This Accent is REALLY Hard! Can YOU Understand it?

This was one of the hardest accenst I've ever heard in my life.

In sociolinguistics, an accent is a way of pronouncing a language that is distinctive to a country, area, social class, or individual.[1] An accent may be identified with the locality in which its speakers reside (a regional or geographical accent), the socioeconomic status of its speakers, their ethnicity (an ethnolect), their caste or social class (a social accent), or influence from their first language (a foreign accent).[2]

Accents typically differ in quality of voice, pronunciation and distinction of vowels and consonants, stress, and prosody.[3] Although grammar, semantics, vocabulary, and other language characteristics often vary concurrently with accent, the word "accent" may refer specifically to the differences in pronunciation, whereas the word "dialect" encompasses the broader set of linguistic differences. "Accent" is often a subset of "dialect".[1]

History
As human beings spread out into isolated communities, stresses and peculiarities develop. Over time, they can develop into identifiable accents. In North America, the interaction of people from many ethnic backgrounds contributed to the formation of the different varieties of North American accents. It is difficult to measure or predict how long it takes an accent to form. Accents from Canada, South Africa, Australia and the United States for example, developed from the combinations of different accents and languages in various societies and their effect on the various pronunciations of British settlers.[4]

Accents may vary within regions of an area in which a uniform language is spoken. In some cases, such as regional accents of English in the United States, accents can be traced back to when an area was settled and by whom. Areas like the city of New Orleans in Louisiana that are, or at one point in time were, semi-isolated have distinct accents due to the absence of contact between regions. Isolated regions allow dialects to expand and evolve independently. Social and economic factors can also influence the way people speak.[5]

Internet challenges are a popular phenomenon on the Internet, encompassing a wide range of videos in which individuals record themselves performing specific actions or tasks, often daring others to do the same.[1] These challenges have become a significant part of Internet meme culture, with many of them gaining widespread attention and popularity through memes. Notable examples of such challenges include the ALS Ice Bucket challenge, which gained viral status in mid-2014, and the TrashTag Challenge, which became popular in 2019.[2][3][4]

The concept of Internet challenges shares similarities with the classic dare games played by children, wherein participants dare each other to undertake actions that are typically unconventional or out of the ordinary. While some challenges have emerged solely within the digital realm, there are instances where challenges or tasks predate the Internet and have resurfaced in a modified form online. The allure of internet challenges can be attributed, in part, to individuals' desire for attention and social validation, particularly among teenagers. Several of these challenges carry inherent risks and can be potentially dangerous.[1]

Controversy has surrounded Internet challenges, primarily due to the harmful nature of certain tasks. Instances like the Cinnamon challenge[5] or the Tide Pod challenge[6] serve as striking examples, where participants have suffered severe injuries[7] or even lost their lives.[8] In response to such dangers, platforms like YouTube have disallowed the promotion of these challenges,[9] leading many individuals to turn to alternative platforms like TikTok, where the creation and dissemination of such challenges are not subjected to strict moderation.

Moreover, some challenges have drawn criticism for their rude or disrespectful nature. The Gallon Smashing Internet challenge, for instance, gained notoriety for encouraging participants to purposefully spill or smash gallon containers of liquid in public places, resulting in inconvenience and potential harm to others.

#accent #difficult #challenge

[Epsilonsama]

As a native Spanish speaker I'm very self conscious of my accent when I speak English so hearing how the Scots speak fills me with so many questions. 😂

[tamasmarcuis]

There is a language called Scots. It is an Anglic language related to English. But less similar than Norwegian, Danish and Swedish are similar. People in Glasgow are thought to speak English but heavily influenced by Scots. The accent and many words or phrases being Scots. Some of the people in the video started speaking Scots and then moved to speak an approximation of English using Scots pronunciation. I noticed some tried to speak English but could not complete whole sentences without using Scots words and grammar. They expect everyone to understand both languages and a mixture of both.

When I went to Scotland I studied the language and it's grammar. If you don't it can be very isolating. People will speak English to you but switch back when they are speaking to each other. So you are left out of the conversation.

Travelling around Scotland I met quite a few Asian immigrants who spoke Scots but had a hard time pronouncing English.

[cadiencanaille]

An American friend was visiting France and her French friends decided to take her to an English language movie. The movie took place in Scotland. The American kept asking her French friends who were reading the subtitles what was said.

[davidparker]

As a native English (American) speaker, this was a lot of fun to listen to. It is difficult but if I focus very intently, I can understand about 85% of it.

[bacicinvatteneaca]

I found it funny that whenever you picked up a pronunciation rule from their speech and tried to apply it, you sounded really Scottish despite being unable to understand what they said.
You should try watching a few sketches by Limmy, he's the most internationally known Scottish comedian

[SneakyAlba]

I somehow knew this was going to be Glaswegian as soon as I read the title.

Part of why Scottish people - especially in the Glasgow area - can be so hard to interpret is because they don't speak exclusively English in casual speech. Scotland has three spoken languages, Gàidhlig, Scots/Doric, and English. The accent originates from Gàidhlig, which is a form of Gaelic and is not all that well suited for a switch to English in the first place, and people tend to use both Scots and English in the same sentence right next to each other (usually Scots words that are similar sounding to English, but not always). Generally people use Scots as emphasis on something they would normally say in modern English, and people who didn't get as strong an education will tend to use it more in general.

Scots is a language that sounds a lot like English, because it technically is another form of English that split before the great vowel shift. Words can sound alike, but it's distinct enough that if you don't know it you won't be able to recognise most of the words by sound alone.

The most confusing part is that your average Scottish person won't really know that they're speaking both either, as our education system has history in the English education system, which denies the existence of Scots as a language (unless it's Burns' night), and as a result we're mostly taught that we're just speaking English really badly. "Speak properly" is one of the most common phrases a teacher will use here. Most people have an idea of "how Scottish" they sound, but both myself and people I know have been surprised by just how much of it is local to Scotland on more than a few occasions (especially on formal sounding words like "outwith").

Those last two parts also contribute to another layer of complexity, which is that the Glaswegian accent has almost completely changed with each generation since we started recording accents to begin with. Nobody really knows why only Glasgow seems to do this, but it probably has to do with the degree which people's lives have been improved or worsened with each generation relative to the rest of Scotland as a whole.

The first and second videos are good examples of the switching between languages that happens. I'll try to transcribe the first clip:
"When I slept wi [with] somebody else I telt [told] her that, right? But see that-"
"Ay [yeah], but it's there! But it's there! But did Ah dae it a' a part of that, did Ah?! [But did I do that as a part of that, did I?!]"
"Well-"
"You did! So- Noo yer gonnae [now you're going to] say that - see whin [when] you've finally git the baws tae [got the balls to] admit it - you're gonnae say [going to say] wan or two lassies [one or two girls] and it's clear! It's clear!- No I'll *censored beep* keep it and guess whit [what] your daughter will see whin [when] she's- *censored beep* -idiot! Honestly! An' d'you know whit [and do you know what]?!-"

[Unpainted_Huffhines]

If I just listen casually, it all goes over my head. But if I stop, concentrate, and turn on my "OK, they're Scottish" filter, I can understand pretty much all of it.

[oronjoffe]

The glaswegian accent IS difficult but the Geordie accent is on another level altogether. You are quite right to note that the short “i” in many dialects of Scots sound like a schewa (for example, milk is mlk/) and also, as you pointed out, that t is often pronounced as a glottal stop in Scotland, much as it is in many parts of English. But do a video on the Geordie accent, it’ll be great!

[maricallo]

Remember, the Romans built the wall to keep the Scotts out, like in Game of Thrones.
Probably close to how people spoke in Shakespearean times.

[tovarishchfeixiao]

3:10 ned: backronym for 'non-educated delinquent', hooligan, troublemaker. Derived from Edward, as in Teddy Boys.
4:40 he said "my pal was just sitting at mcdonald's".

[some_random_wallaby]

As an Aussie... Scottish accents are much easier than some others, including some American accents. I really didn't expect you to pick this one as the "hardest" English accent. But then, we're also a bit like the Scots in that we'll mumble half of every word (and this is not a bad thing; enunciating every mote of a word is, IMHO, tedious and coldly clinical. Who wants to do that?).

[stumccabe]

Metatron, excellent video. Try the Geordie accent - I'm English and I find it almost incomprehensible!

[kalinkapavlova]

The Scottish accent is closer to how English sounded pre the great vowel shift. Like if you've ever seen medieval manuscripts from 600 years ago, and notice the spelling, it's easier to read them with a Scottish accent lol.

[TommyCol]

I’m a Londoner but I love the accents around the country.
Some parts of Glasgow you’ll notice they drop the T from Think and just say “hink”. The young guy talking about gangs actually did this if you listen back.
I’ve also heard “Hame” instead of “Home” in Glasgow as well.

I’ve got Irish family so I’d love to hear you try to decipher the Cork or Kerry accent 😂

[IIDave]

Great video Metatron. I'd love to see some more videos from you on Scottish accents and dialects. A couple of notes from a native Scot:
Firstly, there are many different accents in Scotland, and vowel shifts vary significantly from East to West and are also very different in the Highlands and Islands.

A lot of Scottish vowels remain as they were before the Great Vowel Shift.
For example house and mouse rhyme with loose.
"There's a mouse loose about this house" all rhymes. (There's a moose loose aboot this hoose)

A ned is like a hooligan or a troublemaker, usually wearing some kind of interesting fashion choice which stands out, which moves with the times (eg. Burberry hats, striped jumpers, white tracksuits tucked into their socks, etc). Similar to a chav in England.
When the young Weegie (Glaswegian) said sumday, he was actually saying somebody.

And also Scottish for "I don't know" in the East of Scotland is "Ah dae ken" or "Ah dinnae ken"

[ironiccookies]

You should try listening to some of the strongest Irish accents. It's like a completely different language.

And as for the "i" sound, it's because of the Great Vowel shift. In London English the sound "ee" gradually became "i" sound, and Scottish English also had the vowel shift but the "ee" became stuck at "a" sound and never developed to the "i" sound. London English did pronounce the "ee" as an "a" sound at one point.

[Sethrain]

You might be interested in the channel Scotland History Tours. He has a video called "What They Don't Say About Scottish Accents" which is chock full of Scots and has subtitles.

[jasonmarson]

At 6:20 he is saying ‘somebody’ pronouncing it ‘sumdee’. Nothing to do with ‘day’. Hope that helps Metatron.

[RicoFerrari]

"Angry Scots are like the final boss". LMAO

[TheCasualHazeFox]

I comprehended as much as you did. Between Scottish and a Welsh accent, I can hardly ever know what either or are saying. Scottish is far harder than Welsh of course but I do find once you listen to Scottish for a while you really get it a lot easier than Welsh. I am thankful the Irish don't sound like this. haha