London accents through the centuries.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by woodbox

And btw,
another point they were emphatic about was that they were “English”, not “British”.
I’m still not clear why that distinction was so important to them, but it was!

It’s really quite simple. You’ll never hear a Scot, an Irishman or a Welshman refer to themselves as ‘British’.

To me, being English is no different.

It’s also why any talk of a ‘British’ accent is nonsense.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by woodbox

But she emphasized that she was pronouncing the name of her town correctly.. as if the actual letters had nothing to do with the matter.
And who was I to dispute her claim?

I have many possible responses, but I’ll offer just this:

Arkansas

[woodbox]

Yes, David.. both of your points just made are very well taken and expressed.

Arkansas indeed!

[Silurian]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

It’s really quite simple. You’ll never hear a Scot, an Irishman or a Welshman refer to themselves as ‘British’.

.

My dad was English, my mum Welsh. I was born in England but have lived in Wales for over half my life.

"British" works quite well for me.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by Silurian

My dad was English, my mum Welsh. I was born in England but have lived in Wales for over half my life.

"British" works quite well for me.

That’s what happens when you declare an absolute on the internet

To be honest, I’m a Brit too, when I can’t be bothered to be pedantic

[Gitfiddlemann]

I thought that was super interesting. I was wondering how accurately they could determine the earliest ones, but I suppose if the speech was phonetically transcribed it would provide a solid enough basis.
I had trouble with the early ones. I would pick up a word here or there, but no flow, and thus, no sense as to what they were discussing.
1706 onward was much easier. A dramatic change. Even without 100% recognition, I would have been able to have a conversation with the fellow.
It was interesting to hear the speech patterns from 1946. It was exactly as I recall old war footage from that era, or even films.
I love language. That was cool. Thanks for posting.