The most annoying English accents.

[Odin2005]

IMO:

In the US:
The California "valley girl" accent.

Outside the US:
Cockney.

[Heddi]

1. whatever language it is that Madonna is trying to fake

It's like a worse British accent than Nancy Spungen's.

Seriously, Madge/Esther, you're from MICHIGAN. Even if I believe that you 'picked up' this accent from living in England (which is possible), you only lived there for TWO YEARS when you developed this most horrible of fake fakeness fakery.

[bicentennial_baby]

4. Ouch!

"It's like a worse British accent than Nancy Spungen's."

You're on a roll tonight, Heddi. :rofl:

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

46. Isn't that the same accent as Oprah, when she wants to sound

"sophisticated"?

[npk]

2. Like for sure.

Totally. I agree.

[Odin2005]

3. DUUUDE! That's, like, so totally tubular!

:rofl:

[ForrestGump]

5. Wo! Way to harsh my mellow, dude.

Like, totally gnarly.

[pokerfan]

6. Cockney rhyming slang

East London's gift to the world...

[XemaSab]

8. After having a butcher's at this thread

I'm cream crackered! :o

[pokerfan]

10. I'm havin' a bath at this thread

[Joe Fields]

68. Okie. They aren't southern, nor Ozark, but they do have a drawl.

Why is that?

[fudge stripe cookays]

98. Not a Bugaloos fan...

obviously. :P

I watched it when I was four, and I was like....what'd he say?? :wtf:

Now I love it.

[XemaSab]

7. Dude, fuck you!

:o

[Phredicles]

9. Why the hell does that Geico lizard have a Cockney accent???

It's supposed to be a gecko, right? And geckos are indigenous to SE Asia. East London, on the other hand, has a climate severely inhospitable to such tropical fauna. And I know it's just a stupid commercial and I'm WAY overthinking it. But still, it makes no damn sense!

[elshiva]

16. I thought he had an Australian accent.

I fucking hate that lizard and I want somebody to stomp on him in one of those commercials. :puke:

[deucemagnet]

48. Here ya go...

[nomorenomore08]

64. I saw my cat catch and partially eat a lizard out in the yard the other day.

I was like, "Good boy! You know how to hunt!" :evilgrin:

[Mike Daniels]

71. I thought it was supposed to be Australian as well

I keep expecting him to lapse into "Fosters, it's Australian for beer" at the end of the commercial.

[Kutjara]

83. No, it's a Southeastern English accent.

Not strictly "Cockney," but more "estuary English," a sort of growing-together of several of the accents typically associated with the counties surrounding London.

The guy who does the voice is also an actor in the top-rated UK soap opera "Eastenders."

[tigereye]

91. I thought that was supposed to be an Aussie accent...

maybe it's a bad fake Aussie accent...

[Redstone]

11. Any fake one.

Redstone

[jobycom]

12. Bush's.

[elshiva]

18. DING DING WE HAVE A WINNER.

A cigar for jobycom.

Bush is accent is the most fake cowboy accent ever. It is an insult to Texans and cowboys.

[jobycom]

19. He's trying to do John Wayne.

Watch him--the "swagger," the boots, the smirk, the drawl, even the semi-drunken slur. It's a failed John Wayne impersonation. When he first ran for governor, he sounded more like an Ivy League accountant.

[elshiva]

20. It's an insult to John Wayne.

I'm not a big fan of John Wayne, but he could be all right in some of those movies.

Dubya is just a joke.

[driver8]

45. Exactly! I have NEVER heard anyone from Connecticut with that accent.

My father was born and raised in Texas and he hated the fact that Bush tried to pass himself off as a Texan.

[billyskank]

58. Nor anyone from Texas, for that matter.

Bush's accent is what it is, a rich guy of privilege trying to pass himself off as a regular down-to-earth fella. The amazing thing is that so many people fell for it.

[Joe Fields]

69. You are sooooooo right!

[Celeborn Skywalker]

13. I don't like rural Western accents.

It's not quite southern and it's very nasally. I can't stand it.

[elshiva]

22. Don't like westerns much, do ya?

[Celeborn Skywalker]

23. It's alright in that context.

I just get sick of it on an everyday basis.

[elshiva]

24. If you are talking about Dubya,

yes I'm tired of that, but he's an insult to all Americans from the East to the West.

[Tektonik]

14. Bostonian accent & Welsh accents bother me the most

[T_i_B]

15. Welsh?

I can understand people not liking Brummie or Glaswegian accents but Welsh?

Still, it's not as bad as tring to pronounce something in the actual Welsh language.

[elshiva]

17. How can Welsh be annoying when you hardly ever hear it

here in America?

I like both Cockney and Valley Girl, but they have both been over done and done very badly to the point that they are often annoying.

[harmonicon]

21. I think Welsh accents are pretty hot

Those of people who speak English as a second language, I mean. The accent of those in Wales who speak English as a first language is pretty neutral from what I've observed.

What I sometimes can't stand are cackling yorkshire girls - it sounds like clucking hens, screaming, and gargling - all at the same time.

[T_i_B]

34. Nowt wrong wi' Yorkshire Lasses!

Any more of that and I'll start singing On Ilkley Moor Ba'ht 'at. You have been warned.

Anyway, I'm sure that exposure to some of our finest Essex Girls will make you change your mind.

[Karenina]

40. To my ear, the Li'pudlians are INCOMPREHENSIBLE!

A friend and I were yukking it up with a group in the local Irish Pub. She kept poking me to translate... I had NO CLUE! It wasn't at all annoying, it was a downright HOOT!

[harmonicon]

51. I didn't say that I always hate them

Yorkshire (where I live - moved there last year) is chock-full of gorgeous and charming women, but the accent is sometimes just galling. You get a group of these women together, and they seem to be able to cackle and screech like I've only ever seen teenagers do anywhere else.

[Odin2005]

39. Pahk the cah in Hahvahd yahd...

I don't know why, but for some reason I've always liked the R-dropping accents of the east coast.

In jr. high we had a teacher's aide who was from Boston and we always like to give her a bad time about her accent.

[graywarrior]

41. .

:grr:

[baby_mouse]

53. I quite like Welsh accents.

Birmingham accents are squirmly horrible, though.

[Skittles]

25. without a doubt that bagless vacuum cleaner guy

Sir James Dyson


and I say this as a gal who spent many years living in England - the guy sounds like a snob extraordinaire

[elshiva]

27. Is that Linus in the corner?

:rofl: He IS a snob!

[Skittles]

28. LOL, TOO FUNNY

sans glasses (which I left at home) I did not even notice that in google images! :D

[elshiva]

29. I don't remember that commercial!

That would be kind of funny. I don't know if it's Linus, but it's one of the Peanuts characters.
:rofl:

[muriel_volestrangler]

44. Really? He sounds OK to me

Example:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tHL44szMIa8

It's pretty much 'Received Pronunciation'.

[MilesColtrane]

26. Wynton Marsalis' fake New Orleans accent

Notice that his brother, Branford doesn't talk that way.

[Skittles]

30. I'll add Paula Deen and her nauseating drawn-out twang

:puke:

[Heddi]

31. even southerners hate her voice

My entire family/inlaws are in South and North Carolina, with a heavy dose of Georgians and Tennesseeans, and EVERYONE hates that woman's voice. Not only is it the awful twangy southern accent, it's heavily accented, meaning, she totally exaggerates the way she talks. I thoroughly believe this. No one could have such a fucking annoying voice and live to be her age. Then again, no one should be able to eat Deep Fried Krispy Kreme Butter Battered Lard, Cheese, And Butter Sandwiches (with gravy) and not keel over immediately from the ensuing heart attack.

[Skittles]

32. I think it's her overly-precise enunciation

SOUTHERNERS DON'T DO THAT!!!!

[Joe Fields]

70. I like Paula, but for sure she lays it on way too thick.

[Shell Beau]

74. I know people who really talk like that. She may or may not

exaggerate it. It doesn't bother me because like I said, lots of people I know sound like that.

[Phentex]

75. ahem...cough cough...

nearly all of my husband's family sounds like that! My mother-in-law can make any one syllable word turn into a three syllable word. :D

[Shell Beau]

77. Yep some southerners really do talk like that!! I, however, am not

one of them!! ;)

[CreekDog]

33. that British guy on the Geico commercial

:banghead:

[Guava Jelly]

35. I lived in Kansas and Missouri for the last 30 years and I hate the

country accent.The good ol boy,I live in the city and don't ride or own a fucking horse, but I drive a pickup and wear cowboy boots accent.
Sort of like John Travolta in Urban Cowboy or Dwight Yoakam (Doyle) in sling blade.

[Mr. Blonde]

37. Other than Kansas City and St. Louis

isn't the term city pretty relative?

I live in Oklahoma and a lot of people have (what I assume is) the same accent. My sister even has it to a certain extent. The accent by itself isn't what annoys me. It is when the same people then play up the accent and try to seem more "Cowboy-ish". Adding all the slang and shit in. My sister just has a really bad drawl.

[Guava Jelly]

42. You understand what I mean then

I don't mind the drawl. It can be pretty sexy coming from a lady.It's the Faux cowboy like you said the gets me.

[WinkyDink]

36. I cannot abide Ozzie talk.

[SOteric]

38. I kind of like Cockney. But an Essex accent is like nails on a chalkboard.

And Valley Girls don't bother me. (I do one that's pretty scarey). However, the New Jersey Italian accents so often associated with Mafiosos, - those I find quite annoying.

[T_i_B]

62. Ah, Essex

Land of the "mockney" (and as someone who lives in Essex I'm not above being rude about the Essex accent either)

That said, the closer to London you are in Essex, the more cockey is the accent. As I live in the North of Essex these days I don't get to hear the worst of it all that often.

[Midlodemocrat]

72. Aw, fuggitaboudit.

THAT one drives me nuts. Usually it is accompanied with double negatives and 'Youse people'.

:rofl:

[Magrittes Pipe]

92. Oh no, I'll have to throw away all my Billy Bragg records before we can be friends.

:cry:

[raccoon]

43. Cockney accents, and Irish accents, are sometimes very difficult for an American to understand.

Other times, they're very cute.

[Iggo]

47. That guy who sells vacuum cleaners...

...on the television box. "Suck-see-on"? Really?

[bertha katzenengel]

49. Most annoying fake English accent: Adam Savage

:banghead: I love Mythbusters, but have to turn the sound down when he does English, Pirate, Caveman, etc., voices. Such ugly sounds from such a smart guy. What a nerd.

[BuddhaGirl]

50. Prince Charles' accent annoys me

I once read that the royal family (older generations I guess) have kind of their "own" accent. Don't know if that's true or not.

Prince Charles sounds soooo pretentious to me!

[muriel_volestrangler]

56. Yeah, 'strangulated' vowels

so that 'house' is pronounced 'hice', and so on. The royal family's accents used to be really bad in this way, but they've become somewhat closer to how normal people speak, over the years (compare a film of the Queen from the 50s and now, and there's quite a difference. You can hear the same, though it didn't start off anywhere near as bad, with some others, like David Attenborough - eg the black and white clip in this: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QMKiujZ2zHw ).

[annonymous]

52. I find Irish accents difficult to understand.

I also have trouble with Scottish accents. The most annoying American accent for me is probably the Brooklyn accent. The celebrity with the most annoying accent is probably Paula Deen. I think she exagerates her accent on purpose to sound more "down home".

[redqueen]

54. Australian...

can't stand it.

On the other hand... I looooooove Irish, Scottish and British accents. In that order. :D

[billyskank]

57. Aw, I love Aussie accents.

On women, Irish accents turn me on very much, and Scottish if it is not harsh, and some US accents too.

[redqueen]

59. Yah? For some reason that and French accents just irk me...

I love harsh Irish and Scottish accents too. The posh ones aren't nearly as nice IMO.

[Skittles]

96. AUSSIE MEN ARE MY FAVORITE

for women, Jamaica :thumbsup:

[Runcible Spoon]

73. ohh wtf hahaha. I dated an Aussie for a few months...

and just the sound of his voice purring into my ear...well anyway you can imagine. Sexiest accent on the planet.
:evilgrin:

[fudge stripe cookays]

97. Guys sound...

SEXY with Australian accents. Women just sound annoying with it. Not sure why that is.

[unpossibles]

55. All of them.

All of them. Everyone needs to speak like the Midwest does.

[martymar64]

81. God no! I hate Minnesota accents

Ya sure ya betcha! It makes me think of Fargo, a movie I would've loved if not for those godawful accents. It's like the verbal equivalent of being struck in the head repeatedly with a ball peen hammer.

[unpossibles]

86. no, I mean the central Ohio accent

:D

[Arugula Latte]

60. I have a hard time understanding some of the hardcore northern English accents ...

but I kinda like them, anyway. Irish and Aussie accents are fabulous.

I don't like most Texas accents and similar ones. The southern drawls I like are the softer ones, like some Virginia accents.

I freakin' love the Maine accent, too. I've been in Maine a few times and have had "Pepperidge Fahhhm" conversations with people. One guy told me a joke about a "preachaaah" and a "pahhhraaaht" (preacher and a parrot). I could understand about every third word. It was hilarious, and not because of the joke itself.

I think I have the generic American "broadcast" accent, accept once in awhile a bit of Valley Girl slips in due to my childhood and teenhood. :blush:

[Arugula Latte]

82. too late to edit .. "accept" should read "except"

edit for crappy English spelling :blush:

[PittPoliSci]

61. sorry, i'd rather listen to a hundred valley girls than one drunk yinzer.

[Redstone]

63. That inexplicable, vaguely-British accent that rich people used to have in movies and

TV shows (American ones).

I think it's still around in some of the soap operas that Mrs R watches about twice a year.

Redstone

[nomorenomore08]

65. I think they call that "mid-Atlantic," i.e. an intentional middle ground between American and Brit.

I guess it's how they used to teach actors to speak, way back when, and it was also taught among the upper classes in the Northeast - see Gore Vidal or William F. Buckley for a good example.

[Redstone]

78. Yes, yes, thank you; Bill Buckley is a perfect example.

Redstone

[Genevieve]

84. I hate that accent too.

Did people ever really used to speak like that ???

[nomorenomore08]

66. American accents? Probably the prototypical "Noo Yawk."

Although that may just be because I've encountered some rather unpleasant people, who just happened to have that accent. My late grandmother, on the other hand, retained some vestiges of a Boston accent even after 50+ years in California, and I always liked the way she talked. I guess the Boston just sounds less "harsh" to me, somehow, than the New York.

As far as British accents, I sometimes find the Scottish/Northern English ones obnoxious. Take these guys in this video, for instance - I love their music, but the combination of their accents (they're from East Kilbride, Scotland, for the record) and their lack of articulation/coherence just pisses me off:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oip8SZ0q8Ds

[Throd]

67. Queens

[Xipe Totec]

76. I am thinking you're forgetting the most populous English speaking country... nt

[applegrove]

79. I hate the "uppercrust" british accent. Makes me wanna smack the person. Of course I've never

hit anyone in my life.

[SoxFan]

80. The Full Metry

It's not the classic New Orleans "Yat" accent, and it's not quite a Southern drawl. It's a weird, whiney accent that you only hear among middle and upper middle class white women from suburban New Orleans. For some reason, it grates on me far more than the more off the wall Yat dialect.

[Inchworm]

85. Dressage commentators

Whatever that accent is drives me bonkers.

:hi:

[Greyskye]

87. Glaswegian

That bizarre mash up of English and Scottish Gaelic that nobody can understand (neither English speakers nor Gaelic speakers) unless they are from Glasgow Scotland.

[montanto]

88. Just curious,

but where exactly in California is this "valley girl" accent found?
I live a few miles from the "valley" often considered the birthplace
of the "valley girl" accent and I have yet to hear it there. Maybe I
just don't get out enough.

[Iggo]

95. At the beach. (n/t)

[skygazer]

89. I don't mind Cockney nearly as much as I do high-falutin'

At least Cockney is genuine - the high-toned, high-bred, look-at-me-I-have-"Lady"-inserted-before-my-proper-name accent grates on me like sandpaper.

[tigereye]

90. no such thing - well for those of us who love British accents, anyway

here? I'll just say there are some urban East coast accents I don't love.



on edit, after watching most of the LOTR extra DVD's I was thoroughly sick of New Zealand accents and wanted to smack em if I heard one more flat vowel sound, as clever as they are! :rofl:

[Burma Jones]

93. Long Island

And people have the nerve to say that Southern Accents sound stupid......

[Phoonzang]

94. Upstate NY and Osark accents

Hearing Syracuse accents for 2 years made me depressed. Hearing Osark ones for 4 years was even worse. No...it's Sprite not Spraat.