The stafford accent??

Toble

Toble

Well-Known Forumite
I've been here since '89 and tried to keep my original Preston accent, but my family say I sound posher these days.
The missus has been here for about the same time, but she still has a strong Dover accent. But she was married to a Yorkshireman for 30 years, and if exposure to Yorkie accent can't taint your speech patterns then the Stafford non-accent has no chance at all.
 
G

Gareth

Well-Known Forumite
Everyone here is right bit little me has got it spot on. Forgotten how many times I have been called posh especially from west mids folk, oh lardie dah type mockery.
Its odd Stafford folk considering its surrounds do not have a stand out accent. It's funny in the moorlands up here they try to hide the stokie accent which does come acrss as a scouse/ manc mix. Surprised me in stone the folk there mostly sounds this way also, as an outsider it is easy to note, even though the area is very much part of Stafford district.
 
That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

That-Crazy-Rat-Lady

Well-Known Forumite
My mum always said that in Stafford we speak the Queens English!

I'm currently living in Warrington which has the misfortune of being placed in-between Manchester and Liverpool - I haven't had a decent conversation in weeks - I can't understand a thing anyone says!
 
zebidee

zebidee

Well-Known Forumite
There is a slant to the Stafford accent, a little noticible something in the vowels that often comes across as an attitude rather than accent but I've heard it often enough to conclude it's an accent feature. It's been a few years since my phonetics was anywhere near good enough to explain it (and vowels were never my strong point) but I would say there's a sort of rounding of vowels that goes on, in contrast to my Walsall/Brownhills (sort-of-for-reference) accent. I can pick out a Stafford type these days but it took me a while to zone in on it :)

/completely useless ramble
 
S

Sir BoD

Well-Known Forumite
zebidee said:
There is a slant to the Stafford accent, a little noticible something in the vowels that often comes across as an attitude rather than accent but I've heard it often enough to conclude it's an accent feature. It's been a few years since my phonetics was anywhere near good enough to explain it (and vowels were never my strong point) but I would say there's a sort of rounding of vowels that goes on, in contrast to my Walsall/Brownhills (sort-of-for-reference) accent. I can pick out a Stafford type these days but it took me a while to zone in on it :)

/completely useless ramble
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That's pretty much spot on with the 'attitude' bit. Whenever I'm chatting to people with different accents, I become very aware of how less endearing my accent is compared to theirs and try exceptionally hard to come across more likeable. I really wish I had a more stand out accent.

I got talking to a lady on the bus the other day and she had been in Stafford since the 60s but spoke with a lovely Blackburn accent. I was instantly hooked with how she sounded - warm and welcoming and above all, interesting. When I'm talking, I end up boring myself more than those I'm chatting to - as I'm doing right now.
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Sir BoD said:
I got talking to a lady on the bus the other day and she had been in Stafford since the 60s but spoke with a lovely Blackburn accent. I was instantly hooked with how she sounded - warm and welcoming and above all, interesting. When I'm talking, I end up boring myself more than those I'm chatting to - as I'm doing right now.
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Mmm, sorry..?
 
hop

hop

Well-Known Forumite
Sir BoD said:
.... but spoke with a lovely Blackburn accent. I was instantly hooked with how she sounded - warm and welcoming and above all, interesting.
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That's not how I would describe a Lanashire accent, not much of any note has ever come out of Blackburn. Their was a bit of early film pioneer work by Mitchell and Keyon but few people are even aware of them and the films were done around 1900 so lack sound so you cant really appreciate the squalor of the factories and the the like.
 
hop

hop

Well-Known Forumite
Gramaisc said:
Home of the pot-hole..?
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That would be the locals pinching the cobbles, they probably wanted them to build an out house using dry stone walling techniques to keep their ferrets in. The hole in the road would be oblivious to most of the locals since their clogs would bridge the gap.
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
hop said:
That would be the locals pinching the cobbles, they probably wanted them to build an out house using dry stone walling techniques to keep their ferrets in. The hole in the road would be oblivious to most of the locals since their clogs would bridge the gap.
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As long as they don't exceed 4,000...
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
This is from the Whitby Town programme for the Stafford Rangers match in April this year.

10366001_10202098055119079_8994363521873241369_n.jpg


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202098055119079&set=gm.807485595942652&type=1&theater
 
gon2seed

gon2seed

(and me! - Ed)
Very Interesting Grim(ie). As a Staffordian Born & Bred, who has lived since late teens, in Sheffield, Scarborough, Stafford (again), Rochdale, then back to Ford for last 15 years., I would say I don't particularly display an accent, bits of the all of them! However when a friend and I went to a pub in Wales in the 80's we were chatting together at the bar, and definitely did not mention anything that would give a clue where we were from. The Barmaid engaged us in a brief conversation. Very early in the discourse she observed:- "You boys are from Stafford!", "You are right, but how do you know that?" "I lived in Stafford for years, and its the things you say, and some word you use, as much as your accent!" Unfortunately we didn't get on to discussing that further, but maybe she had a point! :stafford:
 
S

Sir BoD

Well-Known Forumite
Gramaisc said:
This is from the Whitby Town programme for the Stafford Rangers match in April this year.

10366001_10202098055119079_8994363521873241369_n.jpg


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202098055119079&set=gm.807485595942652&type=1&theater
Click to expand...
I agree with the point about it being similar to that of the East Midlands, in particular Nottingham. The obvious difference that I can tell between f a Staffordian accent and a 'typical' Nottingham accent is how they end words in 'ey' such as 'money' - they pronounce it 'moneh.'

However, I certainly wouldn't agree that Stone has had any influence on the Stafford accent but more that Stone has been influenced by the Stoke accent.
 
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