[78-L] Accent you hate

[fnarf at comcast.net]

Most American actors do AMERICAN accents pretty badly, particularly Southern ones. They lose the subtlety of them and just concentrate on the drawl.

To be fair, most Brits stick to the standard American accent, the equivalent of the British "received pronunciation". I don't know too many Brits who could really do justice to West Texas or North Carolina or Minnesota or Montana or Valley Girl.

Regional accents have become almost a fetish among Britons these days, as opposed to the old days when everyone was eager to shed their Scouse or Geordie and get with the BBC Accent, when people would play "spot the stray giveaway vowel" that betrayed the otherwise impeccable smoothie as being a secret Brummie or Scot or Swansean. I wonder how effective British actors are at doing these regional accents other than their own?

My favorite regional UK accent is Northern Irish -- a taste I share with pretty much nobody!


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bud Black" <banjobud at cfl.rr.com>
To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 12:52:40 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Re: [78-L] Accent you hate

I am constantly amazed at how well most English actors can emulate the
American accent (Bob Hoskins, Hugh Laurie), and most American actors, when
assuming the British accent, sound unconvincing.  Why is this?

Bud 
 
-------Original Message-------
 
From: Julian Vein
Date: 6/10/2009 1:56:42 PM
To: 78-L Mail List
Subject: [78-L] Accent you hate
 
Watched the 1934 version of "Of Human Bondage" last night. The 78
connection was of Leslie Howard briefly working in a record shop in
London. Unfortunately, the shop window had a placard advertising Little
Wonder records.
 
Bette Davis's cockney accent should be placed in the Hall of Infamy
alongside Dick Van Dyke's in "Mary Poppins" and Orson Welles's Irish
accent in "The Lady From Shanghai"! You can add Tom Hank's indeterminate
one in "Forrest Gump".
 
      Julian Vein
 
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