Accents: Difficult to understand...?

[Whickerman]

What's the most difficult regional accent to understand? (restricting the question to the UK & Ireland.)

Ok, the Norn Irish crowd all talk like "durdle durdle durdle dur sicheeashun" (always get the word 'situation' in there), we in the south all sound like Darby O'Gill, and the Brummies don't speak English, but where did the Geordies get that accent? They get my vote.

[THECORBYLOON]

Who's Darby O'Gill?

[B00]

Geordies are difficult to understand, they speak really really fast!

[kempie]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darby_O'Gill_and_ the_Little_People

[THECORBYLOON]

We used to have a neighbour who come fae Norfolk or that area and he was hard to understand, when he wasn't wearing his dentures, it was impossible.

[Teddio]

South-West Ireland, the Cork-Kerry region, is very difficult for me. I've never heard of Darby O'Gill either!

[THECORBYLOON]

What like did he speak?

[lindapinda]

Hey Whickerman!! I've never "durdled" in my life lol ..

[shylock73]

Glaswegian gets my vote

[jno]

Darby O'Gill has the most astonishing special effects, and long before the days of CGI.

Of course this doesn't answer your question; but it does have young Sean Connery as the romantic lead.

[kempie]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OUQ6FTEDVA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnSBKnIcXpw

[stewey]

I have a friend here in Ontario who was born in Newcastle on Tyne, but he has lived here for maybe 20 years and is almost impossible to understand. Yet when his mother comes over to visit him ( she still lives in Newcastle) you wouldn't even think they were from the same place!

[naomi24]

Glaswegian, closely followed by Geordie.

[weeal]

Aberdeen
Newcastle
Belfast

[flip_flop]

Scouse gets my vote - not only the most difficult to understand, but also the most gratingly annoying accent as well.

[naomi24]

I'll agree with you, flip flop, that scouse is the most annoying. It does grate - just awful.

[lou 26]

I live in the black country and while I spake quite black country myself its hard to understand some of them! I think the most difficult to understand is scottish, especially when youre on the phone! lol

[heathfield]

Dundee comes tops. A woman complaining to a neighbour about boys kicking a ball against the side of her house was heard to say, 'Meh wa'z ah bah dabs'. (My wall's all ball dabs). Say it quickly!

The best-known Dundee saying is where someone in a baker's shop is asking for two bridies (pasties). 'Ah'll hey uh plen ane, an an ingin ane an ah'. (I'll have a plain one, and an onion one and all).

All totally unintelligible to the outsider.

[badboy78]

either belfast or deep west country 'my lover'

[keyplus90]

I would vote for Scottish. I can not understand them, I can not even understand my Father - in Law, although he is not Scottish.

[maximo]

As a foreigner myself, I think Welsh is the worst for me.I really struggle to understand it. I lived in Scotland for a few years, and have been in Belfast for 4 years, so I have no problem with those accents, funny enough!