Today we have a selection of recordings of people speaking English in a number of different dialects/accents. Can you work out which parts of the UK they come from?
1) Yorkshire; 2) Kent; 3) Northern Ireland/Ulster; 4) Glasgow (I think they’re talking about the Gorbals—where my dad, G.R.H.S., grew up); 5) Skye?/Western Isles; 6) Cork? (somewhere in the Rep. of Ireland); 7) obviously Wales, but the young girls sound like they’re somewhere near N.E. Wales, maybe Wrexham?
6) Kerry or Tippeary area, south west Ireland anyway I think.
I know none of them are Cockney… and that’s it. 🙁
Interesting note: learning Mandarin I find it helpful to have recordings a bit louder than I would normally choose to listen to US English recordings, perhaps to catch sounds critical to the meaning that I might otherwise miss. I found myself wishing for the same thing here!
So does this mean that we should speak louder to non-native speakers to be understood better? I always thought this was just a reflexive and none-to-useful habit, but perhaps (assuming the person in question can understand the language at all) there is some credence to it after all…
I am sorry, I don’t have a email addres. I think that all of them are from somewhere in England, they sound like an English voices.
Am I correct?
Alot of my relatives, on my Dad’s side come from England, but I do not have a clue!!!
Curses … I must get a computer with speakers.
Mark – 1) isn’t Yorkshire, 4) isn’t Glasgow, 6) isn’t Cork, and 7) is North Wales, though not Wrexham. The others are correct.
Lillian – some of the people in the recordings are from England, others are from Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Ben – I tend to speak more slowly and clearly when speaking English to non-native speakers, though it depends how well they speak English. I also try use relatively simple words and to avoid using slang and idioms. I’m not sure if it’s necessary or helpful to speak louder – that’s the stereotypical kind of thing monoglot English speakers often do.
Here are the answers:
Clip 1 – North West of England (Kirkoswald, Cumbria)
Clip 2 – South East of England (Boughton Monchelsea, Kent)
Clip 3 – Northern Ireland (Rosemont, Derry)
Clip 4 – South East of Scotland (Edinburgh, Lothian)
Clip 5 – North West of Scotland (Fort William, Inverness-shire)
Clip 6 – South Wales (Johnston, Pembrokeshire)
Clip 7 – North Wales (Bethesda, Gwynedd)
1) Yorkshire; 2) Kent; 3) Northern Ireland/Ulster; 4) Glasgow (I think they’re talking about the Gorbals—where my dad, G.R.H.S., grew up); 5) Skye?/Western Isles; 6) Cork? (somewhere in the Rep. of Ireland); 7) obviously Wales, but the young girls sound like they’re somewhere near N.E. Wales, maybe Wrexham?
6) Kerry or Tippeary area, south west Ireland anyway I think.
I know none of them are Cockney… and that’s it. 🙁
Interesting note: learning Mandarin I find it helpful to have recordings a bit louder than I would normally choose to listen to US English recordings, perhaps to catch sounds critical to the meaning that I might otherwise miss. I found myself wishing for the same thing here!
So does this mean that we should speak louder to non-native speakers to be understood better? I always thought this was just a reflexive and none-to-useful habit, but perhaps (assuming the person in question can understand the language at all) there is some credence to it after all…
I am sorry, I don’t have a email addres. I think that all of them are from somewhere in England, they sound like an English voices.
Am I correct?
Alot of my relatives, on my Dad’s side come from England, but I do not have a clue!!!
Curses … I must get a computer with speakers.
Mark – 1) isn’t Yorkshire, 4) isn’t Glasgow, 6) isn’t Cork, and 7) is North Wales, though not Wrexham. The others are correct.
Lillian – some of the people in the recordings are from England, others are from Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Ben – I tend to speak more slowly and clearly when speaking English to non-native speakers, though it depends how well they speak English. I also try use relatively simple words and to avoid using slang and idioms. I’m not sure if it’s necessary or helpful to speak louder – that’s the stereotypical kind of thing monoglot English speakers often do.
Here are the answers:
Clip 1 – North West of England (Kirkoswald, Cumbria)
Clip 2 – South East of England (Boughton Monchelsea, Kent)
Clip 3 – Northern Ireland (Rosemont, Derry)
Clip 4 – South East of Scotland (Edinburgh, Lothian)
Clip 5 – North West of Scotland (Fort William, Inverness-shire)
Clip 6 – South Wales (Johnston, Pembrokeshire)
Clip 7 – North Wales (Bethesda, Gwynedd)