Several years ago, I was at a party. A friend brought a Japanese exchange student over, and said "You must talk to HuwG. He has a Welsh accent." Someone else, who was a lecturer in the English department at a nearby university pounced on this statement and said "He doesn't have a Welsh accent. He has a Welsh intonation. His English construction isn't idiomatic."

Cue a rather acrimonious discussion, with mutual accusations of poshness and political correctness. The poor Japanese girl, whose English grammar was faultless, was nevertheless baffled.