A glottal stop too far

I don't think it's snobbish to want people to speak clearly, whatever their accent. I think saying that slovenly speech is okay and people should just put up with it is reverse snobbery, as if speaking clearly were somehow a fault to be eradicated. I'm not talking about posh pronunciation but clear and well articulated.

Leaving t's out and things like that is a regional thing - no problem with that - but why do most people say "haitch" for H these days instead of "aitch" which is the correct pronunciation. I know people who used to try to speak "posh" often put "aitches" where they shouldn't be and missed them off where they should be .

They do it on the TV - even " Haitch" SBC staff say it - Its not Haitch- it's Aitch !!

Also I thought that you were supposed to miss out the "apostrophe S" after a word ending in S - i.e. Brahms Concerto not Brahms's Concerto - they do it all the time on Classic FM and TV presenters too - Wales's for instance.

This drives my husband nuts! He has to mention it every time he hears anyone not pronouncing the t s. Then it drives me nuts!

I enjoy hearing regional dialects. It is the deviation from BBC English, the missing letters, accents on others, etc that make these differences. regional dialects are changing all the while over time.
Listened to a very interesting lecture about the origins of spoken English and the origins of the regional accents. I can remember my mother chastising me for dropping H and G. The lecturer explained that H and G and relatively new in the English language and "Cockney" where these are dropped is in fact very close to old English. If only I knew that when I was 10.

So for me it is vive la difference, I enjoy what I 'ear and nuffin more to be said.

Children grow up copying the speech they hear around them, do they not.

They should change?

Like Eliza, and there should be tutors?

Interesting post, WB

I have a Brazilian friend who has real difficulty interpreting regional accents. Her native language is Portuguese. She came to live here from Holland so she speaks fluent Dutch and her spoken English is amazing but accents and dialect words really confuse her. Luckily her husband is 'frightfully awfully plummy' but can translate the Northumbrian and Geordie accents and dialects for her.

I've lived only in GB but all over the country from London to Northumberland via Midlands (Sutton Coldfield), North West (Bury, Romiley and Liverpool) and South Wales (Cardiff). My sisters always blended in without effort, picking up the local twang wherever we lived. I was made shy by the regular house moves so didn't fare so well. You'd know I'm northern (no barth, parth or grarse in my vocabulary) but wouldn't be able to place me closer than that unless I get a bit excited when my son insists a bit of scouse can be detected. My Brazilian friend finds me reasonably easy to understand.

Having said that, she's originally from Rio and says she can hardly understand the people from northern Brazil. When I visited Germany I was told I spoke like Hamburger!

There are problems with some usages, when the nothink and somethink pronunciations are simply due to Midlands local accents, though they can just be sloppy elsewhere.

I don't understand why 'nuclear' is so hard to say — new clear — two easy common words, but sometimes even government ministers say 'nucular'. And then there is plitical, and clector, and don't start me on the misuse of 'myself'! 'Myself and Chris went' — is so frequently heard now. Not just the confusion between I and me.

While we're being picky, does anyone know where 'twice' went? I keep hearing 'two times' instead of 'twice'. Is it an Americanism? "I did it two times", seems so awkward.

And are you a 'Brit'? I'm pretty sure I'm not...

I'm so pleased to see so many people who, like me, become intensely irritated by the misuse of our language. It is not snobbish.
My pet hate during the Olympics has been 'atherlete'.