Brighton accent

[Citrus]

I was asked if I was from Brighton in Toronto, so it must be there (proud moment) ...

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Sure its nae Kemnay

Aye! Quite sure. They dinnae speak any language known tae man (or tae wifey) in Kemnay. I think Kemnayish may actually be derived from the language of the fish people out of popular childrens programme of yesteryear Stingray. Troot!

 

[Porky]

I had a brother-in-law from Willingdon, and you could cut his rural Sussex accent with a knife. Entirely different to Brightonese.

 

[Box of Frogs]

I was asked if I was from Brighton in Toronto, so it must be there (proud moment) ...

Something to do with the Albion shirt you were wearing at the time?!?!?!

 

[Southover Street Seagull]

BBC - southerncounties - Voices - A Sussex glossary

Some interesting accents on this page.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

If you are born in Brighton then you dont have an accent. I've noticed that older people on the outskirts of Brighton such as Rottingdean and Peacehaven who have lived there all their lives do have a Sussex burr. The Sussex burr becomes more pronounced if you travel up country to places like Burgess Hill or Horsham where they all sound to me like farmers. Me and my youngest sister talk proper like with East Brighton (Whitehawk) tones whereas my other sister talks posh (RP) even though she now lives in Huddersfield. You can definately tell at football matches the people that live in Brighton and those from other parts of the county.

 

[Southover Street Seagull]

If you are born in Brighton then you dont have an accent. I've noticed that older people on the outskirts of Brighton such as Rottingdean and Peacehaven who have lived there all their lives do have a Sussex burr. The Sussex burr becomes more pronounced if you travel up country to places like Burgess Hill or Horsham where they all sound to me like farmers. Me and my youngest sister talk proper like with East Brighton (Whitehawk) tones whereas my other sister talks posh (RP) even though she now lives in Huddersfield. You can definately tell at football matches the people that live in Brighton and those from other parts of the county.

Surely you have an accent wherever you live in the UK? How can you say because you are born in Brighton you don't have an accent?
I bet if you asked some of the people of North East Lincolnshire they would say you had an accent.

 

[Dandyman]

it's not an accent. It is how everything sounds when it is pronounced PROPERLY

No one in Brighthelmstone says twitten and thus are clearly seaside cockneys rather than PROPER Sussex folk.

 

[shaun_rc]

I lived in Bradford for a bit, and could always tell Brighton and Sussex accents on the radio before anyone said that's where they were from. I couldn't tell you what sounds make it, but it was definitely recognisable.

My (geordie) missus reckons "kiddie" is a real sign of Brighton-ness, used for adults as well as, er, kiddies...

And in Bradford, someone once asked me seriously who this "Brian" bloke was that I talked about. That's as in Brian'ove Albion...

 

[Gully]

I was asked if I was from Brighton in Toronto, so it must be there (proud moment) ...

Yeah, but there is a Brighton just to the east of Toronno...on the road to Kingston.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Surely you have an accent wherever you live in the UK? How can you say because you are born in Brighton you don't have an accent?
I bet if you asked some of the people of North East Lincolnshire they would say you had an accent.

Most people up here think that I am a Londoner. If you are born in Brighton you dont have an accent because that is what you grow up with and it is considered normal and everyone else has an accent. Mind you there aren't many genuine Brightonians left , after the hordes of commuters who used to live in the environs of London have all moved down to the seaside.

 

[Buzzer]

Disagree. There's still loads of Brightonians. They just live in the burbs, in the 'bury's and 'deans.

On reflection I think I could tell a Lahndahner from a Brightonian. We do have a certain softness that the cockernees don't. Have a listen to the Max Miller clip.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

No one in Brighthelmstone says twitten and thus are clearly seaside cockneys rather than PROPER Sussex folk.

I used the word twitten when I was a lad. It used to be the path in between the Infants and Secondary schools in Whitehawk and had its own streetsign saying "The Twitten".

 

[Gully]

I think it largely depends on where you live, if you listen to an accent from someone outside your area then you will probably be able to guess roughly where they come from by geographical area but not exactly.

From the posts on this thread it is obvious that there are different accents across Sussex, largely dependant on whether someone comes from a big town, the coast or rural areas...these may be indiscernable to an outsider, much in the way that I could tell someone comes from the north east, but not the exact place they are from.

I have also moved away from Sussex, some considerable time ago, and feel that I have lost any accent I had...I would describe it as non-descript southern, it is fairly obvious that I came from the south east but it is hard to tell exactly where.

 

[Gully]

I used the word twitten when I was a lad. It used to be the path in between the Infants and the Secondary schools in Whitehawk and had its own streetsign saying "The Twitten".

There was a path opposite the house where I grew up in Storrington, this was known as the twitten, it was a word that we used regularly.

 

[Buzzer]

There was a path opposite the house where I grew up in Storrington, this was known as the twitten, it was a word that we used regularly.

Was and still is used quite a lot in Worthing. We had one going up from Durrington First school when I was a nipper.

And as we're all good Sussex folk we can all feel superior for having played STOOLBALL when little.

 

[Gully]

I played stoolball in the summer term at Rydon in Thakeham, thinking that it was a game played widely just like rounders or softball, oblivious to the fact that only children privelaged to come from Sussex played the game.

 

[¤DãŃn¥ §êãGüLL¤]

On holiday I regulary get mistaken for East London/Essex.

Thus I don't think there is a Brighton accent, it's just London-lite.


Or maybe I'm just a chav.

 

[Keeping The Dream Alive.]

On holiday I regulary get mistaken for East London/Essex.

Thus I don't think there is a Brighton accent, it's just London-lite.


Or maybe I'm just a chav.

Danny, Danny, Danny, Dannyyyyyyyyy

 

[London Calling]

definately a brighton accent, when I was a youth, I could generally tell what part of brighton they came from as well,
Ms LC from Cambridge. identified correctly a bloke at work (Canary Wharf) as coming from Brighton by literally hearing a couple of words.


My family still possess a Brighton accent, all born and bred nr the station, whilst mine has been adulterated as I have moved around Britain.