Quote Originally Posted by Tuerto View Post
I've always wondered if an accent is determined by physical factors, like weather, poverty, hardship etc. We all make different noises determined on how we are feeling physically. If (for the sake of argument) a person lives in an environment where the weather is harsh or extreme, then wouldn't that determine the sounds we make and how we express ourselves? I really have no idea and it's quite likely that i'm talking a load of Tosh.
I live in a village that has a station with direct links to London. Several satellite villages and communities in about a three mile radius don't so lots of people drive to the station to commute. There is such an array of accents. Some Berkshire accents are quite cockney-like and others very rural with quite a burr. Many are indistinctive but many of the commuters speak like they chewed on a full bowl of plums for breakfast so I would err towards social class and background more than geography and climate given the distance from the station.