There has been some debate in the letters column of the Bangkok Post lately regarding the teaching of English in Thailand. It has included discussion on whether people with strong regional accents are suitable for teaching Thai kids.
Admittedly there could be a problem in the case of an extreme accent. I certainly wouldn't recommend taking English lessons from Brad Pitt's Irish gypsy character in the film Snatch. In fact you wouldn't want your children to speak like any of the characters.
But if a person has the teaching skills, an accent shouldn't be a factor. Equally, just because someone speaks "proper" English, whatever that might be, it doesn't mean they will be a good teacher. There are plenty of English people who have not yet mastered their own language, as is witnessed every week in this column. A university teacher in Bangkok once told me he used the PostScript column in his classes on "How not to use English". It was at least encouraging to know the column was playing some sort of educational role.
Of course where you study can have a great effect on your accent. Not so long ago a Thai lady I hadn't seen for years greeted me with "G'day mate". There was no need to ask where she had been residing. A former Thai colleague at the Post had a pure Welsh accent after attending university in Aberytswyth. Even when he spoke his native Thai he sounded Welsh.
Anyway, it would be boring if everyone spoke standard English. The more variety the better.
It takes all sorts
In Hollywood movies, British people tend to be portrayed as aloof types with plumbs in their mouths speaking "posh", featuring butlers, dukes and duchesses. Alternatively they are cheeky rogues, invariably with a Cockney accent. But there are so many regional accents in Britain with Scouse, Geordie, Brum and Estuary just some of the major variations.
Yorkshire also has some splendid dialects and Sheffield almost has a language of its own, as in "Eenose nowt abartit" (He knows nothing about it). Then there's "appen that's it" (that's possibly true) and "Intitot?" (Isn't it hot?). A nice touch is that nearly everyone in Yorkshire uses "love" in a greeting as in, "you all reyt me love?" So if you hear a Thai person come out with "intitot?" you have a pretty good idea where they studied.
Peaky parlance
Followers of the popular BBC TV series Peaky Blinders set in Birmingham, will be familiar with the Brummie accent spoken by the gang members. The accent is quite difficult for non-Brummies to pick up, which partly explains why so few films have been set in the city. Only one member of the Peaky Blinders cast actually comes from Birmingham, so a lot of time is spent on actors getting the accent right. And you can be sure that if they don't get it spot on, viewers will quickly point it out. The Guardian called some of the Peaky dialects "dodgy".
To help viewers, the BBC launched a "Brummie for Beginners" column. If you are a Peaky addict it might be useful to know that "mucker" is if you really like someone, "got a cob on" is to be in a bad mood, "go play at your own end" is a warning to children making too much noise, while "tarabit" means goodbye.
It is little surprise that during rehearsals a common question from the cast is, "does that sound alright?"
The Brummie girl
Some people make a career out of their strong accents. In the early 1960s in England there was an ITV show called Thank Your Lucky Stars and in one segment a member of the public was invited to give their verdict on new records, using a rating of zero to five. A 16-year-old Birmingham schoolgirl, Janice Nicholls, came on the show and her heavily accented "Oi'll Give it Foive" became an instant catchphrase amongst viewers, as did "I like the backing".
It made such a refreshing change from "BBC English" that they gave Janice a permanent part on the show and she became a celebrity of sorts. People even started naming babies "Janice". She went on to make a record called I'll Give it Five, which was predictably awful.
At school in maths lessons when the number "5" appeared on the blackboard our class would infuriate the teacher, erupting with a chorus of "I'll give it foive" in horrible fake Birmingham accents which sounded like a lot of kids mooing.
Janice will forever be a symbol of the early 1960s, though I'm not so sure what she would have been like as an English teacher.
Caledonian charm
I must admit to being quite partial to the Scottish accent which tends to have a beautiful lilt, depending on the location. A Glaswegian in full flow, possibly primed by supping a "wee heavy", is not that easy to understand. I recall a friendly fellow chatting to me in a Glasgow pub and I had no idea what he was on about, but kept nodding in agreement. He was probably saying I was a Sassenach twit. At least I didn't get a "Glasgow Kiss".
It was also where I first came across the word "blootered", a wonderfully evocative Scottish expression for being totally plastered.
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