Brighton accent

Buzzer · Sep 17, 2008

I got told that I had a Brighton accent at the weekend. A little perplexed by that because apart from the Coopers of Rottingdean, I wasn't aware that such a thing as a discernible accent still existed in Sussex. We're all kind of RP middle-class or mockneys or if you're like me both. I can drop my tees and aitches after a few beers.

Also, I'm not from Brighton. I'm a West side homey. Born and raised on the mean streets of Worthing.

This barmaid seemed absolutely certain that such a thing exists still. Me - I'm not convinced. Waddya reckon?

hans kraay fan club · Sep 17, 2008

As long as you don't pronounce the T in Brigh'on, then you're okay.

One True BHA · Sep 17, 2008

i have been told that from mates at uni.

i guess it's just a slightly more subtle cockney

Barrel of Fun · Sep 17, 2008

I have frequently been told that I have a South African accent. I assume there used to be a Brighton accent, but with so many newcomers (calm down HB&B) to the town, it has been immersed in a medley of different speaks.

fatboy · Sep 17, 2008

I come from Haywards Heath and upon moving to Brighton I definitely noticed a slightly different accent from the locals.

Southover Street Seagull · Sep 17, 2008

I know some people from Brighton on their seventies and their accent is a toned version of a London accent, not as harsh as a Cockney accent though.
Rural Sussex accents are much different so I've been told.

Buzzer · Sep 17, 2008

But if you listen to the old music hall recordings of Brighton's most famousest son, Max Miller, I still can't make out an accent and he lived here all his life.

(God Bless Him - invented alternative comedy, did our Max)

There's definitely ways of expressing words that I recognise but it's not really an accent. It's a type of southern English - definitely not estuary English and there's definitely a clarity in all the words and a sort of softness to the accent. The pronunciation of "our" as something more akin to "air"

See what you think:

[yt]qBUfMNBjBTI[/yt]

Piece of NSC trivia - I seem to recall reading an NSCer saying that Mary from the Dairy was about an ancestor of his

backson · Sep 17, 2008

Pronounce your 'ee's like an 'i' and your halfway there, eg. Where have you bin? Have you sin that?.

Pedant alert: it was the Copper's from Rottingdean, not Cooper's.

Gully · Sep 17, 2008

Southover Street Seagull said:
I know some people from Brighton on their seventies and their accent is a toned version of a London accent, not as harsh as a Cockney accent though.
Rural Sussex accents are much different so I've been told.

You are right about the rural bit, it is fairly easy to tell in West Sussex if someone is from the north or south of the Downs, those from the coastal strip tend to have a bit of a London twang whilst the Wealden folk have an accent more akin to 'ampshire.

The Large One · Sep 17, 2008

Our 'accent', I'm told, emanates from Gloucestershire, and does not have the flat vowel sounds associated with 'Estuary English' which northern monkeys so easily mistake for everyone in the south of England.

A rural Sussex accent, on the other hand, is something else altogether.

Saying 'bin' or 'sin' instead of 'been' or 'seen' is something I seemed to have picked up from a very early age, and I've no idea where from.

Gully · Sep 17, 2008

...also dropping the letter H, as in 'orsham, losing the letter G if it appears in the middle of a word like Storrin-ton and pronouncing "th" as V...like in Worving.

Deleted User X18H · Sep 17, 2008

I of course have an eloquent Brighton & Hove accent

Tom Hark Preston Park · Sep 17, 2008

Buzzer said:
I got told that I had a Brighton accent at the weekend.

I get told that all the time - whenever I visit Aberdeen. Och!

NMH · Sep 17, 2008

hove born&bred said:
I of course have an eloquent Brighton & Hove accent

Do you sound like a POOF?? :safeway2:

Exmouth Seagull · Sep 17, 2008

Yes, there is a Brighton accent.

I grew up and lived in Mid-Sussex, worked in Brighton for a few years, I could easily tell who was and wasn't from the Brighton area in The North Stand by their accents.

Not sure if I could now after 8 years in exile.

Deleted member 2719 · Sep 17, 2008

Not Sure about a Brighton accent but i have been told i have a Sussex/Cockney accent many a time and it definitely comes out more when drinking.

Mendoza · Sep 17, 2008

it's not an accent. It is how everything sounds when it is pronounced PROPERLY

Fungus · Sep 17, 2008

Mendoza said:
it's not an accent. It is how everything sounds when it is pronounced PROPERLY

Absolutely. Everyone else has an accent, but having been born in Brighton, I'm "normal". Mind you, having lived in exile for 15 years, I notice some of the youngsters now have "southern hemisphere" accents, where the end of the sentence goes "up" - as if asking a question?

Zed Seagull · Sep 17, 2008

Tom Hark said:
I get told that all the time - whenever I visit Aberdeen. Och!

Sure its nae Kemnay

Buzzer · Sep 17, 2008

LE2 said:
Absolutely. Everyone else has an accent, but having been born in Brighton, I'm "normal". Mind you, having lived in exile for 15 years, I notice some of the youngsters now have "southern hemisphere" accents, where the end of the sentence goes "up" - as if asking a question?

Ahh. Yes. Questionese, I like to refer it as.

Thankfully, it seems to be on the wane what with dire Aussie soaps no longer on telly.

Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊

Brighton accent

Languidly Clinical

The voice of reason.

New member

Abort, retry, fail

Active member

Well-known member

Languidly Clinical

Registered Mis-user

Monkey in a seagull suit.

Who's Next?

Monkey in a seagull suit.

Deleted User X18H

Guest

Will Post For Cash

Banned

New member

Deleted member 2719

Guest

NSC's Most Stalked

Well-known member

New member

Languidly Clinical

Share this page