Accents

Lulu wrote a post about accents recently - let's make sexy talk, part II - and in true Sati-style, I wrote an essay as a reply. So much so, that I decided perhaps I should post it here.

It's not as organized as my usual blog posts, but oh well. As stoned out of my skull as I am right now - three different painkillers, two different antibiotics - we're all lucky that I can put one letter in front of another.

I said:
Bite your tongue my Lady! British is not an accent, any more than American is. If you met me and Kidfos, you'd swear we were from opposite ends of the world.

I could go on forever about accents. I love them. I love learning them, too. I have a pretty good ear (and mouth?) for accents, and if I'm fairly well-acquainted with the area they come from (obviously I can't do it if I have no prior knowledge) I can often pinpoint, with quite good accuracy, where they come from. I was with a South African guy a few weeks ago who was amazed because not only did I recognize him as being South African, I also recognized that he was raised in the Jo'burg area - even though he lived in Cape Town - because his AH sounds were broader than most Cape Towners. Also, after spending an hour or so in someone's company I can usually pick up their pattern of speech.

Can't do it all the time, of course.

I love all white South African accents, and most Black South African accents too - although I find the tribal ones a little hard to understand sometimes. Probably the Port Elizabeth area is my favorite, it's very gentle and sounds really friendly at the same time as sounding like the guy's undressing you with his voice.

I had a Ghanaian boyfriend with a gorgeous accent, and another whose accent I didn't like. Likewise, I had a Nigerian boyfriend whose voice made me instantly wet, and a one-night-stand whose voice did nothing for me. I don't know enough about either country to be able to tell whether this is regional or just unique to each man.

I like all Spanish accents, although they can be quite different. Central and Southern Spanish is the most romantic-sounding, and the closest to "true" Spanish. Catalunyan (the area around Barcelona) accents are quite broad and sibilant; the Catalan language is probably closer to Portugese than Spanish, and the accents when they're speaking English reflect this. Northern - the Basque territory - accents are much more staccato, a little harsher and choppier. Still sexy though, if not quite as much as the Southern ones.

Likewise, I like Central and South American accents, although I don't know enough about them to distinguish more than the basics. Like, I can tell the difference between Mexican and Nicaraguan, or between Cuban and Peruvian, but not much more than that.

Russian accents are hit-or-miss for me - if they're on a handsome man or beautiful woman they're divine, but if they're on someone I'm not atttracted to I find them hard to understand and just faintly disturbing. Yeah, I'm shallow, what of it? *sticks tongue out* And I know NOTHING about Russia - I can't tell the difference between a Moscow and a St. Petersburg accent, although I imagine I could if I actually spent some time around the people. (I only know one Russian person, and I don't remember where she's from.)

I love everything Japanese - big surprise there - but I find the far North and far South accents a little hard to understand, at least when they're talking in Japanese. I've never heard a Southerner (I mean south like Okinawa, not south like Tokyo) speak English, but the first Japanese person I knew was a half-Ainu northerner, and his English was really easy to understand. I can't comment on whether it was sexy or not, I think I was three.

The first guy I loved was Australian - from far north Queensland - and he had the sexiest accent EVER. I loved the way he said my name...sort of like SAA-dee. (Should be SAH-tee.)

Cajun accents make me hotter than just about anything I can think of. I have a friend from Louisiana who likes to teach me how to cook, and every time I try I have to be careful not to drool into the roux. I like Creole, too, although I haven't met so many of them.

I like the Luso accents you find amongst a lot of the Maine fishermen of Portuguese or Azorean descent. Even when they're on an old grizzled guy, they're still hot if I close my eyes. *grins*

Boston accents make me giggle a bit (sorry Molly), especially when they're on men, but they also make me inexplicably happy. I suppose because through most of my childhood, till I got sick, I always figured I'd end up at Harvard, and it still kind of feels like home.

The honeyed drawl that you sometimes find in the Carolinas makes my panties wet. I don't always go for Southern accents, but I like the lightness of the NC / SC ones.

My Mom has a Minnesota accent, although it's tapered off over the years - I think I retain more of it than she does, actually - and I really like that. I like the borderline Canadian-American accents a lot. Actually, her accent sounds a bit Alaskan - I guess they share some qualities. I hate to say it (like, I really REALLY hate to say it) but I like Sarah Palin's accent, it makes me smile and think of my Mom, the way she was when I was a kid.

I met a Navajo guy from NM last week, and for the last week I've gone to sleep thinking about his voice. Divine.

My own? Well, Brits pick up on the American in it, although none but the linguists can ascertain which part of America. Americans hear the British. I'd call it Home Counties with a dash of Minnesota, but then I'm like tofu - I pick up the flavor of whatever I'm around. If I spend a few days at work, and stay in London, then it's pure East London, almost cockney. If I visit rich friends in the country, I get that very proper, posh accent - I don't think it really has a name, but I always think of it as British Aristocracy - that sounds like I should be playing on a polo field. Of course, then I have to go back to work, immediately throw myself into talking street, and never EVER let on that I know what a chukka is.



If you're really interested, I have videos on the face place. Most of them are upside-down though, I can't always figure out the right way to hold the camera.

Enough detail for you, oh Goddess of Order and Indexing?

(I think I'd better pimp this on my blog, it's certainly long enough for an entire post.)
So I ask the same question - what do you find sexy, accent-wise?

Oh, and the videos - yeah, they're just random ramblings of mine, usually sleep-deprived ones. Nothing sexy, but you can hear my voice. I was going to put some up on here, but then I'd have a bunch of jackasses asking me why I'm wasting space for things that aren't sex-related, and I can't make them friends-only because most of the people I interact with here aren't on my friends list. Dagnabbit people, if we talk on a regular basis, or even a semi-regular basis, and if you're a frequent commenter here, then add me to your list! I can't add, I don't have the shiny balls. I'd like to be able to make friends-only posts sometimes.