The English speaking countries I've lived in, besides the US, are New
Zealand, Australia and England (was married to a Staines, Mddx, girl for
some years) so my ear for English accents was sharpened, or so I thought.
Had the husband of a new acquaintance over for a holiday gathering last week
and would have sworn he was from Scotland at first listen ... turned out he
was from SA ... fooled the hell outta me!

My oldest daughter now lives in Yorkshire, but has a decidedly upper class
accent from her mother, although her fiancé has a broad Yorkshire accent
that sounds like he stepped out of a James Herriot book ... I had to be his
translator to others when they visited this past year ... he understood
everyone perfectly.

I was the best man and, as it turned out, absolutely necessary translator
for a wedding party which was comprised of a bunch of coonasses from New
Roads, Louisiana, and the brides family of Boston Jews ... talk about a
hoot! This was a culture clash of truly epic proportions.

I always though the Irish Channel area of New Orleans would lead you to
believe you were in the Bronx. And I love the accents of the women from the
Northwest USA ... used to hear them often in the days when MSFT did a lot of
their own support.

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Last update: 12/29/03


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This reminds me of a trip I once took to Saudi Arabia.
I was talking to some fellows in the hotel bar one
evening and was having a hard time placing their accent.
One minute it sound Australian, then it would seem more
like British Isles English, but not quite either. I finally
caught on that these guys were from South Africa. For an
American I usually have a pretty good ear for regional
accents, but that one threw me due mostly to lack of
exposure I guess.