Favourite accent?

[gingerjedi]

Wonder how many antipodeans will get offended being lumped in together, cardinal sin that one ...

Or southerners that are all assumed to be either plummy or cockney….

[up4it]

RP & plummy accents are for pufftas!

[TimberWolf]

i) It's not geographical, it's societal/educational. The 'plummy' English accent is called 'received pronunciation' (RP) and was the accent favoured by the BBC in the 1930-50s for radio announcements.

ii) See i - people from all over can speak with RP.

iii) Generally yes but some of the gentry (and esp. royalty) have vocal mannerisms which exaggerate various vowel combinations etc.

So we are being kind when we say people have an accent (e.g. northerners), they are really just uneducated?

[Bagpuss]

i) It's not geographical, it's societal/educational. The 'plummy' English accent is called 'received pronunciation' (RP) and was the accent favoured by the BBC in the 1930-50s for radio announcements.

ii) See i - people from all over can speak with RP.

iii) Generally yes but some of the gentry (and esp. royalty) have vocal mannerisms which exaggerate various vowel combinations etc.

It all started with the Queens English which was an invention for the court of Elizabeth I, she couldn't abide regional accents, so all had to speak with a false tone while in her court. Only Walter Raleigh was allowed to speak with an accent (Devon).
To this day people still talk the queens english, but it has no real basis before Elizabeth I i.e. it's a faux accent.

[wobbegong]

Or southerners that are all assumed to be either plummy or cockney….

WHS! Where's the "West country" option?

[Peoplesoft bloke]

So we are being kind when we say people have an accent (e.g. northerners), they are really just uneducated?

No you are being ignorant. RP is based on a regional accent - it just happens to be a Southern one. Estuary is missing from that list and gets my vote as the thickest sounding :-)

[alreadypacked]

Where is the French / Italian, big turn-on for me

[up4it]

Bagpuss: You speak the Queens English not talk it!

Even an ignorant uneducated Northerner like me knows that!

[snaw]

Did I miss something or is the spelling smiley spelled wrong on purpose?

[TimberWolf]

(1) A lot of people don't seem to be talking English these days anyway.
(2) Estuary - is that what Dr Who's new sidekick speaks? (she is rubbish isn't she)
(3) Are there any neat Polish words coming into mainstream use?
(4) People with accents (e.g. Northerners) are probably thick.