5 American Reactions to My British Accent

Every now and again, Americans clock my British accent. Here's how they react.
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[@Maverick842]

“They’re all food items, except squirrel.” I know people who would beg to differ.

[@kbf9644]

Squirrel gravy is absolutely a thing.

[@anneknight3875]

Ha,ha

[@carolynross1248]

Bahaha 🤣 true!!

[@robinsmith6094]

I am from Arkansas and giggled when he said that. I live in Scotland now, and people here ask me if we ate squirrel in Arkansas. I always lay on my accent really thick and say, "Yer darn tootin' we do!" 😂

[@carolynross1248]

@@robinsmith6094 hahaha 😂 yes!! Lay it on thick for them lol!

[@AC-er6vz]

In Perth we had to wear our Navy uniforms and the children were fascinated talking to us. One little girl < about 10, and I had a long conversation about who had the accent. She finally settled it by informing me I was an American in Australia so therefore I had an accent. Can't argue with that logic.

[@LindaC616]

Nope, you can't! 😁

[@thanksfernuthin]

You're not filling me with confidence, Squid! Getting owned logically by 10 year old Australian girls. (USAF Zoomie)

[@rickpitts2277]

You talking to a local, locals first question "Tain't frum aroun' chere arrre yee?" You have an accent, don't ch'a !!!

[@rev.paull.vasquez4001]

Everyone has an accent. Even if you speak the version of a language that is considered “standard,” you have the standard accent. Almost always the standard is actually the accent of a particular location that for political or historical reasons was more influential.

[@kenhelmick5149]

I was in London in 1981 and had to wear my navy uniform ashore... at that time it was the "Zoomie" uniform. Up until that moment, I wasn't aware of the fact that some London cops are not "Bobbies" but instead wear a uniform with a combination cap. Native Londoners knew I wasn't a policeman and left me alone but a number of tourists, some of them English, kept approaching me to ask for directions. I remember one woman who took some convincing that I was an American, even in the face of my midwestern accent.

[@n3r0wolfe]

oohh, that perfect american accent when you said "water" lol, nice

[@RosheenQuynh]

Right?!

[@jasonlescalleet5611]

“Wooder”

[@juliemiller2760]

"wadr" 🤣

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Wadderr!

[@greenlady43]

When he said water I heard the Midwest

[@bigscarysteve]

I usually don't mistake British accents for Australian ones, but I almost always mistake upper class Australian ones for British.

[@califdad4]

@@enduringbird I believe upper class Australian is more Kings English , I found people from Australia and New Zealand and had been here for many years sound like a very soft English accent

[@compulsiverambler1352]

Cultivated Australian is itself on a spectrum, but the difference between it and British Received Pronunciation can be so subtle that some English people don't always notice, and have to listen for it after it's pointed out. The much more commonly broadcast General Australian and Broad Australian are what most of us think of when we say "Australian accent".

[@KiKiQuiQuiKiKi]

What’s upper class Australian?

[@compulsiverambler1352]

@@enduringbird His accent is actually in the General Australian accent range, not the upper class accent range (Cultivated Australian). I can't imagine many English people failing to notice immediately that he's Australian, whereas with Cultivated Australian some of us won't notice automatically either. It's just that some countries have only been presented with Broad Australian accents, or attempts at them, in international media, so General Australian often confuses people who aren't from the UK or Australia. This accent coach does a good job of showing some of the differences between British RP and true Cultivated Australian. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnPZqnqcaZypoq8

[@manchestertart5614]

@@enduringbird Which British country was that?

[@seth1130]

There was one time a customer came into my job. I greeted him, and he responded in a very posh British accent. I jumped out of my skin, albeit irrationally, after he'd responded because I'd never heard a British accent in real life before. I was SO surprised by his accent that I physically jumped. I'm confident that's the only time in history a British person has had that kind of response to their accent.

[@Jane-nc2fr]

We love your accent. Americans have a whole mess of different accents. Your accent is so pleasant. It is wonderful way to learn about different cultures and accents from you in the U.K.

[@airborntruck6263]

The UK has even more accents than us Americans do. Us Americans only have about 4 accents. The UK has over 30 different sounding accents I'm pretty sure. I know it's a lot.

[@melissa9375]

So do Brits, Jane - here on youtube there are videos of people demonstrating just a sampling, but check them out to hear BBC ('Received'), Cockney, Geordie (Newcastle), Scouse (Liverpool), Yorkshire... you'll be surprised.

[@LindaC616]

@@airborntruck6263 more than 4. It took me about 8 years and half an hour at the bar to distinguish between MA and RI, but I can. That being said, I don't think you could count "east coast" as one. Maine and NH sound very different from NY (even if you can't tell the difference between Bronx and Brooklyn).

[@rapa2894]

@@airborntruck6263 you are offensively ignorant.

[@rapa2894]

@@LindaC616 don't forget the south is part of the east coast. North Carolina alone has multiple accents, probably a dozen or more, and more than one dialect.

[@LeesaDeAndrea]

I'm US born & raised & I can't tell southern accents apart. I mean I can't distinguish, say a Georgia accent from a Louisiana accent from an Oklahoma accent. They all just sound southern to me.

[@tootz1950]

I'm the same, but then I thought 'why WOULD I want to know the different Southern accents'.

[@adedow1333]

Don't feel bad though! It takes a lot of listening and ear-training to hear that sort of thing.

[@LindaC616]

It takes me a couple of days there, but I can distinguish a few...if they sound like Aunt Betty, lol, they're from GA. If their short Es go to an I, then it's TN ("you pull up your binch..")

[@gben7084]

check out Tim Wilson on youtube he does a great explaination of "Suthin' Aycsents" broken down by regions

[@JSwix]

I can tell differences between states like Alabama and Texas for example, but only because I know enough people from a few of those states. You kind of have to grow up in it

[@lever0811]

Keep doing the hand thing. A great many people don’t think like a compass. I’ve seen a map of the British isles and the Hand thing made huge sense to me. That guy who lived in England 10 years should stub his toes

[@nmg6248]

Not just one toe huh… All of them? Can’t say I disagree 😉

[@amybee40]

"Should stub his toes"... Is that a thing people say? Or is it just you being particularly creative?

[@retrorocket9951]

"i just realized these are all food items...besides squirrel". some would beg to differ :P

[@minnesotagal507]

We have a friend here from Britain, all the ladies like to listen to him .

[@elgatofelix8917]

I guess the men know better 😎

[@wrinklesandsprinkles]

Hello from another crazy Minnesotan getting geared up for below zero weather early next week!!👋🏼🥶

[@mikeoxlong7268]

which state?

[@rafyg]

I have a British accent, I live in the US and when people hear my accent I become their entertainment.

[@manchestertart5614]

So that’s a Scottish accent?

[@FanFav101]

Hearing other accents is fun. Most people aren't trying to be rude but when you've only heard one or two types of accents your whole life, hearing something new can be exciting. I love hearing different accents and dialects from anywhere. Just because you feel like your accent isn't anything special, doesn't mean it isn't really cool to someone else. ❤

[@glazdarklee1683]

I assert that nobody is more optimistic about this nation and what it can be than those who come here from somewhere else.

[@rickpitts2277]

There ya go! Why do people that are born here not realize how good this country is? I, like immigrants, see it because I have traveled a bit and so have experience with which to compare. But if we put our eyes and ears to work, there are people all around us that tell us how good this country is.

[@hollyoswald7808]

For some, it may be a matter of luck, for instance if a black South African meets an anti-black bigot verses a white South African meeting the same person. I once knew a Canadian black person who seemed to offend blacks here who spoke a black dialect found in Oakland, California. He was pretty well accepted in white areas, once people talked to him.

[@markgreene2865]

The hand thing for referencing your home town's location is brilliant, and I am a little sad you don't do that anymore. For people who are completely unfamiliar with the UK (i.e., most of the US), that would be quite helpful. Perhaps prefacing the hand gesture with "how familiar are you with the UK" would give you some guidance on if the ensuing conversation ought to be hand up or down? (But never hands up, or you might be mistaken for being French!)

[@katrinabryce]

I guess you could say "Gimsby". Anyone who is reasonably familiar with the UK would instantly know that it is the place with the very large fishing port, used to be the largest fishing port in the world, still accounts for 70% of the UK's fishing trade. If you get a blank look, then you do the hand thing.

[@aurainesheinz3103]

Maybe the person thought it was a riff on Michiganders? Those of us from the Lower Peninsula use it to tell people where we live all the time. I find it hilarious because Michigan is shaped just like a mitten.

[@timesthree5757]

To be fair when I was on vacation. A guy from England was excited about meeting a southerner. He asked were I was from. I answered. He had a blank face. It was adorable.

[@wendig3258]

It's not plain ‘lying’, it's Therapeutic Lying. It's doing no harm. Love this channel.

[@Revelwoodie]

Once my grandmother (from Sheffield) was settled in the US, many of the rest of her family followed, including her mother. The man at the butcher counter in the supermarket was so enraptured by her accent, he would always pester her to say "banana." It got to the point the she would say "banana" every time she walked up to the counter, just to save time.

[@Nuka0420]

The hand thing is a major thing here in Michigan, just pull out the thumb more into more of a mitten if you are in the Lower Peninsula or "Mitten" make sure the thumb, use your right hand and turn your left hand to the side 90 degrees to make the Upper Peninsula or U.P. Oddly enough the Isle of Great Britain is almost the exact size as the whole of my state, Michigan is just a bit bigger

[@babsbylow6869]

🎶 "I am, I am a Michigan man. Ask where I live and I'll show you my hand...." (Theme to Michigan out of doors) The soundtrack in my head never shuts off. 💿

[@lucisue53]

I traveled to Michigan (hello Houghton Lake and Traverse City) for work in the late 1970s and learned how to use the hand map to explain to people back home where I was working. It is an effective tool for sure!

[@Eowynnofrohan]

Wisconsin also has a thumb so this would work pretty well. Michigan does look more like a mitten.

[@hollycaron3567]

I live in the Thumb area... Never get tired of showing people where I live. I have lived down south and out west and they don't compare to the beauty that I think Michigan is.

[@LG123ABC]

I always thought the Upper Peninsula looked like it should be part of Wisconsin instead of Michigan. But that's just me.

[@maryannspicher]

I’m not sure about other states, but in Pennsylvania, squirrel IS a food. My brother used to make squirrel pot pie. In PA speak that’s meat, home made noodles, and diced potatoes in a thick gravy like broth. I’d hide in my room bc the smell 🤢

[@lever0811]

Minnesota too

[@desireedoan9267]

I'm in Alabama and we eat squirrels

[@XianHu]

I grew up in Maryland, and it was the same there, depending on exactly where you were and/or who you were talking to... at least back in the 70's and 80's.

[@AppalachianLady]

My mom would make battered fried squirrel and brown gravy served over buttermilk biscuits. We live in Virginia.

[@XianHu]

@@AppalachianLady Sounds familiar; hello neighbor

[@LoveJonLovell]

My American wife was confused when I said ‘stall’ today. She thought I was saying ‘stool’. Still getting used to saying ‘wadah’ and ‘Tom-ay-toe’ when going through a drive through, since the folks in Kentucky can’t understand my British-ness!

[@timesthree5757]

If yer in the south it's not wadah. It's waer. An it's not tomaytoe. It's maer.

[@newcarpathia9422]

Being from Kentucky myself, I can tell you we often can't understand each other, so don't feel too put out.

[@timesthree5757]

@@newcarpathia9422 I think it's just the South really. It can be entertaining as an outsider.

[@lewisfilby2394]

when I speak "stool" and "stall" are the same sound for me, its the same word - I can't think of another way to say it

[@Quarton]

@@timesthree5757 wa'er and ma'er (there's what is linguistically called a "glottal-stop" that replaces the "t". But, generally speaking, most Americans do say "wad-der". The U.S. has a lot of regional accents - but not as many as are local to the "Mother Country"!

[@Jess-zs3eu]

“These are all food items except squirrel” I beg to differ, I ate about 3 last night 😂 It’s more or less traditional food where I’m from in Tennessee.

[@Blueeagleprod]

Funny story. I am an Anglophile. I love the UK. But I have a terrible habit of mimicking people’s accents (of any country, US State etc). Several years ago I visited the UK and loved it and the folks I met as well. However, I was afraid that I would offend folks by parroting their accent (especially Scotland). Not to worry, my tour mates were teachers from Australia and New Zealand. By the end of my “Holiday” in Britain, I was sounding like an Aussie and/or Kiwi. LOL

[@patriciapost962]

Lawrence please don’t ever lose your accent. I could listen to you read the phone book-if we still had a phone book.

[@manchestertart5614]

Please spell his name correctly, Lawrence????

[@Watchoutforsnakez]

I would know you are from “the north” because of your accent. The hand thing is very useful and practical I think. You are very kind to be patient with people and their questions and going along with people’s mistakes.

[@carolines3953]

I’m a Brit living in the US and yes to all of these. Definitely identify with this list! 😆

[@imme6954]

@@TheOnlyOneStanding8079 have fun in Australia.

[@TheOnlyOneStanding8079]

@@imme6954 I'm staying here in USA

[@spiedermensch3582]

I grew up up here in the states. I watched a lot of British children's entertainment on Nickelodeon during the 80's and they affected my pronunciation to this day. Shows like The Tomorrow People, Into the Labyrinth, Danger Mouse, etc. Biggest two words that I get called out on are either and neither. I just can't bring myself to say the 'ei' as the long 'e' it doesn't seem normal to me. Love your channel. Cheers mate.

[@feingetarntesfischfilet4841]

So, now let's analyse the "Mensch" in your name. 😋

[@spiedermensch3582]

@@feingetarntesfischfilet4841 Yeah my sad sad first year of german class's idea of what Spider-Man would be auf Deutsch. This was pre internet but I still keep it as a kind of personal meme. If I had learned sooner I might have been DieSpinne2099 for the past 25 odd years :-)

[@feingetarntesfischfilet4841]

@@spiedermensch3582 "Mensch" means so much more than "human being". Everybody is a "human being", but many people aren't "menschlich" (com- passionate, caring, resonsible). I like that you chose being a "Mensch", even a SpinnenMensch 🕸🕷. Merry Christmas! 😃🌲🌟

[@SherriLyle80s]

Really? I used to watch all of those also and it never did anything to me. I wasnt stuck watch TV all day though. We all mostly went outside and drank from a hose and didnt come back until sunset.

[@spiedermensch3582]

@@SherriLyle80s Me too! Crazy right? Funny how people are different. What a fun world.

[@Karlalovescandy18]

My eyes buldged when you said water the second time lol as someone who loves UK, Irish, Australian, and NZ TV. I learned to tell the difference in accent. Lmao yes most pf us can't tell tho

[@deaniej2766]

My own accent is something of a chameleon. Born in northern Florida. Both parents were born and raised in northern Florida. Dad was in the Army, so I grew up all over the world. They say that accents are learned more at school, from schoolmates. My schoolmates had fathers from all over the US and mothers from all over the world (it was a man's Army). I dated a few boys/young men from the northern US states, and picked up hints of their accents. So while my accent is Southern at its base, I say some words with distinctly non southern accents. I also easily and rapidly pick up and speak more like whoever I am with. I do appreciate all sorts of accents and most dialects. Cheers and Merry Whatever You Celebrate.

[@margaretqueenofscots9450]

I spent part of my childhood in Texas and part in Wisconsin, now have lived in Pennsylvania for 13 years. My accent isn’t easily placeable-lol, since like you, I tend to pick up accents from whomever I’m around.

[@yarnycat_crochet]

I find accents fascinating and its weird that we are drawn to ones that are different from our own, like Australian, or British accents. I have a slight southern accent even though I’m just from southern Indiana. When i went north people told me they loved my southern accent and at the time i wasnt even aware i had one 😆

[@johnbennett1465]

My parents and I were were born in various parts of not-the-South, but from six to eighteen I lived in the Alabama. No one in the South ever thought I had a southern accent. But people from every where else thought I did. It took a couple of decades before people stopped thinking I was from the South.

[@jeffe4297]

I grew up in Evansville, and the area definitely has an interesting mixture of southern and mid-west accents. It seems the small towns and rural areas have a heavier southern accent, and the larger town and cities have have a more mid-west accent. What I've always found fascinating is that if you go across the Ohio River into Kentucky, everyone has a southern accent. It's like the river was a natural border line for accents.

[@laurahubbard6906]

@@johnbennett1465 I'm from DC. My relatives in NY think I have a deep-fried Southern accent. I invited them to take a trip to Alabama or Mississippi to show them how far off-base they are. Also, my Dad worked hard to lose his Noo Yawk accent after settling in the DC area. He did pretty well.

[@jenniferrogers5372]

@@jeffe4297 So true. I grew up in Chandler and live in Newburgh now. My husband grew up in Evansville. I definitely have more "southerness" in my accent than he does. I agree that growing up more rural could have something to do with it.

[@jenniferrogers5372]

I'm from southern Indiana too. I went to camp in Michigan when I was 13 and became friends with a girl from Thunder Bay Ontario. She thought I had a deep southern accent and wanted me to say all kinds of words. I never could convince her I was from the midwest.

[@shellmaker10]

Yup, I once asked a cute waitress "what part of England she was from". She answered with one word. Australia and walked away. And that was that.

[@joermnyc]

We friends from the UK who were originally from near Newcastle, but lived in London for a while before moving to New York, so their accents weren’t really placeable in the UK because it was a bit of a blend of “Oop north” and London (not RP), and it’s almost akin to someone from New York moving to Texas, acquiring a drawl but still being able to go, “AY! I’m walkin’ here! I’m WALKIN’ HERE!” and going right back to the drawl.

[@theukyankee]

I've been living in England (London) for 17 years and I still would appreciate someone pointing their home town on their hand (unless it's a very big hometown, like Manchester, which I do know).

[@joeheid4757]

I was in England in 87. Main destination was Aberdeen, Scotland. We were in London for a couple of days though. Great time and great people!

[@robburgess4556]

Grimsby isn't unknown, Elton John wrote a song with that title!

[@TheOneTonHammer]

American: I've never met anyone from Australia before! Lawrence: You still haven't.

[@ANNEWHETSTONE]

I find you accent to be easy to understand. I like all of them! I had a friend from Australia and we get movies from Australia 🇦🇺 but not much from NZ so don't know much about that one. Im in western Canada 🇨🇦

[@SharonH11100]

Accents are wonderful ~ I wish I had one! 💁🏼‍♀️

[@barbaravyse660]

On my first visit to the UK, I was in a shuttle to going to my hotel and this British man asked his kids where they thought I was from based on my accent. They said American. It’s so funny because of course I don’t think I have an accent!

[@thehapagirl92]

@@barbaravyse660To them you obviously do because you don’t have a British accent. I’m from California and I definitely don’t have an accent but if I go to Britain they’ll notice right away I don’t have a British accent

[@BritinSD]

The performing-monkey words I get all the time are “vitamins” and “geyser”, but living in Washington DC where there is a fairly robust British population, the accent isn’t as novel as I found it to be when visiting other parts of the US, especially off the east coast.

[@tessag.1079]

Lived in Mid-west all my life. Sort of funny I haven't noticed the neon signs. I guess I am blind to them. Love your videos. Love the hand story.

[@sweetg12651]

Lawrence, you are a riot. Thank you for always putting a big grin on my face. I look forward to your posts.

[@lizlunch7066]

The "hand-thing" works great for Wisconsin!

[@arriettysbags]

I moved from UK to New Zealand as a child (with family) and when I went back to UK for a visit as an adult a lot of people thought my accent was American. Which threw me as for the past 10 years, everyone thought I had an English accent. You will be like me now, everywhere you go you have some sort of accent as we've picked up twangs from the country we live in.

[@BrokebackBob]

I love all the accents of the United Kingdom in all their magnificent variability just as the accents change in the United States and of course in other areas of the world as far as how English words are pronounced. I'm very fond of the accent of folks in the deep South of the United States because my mom was from Mississippi, and my dad was from Indiana and I grew up in Indiana. But for some reason I'm also very fond of all the accents in the United Kingdom.

[@GeoffRiley]

*All* accents is probably difficult… there are some accents within these blessed isles that even we have trouble understanding! :D :D :D

[@michaelsnell4034]

I lived in Pennsylvania for most of my life. Now, I live in lower Michigan and am used to showing people on my hand where i am in "the mitten". My mother-in-law was from south London. I guess she worked in Berlin, and Australia. She moved 50 years ago or so and still sounds every bit as much English as can be. My fiancé n her daughters all speak English and Queen's English. Other half also speaks a bit of Cockney, as well as Southern American.

[@margareteraab3899]

I live in central Michigan, near the thumb. And yes we certainly use our hand to show where we live. I used to do that when I lived in New Jersey to explain where I was from. They got a kick out of it.

[@ritadi2566]

I moved to the UK 10 years ago from Canada (also lived in the US and Sweden) and love watching your videos in a weird way to see someone else's exact experience... but reversed.

[@KathyY1948]

My mother came to San Francisco from London to marry my Dad in 1947. I never thought that she had an accent but others thought she did. I guess that I picked up some of her pronunciations since my 8 year old granddaughter was correcting my pronunciation the other day.

[@donnaroberts281]

I have a friend from somewhere in the north of England. People sometimes confuse her accent for a New Zeeland accent. One time she got to speak with someone from New Zeeland and she said “now I kind of see why people think I’m from New Zeeland”

[@angieallen4884]

I have a friend from Dunstable, Bedfordshire. It was so fun getting to know her over the years. The first question I asked her was, "Where are you from?" She was so happy that I did not ask, "Where is your accent from?" like it was a separate entity! Inflections are always interesting. Even here in Utah, one can tell what part of the state someone is from by listening to them. I can usually place the area of the U.S. someone is from but as a native Westerner (born in Oregon, raised in CA, moved to UT as an adult) I still can't really distinguish someone from Georgia from someone from, say, Alabama or whereever. But, I can usually tell the difference between Scottish and Irish; but I watch a lot of British TV! Thank you so much for this very insightful and especially personal post. I enjoy your channel very much!

[@randalmayeux8880]

Squirrel IS a food item here in the South. It can be delicious if prepared properly.

[@floydiandreamscapes5145]

British and Australian accents sound similar but are pretty easy to tell apart.

[@carschmn]

I often think the British accent makes someone sound smart. I don’t mention it though because I don’t believe in picking on people for things they can’t control. I bet you were hot stuff in small town Indiana. Also, I loved how you code shifted between water and water. 😃

[@manchestertart5614]

Which British accent is that?

[@carschmn]

@@manchestertart5614 I honestly couldn’t list them all but I think a lot of Americans have ancestral cultural memories that lead them to take some accents from that island more authoritatively.

[@racheloldridge4986]

People in Britain would never think a Grimsby accent sounded smart 😁

[@BadgerBotherer1]

@@racheloldridge4986 Northern English accents sound a bit harsh to me, but then I'm a poncey Southern Jessie!

[@karentexas]

And I an a Texas native. But also an anglophile. Visited England 4 times. I felt home there the first time I went. I pronounce the last letter of the alphabet Zed.

[@orwellboy1958]

Glad you enjoyed your time here, hope you can make it back sometime.

[@rightlurker4674]

The hand thing is great. I've always wondered how many people back in England watch your channel, and what they think. I love your videos, and I'm glad you're here.

[@flamingpieherman9822]

As an American when I went to England I remember all the young adults saying to me, say the letter that comes after y! Or as a Floridian, how far is it to Hollywood? And my answer was it halfway around the world

[@savary62]

I thought Hollywood was over on the Atlantic coast below Ft Lauderdale.

[@blindleader42]

When anyone asks me to say the letter that comes after y I always say _Zulu._ That always clears up the controversy... Well at least it should 😛

[@flamingpieherman9822]

@@savary62 there is a city named Hollywood in s florida...but they were talking about HOLLYWOOD...

[@savary62]

@@flamingpieherman9822 LoL I knew that. Was just playing with a Floridian saying Hollywood was so far away.

[@BluBlu777]

It’s fascinating how the UK looks a lot like Michigan

[@jnmsks6052]

As soon as he put up his hand, I thought, gee, he's living in the wrong state!

[@lever0811]

Hahaha that’s funny

[@BluBlu777]

😂 When I was living in Michigan I always held up my hand just that way to show people where I lived (Saint Joe area A.K.A. the lower left corner)

[@jnmsks6052]

@@BluBlu777 I've lived in Michigan my whole life. I think we all just default to the hand. 🤣 Although I am in a different area of Michigan now, I'm very familiar with the lower left corner; I grew up in Niles and my parents still live there.

[@BluBlu777]

@@jnmsks6052 yep! drove through Niles a lot on my way to SB

[@mhoover]

I went through a similar thing when I moved from my home in San Diego CA to eastern New Jersey. People found my accent quite amusing. They got quite a kick out of asking me to say chalk, which they pronounced chwalk.

[@thehapagirl92]

I can’t stand Southern accents. I am a born and raised SoCal gal and I despise Southern accents so much. They sound grating and disgusting. It’s a damn shame because I love Southern Plantation home and if I want to see authentic plantation homes I’ll have to endure the Southern accents

[@charlesbaran1106]

I just located Grimsby in my 1983 AA Atlas! (Also Scunthorpe.) Hearing British voices in the U.S. brings back fond memories of three very enjoyable visits to the U.K. Hoping to get back there some day when it's safe. Hoping to get back to Chicago as well.

[@lairdcummings9092]

The immediate reaction I have when I hear a commonwealth accent is to enquire as to from where in the empire it might hail. By the way: your natural pronunciation of 'water' is common enough in several parts of America. Also: Wutter. Wooder. Whatta. And other variations of the word. 😛

[@lairdcummings9092]

Also: Squirrel is absolutely a food item. Depending on where in the States you might find yourself.

[@lairdcummings9092]

Also also: I have a HUGE difficulty in separating New Zealand accents from Australian accents. Which fact probably grates on a few nerves. Nor can I easily separate, say, Northumbria from Midlands, and so on. Equally to the dismay of some, I presume. So, I just ask. "Is that a Commonwealth accent? From which part?" Easier to admit my curiosity and ignorance up front, rather than set off on the wrong foot.

[@adedow1333]

@@lairdcummings9092 The easiest trick I know (and this is massive over-simplification) is that the tone of the sentence goes up at the end for an Aussie accent and down for a Kiwi.

[@Quarton]

@@lairdcummings9092 Yep! That's what I thought, too! I love fried squirrel!

[@lairdcummings9092]

@@adedow1333 ah. Interesting, I hadn't noticed. Maybe not enough exposure.

[@craigbenz4835]

I once met a young woman from northern England in Florida that apologized for her "northern" accent. I was confused on two fronts. First, her assumption that I could tell the difference between a northern and southern English accent, and second why that would matter. To complicate matters, in the U. S. it would be more common, though rare, for someone to apologize for their southern accent.

[@anndeecosita3586]

In the US, people with Southern accents tend to be mocked and discriminated against. I lived in the South most of my life but have never had any kind of Southern accent. There is an assumption they are less educated than people with other accents which oftentimes isn’t true. I saw how I’m treated differently in professional settings. I have a friend who owns an investment firm but any time he has to travel to other parts of the country, he says people treat him like a dumb hick. That’s why a lot of Southerners dislike Yankees.

[@craigbenz4835]

@@anndeecosita3586 : I was a Yankee transplant down there that was soon disabused of that assumption. Apparently there is a similar thing in England, only north and south are reversed.

[@simonpowell2559]

@@craigbenz4835 In England no southern pufta would say it to a Northerner cus we have a reputation for being hard.

[@SkuggiAiko]

My dad moved to Chicago from the UK in 1980. My whole life, we confused people when they asked where we were from after hearing both of us talk (me growing up in Chicago with the accent, him with his English accent). He always replied with Chicago, rather than Berwick-Upon-Tweed, where he grew up.

[@FanFav101]

When people ask you to say different words, most people aren't trying to be rude (but I definitely see where you're coming from). It's just fun to hear how different people from different parts of the world say things.

[@corawheeler9355]

My mother was from England and my children got a kick out of hearing Grandma say 'Tuesday' as 'Chewsday'.

[@lever0811]

I’ve never been to England and I’ve taken to use some British words over the years. Such as, gobsmacked, wellies, rubbish, bin and fortnight. I think I like British words. Gobsmacked explains an element of surprise that cannot be explained in any other way. The first time I heard that word I was gobsmacked and snort laughed.

[@gben7084]

I've taken to re-inserting "U" in colour etc. and "ae" in words like Paedophile. I read alot of ?British Police procedurals and ?I would highly recommend the English version of "Law and Order"

[@markbradley7323]

Watch American cop show's and the two words that throw me are when the person say's vehicle or bhouy more so when in the southern states.

[@redheadedneighbor]

I am American, born in the South. So I have one of the many southern accents. My Father worked in many states mostly in the, Midwest and a few Northern states. I attended school in these areas and My fellow students would stop me on the playground and have me recite whatever random word they could think of. Then they would laugh and They looked at me like I was from Mars. Adults were just as curious. I was placing an order for food in a little fast food restaurant and the cashier asked me so many questions about my order that I was beginning to doubt her intelligence. She realized this and apologized stating that she just wanted to hear me talk. It still happens but now I understand the curiosity of others and sometimes ignorance. Lol I understand in a small way how it is to be novel. I LOVE accents and Yours is wonderful.

[@allanlank]

I've only had my accent commented on once. It was surprising because I live in Toronto and the person realized I did not grow up here by rather in rural Ontario. There was a character on the American TV show "Hee Haw", Charlie Farquharson, who speaks with an exaggerated rural Ontario accent. Grimsby, Ontario, although rural, is part of the "Golden Horseshoe" and has a different accent than those of us from the southwest of Ontario. Mostly, however, we're mistaken for Americans, which is very irritating. If you get the chance, watch some episodes of "Hee Haw", Charlie isn't the only Canadian. Try to find the other Canadians on the show.

[@ScrapyardApe]

In all seriousness, a British accent adds incontrovertible authority to even the most ridiculous assertions.

[@elgatofelix8917]

Some people are impressed by British accents. Shallow people

[@flamingpieherman9822]

@@elgatofelix8917 the accent is nice on the ears and like the other romantic languages people are naturally drawn to these. It's not shallowness it's an ear for beautiful linguistics

[@kirbyculp3449]

Those are big words for a Scrapyard Ape. Did you listen to the 'Letter from America' by Alister Cook?

[@kooltom4]

As Boris demonstrates on a daily basis!

[@elgatofelix8917]

@@flamingpieherman9822 hey don't get me wrong - I enjoy the British accent too - I just don't think it makes somebody correct on every issue or an authority figure as the OP suggested.

[@llamasarus1]

I'm more impressed by British people faking a flat American accent then by them naturally speaking in their own.

[@carolines3953]

I remember my first 4th of July in the States and my now hubby sent me to the grocery store to get buns. I looked for a while and then asked am employee where the burger buns were. He repeated it back to me (parroting my English accent) and was so confused until I said “ham-bur-ger buns” in the most nasal, American accent I could. He immediately showed me where they were. But it got me thinking, is the way I say things that different, to the extent that someone who speaks English (albeit American English) can’t understand what I am saying.

[@elgatofelix8917]

Same

[@pamelapilling6996]

🇨🇦 here. When I was in the UK the fav was "Oh do you know Tom from Toronto" or the like, eventhough Toronto is a 5 hr flight from my place.

[@wishingb5859]

You are a nice person. I love your sense of humor and I find you a glass-half-full about America person and I have enjoyed that you keep taking sips of US.

[@jamespurcer3730]

I'm a West coast American and when I hear a Yorkshire accent, it sounds to me like a mix of British and Scottish accents. I wonder if this is common for people like me.

[@jasejj]

There are definite similarities between Scots, and the various accents of Northern England. The further north you go, the greater the affinities are.

[@manchestertart5614]

Stop saying British when you mean English

[@xuserakx]

British? There's no such thing as a "British" accent bcuz we have multiple accents here (mainly in England tho).

[@heathrusty]

When we visited New Zealand several years ago, I found it interesting that we were told a couple of times that we had "cool accents". They also had a hard time understanding us here and there due to our accent. It was a very interesting phenomenon because our plain American accent (not even southern or Bostonian or anything unique) seems like it would be heard regularly due to the prevalence of American movies and tv. We never did get that reaction in Australia or England, but maybe Kiwis are just friendlier/more outspoken.

[@arthurgordon6072]

I've lived in New Zealand for 34 years, (I'm from Scotland). I constantly get told that I 'haven't lost my accent'. As if I would? Funny thing about Kiwis, they don't think they have an accent!

[@keithrosenberg5486]

I had a chemistry teacher in High School who was from Australia. I leaned what an Australian accent is. Understanding him was more than a bit difficult for the first two weeks. Thanks for all of your videos!

[@thepenultimateninja5797]

I'm from the UK and I have lived in the US for 12 years now, and I'd say about half of the people who remark on my accent think I'm Australian.

[@n3zyd]

I am guilty of asking an Irish tourist to say, "it's magically delicious" and a British one to say "You what mate." I'm from Philly I've been asked to say "Yo Adrian" and water (wuder)

[@markpage9397]

I worked in a call center for The Alaska Ferry System for some time. I did find it difficult to tell the difference between an Australian accent and a British accent. A huge amount of the tourists we got were from Australia, New Zealand and the UK. As an American I have to say that I could tell what part of the US people were calling from upon hearing their first sentence. The same goes for Canadians.

[@bearpawz_]

That's awesome Mark! (the Alaska Ferry System)... I was just reading about how the Tustumena (57 year old ferry) is finally being replaced! I used to live in Kodiak, so I'm familiar with the "Trusty Tusty" 😆 ...ps.. Been to the Netherlands a few times, but never to England. Only two British accents I'm familiar with is Laurence here, and the Geico lizard... 🦎 LOL.

[@markpage9397]

@@bearpawz_ I have been on board the Tusty. It would stop here in Juneau a few times a year. It is a rather camped ship compared to the Southeast Fleet, but it was the only one that could service all of the Aleutian towns, all the way to Dutch Harbor as I am sure you are aware. I was also in charge of the youth group desk. I put a lot of sport teams on that ship to play against Kodiak HS.

[@bearpawz_]

@@markpage9397 That is too cool... When I lived in Kodiak, I'd get antsy to take trips to Los Anchorage, but when I got here (where I live now).... I was already anxious to go back to Kodiak 🙈 .. That's great that some of the sports teams came over on the Trusty at times! I didn't know that!

[@markpage9397]

@@bearpawz_ Alaska has a way of growing on you. Any time I am out it is always so good to get back. I came up from LA on a vacation 30 years ago and I didn't go back.

[@tamerab.749]

I enjoy your channel, and the subjects you present. It’s a nice reprieve from stressful days and responsibilities. Thank you.

[@melissalentz32]

I feel tremendously lucky you chose to live on this side of the pond. Your unique delivery of our differences, as well as our similarities, kills me every time. And just so you don’t feel too alone with some pronunciations, I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, yet I say many of the words you mentioned the same way - ToMAHto!

[@michaelfink64]

Asking you to pronounce different words reminds me of that hilarious bar scene in Love Actually when those gorgeous women are enthralled by Colin's accent and point to things and ask him to name them. They are so disappointed when they discover that "table" is pronounced the same in US and UK English. Good choice picking Perth as your Australian "home town". There are plenty of Poms in Perth.

[@manchestertart5614]

Plenty of convicts too 😂😂

[@R.F.9847]

I'm an American, but I've watched enough Doctor Who, Torchwood, Wentworth, and The Almighty Johnsons that I can tell an English accent from a Welsh accent from an Australian accent from a New Zealand accent. Generally.

[@10thdoctor15]

Can't beat Doctor Who!

[@LG123ABC]

Don't forget South African. That can be a tricky one.

[@solarbirdyz]

@@LG123ABC Straight up: the first time I saw Peri in Doctor Who I was very much going, "_What_ is that accent? Where is she supposed to be from? It's so odd, something I've never heard before - is it some sort of South African accent?" (I'm from Seattle. The last thing I'd've guessed was American. xD )

[@Arianddu]

The only good thing about Scunthorpe is that it makes one of my favourite jokes work: Q. Name three English Football teams with swear words in their names. A. Scunthorpe, Arsenal, and Fucking West Ham United.

[@Grisbi6]

Laurence, I always enjoy your Utube postings. And, I do like your accent, as well. Keep it up.

[@jwb52z9]

This video makes me wish you could do a video like, "An Interview with Uncle Toby". Generally, you're right about squirrels, but if you go to certain rural areas, you actually might find the odd squirrel on the menu. You'd think at least a few more people would know where Grimsby is after the movie with the name in its title. I don't understand the confusion between the UK, Australia, and New Zealand accents unless someone never hears all three.

[@karentexas]

And then there is the South African accent. Very nice and sometimes hard to identify.

[@kimberlyholt2241]

I LOVE your accent! And it's a coincidence because I WOULD ask you why you came here. I'm in TN and my dream is to live in Yorkshire!!!!🇺🇲🇬🇧

[@manchestertart5614]

Just don’t say it’s a British accent.There’s no such thing as a British accent.

[@kimberlyholt2241]

@@manchestertart5614 There are "accents" frm everywhere.💜

[@McMillenLibrary]

My grandma was from Britain and I rarely heard her accent because it was just how she talked. My friends would always say "we love her accent" and I would say what accent? The exceptions were bathroom and castle. I would trick her into saying castle because I loved how she said it 🤣

[@clarkrp1960]

Just checked out your website for the first time. Its really well done. Nicely organized, great information. Congrats!

[@wessexdruid7598]

For those who didn't get the Scunthorpe joke - it's about the same place on Laurence's hand - but about a millimetre lower. And its spelling often falls foul of anti-foul language bots.

[@hgman3920]

My ex- was an accent mimic, as in she'd quickly adopt the accent of whoever she was around (I think the fact she was a singer had something to do with this). Anyhow, I'm from the mid-west (Nebraska), and she's from North Carolina, so after we got married she always spoke to me in my own accent. But whenever she got on the phone with her relatives, her speech switched to a thick southern drawl. I told her that if we ever moved to New Zealand, within 6 months she'd completely adopt their accent, whereas I'd be stuck with an American accent even after 20 years there.

[@dobiebloke9311]

HgMan 3 - Interesting. I too am a bit of an 'accent chameleon'. Give me two weeks anywhere (West Virginia, Georgia, Texas being common) and I'll come back to NY with enough of an accent that friends will notice it. Completely unintentional on my part.

[@mrsaucy1112]

My U.S public education consisted of one geography class in 7th grade. You blew my mind with that hand trick. It really does help to visualize more details, even if there really isn't anything the person would have done with those details.

[@snowps1]

Omg, I kept rewinding to hear you say "water" in an American accent! 😄

[@happycruising4975]

I’m from Harrisburg, PA. I don’t even pronounce water like that. It’s pronounced wader here in my area. 🤨

[@lazerbeam3928]

I have to ask this question, what's so bad about Grimsby? The reason I ask this is my wife is sort of a British crime show nut. A few weeks ago, she was watching one of the early episodes of Bergerac staring a very young John Nettles. I was sort of half asleep when I heard one of his fellow detectives say to him (Nettles) something that sounded like "if you keep screwing up your going to end up directing traffic in Grimsby". It sounded like getting sent to Grimsby was some sort of punishment.

[@joncarter8372]

Directing traffic is a pretty low on the totem pole, especially compared to detective. Driving panda car is the other put other put down I've heard on British crime shows.

[@jasejj]

It's an old fishing town that has hit hard times in recent years. There's nothing inherently wrong with the place though, once you get over the seven toes thing.

[@marcgillin772]

I'm from Grimsby it has strong links to Denmark by means town in old norse lots of viking blood here😊

[@lazerbeam3928]

@@marcgillin772 I sort of got the impression that being made a traffic cop was bad enough but being posted in Grimsby was the real punishment. I kind of wondered why the script writers picked Grimsby as a "bad place" to be posted. Maybe it has something to do with the 7 toes thing that Jason J mentioned in his comment. 🤔

[@marcgillin772]

@@lazerbeam3928 Have you seen the film Grimsby?

[@Shatterverse]

Post Brexit I, a Chicagoan, feel that moving to the US is more of lateral move. Canada has gone from lateral to upward. Australia is just Canada and the US' weird cousin who's great at parties but you wouldn't want to live with.

[@annat9538]

My friend's grandmother was from England. I loved it when she would say my name. "Anna"

[@barbaratomlinson6776]

I absolutely love listening to the British accent!

[@manchestertart5614]

Which one . Lesson 1 : How many countries make up the British isles?

[@barbaratomlinson6776]

Mostly what I have heard is the British accent; but I realize that there are various differences among the British accents.

[@aliencat11]

American women have believed the Bristish accent is the sexiest accent since the Beatles came to the USA in the 60s. Love your show!

[@privatelyprivate3285]

Take heart; the ego/insecurities of a grown adult feeling condescended to by a common visual aid due to “credentials” he’d not even bothered disclosing are FAR beyond the benefits other approaches could have brought.

[@adamclark6756]

Hello from a fellow Yellowbelly. Only just seen this one and that last bit made me laugh out loud! I am from Gainsborough so the reference to Scunny was very close to home. I also lived in Humberston for a while.

[@gerardacronin334]

I’m an Irish-Canadian and from time to time I meet people who feel it necessary to inform me that “you have an accent!”. I usually reply, “so do you!”. Everyone has an accent. It just doesn’t stand out so much when they are in their home town.

[@suechapel1443]

I can usually tell the difference between British and Australian accents as well as Scottish and Irish. Yorkshire is hard for me to understand 😕

[@10thdoctor15]

I like Yorkshire.

[@haveialigned]

Michiganders when someone from somewhere else uses their hand as a map 👁️👄👁️

[@markwilliams8636]

I find your humor Ford Prefect worthy (not the actual Ford Prefect, it was a dog but Ford Perfect from Betelgeuse Five). Your accent only serves to make your deadpan and low-key writing and delivery flesh out into a wonderful character. Very fun to watch. Oh, PS. I'm a native Bostonian and Red Sox Nation misplaced in California lo these many years. Waited my whole childhood for a World Series win. Whatever you did to exorcise the Babe's Curse, thanks for the boost! Nice of you to lend the Cubs a hand too :)

[@davidhall2333]

Laurence, my grandmother - who turns 100 this week - is from the area about twenty-five to forty miles due south from Indianapolis. Squirrel was definitely on the menu.