QI - discussion about the perception of accents

Stephen Fry, David Mitchell, Rob Brydon, Sandy Toksvig and Alan Davies discuss how we perceive accents.
Please note I am not responsible for the advert which now appears at the start of this clip. You Tube added this themselves.
This segment from QI was first broadcast on BBC2, 15th January 2011. (c) BBC MMXI.

[@raggedyanarchist]

Oh man, I miss these old QI lineups. David Mitchell AND Sandy Toksvig AND Rob Brydon... all at once? Yes please...

[@una_10bananas]

Yeah that's one of my dream lineups

[@the_katman2181]

Yes, and if one of them can't make it for whatever reason, then you just drop in Lee Mack or Dara O-Briain.

[@Pewling]

..No Bailey? D: No love for Bailey?!

[@Asidders]

Always love me some Bailey

[@karimqk1895]

I agree about Mitchell and Toksvig, but I find Rob Brydon to be a bit whiny and unfunny on panel shows. Give me Bill Bailey, Jo Brand, or Victoria Coren over him. Heck, even Jimmy Carr or Sean Lock, at least they'll make me laugh.

[@maxsmodels]

“They’ve sent up someone with no manners at all”. That was brilliant.

[@GreyTheFloydianSergal]

"Did the Germans know we were sending up the lower classes?!" My favourite Toksvig quote

[@J.L.Media.]

ditto.

[@wfcoaker1398]

There’s something about the posh pronunciation of “lower classes” that makes one glad to be lower class. Lol Btw, I’m a “demned colonial”.

[@ally1827]

I’ve lived in France for 6 years - I miss British humor

[@JackPorter]

Ally Walters i feel sorry for you, I imagine there’s an awful lot of frenchies in France.

[@OmmerSyssel]

@@JackPorter Try living in Germany! That's darkness for any half way humorous soul. Never forget how I coincidentally met a British fellow, instantly having more fun than ever experienced during years of companionship with otherwise witty Germans 😏🙈 Simply reckoning different wavelength

[@japanimefan02]

Sandi Toksvig is awesome. I laughed so hard when she said: (Posh British) - 'Did the Germans know we were sending up the lower classes?' (German Accent) - 'Look, here comes someone who has got no manners whatsoever!' That cracked me up. I love that!

[@sayno2lolzisback]

Haha it's funny being poor isnt it?

[@bluegtturbo]

I thought she'd say she took off but then crash landed into a Dyke 🤣

[@lewis6180]

Holy shiiiit. Stephen Fry is the only non-Australian I know who could do that accent in Australia without anyone suspecting anything.

[@hyperdeath84]

I still like to think of those pilots as the stereotypical type simply because it's more fun that way. They were all poshos with pencil moustaches going "Dash it all, let's give Jerry a damn good thrashing" and so on.

[@Kaarna5]

+hyperdeath84 Jerry*

[@hyperdeath84]

Jake Kennedy I stand corrected.

[@Kaarna5]

Jolly good

[@ClayMann]

+hyperdeath84 I had a brief encounter with an american woman many years ago and she would get sexually bonkers if I talked like that. I wasn't very good at it, just parroting back these kinds of things I'd heard in old films but my god she lapped it up. I did end up feeling a bit like a performing monkey though. Do the voice, do the voice! no say this and so on and so on. My advice to anyone is give it a go. Something about a cliched British accent does special things to Americans Not sure why but I have seen many comments over the years echoing the same idea.

[@hyperdeath84]

Clay Mann I'm pretty good at that voice so looks like I need to book myself a flight over the pond. AMERICUUH, FUCK YEAH!

[@vfrl4fma]

2:30 "Did the Germans know we were sending up the lower classes?" XD Oh Sandy Toksvig, this is why you're one of my favourite QI guests,

[@J.L.Media.]

Totally agree! I'm one of those people who isn't found of female comic in general. I know that seems sexist but it's just the way that it is for one reason or another. Sandy is an exception to this though. Totally brilliant! I'm just sad that she's presenting a quiz show at the moment because (although it's a decent quiz) she is better than that. I could see her replacing Fry if he ever gets bored.

[@J.L.Media.]

No, I disagree. Humor is one of the things in life you can't really be apologetic about - if you find something funny you can't help it. Gender doesn't really eve enter into it, I just happened to notice a tendency towards not finding many female comedians funny and that might be because there are far less working female comedians than males. If there is anything sexist, it is making assumptions about a person's views of women because of something like this. The whole wives in the kitchen thing has nothing to do with anything I have said.

[@Macca-95]

Kasey Escape Hear Hear

[@J.L.Media.]

HaydenMcM1 Thank you. Likewise, i am not a xenophobe just because I prefer British humor to Australian or American comedy.

[@Macca-95]

Kasey Escape I'm Australian and take no offence to that, the humour talks of different things, as female humour often talks about different things to male humour. Different strokes for different folks.

[@Barthello1]

"Did the Germans know we were sending the lower class men?" I'm not sure why but I'm in stitches!

[@NicCagetheDickMage]

Fry's got a great aussie accent

[@TSE1130]

no

[@idcaf]

Nic Cage the Dick Mage WHAT??

[@saquibhashmi511]

0:18 David Mitchell looks like private baldrick's long lost brother

[@cmarq817]

Same thoughts exactly ! 🤣

[@pokexplosion21]

"If Adelaide is not your final destination, now would be an ideal time to deplane."

[@iminapunkband]

I'm not one to get annoyed when people can't do it perfectly, but I have to say Stephen's Australian accent is just gorgeous! haha

[@getyourwillhere]

love that line about the Ausi pilot " enough yacht yak from me, time to push some service down the aisle and some scenery past the windows"

[@thelogan4641]

* yackety-yak (aint got nothing to do with boats ;) )

[@Chebab-Chebab]

@@thelogan4641 It took 3 years for someone to correct that.

[@samthecrank]

Stephen (and Hugh Laurie) is one of the few non-Australian actors I've seen do a very passable Aussie accent. He is a fantastic mimic!

[@joselocalau123]

check out brian jordan alvarez’ accent, he even went on australian tv for his accent lol

[@ohwhye]

I think Sandy's german pilot is my all time fave QI bit. This whole segment is well rounded off in general with great anecdotes, facts and accents. Love.

[@kevincaldwell4707]

As a Canadian, I do find the variety of British accents to be so much fun to listen to. Well, most of them...

[@daniellah8699]

Wow im Australian and no one ever gets it right but Stephen got it exactly right!

[@Szaam]

Sandi Toksvig's laugh warms my heart.

[@andrybak]

Delivery by David Mitchell at 07:00 is perfect.

[@Kateaclysmic]

5:27 his Australian (Melbourne) accent is PERFECT. Absolutely perfect.

[@MisDerangedLestrange]

i agree. A lot of comedians try to imitate our Aussie accent and it never sounds quite right. Sometimes I think they confuse us with New Zealand. But Stephan definitely nailed it :)

[@adoreslaurel]

Yes, it's those South Australians that talk posh, see, no convicts sent to the city of churches state.

[@adoreslaurel]

MisDerangedLestrange Have you seen the"Monty python" skit on all the "Bruces".John Cleese really nails it.

[@MisDerangedLestrange]

john brown No I haven't. I'll have to check it out. :) Thanks!

[@chemistryset1]

it really is very good, couldn't fault it

[@MysteriousOoze]

That was a brilliant Ausie accent by Stephen Fry

[@gayowulf]

Best flight announcement I've ever heard, from the head flight attendant just after she'd closed the door to start the pre-flight spiel: "Okay everyone, put your tush on the cush, 'cause we're ready to push!"

[@Asidders]

That sounds too Valley Girl for me, that.

[@Ipwarn]

I'm australian and at the end of one internal flight I remember the pilot taking the piss a little. As we were docking he said, "It has been an exceptionally smooth flight if I do say so myself. It's certainly been your pleasure to have me on board and I'm sure you all wish to see me again soon."

[@Stormdragonbrisvagas]

QI just cheers me up. Not sure why it just does.

[@Stormdragonbrisvagas]

+WSG Man and it is a show that celebrates wit rather than the crudness of reality shows!

[@HeatherSpoonheim]

It really does. It reminds me of old 'talk shows' when they would get seasoned talent on and actually let them talk. Most actors were there to engage their fans - rather than sighing like bored adolescents or grumbling about the industry.

[@CosmosesJones]

theres just something about an educated conversation with the necessary banter thats soothing

[@ottojagenstedt9740]

Sorry I know this is 3 years late but I just wanted to help if you're still wondering. It's a humor show. Hope that clears it up my friend!

[@andaristal]

Nostalgia

[@MarkFace6]

Stephen sounds more Aussie than me. Legend

[@J.L.Media.]

Toksvig's German joke stole the show for me.

[@GuyThatCreepy]

Stephen nailed the Aussie accent perfectly.

[@LuxTheSlav]

I refuse to let go of the stereotypical RAF pilot image and accent. It's just too brilliant.

[@rudolftrost3534]

Sandi Toksvij is a very good replacement for Stephen Fry - who is still missed, of course. Sandi has a wit and a take all of her own.

[@georgecampbellvideos3517]

How great would it be if Stephen returned as a guest with Sandi as host

[@SuperCOCOPANDA]

He's not dead

[@drhibas]

Sadly I am not a fan of her so I don’t watch anymore. It’s not her fault but her voice grinds my ears. She is occasionally funny though, but as a participant you only get her in small doses.

[@sfshinz]

Love the way Rob Brydon needs to shove a Ronnie Corbett impression in at every opportunity, even when there isn't one.

[@realitymatters8720]

This entire segment is bloody brilliant !

[@zachariasquicksilver3664]

Stephen and his Australian Accent. Yes.

[@beneveol]

He seems to nail about 90% of all accents, it's fucking impressive

[@00bean00]

His American ex-military/captain another time was incredible (just realized it's like Rip Torn). "Not on my watch!"

[@chemistryset1]

not many non-aussies can pull off an authentic aussie accent, Fry does a really good job here - Kiwis can pull it off no worries though it must be said ..

[@AlexOnTheBus]

7:09 - "The posh voice: he could be an idiot but he lucked his way through life." Well, that explains Boris Johnson then...

[@ZarkowsWorld]

Alex Csar And the royal family...

[@Muckydoggy1]

+Alex Csar And 95% of British MP's.

[@reellezahl]

+Alex Csar and the Tories?

[@doctorpc1531]

and the Labour.

[@livedandletdie]

Nah Boris is funny, he's like that old grimy uncle that stood outside the daycare centers, mumbling to himself, and sometimes having clear and reasonable thoughts. Bugger off.

[@holidaysinsweden]

I love Sandy Toksvig in QI, one of my favourite panelists :-)

[@auracle6184]

she's going to be taking over from Stephen as the new host soon!

[@skcushcodrum]

I once had the great pleasure of meeting and speaking with an Austrian guy who had learned his English working for an Australian winery. So, to my "American ears", he had an Aussie accent on top of an Austrian one. It was even more pleasantly mind-blowing than hearing someone speak French with a Texas accent (which I have also heard). :-)

[@komodosp]

Ahh the double Aussie...

[@theloniousm4337]

French with a Texas accent? You mean like Quebecois?

[@keymcg]

​@@komodospAussie Squared

[@lugialover09]

I didn't understand the references or the talk about the different accents, but I still enjoyed this.

[@mikeykm1993]

Sandi has the most infectious laugh!

[@doone8849]

na

[@k0tz45]

Always loved how the British actually 'get' Aussie accents. It isn't like the American "OYYY GIDAY MAYT HOW AGHHH YAHHH?" It's actually quite realistic. I remember watching High Laurie and Stephen Fry mock an Australian Soap TV show (Neighbours) and my god was it a fantastic impression.

[@PassTheMarmalade1957]

We need a title for that war film starring Stephen, David, Alan, Sandy and Rob :)

[@ValkyrieDaisy95]

"WW3 : Flight of The QI Squad!" xD Or "Do it for Private Mitchell!" XD OR... "Pilots and Plonkers." XD

[@TheEmeliexx]

yes! lol

[@ValkyrieDaisy95]

XD lol

[@mastermaddison]

"Do it for Private Mitchell!" Made me smile.

[@ValkyrieDaisy95]

lol thanks ^_^

[@jodyb1095]

Stephen Fry doing an Australian accent is the most amazing thing I've ever heard.

[@uncommon_nettle]

Here in the States, our war movies emphasize how not fancy the whole ordeal was so if I imagine a WW2 fighter piolet I think Brooklyn accent and lots of cursing.

[@scalls95]

5:32 Wow! As an Australian, I can assure you that that is the most convincing impression of our accent that I have ever heard from non-Australian

[@LisaMaryification]

The word 'now' sounded distinctly british, but anyway.

[@ofahlstrom]

Sandi is hilarious in this one.

[@rutger5000]

As soon as WW II the UK and Poland are mentioned in a discussion it needs to be said: "The Allied nations utterly and completely betrayed Poland and abandoned them to Sovjet oppression." Perhaps it was immensely difficult to do anything different, perhaps the UK hardly had a choice in a matter. But in history we mustn't forget the things we did wrong. And the Allied betrayal of Poland is something we don't properly acknowledge and seemingly try to hide.

[@handsomebrick]

The UK declared war on the Axis after Poland was invaded during WWII, and they joined NATO working against the Soviets after WWII. What did they do wrong, am I missing something here?

[@naymeequillo]

Same for the Netherlands. A couple of 98 year olds told me that. I had no idea because I wasn't taught in history class. I told my schoolmates and everyone was very much shocked none of that turned up in out boots. Those old people were very pleased I started telling people. They were also extremely politie to the many Polish caretakers in that house.

[@Fertro]

Fry's Australian accent is absolutely spot on. Everybody I know who attempts an Australian accent somehow ends up with a Cockney British accent.

[@leow637]

Part of feeling safe is feeling there is someone competent and confident in charge of the fragile box of metal hurtling at near super sonic speeds above the clouds. As someone who feels uneasy on planes, I can tell you that certain accents do make you feel more comfortable, even knowing full well that there's no link between accent and piloting skill.

[@Fruffl3s]

I can't stop watching it. Help me.

[@Frakkyfire]

I don't know where in Canada you've been, but it has several different accents. You have your West Coast accent (think Seattle-ish), your hippie West Coast accent (very relaxed, almost surfer-ish), prairie accent (closer to the stereotype "Canadian" accent), Toronto accent (they call their city "Trawna"), northern and Inuit accents, generic Ontario accent, Newfoundland accent (which no one else can understand), French-Canadian accent, etc.

[@HaloFTW55]

Wait, we were surfer dudebros the whole time?

[@slothfromthegoonies8201]

Stephen's Scottish accent sounds like Billy Connolly xD

[@AymanB]

+Sloth from The Goonies Yeah he was talking *as* Connolly by saying "I don't think I would've been any good" I believe.

[@aaronwalderslade]

Yes, Billy Connolly has a strong Glasgow accent, kind of the opposite extreme from the gentle Edinburgh accent they were talking about

[@Roobubba]

+Aaron Walderslade He does a Billy impersonation briefly to show the difference between that Western/southern highland 'Billy' lilt and the faux Morningside Edinburgh he subsequently imitates.

[@handsomebrick]

It's the only way I know how to do a Scottish accent, I think of Billy Connolly.

[@rustyblackdog1619]

He does a spot on Aussie accent :)

[@kieran10202]

I don't really think anyone's ever heard the pilot say "Wy aye mon!" and suddenly said "nope, can't go through with it, the pilot sounds like a yobbo."

[@Robinwinghood]

You've never met my uncle.

[@handsomebrick]

I read somewhere that after the movie Hostel came out, tourism in Slovakia dropped 80 percent.

[@Aikohitoshi]

Sandy was on fire, here! QI's just great!

[@YodaOnDMT]

Let a Brummie fly a plane?!! I wouldn't trust anyone north of the M25 to boil an egg.

[@Connelly90]

Yoda on DMT Come far enough north and we'll start deep-frying them.

[@MrDaiseymay]

Yoda on DMT Listen up bone head--It was Birmingham skill of the highest degree, that built well over 10,000 Spitfires at Castle Bromwich Birmingham--that saved your fat arse---and those that shit you out--

[@YodaOnDMT]

Philip Croft But you did it with Brummie accents and in the Midlands which renders anything you do, automatically inconsequential. Those are the rules I'm afraid. Nothing outside the M25 matters. You could master intergalactic space travel but if you're from north of the M25, it's rubbish.

[@hannahw90hw]

Yoda on DMT GFY

[@YodaOnDMT]

+Hannah Montana But nobody from the Midlands is intelligent enough to go there... even as cleaners.

[@abside30glu]

QI- discussion about the perception of accents Uploaded on 16 Jan 2011 Stephen Fry, David Mitchell, Rob Brydon, Sandy Toksvig and Alan Davies discuss how we perceive accents. This segment from QI was first broadcast on BBC2, 15th January 2011. (c) BBC MMXI Category Education Licence Standard KZbin Licence JUN 8, 2014

[@ChiefsESC]

One of the best group of guests.

[@LynisaStark]

This is the best panel ever

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

That was a near-perfect Ronnie Corbett impression.

[@throawwai]

+fishhead06 That's the first time I've ever head that joke. A witty person like you could build a career on it.

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

Mihai What makes you think I haven't?

[@Chris66able]

People do not realise one of the reasons for posh accents in the old films was class propaganda ! The upper classes, establishment at the time were very concerned about the lower classes / working class forgeting their station in life, because of the interclass mingling during the war ! If you watch all of the old WW2 films you will notice that any heroes spoke with an upper class accent, anyone with a lower class accent was portrayed as a coward, or looking to the posh guy for advice in a combat situation, or extremely panicky !

[@Chris66able]

SimplyAnime101 I have noticed, they only problem now is it can spoil your enjoyment of films, because you are aware !

[@SimplyAnime101]

***** That's not the point. The point is that in movies if you have a thick accent you're an idiot. I know plenty of sharp, witty, intelligent people whose accent is country as a butterbean.

[@ShoeLube]

***** There are plenty of documented cases of CEOs and other wealthy people involved in criminal activities such as fraud, tax evasion, drugs, murder, dealings with organised crime (which kind of makes them a gang member). They can be on a much larger scale too. Crime isn't exclusive to the lower classes.

[@joshbaker796]

ShoeLube While crime isn't exclusive to the lower classes, they are disproportionately represented in prisons -- which validates the point that the other guy was making before you jumped on it with a staw man. And having dealings with organised crime doesn't make you a gang member, in order to be a gang member (and I thought this would've been rather obvious to you) you have to actually be a member of a gang. Besides, the types of crimes that you have listed first are more 'white-collar' than 'blue-collar', which indirectly serves to prove your point that the working class and the upper classes are different. By the way -- I'm a working class guy with a regional accent. And I wouldn't change it for the world as it's comething to talk about whenever I'm in a strange town (although when I went to New York people kept asking me if I was German which I found rather odd)...

[@bradburypound6023]

***** lol, It's not a conspiracy theory, link me to lower classes having more criminals? The biggest crooks are senior bankers, politicians and arms dealers & various major crime syndicates, all intelligent people but low lives all the same. As an example, judging by your statement it's pretty obvious that you are not particularly intelligent, but that doesn't make you a criminal does it?

[@Thom176]

Rob Brydon is brilliant

[@Fanouriou]

I don't think there ever was a more QI QI-panel.

[@JohnMacDonald1]

"Did the Germans know we were sending up the lower classes??" Hilarious stuff from Sandi. Love her

[@smorgi]

'Did the German's know we were sending up the lower classes?'

[@jaakkooksa5374]

There were French pilots in the Royal Air Force also, such as Pierre Clostermann , an ace with 33 aerial victories, best known for his memoirs which most history buffs have probably read.

[@enternickname]

Stephen's Australian accent sounds amazingly like Michael Caton... Seriously, watch just the part about the pilot, then watch a bit of The Castle. Flawless.

[@DemstarAus]

On the subject of accents, I think often about how native speakers of other languages perceive accents. As an Australian, I notice different types of accents when those people speak English, and can pick a Dutch, French, Russian or whatever accent. I can't pick a Swedish accent vs. a Native Russian accent when they're speaking Russian, for example.

[@lilliedoubleyou3865]

As an American, I've always been somewhat confused that "public school" denotes privately-educated institutions. Over here, "public schools" *are* the state-run schools (as in...funded by the public). Where did the notion of a public school really being privately-funded come from?

[@1NorthernWarrior]

Public schools were the first type of school that by definition was open to everybody (not class judged etc) and many of these were established in the (very) early 20th century and mid to late 19th (I think), this was before general, free state education was introduced and so they charged a fee (not sure how whether that was strictly enforced as the term suggests). Public schools were at the time deemed open to the general public which went side by side with a fee. Nowadays I think a 'public school' here in England is known as a comprehensive school. ^also just as a note, I think you'll find a lot of Brits (not of the upper-class) will in use, use public school to indicate a public school as you would know it and private to indicate a private fee-paying school like Harrow or Eton, not PC but you'll find a lot of problems with the English language stem from PC, upper-class gits who are still bitter over losing the Empire.

[@lilliedoubleyou3865]

Thanks!

[@ahdkaw]

P e r u n L o c k If I could Like that again, I would. Especially the last part.

[@1NorthernWarrior]

Thought I'd just add on that I'm one of the people that's still bitter, but in a nostalgic, sad kind of way not a- 'Britain is still a major superpower I insist!' kind of way :)

[@youcanlearnalotfromlydia]

No-one in England uses the term "public school" to denote a non fee-paying school. If someone went or goes to public school, that is universally understood to mean fee-paying. State school is the term used for what the rest of the Anglosphere would call public school. It can be interchangeable but generally private school is a broad term and public school is elite like Eton, Harrow, Westminster etc. if you're genuinly interested Wikipedia is a good source to find the origins and development of the institution.

[@cjohns1036]

Rob Brydon was on fire here. Beautiful to witness.

[@myblackheartxx8]

love the classest approach of this show, its hilarious!

[@haggiz85]

Love Sandy's laughter!

[@lolipedofin]

I just realized David was talking about brummie accent, which is John Oliver's. And I agree with his description.

[@oc7078]

"Is this right? Is this where you go?" "I'm ready!!!"

[@paulbradford8240]

Richard Todd was in the Parachute Regiment and was involved in the capture of Pegasus Bridge on D-Day. He later played another person in the film The Longest Day, about the action. How weird must that have been, less than 20 years after the event, playing a character in a film about something in which you played an important part. As an aside, in the 1970's, one of the daily newspapers released a selection of reprints of newspapers of the War years. I recall seeing an advertisement in one of them for pilots in the RAF. It basically said that one of the entrance requirements was a Grammar School education. I was at Grammar School at the time and found it hard to believe that men, not much older than I were defending the Country and being killed doing so. A sobering thought. Especially as at the time, on a daily basis we convened in the hall facing the stage for assembly. On the back wall of the stage was the list of 'Old Boys' that had given their lives during the First and Second World Wars. At the time, I never really gave it a second glance, as nobody spoke about it.

[@cas1994]

how do RAF pilots talk? In polish of course

[@AsboJunior]

"Tally ho, chaps, jerry 12 o'clock"

[@isabellenaylor501]

Um no?

[@bremCZ]

cas1994 Some in Czech too

[@LukeBeacon]

Stephen Fry does a good Australian accent

[@jesmarina]

Simply brilliant Australian pilot skit by Fry there.

[@maxsmodels]

The beauty of the movie 633 Squadron was that no one has a posh accent, they were Australian, Americans, French, Indian, Welsh, and almost every other colony of the crown.

[@marsglorious]

As an Australian, I have to say that Stephen Fry is the only one I know who does the notoriously hard Australian accent well.

[@Dramliza]

Ahhhh, Sandy,you are so awesome!

[@Shelldamage]

QI was simply the one of the best shows ever made, and of course it is british ... wonderfull

[@SerGaToKaR]

i love Stephen's "Oh dear" at the start

[@lydia5489]

I knew someone who visited York and said that most people sounded surprisingly 'normal', so you may be on to something when you say that regional dialects will eventually be lost in favour of a common language. But maybe it's just become a 'behind closed doors' sort of thing, because I feel like people who were raised in Yorkshire still talk in the traditional regional way to close friends and family but sort of settle for a commonality in language when they're in public places.

[@emilyperry-musgrave6180]

I'm from York, and have a Yorkshire accent, although most people don't have the Yorkshire accent but they're usually the people who weren't born and brought up there or were brought up around people without accents

[@lydia5489]

I can understand that.

[@timothythomas4283]

Emily Rebecca What is this notion of 'not having an accent'. EVERYONE has an accent. Accent is simply the way a language is spoken.

[@bradburypound6023]

I'm from Yorkshire and I have a Yorkshire accent, I just slow my speech down more when I visit other areas, particularly outside the north. What accent do you have Bordeline?

[@lydia5489]

I live in Texas but I like to think that I have little to no Texan intonation, although I do still use jargon like "y'all" and "fixin' to"; being from the States doesn't necessarily hinder me from distinguishing between different regional accents in the UK. I can usually tell the difference between a northeastern UK accent and a northwestern one, and similarly for Southern UK. Sometimes I have difficulties distinguishing Liverpool accents from Manchester accents, although I can usually spot a Manchester accent when I hear one. In response to a previous user's comment on the video, I think that exposure helps in telling the difference between regional accents, even if you live in another country. I watch mostly UK television (which, while it may not have much realistically to it, makes it easier to learn different regional accents).

[@captainchaos3667]

Sandi's going to do great as presenter. :)

[@Cowboymeisje]

+Captain Chaos The show has been going slowly, but surely, evermore downhill for about ten years. I'm glad that Toksvig was chosen so that now I can make a clean break and not watch it all.

[@troliol]

+Captain Chaos Whaaaaaaaaaat.... Awww man. First I heard about this. She's good, but I will miss Fry.

[@Jackylification]

I'll miss Stephan fry and it won't be the same without him but she is the best replacement and hopefully will make the show different but just as good.

[@SamAronow]

1. Canadian raising of "ai" to "uy" only occurs in the West and North. 2. Canadian raising of "ow" to "uw" only occurs in the Tidewater, Charleston and Martha's Vineyard. 3. Short "o" vowel is pronounced the standard British way in Canada, but only in a few places in America like northern New England and (increasingly) California. 4. Cot-Caught Merger is universal in Canada, but in the US limited to most of the West, Alaska, Northern New England, and Appalachia. Most Americans don't have it.

[@ruscopcoltrain]

Now, I find that quite interesting! Thanks for answering!

[@dzfz2100]

man, that is a spot on aussie accent! hearing that makes me realise i'm starting to lose mine here in england >:C

[@bartholomewdan]

Do you still have it?

[@SapientiVerbum]

He is saying "Brummie" - slang for Birmingham

[@AndrewWilsonStooshie]

Bizarrely, the term "public" school here in the UK actually refers to the top-notch private schools! State schools are generally called comprehensives.

[@joshnicolini1270]

The dream team QI panel

[@MarkHarmer]

Search YT for Mitchell and Webb RAF pilots. They do some hilarious accents.

[@Endisupertramp]

+Mark Harmer That's Armstrong and Miller's RAF chavs. Mitchell and Webb were simply guests for a few. My favorite's are: 'Youf' loses a leg and Wartime food

[@501archer]

I wonder how this would translate with American accents? We have regional accents too but I don't think we're as sensitive to accent preferences as I'm learning Brits to be.

[@MrNikolidas]

I think I'd rather have a Captain with, say, Frasier's accent (what would you call that? West Coast/Seattle?) than a southern drawl, wouldn't you?

[@LynxSouth]

+Jonathan Charles I'd say it depends on which style of delivery and accent diminishes a person's fears the most. An "educated" Southern accent has a soothing quality that others lack.

[@MrNikolidas]

+Lynx South I guess I'd agree with that - I have heard an educated person with a southern accent before. I was obviously generalising.

[@simonwatts8338]

A lot of US heavy bomber pilots are from Western "Cowboy" states because that's where the bomber bases are. I suppose a lot of them end up flying airliners, is that noticeable from accents?

[@MrNikolidas]

Well, there are some British accents that you wouldn't want anywhere near the controls of anything with an engine - disregarding any and all vocal delivery styles, it makes no difference. But that's because I have my own prejudices. I don't know enough about one American's prejudices against another's to say either way, other than "why would you want Billy-Bob at the helm?". Again, though, I'm hugely generalising.

[@crassenti]

My Canadian grandfather flew spitfires in Scotland during the war :)

[@ingrid0989]

as an aussie, Stephen does an excellent accent!!

[@Halinspark]

I think we should all annoy them until they make this hypothetical movie. Rob should talk like he did at 3:20 the whole time.

[@charlottenotcharlotte6093]

Leave the brummies alone

[@CCNuck]

I seriously adore Sandy Toksvig.

[@Aussiechick111The]

By George, that aussie accent is spot on!!

[@planetofthegapes]

Those poor, brummie women pilots.

[@blanchybaby]

"look here comes someone with no manners whatsoever!"

[@janus4k]

Would be lovely, if the BBC could put out something like an XL, of the first few seasons wich didnt have that. Or maybe even uneditet. I'd pay good money to see that :)

[@bigmeknurgle]

I forgot this episode, love the first 2 minutes, its a little qi plane rpg session.