Italians from new Jersey/staten island

[aq8knyus]

Actually I have a brummie twang, soon learned after 4 years in London how much hatred that can inspire.

I love the variety of regional British accents; there is a rhythm and poetry to scouse, geordie and brummie to name a few.

RP on the other hand is artificial and a disgrace, only invented by snobs to distinguish themselves from us plebs.

In fact American English is closer to how we English used to sound before RP ruined it all. In the run to 1812 when Britain impressed US sailors they thought about issuing citizenship certificates to Brits. This was because there was no way to tell the difference between an American and a Brit. That and Shakespeare would have sounded closer to certain communities living in the Trent region of the Eastern US seaboard than any living Englishman.

The BBC article that preceded the one the OP is talking about showed how words like talented, reliable and influential were all Americanisms. The poet Coleridge apparently thought 'Talented' was a barbarous word.

Though 'could care less' is stupid.

[Privateer]

When I was a kid the American accent irritated me. After being around American accents for a long time here, I started to find British accents annoying. Now I more or less just accept the way people speak no matter where they're from. It's all part of life's rich tapestry.

[Maxedvisa]

Newfie accent, I know people from Canada will agree with me. Even those from Newfoundland.

[Greyjoy]

Boston accents.

[joelove]

[northway]

[spaceman82]

The Economist put up a somewhat-related blog article recently - thought some of you might be interested in checking it out:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2011/07/peeves?fsrc=rss