Dodgy American Accents.
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Before our Transatlantic cousins worry, I'm not commenting on American accents. Instead, this is about British "actors" who attempt American accents with, quite often, totally laughable results. (The only thing worse being American actors trying British accents - Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins for example, or how about Mel Gibson's strange Scottish accent in Braveheart). Last night, I watched an episode of CSI which featured Roger Daltrey as a Las Vegas mobster. His accent was so bad, that I had to cringe. What about Hugh Laurie as House? Surely the producers could have found somebody in America who had an American accent. I know that he's a fine comic actor - his renditions of the bumbling George in Blackadder or Bertie Wooster in Jeeves and Wooster are superb, but comeon America - he's an upper class Englishman. You can do better than that. So, a piece of advice for the American entertainment industry. You have some superb actors. Use them for the American roles, and use the British actors when you need a British one. Oh, and by the way, we don't all live in castles or picturesque little cottages, and some of us actually have regional accents. We don't all say "Top ho" or "Tinkety tonk".
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
It's not only the Americans who can't do British accents--ever heard a non-Cornish actor do a believable Cornish accent? The national media seem to think that using Generic Rural Idiot Accent no. 3 is close enough. :mad:
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Before our Transatlantic cousins worry, I'm not commenting on American accents. Instead, this is about British "actors" who attempt American accents with, quite often, totally laughable results. (The only thing worse being American actors trying British accents - Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins for example, or how about Mel Gibson's strange Scottish accent in Braveheart). Last night, I watched an episode of CSI which featured Roger Daltrey as a Las Vegas mobster. His accent was so bad, that I had to cringe. What about Hugh Laurie as House? Surely the producers could have found somebody in America who had an American accent. I know that he's a fine comic actor - his renditions of the bumbling George in Blackadder or Bertie Wooster in Jeeves and Wooster are superb, but comeon America - he's an upper class Englishman. You can do better than that. So, a piece of advice for the American entertainment industry. You have some superb actors. Use them for the American roles, and use the British actors when you need a British one. Oh, and by the way, we don't all live in castles or picturesque little cottages, and some of us actually have regional accents. We don't all say "Top ho" or "Tinkety tonk".
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
My wife was a life-long Daltrey fan. Until last night. He would have been far better keeping his own accent (with a little back-story) and is, in any case, a bloody awful actor. Hugh Lawrire, on the other hand, is magnificent as House (the new series starts here tomorrow night). Apparently he frets constantly over getting the accent right and has a voice coach to help him along. And he's upper-middle class, not upper class even though he went to Eton. Toodle-pip. More tea, vicar? Cor blimey, guv'ner. TTFN. Cheerio. Well I'll be buggered. Tatty-bye. Cheers. Hi-de-hi. We NEVER, EVER say any of the above anymore. Well, not since last week, anyway.
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I should also add that my accent would not be suitable because it is totally incomprehensible to anybody who wasn't born near Newcastle.:-D
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
which is why Hollywierd only uses upper case and cockney accents. Everyone will know they're British, and be able to understand them.
-- CleaKO The sad part about this instance is that none of the users ever said anything [about the problem]. Pete O`Hanlon Doesn't that just tell you everything you need to know about users?
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Before our Transatlantic cousins worry, I'm not commenting on American accents. Instead, this is about British "actors" who attempt American accents with, quite often, totally laughable results. (The only thing worse being American actors trying British accents - Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins for example, or how about Mel Gibson's strange Scottish accent in Braveheart). Last night, I watched an episode of CSI which featured Roger Daltrey as a Las Vegas mobster. His accent was so bad, that I had to cringe. What about Hugh Laurie as House? Surely the producers could have found somebody in America who had an American accent. I know that he's a fine comic actor - his renditions of the bumbling George in Blackadder or Bertie Wooster in Jeeves and Wooster are superb, but comeon America - he's an upper class Englishman. You can do better than that. So, a piece of advice for the American entertainment industry. You have some superb actors. Use them for the American roles, and use the British actors when you need a British one. Oh, and by the way, we don't all live in castles or picturesque little cottages, and some of us actually have regional accents. We don't all say "Top ho" or "Tinkety tonk".
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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Pete O`Hanlon wrote:
What about Hugh Laurie as House?
I think Laurie does a great job as House. I had no idea he was British until I saw an interview with him. Of course, I stopped watching the show because every episode is exactly the same but Laurie was always superb.
Faith is a fine invention For gentlemen who see; But microscopes are prudent In an emergency! -Emily Dickinson
David Kentley wrote:
every episode is exactly the same
Nonsense. In one episode I watched, the patient had a mysterious illness, and House tried lots of things which didn't work. He then had a brainwave at the last minute, and the patient was cured. In another episode, the patient had a mysterious infirmity, and House tried lots of things which didn't work. He then had a brainwave at the last minute, and the patient was cured. In a third episode, the patient had a mysterious infection, and House tried lots of things which didn't work. He then had a brainwave at the last minute, and the patient was cured. You see? Every week there's a whole new storyline...
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It's not only the Americans who can't do British accents--ever heard a non-Cornish actor do a believable Cornish accent? The national media seem to think that using Generic Rural Idiot Accent no. 3 is close enough. :mad:
on a related note: there are dozens and dozens of different accents across America. in fact, there are dozens of different southern accents, which are all different from the typical "western" accent. there are at least four distinct accents in North Carolina alone (mountain, central, eastern, coastal); likewise, there are probably a dozen native accents in New York state.
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Before our Transatlantic cousins worry, I'm not commenting on American accents. Instead, this is about British "actors" who attempt American accents with, quite often, totally laughable results. (The only thing worse being American actors trying British accents - Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins for example, or how about Mel Gibson's strange Scottish accent in Braveheart). Last night, I watched an episode of CSI which featured Roger Daltrey as a Las Vegas mobster. His accent was so bad, that I had to cringe. What about Hugh Laurie as House? Surely the producers could have found somebody in America who had an American accent. I know that he's a fine comic actor - his renditions of the bumbling George in Blackadder or Bertie Wooster in Jeeves and Wooster are superb, but comeon America - he's an upper class Englishman. You can do better than that. So, a piece of advice for the American entertainment industry. You have some superb actors. Use them for the American roles, and use the British actors when you need a British one. Oh, and by the way, we don't all live in castles or picturesque little cottages, and some of us actually have regional accents. We don't all say "Top ho" or "Tinkety tonk".
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
Pete O'Hanlon wrote:
What about Hugh Laurie as House? Surely the producers could have found somebody in America who had an American accent.
:laugh: He doesn't sound "British" on the show. Certainly sounds nothing like he did in Blackadder, etc. or in any of the interviews i've seen. But anyway, what do you think Americans sound like? You think you have regional differences? I can recognize three different dialects with several distinct cadences each just within the tiny area i grew up in. But that's it, see - it took me quite a while longer to pick out any regional differences after moving to Colorado, and i've only the roughest of ideas about what's available elsewhere. Most of us will probably never hear a sufficient number of Incredible Talking Brits to be able to learn the differences between regions.
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It appears that everybody is under the impression that I approve of the documentation. You probably also blame Ken Burns for supporting slavery.
--Raymond Chen on MSDN
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Pete O`Hanlon wrote:
What about Hugh Laurie as House?
I think Laurie does a great job as House. I had no idea he was British until I saw an interview with him. Of course, I stopped watching the show because every episode is exactly the same but Laurie was always superb.
Faith is a fine invention For gentlemen who see; But microscopes are prudent In an emergency! -Emily Dickinson
House does come up with new ways to torment his collogues every week.
Gary Kirkham Forever Forgiven and Alive in the Spirit He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot Me blog, You read
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It's not only the Americans who can't do British accents--ever heard a non-Cornish actor do a believable Cornish accent? The national media seem to think that using Generic Rural Idiot Accent no. 3 is close enough. :mad:
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It's not only the Americans who can't do British accents--ever heard a non-Cornish actor do a believable Cornish accent? The national media seem to think that using Generic Rural Idiot Accent no. 3 is close enough. :mad:
I laugh when they try to do Geordie. I've written here before about the rules when doing Geordie, but people do seem to think that all you have to do is say "Why aye man" and people will think you are a t-shirt wearing Geordie.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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Ironically John Mahoney, who played Martin Crane, was originally from Blackpool.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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Pete O'Hanlon wrote:
What about Hugh Laurie as House? Surely the producers could have found somebody in America who had an American accent.
:laugh: He doesn't sound "British" on the show. Certainly sounds nothing like he did in Blackadder, etc. or in any of the interviews i've seen. But anyway, what do you think Americans sound like? You think you have regional differences? I can recognize three different dialects with several distinct cadences each just within the tiny area i grew up in. But that's it, see - it took me quite a while longer to pick out any regional differences after moving to Colorado, and i've only the roughest of ideas about what's available elsewhere. Most of us will probably never hear a sufficient number of Incredible Talking Brits to be able to learn the differences between regions.
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It appears that everybody is under the impression that I approve of the documentation. You probably also blame Ken Burns for supporting slavery.
--Raymond Chen on MSDN
It's different for me. I worked in America for a while (and have family there), so I got to hear a wide variety of accents.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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Ironically John Mahoney, who played Martin Crane, was originally from Blackpool.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
Apparently the only word that John Mahoney just couldn't make sound American was "Wednesday" and eventually they changed it to "Thursday" in the script!
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Before our Transatlantic cousins worry, I'm not commenting on American accents. Instead, this is about British "actors" who attempt American accents with, quite often, totally laughable results. (The only thing worse being American actors trying British accents - Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins for example, or how about Mel Gibson's strange Scottish accent in Braveheart). Last night, I watched an episode of CSI which featured Roger Daltrey as a Las Vegas mobster. His accent was so bad, that I had to cringe. What about Hugh Laurie as House? Surely the producers could have found somebody in America who had an American accent. I know that he's a fine comic actor - his renditions of the bumbling George in Blackadder or Bertie Wooster in Jeeves and Wooster are superb, but comeon America - he's an upper class Englishman. You can do better than that. So, a piece of advice for the American entertainment industry. You have some superb actors. Use them for the American roles, and use the British actors when you need a British one. Oh, and by the way, we don't all live in castles or picturesque little cottages, and some of us actually have regional accents. We don't all say "Top ho" or "Tinkety tonk".
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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Apparently the only word that John Mahoney just couldn't make sound American was "Wednesday" and eventually they changed it to "Thursday" in the script!
Cool. I never knew that.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
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Chris Maunder wrote:
Yours isn't the only accent that gets brutalised.
No kidding. I'm originally from Boston, and I think there should be a law that only Matt Damon and Marky Mark should be allowed to play Bostonians.
Faith is a fine invention For gentlemen who see; But microscopes are prudent In an emergency! -Emily Dickinson
How about we do away with the Bostonian accept? Other than the Bronx it is about the hardest thing to understand of the US accents.
CleaKO
"I think you'll be okay here, they have a thin candy shell. 'Surprised you didn't know that.'" - Tommy (Tommy Boy)
"Fill it up again! Fill it up again! Once it hits your lips, it's so good!" - Frank the Tank (Old School) -
Pete O`Hanlon wrote:
He's not. He was born in America. Peekskill New York to be exact.
But he moved to Australia as a toddler until he was a teenager.
CleaKO
"I think you'll be okay here, they have a thin candy shell. 'Surprised you didn't know that.'" - Tommy (Tommy Boy)
"Fill it up again! Fill it up again! Once it hits your lips, it's so good!" - Frank the Tank (Old School)CleaKO wrote:
he moved to Australia as a toddler until he was a teenager.
You can, and do, pick up accents especially children, but even as adults simply by continual exposure. However, it is never a natural accent to the localized culture. To the person speaking the "new" accent and anyone not speaking from a natural accent the results sound similar enough, but to any natural speaker it sounds obvious. During my 8 months in Oklahoma, I did pick up an Oklahoma accent, complete with colorful language as most locals in Tulsa cuss to make a sailor blush. But it still wasn't the same as the locals, though I did have to clean it up to return to NM. To get a natural accent, you really need continual exposure before the age of 5. There are no hard-line rules of where this line is, each person is an individual and different levels of exposure are required. Some people can pick up languages with near natural accents. They become the best translators since a great deal of secondary information similar to body-language is passed in cultural/localized accent/vocabularies. This is primarily why there is no one English language for everyone. Cheeky can be funny, or descriptive of a telephone repairman's choice in jeans.
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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My wife was a life-long Daltrey fan. Until last night. He would have been far better keeping his own accent (with a little back-story) and is, in any case, a bloody awful actor. Hugh Lawrire, on the other hand, is magnificent as House (the new series starts here tomorrow night). Apparently he frets constantly over getting the accent right and has a voice coach to help him along. And he's upper-middle class, not upper class even though he went to Eton. Toodle-pip. More tea, vicar? Cor blimey, guv'ner. TTFN. Cheerio. Well I'll be buggered. Tatty-bye. Cheers. Hi-de-hi. We NEVER, EVER say any of the above anymore. Well, not since last week, anyway.
digital man wrote:
Toodle-pip. More tea, vicar? Cor blimey, guv'ner. TTFN. Cheerio. Well I'll be buggered. Tatty-bye. Cheers. Hi-de-hi. We NEVER, EVER say any of the above anymore.
Uh oh - looks like I've been in America too long. There's at least two of those phrases that I still use! But I'm still a green-card holder and not a citizen yet, so I can get away with it.... right?
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What about Renée Zellweger in Bridget Jones Diary? I've only seen pieces of the movie but I've read several reviews that claimed she nailed the accent. Any Brits care to comment?
"If you drink, don't drive. Don't even putt." - Dean Martin
Mike Mullikin wrote:
Any Brits care to comment
Yeah, she was god awful, nobody (really nobody) speaks like that anymore, except maybe aristo's of 50 odd years ago, only the Queen kind of speaks that way these days - she's allowed to, it is called Queens english after all :)
- "I'm not lying, I'm just writing fiction with my mouth"
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What about Renée Zellweger in Bridget Jones Diary? I've only seen pieces of the movie but I've read several reviews that claimed she nailed the accent. Any Brits care to comment?
"If you drink, don't drive. Don't even putt." - Dean Martin
Bit too posh. Same with Gwyneth Paltrow every single time she's been asked to do a British accent.
Stability. What an interesting concept. -- Chris Maunder