this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2025
92 points (96.0% liked)

CasualEurope

560 readers
1 users here now

A laid back community for good news, pictures and general discussions among people living in Europe.

Topics that should not be discussed here:

Other casual communities:

Language communities

Cities

Countries

founded 6 months ago
MODERATORS
top 49 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] trollercoaster@sh.itjust.works 23 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

Impossible to describe exactly without virtually doxxing myself, because I am from a part of Germany where the local dialects vary noticeably between neighbour villages.

[–] drolex@sopuli.xyz 14 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Why are you German? This is baffling

[–] trollercoaster@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Why? No idea, it just happened to me at birth or so. I prefer to define my cultural identity more regionally, though.

[–] drolex@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 month ago

Just FYI I have successfully sued my parents for being French (it's hereditary, like ~~rabies~~ having hairy feet)

I get the regional cultural identity, can relate

[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Oh my god, Gretchen. You can't just ask people why they're German.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Did you just ask someone why they're German?

[–] drolex@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 month ago

Yes apparently I'm the only one to be concerned by the situation.

If you see a libertarian on the street, you would ask "why are you a libertarian?"

If you see a clown on the street, you would ask "why are you a clown?"

If you see a fascist on the street, you would ask "could you please fuck off to the sea?"

And so on.

[–] orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 1 month ago

Oh, is that you, Heinrich? I can tell by the cadence of your hesitation.

Chill, bro. Nobody's going to give a shit.

[–] 0x0@lemmy.zip 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

And how many parts of Germany such as that are there...?

[–] trollercoaster@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 month ago (2 children)

The thing ist that it's impossible to describe without naming very specific places.

[–] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Always a breeze once I go to a music festival or bigger event and there's all the diversity with the German language. I think there are many places like that. And even in the larger metropolitan areas you can tell the difference between Cologne, Düsseldorf and the Ruhrgebiet and the people slightly to the east or north of it. At least where they grew up because all of it mixes in the cities and people will also commute 1h to work. So I think it happens in villages, cities and everywhere. It's not entirely the same, though. Seems to be more nuance here than proper dialect, but people from 3 cities away will occasionally tell me on how my grammar has some funny peculiarities.

[–] 0x0@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 month ago

Well if it's places, plural, then you're clear.

[–] Asafum@feddit.nl 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Lngisland

Cawfee

Ayyyy I'm walkin here!

Basically American asshole accent lol

[–] loppy@fedia.io 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Cawfee

Ok, this is really interesting to me. I think what you're trying to say is that you have the cot-caught merger, but for anyone who doesn't have this merger (like me) "cawfee" would be pronounced exactly the same as standard "coffee". For me, "caw" as in a crow cawing is the same vowel as in "caught", not the same as in "cot" which is the vowel I associate with the accent you're trying to convey. So it's not so much the direct intent behind your spelling, but the fact that you incorrectly think that someone like me would pronounce "cawfee" and "coffee" differently which outs you as someone who doesn't disntinguish "caught" from "cot".

Or I'm completely off-base and don't have any idea what you're trying to convey with "cawfee".

[–] klu9@piefed.social 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The way I wawk, the way I tawk. Now you can tell I was bawn in the State of New Yawk.

[–] erin@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 month ago

Yeah if I pronounced this phonetically, it wouldn't be a NY accent at all

[–] Asafum@feddit.nl 1 points 1 month ago

That is pretty interesting! Yeah I do believe it's a mixture of caught-cot. I remember getting a lot of shit when I temporarily lived in Florida over how I'd say coffee lol

[–] idegenszavak@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I spoke with an American expat girl some months ago, and she said I have the most Eastern-European accent she ever heard. I replied "Tanks"

[–] Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 month ago (2 children)

American expat girl

So, an immigrant?

[–] idegenszavak@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago

She was here for university exchange or something like that. Not a lot of people choose this country as a final destination, as you can find much better places in the EU

[–] Hathaway@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Immigrants have the mindset that they’re going to the country that they want to live in, permanently. Expats are generally temporarily. Most people that leave the US, tend to leave on education or work visas. Not a ton of them attempt to gain citizenship or integrate into local society.

[–] socsa@piefed.social 10 points 1 month ago

False, I am the only one speaking properly.

[–] marble@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 month ago

Southerner brit who watches too much US telly, but tries to resist the influence.

[–] LadyButterfly@reddthat.com 7 points 1 month ago

Middle class english with a northern lilt

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Y'all ain't never heard a southren feller afore?

[–] LadyButterfly@reddthat.com 3 points 1 month ago

Thanks young un

[–] Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Slavic who struggles with the soft r and cannot pronounce þ after 20 minites of talking.

[–] Skua@kbin.earth 2 points 1 month ago

Huh, outside of the word "Slavic" that description also works for the most distinctive features of some Irish accents

[–] orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 month ago

Non-regional on calls, Texas or Florida drawl when I'm talking to Southerners, Cuban accent when I'm with my family or girlfriend...

I code switch for company.

[–] Skua@kbin.earth 5 points 1 month ago

Scottish mongrel, in that the area I grew up in, the area I lived in for my early adulthood, and the areas both of my parents come from all have different accents

[–] thedeadwalking4242@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Like I’m eating peanut butter or my lips are glued

[–] Venus_Ziegenfalle@feddit.org 4 points 1 month ago

Generic RP English with hints of Aussie and slips of German

[–] pan0wski 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Croatian (native): Noticeable southern (Dalmatian) accent

English: I think it's a mix of Slavic and American accents.

[–] Tuuktuuk@piefed.ee 4 points 1 month ago

In English language, I presume.

No aspirated occlusives.
d, b and g sometimes get replaced by t, p and k respectively (but without the aspiration!)
s, sh and z sometimes get conflagrated into s, ch sometimes into ts.
Generally, the rich English inventory of different sounds is reduced to a bit over 15 sounds.
The stress is usually on the first syllable.
S and t are pronounced from a slightly different part of the mouth than typical in English.
Then... You can also hear that I used to be talking quite a lot with Scottish people. It's funny how that sometimes makes itself visible.

[–] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago

Thoroughly generic American accent with a sprinkling of Midwest "Ope".

[–] 0x0@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

What, english? Some international mix, bust mostly murican i'd wager.
Native? Northern.

[–] CreativeShotgun@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Tex-mexic-american skater with a dash of hood.

[–] j5906@feddit.org 3 points 1 month ago

Heavily invested in "sch" endings

[–] 58008@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Northern Irish: sounds like a pirate who developed a severe depressive illness and tried to blow his brains out with a rifle, but survived the injury and went on to live another 60 years with no lower jaw.

Our accent needs to be banned from the airwaves.

[–] Geobloke@aussie.zone 1 points 1 month ago

In my 20s I lived in a house with a couple of blokes from Edinburgh, Liverpool and Belfast. I once said "I'm going to the shops, can I get you boys anything?" I've never been more confused.

I'm an Aussie for the record, and yes, we did walk into pubs

[–] rautapekoni@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 month ago

Rälli draiver

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago

My accent is usually at the end of the word. For example, most say "Timing", I say "Timing".

[–] Akasazh@feddit.nl 2 points 1 month ago

I speak Dutch with a faint regional accent that most fellow Dutchmen would be able to place in the general cardinal direction.

I can lay on the local accent more thickly, but I dislike it, it's not pleasing to the ear.

The amusing thing is that it's a very particular accent that doesn't really feature in the 'fun accents that are commonly used in parody' I doubt many people that weren't born here or have lived here could identify the city by ear.

[–] djsoren19@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I grew up kinda everywhere in the US. Was born in the South, lived on the east coast for a bit, then in one of the northern states that really supported the Confederacy, then in one of the big urban centers of the U.S. I mostly try to suppress the more Southern parts to get a very generic American intellectual accent, but my real heritage slips out when I throw out a y'all'd've.

[–] idegenszavak@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thank you for sharing your experiences of growing up in the US in !casualeurope@piefed.social

[–] djsoren19@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

thanks for replying to just my comment instead of the 4-5 others doing the same

[–] idegenszavak@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago

You are welcome

[–] J92@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Decipherable northumbrian.

[–] Aeri@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I'm not sure if this is an optimal description but I find that my action drifts like a shitty car on an iced over road because I've absorbed a lot of international media.

I joke that I was half raised by British and Australian comedians.