Gransnet forums

Ask a gran

Problem with Cornish and Scouse accents?

(38 Posts)
Riverwalk Wed 05-Oct-16 07:04:28

Seems there are communication problems with different accents. smile

Codswallop

Jalima Wed 05-Oct-16 12:34:31

Do they speak Cod English?

GrannyGalactica Wed 05-Oct-16 13:05:03

I lived in Liverpool for a while and never had a problem with one to one conversations but it took me quite a while to be able to join in with group conversations with the girls at work. As they spoke they got more and more excited and talked faster and faster. It wasn't just a matter of my not understanding the comments, I couldn't even grasp the subject they were talking about. I do love the accent though and always enjoy listening to the voices around me when I travel on Liverpool buses. When I returned to Devon after a couple of years of being surrounded by Scouse, I was amazed to find that people round here have an accent too as I thought it had died out. It's generally not as broad as in my Granny's day but it's still there. Long live the music of accents!

Diddy1 Wed 05-Oct-16 14:33:01

I love accents, coming from Liverpool but having been living abroad for nearly fifty years, I havent go much Scouse accent left, but as soon as i arrive in Liverpool I feel at home hearing the lingo, love it.

Maggiemaybe Wed 05-Oct-16 15:03:21

It's great that our accents are alive and kicking! The only one I have really struggled with is broad Glaswegian. When DD2 was studying up it was so embarrassing to stand gawping like a simpleton when somebody asked me a question, but somehow I just couldn't tune into it. Fortunately, DH could so he interpreted.

Maggiemaybe Wed 05-Oct-16 15:06:03

studying up there - oh for an edit button!

MrsEggy Wed 05-Oct-16 16:49:16

Why do so many people, Shortlegs, think its ok to insult the million or so people proud to call themselves Brummies? As an exile Brummie living in Dudley, (20 miles from my home city) I found the Black Country accent almost impossible to understand although the people are kind and friendly (they talk to you on the buses, unlike southerners!) Incidentally, the Black Country dialect has many words of Anglo-Saxon origin, and William Shakespeare probably had a midlands accent.

Legs55 Wed 05-Oct-16 17:28:04

Originally from Yorkshire followed by Lancashire, Middlesex (Surrey) where I worked for Civil Service, lots of different accents both in the Office & on the phone, rarely had a problem. Moved to Somerset & now settled in Devon.

I rarely have a real problem with accents & love hearing them spoken particularly "local words & expressions). smile

I have noticed when I go back to Yorkshire by accent becomes stronger grin

BiNtHeReDuNiT14 Wed 05-Oct-16 18:01:20

Having been up in Scotland for 50 years now but coming originally from Southport my friends are always trying to get me to pronounce singing as singin' as I put emphasis on 'ing' some habits die hard. I personally love a room full of mixed accents it really is like 'singing'. Years ago when I had to go to Hospital to deliver my third child a lovely friend I had made from Aberdeen looked after my other two until my MiL arrived up, as my husband was away. I had struggled to understand her at times as she was broad Aberdonian. My MiL gave her a ring once she arrived in Glasgow to say she would not be much longer to be told I had given birth to a 'loonie' Needless to say she was quite anxious until she arrived to find it was a boy!

mrsmopp Wed 05-Oct-16 18:38:51

I think it would be very dull if everyone spoke BBC English (if there is such a thing these days) as different accents and dialects have character and I'm fascinated by by the variations in different parts of the country. It can lead to misunderstandings on occasions, with unfamiliar expressions and a bit of patience is needed.
It can be a problem for anyone with hearing loss - my poor mum struggled to understand what the Asian doctor was telling her when she was in hospital. She waited till he'd gone and asked the nurse what he had been saying.

KatyK Wed 05-Oct-16 18:50:54

I was born in Birmingham and have lived here all my life. In the '70s we moved to an area that is closer to the Black Country. When we visited shops in our nearest town I hadn't a clue what anyone was saying!

Deedaa Wed 05-Oct-16 21:06:22

I do find a really thick Glaswegian accent hard going. I never had a problem with Cornish when we lived there - apart from one neighbour who also had a speech impediment that made him nearly incomprehensible but who insisted on telling us long and involved stories!

DIORisme167 Wed 05-Oct-16 21:27:52

to my mind the Cornish accent is soft and easy to understand. Scousers, on the other hand, sound as though they have catarrgh and are about to deposit something unpleasant at any moment.!!