Speaking of Scottish accents...
I'm sure we all remember the actor Jame Doohan who played Scotty the chief engineer on "Star Trek."
He told a story of when he was auditioning for the role of the chief engineer the producers Gene Roddenberry and Gene Coon had him try several accents, English, Irish, Scottish, German, and so on. They liked the (stage) Scottish accent the best so they stuck with it.
Doohan asked them, "Have you ever heard a REAL Scottish accent?" Seems that during World War Two when he was in the Canadian Army stationed in Britain he was sent to the British Army's Officer Candidate School and roomed with a fellow from Scotland. As Doohan remembered, "I couldn't understand a word he said! Funny thing was, he understood me perfectly."
He let them have it with the real accent, and he said "The look on their faces was priceless!"
Great thread and an excellent reference to Scotty in view of the recent Robbie Burns day. Lagavulin for me, thanks. In my job as a boiler inspector, the stereotype of a Scot in the engine/boiler room is totally true! On Front Street in Toronto is the place where the Royal Bank of Canada has its main technical office. The man in charge of the boiler plant, Barry Greaves was as Scottish as Tatties, Neeps and Haggis. On his office wall were posters from the Blue Funnel shipping line. An old merchant engineer. There were many others and most have retired in the last few years. Me bearins canna handle the straain!
But, I ain't trying to sidetrack the thread about HHH. Hugh Hefner, right? But I thought his middle name was Marston.
54light15 Great thread and an excellent reference to Scotty in view of the recent Robbie Burns day. Lagavulin for me, thanks. In my job as a boiler inspector, the stereotype of a Scot in the engine/boiler room is totally true! On Front Street in Toronto is the place where the Royal Bank of Canada has its main technical office. The man in charge of the boiler plant, Barry Greaves was as Scottish as Tatties, Neeps and Haggis. On his office wall were posters from the Blue Funnel shipping line. An old merchant engineer. There were many others and most have retired in the last few years. Me bearins canna handle the straain! But, I ain't trying to sidetrack the thread about HHH. Hugh Hefner, right? But I thought his middle name was Marston.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
There's a movie making the rounds on the premium channels right now about some British gangsters entitled "Legend." The lead characters have such heavy accents that one must really pay attention...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
You're talking about the Kray brothers. Reggie and Ronnie, the terrors of the east end in the 1960s. They hung out in a pub called The Blind Beggar. I went to that pub last time I was in London. It's a dump! Very sketchy and a lousy beer selection.
54light15 You're talking about the Kray brothers. Reggie and Ronnie, the terrors of the east end in the 1960s. They hung out in a pub called The Blind Beggar. I went to that pub last time I was in London. It's a dump! Very sketchy and a lousy beer selection.
But the accent used by the Kray Brothers would be a Cockney accent from the London area, totally unrelated to any Scots accent or any of the large number of regional accents like Liverpool (think of the Beatles) or any of the West Country accents.
Quite some time ago I visited the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton, adjacent to the Royal Naval Air Station. They have a quite reasonable mock up of various interior scenes in an aircraft carrier (modified for disabled access) with full size dioramas of typical scenes with dummies representing crew with some animation including working fire hoses.
Why I brought this up was that virtually the full range of British regional accents were represented by the recorded conversations played during the animated scenes. Normally such detail isn't included, at least partly for intelligibility.
It is said that British regional accents are dying out, being replaced by a more or less standardised pronunciation resulting from more widespread centrally produced television.
Peter
M636CBut the accent used by the Kray Brothers would be a Cockney accent from the London area, totally unrelated to any Scots accent or any of the large number of regional accents like Liverpool (think of the Beatles) or any of the West Country accents.
No question - I was going for the virtually unintelligible (to those not familiar) accents used in the movie, such as was mentioned about a true, full, Scot's accent.
Speaking of regional accents, I think it was "Steel Magnolias" in which I read each of the five main characters had a Southern accent from a different region...
tree68 M636C No question - I was going for the virtually unintelligible (to those not familiar) accents used in the movie, such as was mentioned about a true, full, Scot's accent. Speaking of regional accents, I think it was "Steel Magnolias" in which I read each of the five main characters had a Southern accent from a different region...
M636C
Likewise, with TV as the example, most regional accents are fading away in this country. When I went to Jacksonville in 1990 to the Dufford Center I expected to have some problems in understanding Dispatchers from the offices from the South. No problem with the Dispatchers, however, when having conversations with field personnel in the South from time to time it was a different story and one had to work hard in understanding their side of the conversation.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
M636C, I didn't say that the Krays were Scottish. East enders, not necessarily Cockney. Not sure about that. I've got friends in Dagenham and they sure don't sound like Dick Van *** in Mary Poppins. (I wonder why it won't print his name?)
When I was in the Navy, most of the dummies were the crew. Officers, anyway.
54light15 M636C, I didn't say that the Krays were Scottish. East enders, not necessarily Cockney. Not sure about that. I've got friends in Dagenham and they sure don't sound like Dick Van *** in Mary Poppins. (I wonder why it won't print his name?) When I was in the Navy, most of the dummies were the crew. Officers, anyway.
Various and sundry American accents can present their own problems. I remember talking on the phone with a customer from the South, and managed take care of his issue after several attempts. I quipped during the conversation that we seemed to be having trouble with each other's accents.
Having spent a lot of time holding or kicking a rugby ball, I've become able to understand most British and Commonwealth accents, with the possible exception of New Zealand.
CSSHEGEWISCHVarious and sundry American accents can present their own problems.
I recall reading about a "furriner" who was suggesting that we here in the US had it easy, with only one language to deal with (as opposed to Europe, where you can speak 5 languages in a single day - all on their native ground).
The reply was that the US resident said he could speak a pretty good Brooklyn, fair to middling Florida, reasonable Texas, great Midwest, and could get along in California...
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