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Posh accent

Hello fellow forumers,

I am very surprised at how people notice my "posh accent" and I do not. I get told by a lot of British people that I have a "posh accent", but I have only been living in England for 5 years, and I think it would be impossible to adopt such an accent in such a short amount of time.

Could you people tell me what exactly having a posh accent means?

Thank you very much in advance.

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Original post by robotico2014
Hello fellow forumers,

I am very surprised at how people notice my "posh accent" and I do not. I get told by a lot of British people that I have a "posh accent", but I have only been living in England for 5 years, and I think it would be impossible to adopt such an accent in such a short amount of time.

Could you people tell me what exactly having a posh accent means?

Thank you very much in advance.


You even sound posh by how you type :h:

It's not a bad thing though.. It just means you sound like you're from Made in Chelsea lol :smile:
I'm from a town near London and have recently moved up north for university. I had a retail job down south and transferred to a store up here and one of my colleagues said she thought I was from London because I sound posh. Guess I just have that typical English accent people think of and imitate when they "try to be British".
Original post by Anonymous
You even sound posh by how you type :h:

It's not a bad thing though.. It just means you sound like you're from Made in Chelsea lol :smile:


Thank you very much for your reply. It has made my day! Even though I do not watch Made in Chelsea, I know what you meant. I guess I should take it as a compliment from now on.
Original post by VirgoStrain
Do you sound like Jacob Rees-Mogg? Because I’d probably look at his accent as a definition of posh. There’s a kid on my school who has a similar accent.


Firstly, thank you for your reply. I do not sound exactly like him. I mean I cannot assess myself on my accent, but judging by the comments of others I sound like a "proper posh person".
It means you sound homosexual
Lots of girls throw themselves at you I've noticed.
Original post by Nebuchadnezzaṛ
It means you sound homosexual


If you say so. Could I ask, what is your opinion based on? Do you mean that every homosexual possesses a posh accent?
Original post by Ganjaweed Rebel
Lots of girls throw themselves at you I've noticed.


Thank you for your reply.
To be honest, I have noticed it as well. Girls do tend to engage in a conversation with me a lot more often.
I get told that all the time, its probably because you speak proper English and don't use much slang. I'm not high-class so I don't sound like a snob from public school - but I've been told I do a good Hermione Granger impression and have the 'stereotypical British voice'. I'm from close to London and I reckon it because I have so many international friends that I speak in a clear way that everyone will understand me. If I started talking like my parents and said Water as woh-ah, my peers would be very confused.
Imagine having this accent and growing up up north - it's hell.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by that_guy874
Imagine having this accent and growing up up north - it's hell.


I do not even want to imagine. 😂
Original post by marshalld67
I get told that all the time, its probably because you speak proper English and don't use much slang. I'm not high-class so I don't sound like a snob from public school - but I've been told I do a good Hermione Granger impression and have the 'stereotypical British voice'. I'm from close to London and I reckon it because I have so many international friends that I speak in a clear way that everyone will understand me. If I started talking like my parents and said Water as woh-ah, my peers would be very confused.


You must be right!
Dunno - maybe they mean 'weridly posh' which is what happens to some people learning English... it's like a copy of the way posh people used to talk... a sort of strangulated, high pitched and staccato sounding thing... Like they learned English from watching Celia and Trevor

Original post by VirgoStrain
No, it means he’s a cave dwelling homophobe. Do not give him the value of your attention.


Thank you very much. I was just trying to challenge his reasoning and find the reason behind his maybe "stereotypical" thinking.
Original post by Joinedup
Dunno - maybe they mean 'weridly posh' which is what happens to some people learning English... it's like a copy of the way posh people used to talk... a sort of strangulated, high pitched and staccato sounding thing... Like they learned English from watching Celia and Trevor



I have just done a little bit of research and I believe, what they mean is an Estuary English Accent, where I am somewhere in between posh and cockney as seen in the video below. Thank you very much for triggering this in me and helping me understand.
[video="youtube;Bae9VAHQpQs"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bae9VAHQpQs[/video]
Reply 16
Avatar for abc:)
abc:)
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Original post by robotico2014
Hello fellow forumers,

I am very surprised at how people notice my "posh accent" and I do not. I get told by a lot of British people that I have a "posh accent", but I have only been living in England for 5 years, and I think it would be impossible to adopt such an accent in such a short amount of time.

Could you people tell me what exactly having a posh accent means?

Thank you very much in advance.


Is English your second language? It can be quite common to sound posh when speaking in a second language if you've learnt that language formally, because you are used to always using correct grammar, most likely hearing it in a well spoken accent and perhaps are not as adept with slang. Just a thought; there could be a multitude of other reasons!
Original post by abc:)
Is English your second language? It can be quite common to sound posh when speaking in a second language if you've learnt that language formally, because you are used to always using correct grammar, most likely hearing it in a well spoken accent and perhaps are not as adept with slang. Just a thought; there could be a multitude of other reasons!


Yes, English is my second language and it is quite interesting to hear that. I see your point. Thank you for your reply.
It doesn't necessarily mean that you really do have a 'posh' accent. It could just be that you're surrounded by people who are completely common.

I know because I moved to a city, which I won't name, which has a very strong working class accent - it's so strong that it almost sounds like another language...it sounds ****ing awful to be honest. I'm working class but I was from a small town somewhere with a different accent which wasn't very strong. So they all thought I was 'posh' when I came here - in fact I'm from a council estate up north and I'm very far removed from posh, it's just that the vast majority of people can understand me when I talk, whereas most people would have trouble understanding these people.

So yeah, I'd make sure you're not hanging round with apes first before you start thinking you sound or be posh. But if a posh person tells you you sound posh (which ironically probably never happens), then you're probably posh.
Original post by robotico2014
I have just done a little bit of research and I believe, what they mean is an Estuary English Accent, where I am somewhere in between posh and cockney as seen in the video below. Thank you very much for triggering this in me and helping me understand.
[video="youtube;Bae9VAHQpQs"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bae9VAHQpQs[/video]


THIS, THIS IS ME. Or as I like to call it... Poshney. I come from Milton Keynes - a weird place where the accent is often studied because we are so close to London, (my family is cockney as ****) but the accent has been toned down because there is so much outside influence from immigrants and northerners. You can see the transition in my family, my eldest aunts have a strong cockney accent and my mum being the youngest and only born in MK speaks calmly like I do. Its so fascinating to hear how my accent alters around these people

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