Margaret3

being scottish and sociable , being in oz nearly 3 years i have completley forgotten what it must be like to be understood by accent and witt
!!!!

i have complained about it on here often about the lack of understanding of my accent, personality, sesnse of humour etc, especially , at work,. I've been working heaps so had my persona killed recently!!!!!!!!!


thank god for the few meet ups ave been to, left me feeling sane






p.s shane and elaine if not for you insisting on being our friends i think i woudve went insane!!!!!!!

Bix

Could you make that double fries please.

kporte

Hang in there 'til better days arrive...

Cheetah7

I have alot of trouble with some people understanding my accent, it does get difficult and makes me a tad paranoid.

A mate from liverpool says I have the most cockney accent ever, but I dont at all, and my friend from London finds that highly amusing and points out the obvious Westcountry 'twang' that I have.

But the Aussies just dont understand my accent and one even said to me over the phone 'cant you bloody speak English'

emelems

I am nearly always known as Anna when I speak on the phone... I have given up correcting people.. I quite like my Anna persona now..

Em x

emelems

Oh and my Dad is over here at the moment.. he cracks jokes all the time.. most of the time the humour doesn't translate... its not offensive, just silly stuff.. then my mate (a Brit) came over and laughed her head off at him... it was she who pointed out "I bet they don't get him over here?"... I said to her, no not really...

Dad doesnt mind.. he just carries on being him!

Em x

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Accents are important, they help to define who you are to the world and the differences can be great ice breakers in social gatherings.... but if the response every time you open your mouth is "what?" then it must get mighty irritating after a while.

Just a little story from yesterday about accents identifying you... I was walking down Wollongong main shopping center high street yesterday when it started to rain from a clear blue sky... The man in front of me stopped, stuck his hand out, turned to his wife and said in a broad Scottish accent "is that rain?". I responded as I walked past with "coming from Scotland mate you should have no trouble recognizing it". The realization on his face that he had just had an Englishman take a little pop at him was a picture... and broad smiles all round.... and all to do with instantly recognisable accents.

viviennef

It tires me. I get so sick of repeating myself. People also dont understand my humour at all. I dont go repressing myself at work though - they need to live and learn.

I havent the last 6 months but usually I contract in Brisbane. I find it takes a while but once people get you, its all good.

I also speak like a posh English lady on the phone - as well as a very strong accent I have a lisp and talk very fast.


Vivienne

soapy©

could you repeat that please?

accents can be very handy here. i use it to get what i need a lot.

TiddlyPom

I once spoke to a guy out in country NSW. He was so slow and broad I couldn't understand him and he couldn't understand me. And he was drunk to boot. At 9am.
I ended up matching his accent so that he could understand me and I him. Worked quite well.

I do think we have to make allowances here and there for the colonies. Don't you?

ABCDiamond

I thought that only applied in Rome

Vash the Stampede

Considering that Australia and the UK have a long history of exchanging sitcoms and satirical TV/movies without any "humour translation" problems whatsoever, I do find it odd that people are claiming "humour incompatibility" between the two countries.

More than a hundred years of cultural exchange (from Henry Lawson to Kath & Kim) have demonstrated that this is simply not true; Brits get Aussie humour and Aussies get British humour. 'Twas always thus.

I think some people have their own unique sense of humour and assume it to be fully representative of their culture. Then, when faced with incomprehension, they conclude that "Aussies/Brits don't understand Aussie/British humour" - when in fact the only humour which has been misunderstood, is their own.

ozzieeagle

Oh well you could always try and laugh if off Margaret I would hate it if it happend to me....

A bit like this eh ?

Bix

I went to a wedding yesterday so found lot's of new people who hadn't heard my lion joke. (see my signature)

Course I was like a pig in shite............but they failed to grasp the profound nature of it. The emptiness of the eyes and the look off bewilderment is a give away. It is for that reason I repeat it a few times during the meet.

I have now been telling it for over 35 years........would epic be a fitting word?

I'm looking forward to meeting Soapy again as I'm sure he must have forgotten it by now and I reckon Sally must be due for a refresher.


PS
I agree with you Vash. I find the humour generally goes both ways very well.

Fly Away

The World is full of people with accents, although I'm all for maintaining cultural identity, I find it helps make the world go round a little easier if people meet half way. My Mother was Dutch and my Father was Welsh. I was born and brought up in the West Midlands... Can you imagine my accent??? As a kid I was teased for having either a 'hurdy gurdy' accent or a Welsh accent and when I moved away from the West Midlands, I was teased for having a Brummie accent. To overcome this, I 'lost' some of my accent and moved towards an RP accent. I found nearly everyone could understand what I said without a problem. We've around the UK and I've picked up a bit of different dialects here and there too.

Then we moved to Australia. I haven't noticed people finding it hard to understand my accent. I sometimes have to listen very hard to some Aussies and I guess, that I won't need to do this as much in time.

Having said all that, when I'm speaking to people from my home town I can slip back easily into my old accent.

It is hard work at first to ensure you speak clearly but over time it becomes second nature. When in Rome...