sidcow Posted February 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 4, 2021 12 hours ago, mjmooney said: I do find it amusing that American women seem to find the Brummie accent rather cute and sexy. In the UK it's probably the most ridiculed and reviled accent of all. For a US comparison, think 'dumb hillbilly'. My Brummie has been neutralised almost (but not quite) out of existence, after nearly fifty years away. It's now a sort of neutral RP with bits of Yorkshire. There was a recording on here some years ago from when I was on a radio quiz show. If you check out the Jazz thread I've posted up an interview with a saxophone player I went to school with who emigrated to Canada about 30 years ago. You would not believe he wasn't Canadian now, not a trace of Brummie or even English. But then Ozzy Osborne has lived in California for god knows how long and still (when he's legible) sounds Brummie. Same for Jeff Lynn who I think lives in America. My cousin moved to Brum from California 25 years ago but still sounds noticeably American although I am pretty sure he works at it. I think some people just slide into a new accent and others don't. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted February 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 4, 2021 10 hours ago, villa4europe said: what we dont do is write the way we talk so i think a lot of the slang and colloquialisms might come as a shock, especially those of us that lean towards the black country i watched grealish yesterday in an england video with declan rice, he talks in a way that i dont, both in terms in which side of the city he originates from and his age and therefore slang We've been round the Wrekin on this before. Personally I can't tell any difference between North and South Brum though many claim they can. I agree when you start getting near The Black Country there's a definite twang. What alway shocks me if how different the Coventry accent is to us. I can drive from Shirley to my mates house in Coventry quicker than I can drive to where he grew up in Northfield, yet their accent is so different to West Midlands. I actually think they sound a bit West Country. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 30 minutes ago, mjmooney said: This was in 1989. Ah right. Well, just flip the script, it still works! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 2 minutes ago, sidcow said: What alway shocks me if how different the Coventry accent is to us. Its just because they have no teeth. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted February 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 4, 2021 Speaking of The West Country, without exception everyone I have ever known from Bristol is a complete nutter, and everyone I've encountered on the couple of times I've been there is just weird to down right mental. Is it because they're constantly trying to live up to the impression of sounding like a pirate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitvilla Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 11 minutes ago, sidcow said: I agree when you start getting near The Black Country there's a definite twang. They can be unintelligible if they try. I remember going into a pub and thinking I can understand maybe one word in three. I have lived abroad for the last forty years ... I have rarely met a Brummie of WM expat. Mancs, Geordies, Londoners are all over the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted February 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 4, 2021 (edited) 1 minute ago, fruitvilla said: I have lived abroad for the last forty years ... I have rarely met a Brummie of WM expat. Mancs, Geordies, Londoners are all over the place. We already live in paradise. It's only those saddos who need to move. Edited February 4, 2021 by sidcow 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitvilla Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Just now, sidcow said: We already live in paradise. It's only those saddos who need to move. Kings Heath Paradise? Well it's not bad, I suppose, Traffic on a Saturday morning was hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted February 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 4, 2021 I'm definitely posh Brummie. Most people outside Brum can't guess where I'm from, but anyone from Brum would collar me immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingram85 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 6 minutes ago, fruitvilla said: Kings Heath Paradise? Well it's not bad, I suppose, Traffic on a Saturday morning was hell. What’s wrong with the Heath? Oh yeah, everything. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted February 4, 2021 Author VT Supporter Share Posted February 4, 2021 25 minutes ago, sidcow said: If you check out the Jazz thread I've posted up an interview with a saxophone player I went to school with who emigrated to Canada about 30 years ago. You would not believe he wasn't Canadian now, not a trace of Brummie or even English. But then Ozzy Osborne has lived in California for god knows how long and still (when he's legible) sounds Brummie. Same for Jeff Lynn who I think lives in America. My cousin moved to Brum from California 25 years ago but still sounds noticeably American although I am pretty sure he works at it. I think some people just slide into a new accent and others don't. Very true. A few years ago I had a reunion with some old mates in Brum. One guy I hadn't seen since he emigrated to Canada in the 70s. He used to look somewhat like Robin Williams, so I was expecting a slightly older RW lookalike, but probably with a Canadian accent. The bloke who walked in looked more like Alexei Sayle, and I couldn't believe it was Bob until he opened his mouth - every bit as Brummie as when he left. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted February 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 4, 2021 4 minutes ago, mjmooney said: Very true. A few years ago I had a reunion with some old mates in Brum. One guy I hadn't seen since he emigrated to Canada in the 70s. He used to look somewhat like Robin Williams, so I was expecting a slightly older RW lookalike, but probably with a Canadian accent. The bloke who walked in looked more like Alexei Sayle, and I couldn't believe it was Bob until he opened his mouth - every bit as Brummie as when he left. I'm pretty sure I've done this story before but a girlfriend of mine when I was about 19 had a best friend who was going out with my mate. We met them in Pagoda Park Both from the big Severne Road, Acocks Green council estate by The Gospel Oak pub. Salt of the earth, very strong Brummie accents. I went to her friends house and was astonished when her mate suddenly went full Glaswegian brogue to her parents. I could barely understand a word she said. I just stood there dumbfounded. Turned out she had moved to Brum when she was about 13 and deliberately took the accent, worked at it, because she was sick of having the piss taken at school and the constant "say this" thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted February 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 4, 2021 Here's one I've just thought of. Why are Americans intrigued about English beer in pints? America is not a metric country, how is beer bought in a bar in America? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurembergVillan Posted February 4, 2021 Moderator Share Posted February 4, 2021 3 minutes ago, sidcow said: Here's one I've just thought of. Why are Americans intrigued about English beer in pints? America is not a metric country, how is beer bought in a bar in America? They call it a pint but it's about 2/3 of one, from my experience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted February 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 4, 2021 (edited) One from Mrs Sidcow here, this is a real time conversation/post. She didn't do the Villa version, but the beat: Clap.. Clap Clap.. Clap.. Clap Clap.. Clap.. Clap Clap.. Clap.. (or in our case Villa) Where did this rhythm/beat come from. She insists it's not football because she knows it and always has. She said our kids wouldn't know it and I said our son would from Villa. RIght on cue he comes downstairs for the first time since tea, she asks if he knows "this" claps out the first bit then he finishes off the last 2 claps on time and states (as I said he would) he knows it from Villa. So is this a football thing that's percolated into the general population or did it come from somewhere else? Edited February 4, 2021 by sidcow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Albrighton Posted February 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 4, 2021 39 minutes ago, sidcow said: One from Mrs Sidcow here, this is a real time conversation/post. She didn't do the Villa version, but the beat: Clap.. Clap Clap.. Clap.. Clap Clap.. Clap.. Clap Clap.. Clap.. (or in our case Villa) Where did this rhythm/beat come from. She insists it's not football because she knows it and always has. She said our kids wouldn't know it and I said our son would from Villa. RIght on cue he comes downstairs for the first time since tea, she asks if he knows "this" claps out the first bit then he finishes off the last 2 claps on time and states (as I said he would) he knows it from Villa. So is this a football thing that's percolated into the general population or did it come from somewhere else? A little digging led me to this - Never heard it before. It seems it was later adapted by the bay city rollers for one of their songs. It’s a bit like that “Tom Hark” song (“top of the league? You’re having a laugh”). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted February 4, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 4, 2021 7 minutes ago, Mark Albrighton said: A little digging led me to this - Never heard it before. It seems it was later adapted by the bay city rollers for one of their songs. It’s a bit like that “Tom Hark” song (“top of the league? You’re having a laugh”). That's pretty conclusive on the original beat. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seat68 Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 Ess aye tee you are dee aye why Love that song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer1 Posted February 5, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted February 5, 2021 5 minutes ago, Seat68 said: Ess aye tee you are dee aye why Love that song. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted February 5, 2021 Moderator Share Posted February 5, 2021 On 04/02/2021 at 01:31, il_serpente said: Perhaps I'll try reading posts out loud using a poor attempt at a Brum accent to see. Or I'll just imagine it's Grealish saying it. Would that be accurate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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