Poll: Upper-class English accents... your views, please

[ldwater]

I think it depends on where you are and how you use it.

I'm a brit also and I speak with a 'common' accent (ie, nothing special, but I still cut words short and use different phrases - I know the 'proper' way of saying things but I prefer to stick with what I know) so I think alot of people would think that I am also common (ie, working class) but thats not the case.

The thing with accents is that it reminds people of class and the differences between them; so if you speak to people with a 'posh' accent then people may think that your being arrogant and snobby.

The thing about Stephen Fry is that he speaks good english without coming across as snobby or arrogant with it which puts alot of people at ease with him. Also the fact that hes quite funny and open makes him alot more approachable than most 'upper class' types.

As for the OP and changing your accent / using different accent around different people and is it right; yeah I guess its alright to do it because it gives you a better chance of mixing in with people. You don't talk 'common as muck', "f'ing and jeffing" with your parents or your boss (unless they are cool with that ), and neither do you talk all posh and over pronunciated when your down the local pub, so having the ability to adapt is very important and can be useful in many social situations.

 

[SuccessAndBiscuts]

Depends to be honest, if I have found reason to like the person with it its not too bad. But most of the time it can send me into either a fit of laughter or an uncontrollable murder-frenzy depending on the level of stupid in what they are saying.

I'm Scottish but try and keep my own accent dialled down a little, but some situations eg dealing with some pretentious twat with that accent I go clear through my reasonable Argyll accent and wind up in full blown Glaswegian. It's only happened a couple of times and apparently I become shit-scary.

 

[EeveeElectro]

I wish Stephen Fry's accent was stereotypical for British people. I'd be forever happy if everyone sounded like him.
Uh... Posh accents are funny. They're comical, not sexy in my opinion. People will always use the posh upper-class accent when mocking Brits. It's funny because I'm as far away from posh as you can get.
If some Americans or whoever think we all speak like that. they'll be surprised to hear me speak.

I once had a conversation with an American online that went someone thing like:
"Do you have a sexy London accent?"
"No, I'm from Yorkshire."
"Oh, is that in London?"
"No, it's about 6 hours away, up North."
"So... do you have a sexy British accent?"
*facepalm*
I guess he liked the London accent

 

[carpathic]

High-class british accent on a girl? HOT seriously, that was all capitalized for a reason.

 

[Woodsey]

On girls, it can be hot (see: Emma Watson), but guys just sound like dicks.

 

[Spoon E11]

My fellow Escapists...

I'm British, and naturally speak English with quite a high-class accent, but for some reason, it doesn't really sit well with a lot of people I come across. So, over time, I've developed a knack for speaking with an East London/deep-Essex accent. But was that the right thing to do?/quote]

Well it can piss me off. Mainly because of the stereotypes surrounding the people who have those accents. Anyway in east London you would have probably recieved alot of stick for it.

 

[s0denone]

On girls, it can be hot (see: Emma Watson), but guys just sound like dicks.

I think I sound rephrase my previous statement.
I have nothing against women talking like that. I think it's pretty sexy, in fact.

Still, I have to reiterate that men speaking like poshos are usually complete muppets or massive cunts.

 

[Verlander]

Girls with posh accents=sexy

Men with posh accents=chinless bastards. Nothing wrong with an east end accent (guess what I've got ), it does you no harm with the ladies, and commands more street level respect than a posh one. For job interviews and suchlike we all speak a bit posh anyway to make us sound better

 

[NerdElf]

I wish I had such an accent. I sound like a russian with TBC when I speak english.

 

[Aurora219]

If that is how you speak then speak like that. I see no problem with it. I personally speak standard English with a slight Devon accent.

Woo, go doppelganger!

I live in Devon so I can excuse my debnshire. But it's nowhere near as broad as my farming background family sounds - I've lived in a town all my life.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I'd kill for such an accent myself, sure they sound push, with the right tone they're sexy as hell. Especially on girls, oh hell yes.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I'm american and I tend to speak 'properly' and with a fairly wide vocabulary. I pronounce "aunt" with the 'u' for example (instead of "ant") and I know what a "klaxon" is (weirded out some friends with that). At the same time I use a lot of slang and am not overly concerned about grammar which I think lends to people viewing me as intelligent but not pretentious, so someone they can get on with.

 

[mb16]

well im a middle class Wiltshire/Hampshire boy. So naturally my accent is considered posh by some counties and not by others.

for example in Lancashire im told i have a "posh" accent while in Oxfordshire it's just normal. But when i go to USAland like i am this spring (ah-ha rich kid ) im told i have a amazingly posh accent, which is off putting when you are having a conversation and they go "oh i love your accent". um thanks?

 

[Soxafloppin]

On a girl, there really sexy! Think Bella from Supernatural. Yum.

 

[Spoonius]

As long as the speaker isn't egotistical or snobbish, then he or she is awesome.

The Stephen Fry one is tame. It's the one where they sound like they're yawning while they're talking, that's the hilarious one. Hyeas indeed.

Like the Barrister from the "7/14/21/28/etc Up" series?

 

[Terminal Blue]

Do you mean the actual upper class 'gap yah' accent or just BBC English (what most people think of as a 'posh' British accent because they haven't heard the former).

The actual upper class accent is a bit repellent, because in order to have it nowadays you have to have actively cultivated it by going to elite public schools and hanging out with people called 'Tarquin'. BBC English has a middle class integrity to it which is still quite desirable.

I don't buy into the whole 'downward mobility' thing of putting on a regional accent, especially since my original regional accent sounds like someone being sick in reverse.

 

[Nghtgnt]

I think we need some audio samples, as I'd have to hear it to know which exactly you're talking about, but if it's the one you usually hear in movies and televisions, then I find it incredibly sexy. I could listen to a girl reading from a phonebook all day in that accent.

 

[Colour Scientist]

They're okay, not my favourite accent in the world. Scottish and some Welsh accents are yum though.

I would kill for an accent like that. ANY accent, in fact. I've heard myself, and it makes me want to tear out my vocal chords.

Most people don't like their voices when they're played back to them from a recording.

 

[michael87cn]

Well, I'm from the US, and I never really thought about it much, I wonder if we sound strange to people from other countries? I've been told I sound canadian, though I was born in the west (Utah) and I now live in the east (Florida).

I don't talk like a cowboy or anything, and I don't sound like a southerner (hillbilly).. apparently I'm partly canadian eh? *shrug*