Guy Ritchie has a lot to answer for. If he makes a bollocks of "Sherlock Holmes" then I'm not going to be impressed.
On a side note, that article as states the following:
"Bank Machine, which runs 2,500 ATMs across the country, was aiming to amuse, but it has grander ambitions too. It hopes to follow the Cockney cash machines with Brummie, Geordie, Scouse and Scots ATMs. It hopes that ATMs will serve to keep these dialects alive in Britain."
Keep them alive? Why would you want to keep them alive? Scouse is the dialect equivalent of someone drawing their fingernails down a blackboard and the rest, while they can sound nice, just serve as a means of preventing non-locals from understanding what is being said (i.e. might as well be a separate language like Cornish). Since I hate acronyms and abbreviations with a fiery passion I more or less feel the same way about regional dialects when they prevent communication.
I have absolutely nothing against a "regional twang" and, as I said, some regional accents can sound very nice (my wife, for example, comes from the Durham area). However, there is a difference between a regional accent and a regional dialect and there is no place for the later in the modern world. Anything that prevents communication is "a bad thing". BBC English has a lot to be said for it since it can be understood by everyone.
My exception to the above is Scouse which is both an accent and dialect that is just horrible.
What? Are you a robot? The english dialects are a part of the culture. Which is important too. Btw, I don't find all of the dialects hard to understand..
Not everything in our cultures are good and anything that represents a barrier to communication is something that falls into the "not good" category. I'm sorry that this may offend people, particularly those with a dialect singled out, but I don't think anyone can disagree with my point. If people can't understand what you are saying then that is not a good thing. However, humans seem to love forming little cliques and regional dialects enforce them.
I'm all for communication, but I think you really are talking about accents/slang more than dialect. I'm from NYC, and I've been told that I have a thick accent by family in Tennessee/Texas, and my family in England could barely understand me. Meanwhile my parents and friends I grew up with are baffled, because they can understand me perfectly and don't even think I have an accent. That includes the slang/accent/tone I use. I am a huge advocate of embracing and protecting regional accents, because at the end of the day that's a part of who we are, and there's no reason to assimilate to the "norm" set up by the media.
Also, BBC had a program celebrating the languages/accents/dialects of their nation, and they've kept the related pages up so you can read/hear regional accents: http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/
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Guy Ritchie has a lot to answer for. If he makes a bollocks of "Sherlock Holmes" then I'm not going to be impressed.
On a side note, that article as states the following:
"Bank Machine, which runs 2,500 ATMs across the country, was aiming to amuse, but it has grander ambitions too. It hopes to follow the Cockney cash machines with Brummie, Geordie, Scouse and Scots ATMs. It hopes that ATMs will serve to keep these dialects alive in Britain."
Keep them alive? Why would you want to keep them alive? Scouse is the dialect equivalent of someone drawing their fingernails down a blackboard and the rest, while they can sound nice, just serve as a means of preventing non-locals from understanding what is being said (i.e. might as well be a separate language like Cornish). Since I hate acronyms and abbreviations with a fiery passion I more or less feel the same way about regional dialects when they prevent communication.
I love regional accents, I think they are a unique part of Britain.
So everyone has to talk in BBC English from now on?
Who are you? Oswald Moseley?
What a scouse keyboard looks like: http://www.bernhardt.org.uk/jokes/keyb-scouser.jpg
@Oli D
I have absolutely nothing against a "regional twang" and, as I said, some regional accents can sound very nice (my wife, for example, comes from the Durham area). However, there is a difference between a regional accent and a regional dialect and there is no place for the later in the modern world. Anything that prevents communication is "a bad thing". BBC English has a lot to be said for it since it can be understood by everyone.
My exception to the above is Scouse which is both an accent and dialect that is just horrible.
Agreed on the BBC English.
There is something to be said for speaking a language people can understand.
There are plenty of Scandinavian people who can speak clearer English than many native English speakers.
Yeah, no kidding on that. I'm currently living in Belgium and it is amazing how much better some people's English is than native speakers.
What? Are you a robot? The english dialects are a part of the culture. Which is important too. Btw, I don't find all of the dialects hard to understand..
"The english dialects are a part of the culture"
Not everything in our cultures are good and anything that represents a barrier to communication is something that falls into the "not good" category. I'm sorry that this may offend people, particularly those with a dialect singled out, but I don't think anyone can disagree with my point. If people can't understand what you are saying then that is not a good thing. However, humans seem to love forming little cliques and regional dialects enforce them.
I'm all for communication, but I think you really are talking about accents/slang more than dialect. I'm from NYC, and I've been told that I have a thick accent by family in Tennessee/Texas, and my family in England could barely understand me. Meanwhile my parents and friends I grew up with are baffled, because they can understand me perfectly and don't even think I have an accent. That includes the slang/accent/tone I use. I am a huge advocate of embracing and protecting regional accents, because at the end of the day that's a part of who we are, and there's no reason to assimilate to the "norm" set up by the media.
Also, BBC had a program celebrating the languages/accents/dialects of their nation, and they've kept the related pages up so you can read/hear regional accents: http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/
(And the FAQ regarding BBC English...from BBC's point of view): http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/yourvoice/rpandbbc3.shtml#A