Game: Guess the accents

By Alison Rohrs
October 3, 2012

Have an ear for the difference between a Scottish brogue and a Welsh lilt? Can you pick out a Hungarian just by listening to the person speak English?

Now you have the chance to prove your aural skills with the Accent Game. This multiple-choice test features videos of 16 real people reciting lines from Rudyard Kipling's "If." It was developed by Language Trainers Group, a Brighton, England-based education company.

Earn three points for each country-of-origin you name correctly; plus, snag two bonus points by guessing the hometown of every native English-speaker. Guess 16 to win.

So far, the poorest scorers have been American and German, while most difficult accents to peg have been Lithuanian and Hungarian.

The game was designed to be a fun diversion rather than an aid to learning. But at the very least, you'll become more familiar with a few Kipling stanzas.

If you think you have an interesting accent, you can submit your own video of a reading of William Wordsworth's "Daffodils" or Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" for the site's next version.

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