Common accents on the radio

Fago!

There are many people on the radio nowadays (in Ireland) that seem to ALL have annoying Mid-atlantic accents. You'd rarely ever hear someone with the Fairly common dublin accent on the radio. (xcept Joe Duffy)

Take Nikki Hayes and everyone on 2FM (xcept G Ryan). They seem to all have, for lack of a better word, Posh or Non-Common accents. (Sorry if I offended)

If someone with a Dublin City Center accent went for a job interview in a radio station, someone with a southside "Dublin 4" accent would well get the job before them, even if they're presenting skills and knowledge of radio was equal.

Would you like to hear the average Joe Dublin accent on the radio?

Please comment.

Bondvillain

Fago_25 wrote: »

There are many people on the radio nowadays (in Ireland) that seem to ALL have annoying Mid-atlantic accents. You'd rarely ever hear someone with the Fairly common dublin accent on the radio. (xcept Joe Duffy)

Take Nikki Hayes and everyone on 2FM (xcept G Ryan). They seem to all have, for lack of a better word, Posh or Non-Common accents. (Sorry if I offended)

If someone with a Dublin City Center accent went for a job interview in a radio station, someone with a southside "Dublin 4" accent would well get the job before them, even if they're presenting skills and knowledge of radio was equal.

Would you like to hear the average Joe Dublin accent on the radio?

Please comment.

Oh fair enough. It's quiet. I'll bite.

I don't buy it.

Bearing in mind that you're immediately regionalising your argument (Why would listeners in Donegal, Tipp, Kildare or Cork give a damn about what type of Dublin accent features on the radio?) 2 FM has Will Leahy, Ruth Scott, Rick O Shea, Cormac Battle, Jenny Huston et al amongst others, none of whom could be mistaken for Ross O Carroll-Kelly in the dark. I don't buy into this privileged D4 guff at all.

(But to be honest, Im not sure why you're excepting Gerry Ryan from your sweeping generalisation. Not that accent makes a difference in this case, (I'm just neither a fan of his show nor his presentation style) but he sounds Very much like he's from a rugger-loving postcode to me...)


As for what you seem to be terming authentic "Dublin" voices, Have you heard Newstalk, Phantom , DC Anna Livia , NEAR or your own station recently? Plenty of Authentic capital tones there....and to be honest, there's no harm in hearing more, regionally or nationally, as long as they're competent.

Too many Dubs (as well as people from other ports, obviously, but this has been made a Dublin-centric thread) fall down on the fact that they assume their "sparkling personality" will make up for complete ineptitude in other areas.

In the vast majority of cases , It does not.

Quite recently, in fact, I had the misfortune to witness a radio presenter from the, oh , lets just say the Capital, who singularly failed to impress during a showcase. Bearing in mind that the demo seemingly revolved around not being able to understand what goes on in a radio station , and a succession of feeble "Yore ma" type 'snappy' comebacks, you would have thought this person would have welcomed constructive criticism.

They did not, and the potential employers were unashamedly accused there and then, and quite heatedly, of an "anti-Dub" bias.

This was not the case, for I am quite sure that the only bias in place at this time was an anti "wasting our feckin time" bias , and possibly an anti "foul-mouthed talentless shytehawk" one.

So, in conclusion, no, I don't agree with your interview scenario.

I cant speak for any experience you may have had, but I wouldn't personally say that a persons accent would prejudice me if they were sufficiently talented (unless of course they were completely unintelligible, which is doubtful, as if they were completely skanged up to the extent that they required an interpreter, and they're at the stage that they are applying to radio stations for gigs, then surely a PD, Manager, or someone would have told them that perhaps a gig as Station Announcer at Heuston would be a more suitable career for someone with their level of communicative skill than broadcasting on the radio would be ) , and while there are a fair amount of Mid-Atlantic tones out there (Tone Fenton, for instance) I don't agree totally with your victimised dub argument.

All the best.

Stylo

I once heard, dunno if its true or not, but that the 'standard' Irish accent, is the best accent of spoken English around ! Not that this is the D4 'rindabout' or 'DORT' accent, but that the ordinary spoken language is the best 'spoken' English about.

Terry Wogan is a Limerick lad, but his ability to speak clearly and lucidly, has obviously helped to make him the BBC Radio Personality of the Year for 11 years running.

I think, from an international perspective, that the well spoken Irish accent is one that is a winner around the world - and whilst that may be 'accent-less' for other English speaking people, it is instantly recognisable as an Irish accent.

Having said that the likes of Micheal O'Muirteachaigh's accent, is to me, spellbinding and there are loads and loads of beautiful 'regional' accents that make OUR version of English, the best there is ...... ?

Maybe ?

Fago!

Bondvillain wrote: »

Oh fair enough. It's quiet. I'll bite.

I don't buy it.

Bearing in mind that you're immediately regionalising your argument (Why would listeners in Donegal, Tipp, Kildare or Cork give a damn about what type of Dublin accent features on the radio?) 2 FM has Will Leahy, Ruth Scott, Rick O Shea, Cormac Battle, Jenny Huston et al amongst others, none of whom could be mistaken for Ross O Carroll-Kelly in the dark. I don't buy into this privileged D4 guff at all.

(But to be honest, Im not sure why you're excepting Gerry Ryan from your sweeping generalisation. Not that accent makes a difference in this case, (I'm just neither a fan of his show nor his presentation style) but he sounds Very much like he's from a rugger-loving postcode to me...)


As for what you seem to be terming authentic "Dublin" voices, Have you heard Newstalk, Phantom , DC Anna Livia , NEAR or your own station recently? Plenty of Authentic capital tones there....and to be honest, there's no harm in hearing more, regionally or nationally, as long as they're competent.

Too many Dubs (as well as people from other ports, obviously, but this has been made a Dublin-centric thread) fall down on the fact that they assume their "sparkling personality" will make up for complete ineptitude in other areas.

In the vast majority of cases , It does not.

Quite recently, in fact, I had the misfortune to witness a radio presenter from the, oh , lets just say the Capital, who singularly failed to impress during a showcase. Bearing in mind that the demo seemingly revolved around not being able to understand what goes on in a radio station , and a succession of feeble "Yore ma" type 'snappy' comebacks, you would have thought this person would have welcomed constructive criticism.

They did not, and the potential employers were unashamedly accused there and then, and quite heatedly, of an "anti-Dub" bias.

This was not the case, for I am quite sure that the only bias in place at this time was an anti "wasting our feckin time" bias , and possibly an anti "foul-mouthed talentless shytehawk" one.

So, in conclusion, no, I don't agree with your interview scenario.

I cant speak for any experience you may have had, but I wouldn't personally say that a persons accent would prejudice me if they were sufficiently talented (unless of course they were completely unintelligible, which is doubtful, as if they were completely skanged up to the extent that they required an interpreter, and they're at the stage that they are applying to radio stations for gigs, then surely a PD, Manager, or someone would have told them that perhaps a gig as Station Announcer at Heuston would be a more suitable career for someone with their level of communicative skill than broadcasting on the radio would be ) , and while there are a fair amount of Mid-Atlantic tones out there (Tone Fenton, for instance) I don't agree totally with your victimised dub argument.

All the best.

Fair enough.

You've got a good piont.

I did regionalise my words, and maybe the d4 stuff was a bit stupid but you can see where i'm coming from.

It would be nice to hear some real Dub accents on the radio though.

And i don't know why your implying that i was in an interview. I was just going by me watching people get interviewed. (I work in a radio station)

All the best.

Steve Xxx

Dudess

Some accents don't lend themselves too well to the auld broadcasting though. E.g. the Cork accents on local stations here can be absolutely grating.

Bard

I think having a really strong/think accent from any region can be a problem when it comes to broadcasting. I grew up in Limerick but never had the strong/thick Limerick accent - partially because I went to elocution lessons and partially because I moved to North Co. Dublin at the age of 13.

Then again I was even more glad I never had the strong/thick Dublin accent!

The same could be true of most areas of Ireland though - if you've a bit of a twang - fair enough - if you've the thickest possible accent from Cork, Limerick, Belfast, Dublin, Dundalk, wherever - could be a problem.

Bondvillain

Fago_25 wrote: »

Fair enough.

You've got a good piont.

I did regionalise my words, and maybe the d4 stuff was a bit stupid but you can see where i'm coming from.

It would be nice to hear some real Dub accents on the radio though.

And i don't know why your implying that i was in an interview. I was just going by me watching people get interviewed. (I work in a radio station)

All the best.

Steve Xxx

I wasn't implying you were interviewed. You've hinted at who you are and what your name is on these boards before. I'm quite sure that you and the person I was referring to are not the same.

I know you're on a radio station. I made reference to it as one of the stations where you can hear authentic Dublin accents.

Bondvillain wrote:

As for what you seem to be terming authentic "Dublin" voices, Have you heard Newstalk, Phantom , DC Anna Livia , NEAR or your own station recently?

Just clearing up any suspicion of a hidden agenda there. There isn't one.

Edit : Ah, I see where the confusion may have arisen - When I said that I didn't agree with your interview scenario, I didn't mean "a scenario where you were interviewed" I was referring to your original post, where you said that in an interview situation, a D4 accent would get the gig before a city accent, regardless of ability.

That's the scenario I didn't agree with.

'pologies for the confusion.

Manimal

Fago_25 wrote: »

There are many people on the radio nowadays (in Ireland) that seem to ALL have annoying Mid-atlantic accents. You'd rarely ever hear someone with the Fairly common dublin accent on the radio. (xcept Joe Duffy)

Take Nikki Hayes and everyone on 2FM (xcept G Ryan). They seem to all have, for lack of a better word, Posh or Non-Common accents. (Sorry if I offended)

If someone with a Dublin City Center accent went for a job interview in a radio station, someone with a southside "Dublin 4" accent would well get the job before them, even if they're presenting skills and knowledge of radio was equal.

Would you like to hear the average Joe Dublin accent on the radio?

Please comment.

Hi dere, and yer very welcum to de show - dis is dave de rave on de radio dublin two five tree megium wave and moving along wid de grate sounds now of de nolans on radio dublin where de music never stops

Fago!

Bondvillain wrote: »

I wasn't implying you were interviewed. You've hinted at who you are and what your name is on these boards before. I'm quite sure that you and the person I was referring to are not the same.

I know you're on a radio station. I made reference to it as one of the stations where you can hear authentic Dublin accents.



Just clearing up any suspicion of a hidden agenda there. There isn't one.

Edit : Ah, I see where the confusion may have arisen - When I said that I didn't agree with your interview scenario, I didn't mean "a scenario where you were interviewed" I was referring to your original post, where you said that in an interview situation, a D4 accent would get the gig before a city accent, regardless of ability.

That's the scenario I didn't agree with.

'pologies for the confusion.

No problem.

What station do you think I'm on?

Fago!

Bard wrote: »

I think having a really strong/think accent from any region can be a problem when it comes to broadcasting. I grew up in Limerick but never had the strong/thick Limerick accent - partially because I went to elocution lessons and partially because I moved to North Co. Dublin at the age of 13.

Then again I was even more glad I never had the strong/thick Dublin accent!

The same could be true of most areas of Ireland though - if you've a bit of a twang - fair enough - if you've the thickest possible accent from Cork, Limerick, Belfast, Dublin, Dundalk, wherever - could be a problem.

I agree fully.

NUTLEY BOY

There is a lot of stupid snobbery about accents. It is like the scenario years ago whereby if you did not have a standard issue BBC "plummy" accent you were not of broadcast quality !

An accent does not matter.

What matters is that you are intelligible to the listeners who should not have to strain to understand you. There are some current RTE continuity announcers on TV who fail utterly in this respect.

In particular, there is one woman announcer on RTE TV who obviously thinks that she has a brilliant voice but she trails off at the end of every announcement which, when combined with her utterly affected accent, leaves you with no idea of what the hell she said. :mad:

That D4 DART accent makes me sick with laughter. I come from and exist in that part of the jungle and I can tell you that the real natives never spoke like that and anyone who starts talking that sh**e marks themselves out instantly as a foreign body to be eaten instantly by the immune system and sent back to Foxrock......

Jimbo

Dudess wrote: »

Some accents don't lend themselves too well to the auld broadcasting though. E.g. the Cork accents on local stations here can be absolutely grating.

Agree totally. I can't listen to RedFM anymore. Seems like you need a thick Cork city accent to get a presenting job there. Does my head in

monkeyfudge

We get quite a few people ringing in to Near complaining about the accents of some of the people presenting. One girl in particular is repeatedly singled out and she just has a good traditional north Dublin accent... I think it lends good bit of character to what is supposed to be a local radio station.

Driver 8

Is the OP implying that the only two possibilities for accents that could be heard on radio are North or Southside Dublin accents?

O...k.

No chance of broadcasters from anywhere else in the country?

FlutterinBantam

monkeyfudge wrote: »

We get quite a few people ringing in to Near complaining about the accents of some of the people presenting. One girl in particular is repeatedly singled out and she just has a good traditional north Dublin accent... I think it lends good bit of character to what is supposed to be a local radio station.

C'mon, let's get a bit real here.

people expect to hear reasonably intelligible discourse on radio.

jaysus I don't want to listen to people driving a coach and four through the rules of grammar. I'd drive a nail through my eye first .

Past tense of "do" is "did" OK How about getting that little hurdle jumped for starters.??

Then we can move on to "see" and "saw".

monkeyfudge

I fail to see how a someones accent has any bearing on their intelligence.

Latchy

Manimal wrote: »

Hi dere, and yer very welcum to de show - dis is dave de rave on de radio dublin two five tree megium wave and moving along wid de grate sounds now of de nolans on radio dublin where de music never stops

War about brennens bread , todays bread today ?

en now we have frank sinatra singing strangers in de nigh ' .....doobie doobie doo ' .........

FlutterinBantam

monkeyfudge wrote: »

I fail to see how a someones accent has any bearing on their intelligence.

:eek:


Deep breath, deep breath.

KERPAL

Your man John Murray on morning ireland has a strong enough dublin accent, think he does the business on sunday aswell.

IanCurtis

That one Jenny (Ross O'Carroll) Kelly from D'Arcy's show does me head in.

I remember one day she was addressing a caller as "Urs-You-Lah"

The caller had to let her know that her name was in fact 'Ursula'.

Fago!

jimbo78 wrote: »

Agree totally. I can't listen to RedFM anymore. Seems like you need a thick Cork city accent to get a presenting job there. Does my head in

I think Red Fm is good.

KC is from Mayo. He doesn't have a cork accent!

Fago!

IanCurtis wrote: »

That one Jenny (Ross O'Carroll) Kelly from D'Arcy's show does me head in.

I remember one day she was addressing a caller as "Urs-You-Lah"

The caller had to let her know that her name was in fact 'Ursula'.

I agree Fully. She wrecks my F***ing head! It also seems like Darcy acts differently then the way he used to since she came along. Just cause he's with her!

Liam Byrne

Fago_25 wrote: »

Would you like to hear the average Joe Dublin accent on the radio?

Please comment.

No. But then, as other posters have pointed out, there are a few problems with that question.

1) Why Dublin accents ? If you were referring to Dublin stations, fair enough, but the stations that you mentioned are nationwide stations. Listeners should be either able to identify with an accent, or it should be neutral enough to appeal or be acceptable to all listeners.

2) God knows what an "average Joe Dublin accent" is......we all know the exaggerated Dubbelin city accent (and the equivalents in Cork, Limerick or wherever, which even people from there can think are grating) and the DeeFour / West Brit one, but what's the average one ?

3) What level of talent does the presenter have and in what area (music/sport/talk anchoring) or is the accent the only issue with not hiring them?

There are cases where it might be a factor in the decision (if two people are equally talented/qualified) but as pointed out there are some people with strong accents whose talent swings that in their favour and you even get to like the accent.....can't spell Micheal-the-GAA-voice's name, but there's also George Hook and a few others.

I think you've hit an issue (e.g. for ages an overly-American or overly-British accent was seen as somehow more "cool" and is even still used inappropriately for V/O's and idents) but something in way you phrased the question has made it seem more targetted at the more extreme accents ONLY and - despite the open thread title - has focussed on having Dublin accents on natinal radio, ignoring the need for all listeners to be able to understand and identify with it, or at least not find it grating.

Fago!

Liam Byrne wrote: »

I think you've hit an issue (e.g. for ages an overly-American or overly-British accent was seen as somehow more "cool" and is even still used inappropriately for V/O's and idents) but something in way you phrased the question has made it seem more targetted at the more extreme accents ONLY and - despite the open thread title - has focussed on having Dublin accents on natinal radio, ignoring the need for all listeners to be able to understand and identify with it, or at least not find it grating.

You've got a good point. I did regionalise the question. But i still think that, even on national stations(2FM and Some of Today FM), the kinda overly-American or overly-British accent is, albeit more professional, very annoying when you listen to it regularly.

Although I can't say much for other regional stations in Ireland, I still want peoples opinion on the Dublin stations and the accents particularly Fm104.

For the record the "Average Joe Dublin accent" i was talking about is similar to Dustin the Turkeys accent.

LordSutch

Am I the only one who has difficulty understanding Tom Dunne on Pet Sounds?

I find his accent about as clear as mud, mostly leaving me wondering about the name of a Band, or some really good track that he has just mumbled out of the side of his mouth at 100mph ~ What accent is that? or is it just bad diction on his part

And what a contrast to the late great 'John Peel' who's diction was always as clear as a proverbial bell.

Liam Byrne

Fago_25 wrote: »

But i still think that, even on national stations(2FM and Some of Today FM), the kinda overly-American or overly-British accent is, albeit more professional, very annoying when you listen to it regularly.

Curious that you think the bit bolded (by me, for emphasis of what I'm talking about), considering that you raised the question.

To me, the inferiority complex that we have in relation to the "big" V/Os is misplaced....some of the best V/Os are homegrown, e.g. Liam Quigley.

As for on-air talent - with the possible exception of Tony Fenton, all of Today FM's daytime lineup have accents that can be recognised as somewhat regional - Ray D'Arcy, Ray Foley, Matt Cooper.....diluted from the extremes (assuming that they were ever extreme, that is) but recognisable all the same.

The issue is usually not an accent itself, but what goes along with the accent - pacing and a woeful lack of "th"s or other basic elements of language.

That's a immediate non-runner in radio; usually, the anchor needs to be on-target with these, while contributors to a show can be forgiven because they're contributing their expertise...although, having said that, some of the Premiership contributors are woeful, replacing "th"s with "f" and and adding "r"s all over the place, as well as saying stuff like "they done good" :P

FlutterinBantam

The producer of the Mooney Show.. whom I think is Peter Mooney was on the air today.... my divine... what a skangery accent..." de flee-as (fleas) meove from one continenth to de uddder" etc etc .

Reminds me of that dude Brendán Ferritteár who does the "What If "programme on Sunday mornings.... Now theres a flat drawling North Dublin accent .."o" pronounced as "u" long vowels pronounced as short eg Seán.. "Shon"..does my head in does that guy.

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Big Balls

Fago_25 wrote: »

Although I can't say much for other regional stations in Ireland, I still want peoples opinion on the Dublin stations and the accents particularly Fm104.

.

Jim McCabe is a Finglas lad.

Andy Preston hails from Drimnagh.

Mark Noble is from Rathfarnham.

Ben Murray from Clontarf.

Adrian Kennedy - Ballybrack.

Rob Gormley is from Shankill.

Apart from Ben, I don't see what you are getting at? (And Ben doesn't have a typical Clontarf accent anyway!).

FlutterinBantam

Nobody's getting at anything son.

What I want for my money is a person who can articulate and speak words the way they were meant to be spoken.

Like "T" is "T" not "H".

Small things like that.

there is a way of doing things and there is a way of doing things.

The right way and the wrong way.

I like things done the right way... no offense now:D

Big Balls

Wasn't directing anything at you FB. I quoted someone else as you can probably see.

tbh

Personally, I think it's reflective of a more general thing in society. A few years ago - probably a good few years ago - there would have been expectations about accents with people on national radio, in the same way as people would have dressed up to go to Mass. The pirates obviously wanted to differentiate themselves and so it became more normal to hear different accents on the radio, even if they were either posh or mid-Atlantic.

I think we as a nation now don't associate accent with class as much as we used to, and the notion of class itself is not as strong as it used to be. For example, you hear very strong Dublin accents in Aer Lingus now, and that was never the case years ago. I'm not saying it's better or worse or anything, just different. I would sometimes be surprised when I'd hear a very strong regional accent on the radio, but the surprise wouldn't last long and I doubt anyone would be in 20 years.

B@ndit

When all is said and done, there was only ONE voice that was suited 100% for radio and that was the voice of Tony Allan (R.I.P)... the most famous voice on radio.... (well in my opinion anyway)

Anybody out there remember Tony?

if you do, take a look at www.radiocaroline.co.uk

Steven.

LordSutch

Yes indeed, whilst not forgetting the late great 'John Peel' too ~ God rest their souls ..............

Danno

The accents of GAA commentators on Midlands Radio 3 annoy the hell out of me. Such muck.