#accent challenge

Record yourself saying the following:

- Your name and username.

- Where you’re from.

- Pronounce the following words: Aunt, Roof, Route, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Pajamas, Caught, Naturally, Aluminium, GIF, Tumblr, Crackerjack, Doorknob, Envelope, GPOY.

- What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

- What is a bubbly carbonated drink called?

- What do you call gym shoes?

- What do you call your grandparents?

- What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

- What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

- Choose a book and read a passage from it.

- Do you think you have an accent?

- Be a wizard or a vampire?

- Do you know anyone on Tumblr in real life?

Okay, thank you very much for the tag @dangerliesbeforeyou! You know I love linguistics and accents and dialects and words and recording my voice. So this challenge was clearly made for me. So, my name and username…

Hello, I'm Percy, also known as @wintersoulwitch. I am from England. I currently live in the North East of England in the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, but I'm not from here originally and I do not have a local accent.

Here's a list of words for you.

Aunt, Roof, Route, Theatre, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, New Orleans, pecan or pecan - I have pronounced it that way when I was in America - Both, Again - which can also come out as a-gayn - Probably, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Pajamas, Caught, Naturally, Aluminium, GIF, Tumblr, Crackerjack (Crackerjack!), Door knob, Envelope, GPOY.

- What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

Um, so I went blank on this. And then @dangerliesbeforeyou said it was TP-ing, which I think is what it is?

But yeah, I mean, that's not a thing I've ever encountered in real life, just in movies about American Hallowe’en pranks.

- What is a bubbly carbonated drink called?

That is a fizzy drink. Although I would also see soft drink and understand that as well. And pop as a term - I wouldn't use it myself, but I'd understand if someone wanted a bottle of pop, they probably want Coca-Cola or a similar fizzy drink.

- What do you call gym shoes?

Well, there's two types of gym shoes. So, I'm not sure which one this is referring to 'cos there are plimsolls and there are trainers. So, plimsolls are sort of the… considered more like a child would wear? Usually black, rubber-soled and rubber tips over the toes. And yeah, young children wear them to run around in the gym at school. Or trainers, which are what would also be known as sneakers elsewhere, which are, you know, more fashionable and distinct and branded and adult than plimsolls.

- What do you call your grandparents?

Well, my grandparents are nanny and grandad. My specific grandparents are Nanny Wo, Grandad Wo, Nanny She, and Grandad Wally.

- What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

That's a trolley, my dear. Or a shopping trolley.

- What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

The remote. The remote control. Other people might call it a zapper or a doofer or the thingy. My stepdad calls it a Frank for Frank Zappa.

- Choose a book and read a passage from it.

Okay, so I am going to do the same passage that @vagueeyes did in their accent challenge. Which is Lost in Translation by Tim Key.

"I asked for the bill rather than the check and the guy leapt over the bar and sunk his teeth into my neck."

- Do you think you have an accent?

Everyone has an accent, motherfuckers! It's not possible to not have an accent. Fuckssake. [laughs]. Yes, of course I have an accent. My accent is an English accent, broadly a South East English accent. I have picked up various dialectical traits from living in the North East of England for 20 years. And I certainly think in Geordie dialect a lot, but it doesn't come out because it would sound a bit stupid. Like every so often like a 'haway' will slip out and it just sounds a bit pretentious coming from me. I have I think very South East vowel sounds apart from I do have short A's in a few things like transport for example. Rather than traaaaansport. I occasionally have a little bit of a rhotic tinge in my accent? Which I think might come from my Irish stepmotherrrr (laughs). And also a tendency towards uptalk? At the end of sentences? Which is quite common in people my age who were raised on Australian soap operas? To the point where I have had quite a lot of people ask if I am from Australia or New Zealand because they can't place the accent.

Also, of course, I'm autistic and that affects speech pronunciation. There's the whole thing about the autistic accent. Oh, and the lesbian accent as well! But that's more of a prosody thing. You know, that's that kind of less ‘up and down’ intonation.

- Be a wizard or a vampire?

Uh, fucking hell. The first instinct is vampire, obviously, 'cos I'm hella goth. But thinking about it, a wizard might be quite good. If you were a wizard, like a decent wizard who could do some cool spells… And I'm not talking about lightning bolts and fireballs and shit like that, but you know, actual useful stuff like… if I could be a wizard and tidy up my room with magic, that would help me a lot. If I could levitate and fly…

Well, I guess vampires can do that, too.

OK, let's stick with vampires.

- Do you know anyone on Tumblr in real life?

Yes, I do! I have made some lovely friends and connections through Tumblr. I met quite a few people thanks to going insane over Inside No 9 Stage/Fright and visiting various cities around this fine country to see it.

And of course a bunch of people in the West End and a bunch of people in Hammersmith. And then having recently found some people who are more based in the northern parts of the country, which is very exciting because there are people that I might get to actually see and hang out with a bit more because they aren't all based in London. Hooray!

- End audio post by saying any THREE words you want.

Okay. Um… [sighs] Do we go high or do we go low?