I am watching the movie and the characters are from Yorkshire...
I don't know a lot about England but I keep thinking I am hearing a hint of Irish in some of the characters' voices. Can anyone from the UK (or other...) explain how you differentiate the different accents in England? I'm just really interested.
Well if you're from England, it's easier to detect an accent from your own country. So - to me - all the characters are from Yorkshire, because I know what a Yorkshire accent sounds like. I can't say I can hear that hint of Irish that you say you hear.
Where are you from? Surely you're able to differentiate between the various accents in your own country? It's the same principle.
"Who is the bookman? And what right does he have to order me about?!" - Angela Lansbury
of course I can understand the different accents and differentiate who is from where in the US- but I was asking about it because i'm not from the U.K., so i can't differentiate the accents and their sounds. so because i thought that it sounded somewhat irish, i wanted to know the background- i'm just curious.
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Sorry - when you say you want to know the backgrounds - what do you mean? Maybe I've misunderstood you're question, but I thought you were asking how Brits can tell the difference between various English accents.
"Who is the bookman? And what right does he have to order me about?!" - Angela Lansbury
I couldn't hear any hint of Irish in their accents. They were all a very broad Yorkshire accent. As to how we differentiate between the accents, well...I mean, you just DO. There are a good few hundred of them in England alone, let alone when you bring in Britain, but you just know, I suppose.
What does it mean...when she smiles?
As an American of Yorkshire descent I think I can answer your question. To American ears, anything as far north as Yorkshire begins to sound Scottish. Scottish accents sounds similar to Northern Irish (to American ears), which is different from Republic accents (typified by Dublin in most films and television programmes). Hope that helps.
shareHear! Hear! I'm a Yank and pride myself on having a bit of an ear for accents across England (at least for a North American). I agree with CarPort1, as I typically distinguish between the Scottish accent and that of Yorkshire by their similarities as well as their differences (however, I cannot articulate those differences). My sense is the original questioner was confusing Irish with Scottish, which is rather typical for many Yanks.
That said, I have another question about English accents. What dialect was predominantly spoken in "The Wedding Gift" (Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters)? I don't find it detailed at IMDB! Apparently, the movie, "The Wedding Gift" was released also under the name, "Wide-Eyed and Legless."
I might add that I turned on subtitles so that I could understand all the dialogue and would do it again. I love the way 'butter' and 'rugs' are pronounced in Yorkshire.
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I'm from Northern England so quite familiar with the Yorkshire accent, but overall would disagree about the Irish twinge. Most of the actresses were from southern England, apart from Annette Crosbie who's Scottish I think.
That said, at one point, I thought Ciaran Hinds' accent slipped and went into his normal voice, which does have strong Irish tones
"Wait till they get a load of me!"
I agree when you said Ciaran Hind's accent slipped: it was the same with Penelope Wilton: she said a particular word or sentence (can't remember where) and her accent slipped back into the Southern English type accent.
shareummm, Penelope Wilton's from Scarborough..which is in Yorkshire...
shareI think they sounded right for Yorkshire accents. I am from the South East, not far from London, UK. I find I have the same problem with American accents, they all sound similar unless they are Southern accents and then I can tell that they sound different from other ones.
shareI think they sounded right for Yorkshire accents. I am from the South East, not far from London, UK. I find I have the same problem with American accents, they all sound similar unless they are Southern accents and then I can tell that they sound different from other ones.
shareI did think Ciaran Hind's accent slipped, I don't know but when the journalist took his photo, he said something like "as long as I don't have to take ME clothes off" and it sounded very Irish to me, but maybe that's how people in Yorkshire speak too?
I can tell the difference in American accents (most of them), and between Irish, Scottish, British, Australians, etc.... but not the accents inside England...
... Viva Clark Gable, el eterno y único Rey de Hollywoodshare
Maybe if you haven't heard a lot of British Isles accents, anything British where they're pronouncing post-vocalic "r" sounds "Irish," which is the accent of that description that everyone here in America is familiar with. Although most Irish don't consider it "British," but you know what I mean.
shareI'm originally from the North East of England, further North than Yorkshire and I get asked if I'm Irish all the time, so I (sort of) get where you're coming from! I think maybe because we talk so fast.
However my accents mellowed as I've been living in the middle for years...I'm a hybrid now lol. I've been asked if I'm Scottish, Irish, Canadian, Scandanavian, Polish, Dutch, then I've been asked if I'm from Birmingham, Bolton, (getting closer...) Hartlepool, Darlington, and basically everywhere else in the North East!
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Hey,
I'm about 3 years late but I'm on this page randomly because the movie is on TV right now!
I'm from Yorkshire (but I reside in London). I understand your point but I can honestly say that the actors are all very good at portraying my original accent! I'm closely listening but they are very good and I don't hear a hint of Irish etc.
Especially Julie Walters her Yorkshire accent is almost perfect! Even some of the posh speaking ladies do the Posh Yorkshire accent really well! Yes, we do have a posh version of the Yorkshire accent!