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American Accent


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Seeing the cast trying to do an American accent got me to thinking, what do we sound like to you? How does our accent sound to Brits? When the HP cast were trying to do an American accent what were they trying to accomplish -- i.e. what does a Brit try to do to make an American accent?

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I'm not British but when New Zealanders try to copy it I think we change our words like "carn't" to "cAn't" if you get what I mean? :P To me, your "internet" sounds more like "innernet", "interview"="innerview" xD and really... drawn out. I adore the American mens accent ^_^

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This is an interesting question. I know there are lots of different dialects in the US just as there are here in the UK, listening to an American I couldn't tell where in America they come from expect for maybe Texas/Southern reigon, which sounds a lot more broader. Some Americans seem to drag out some words longer than they should too, I don't really know how to describe what an American accent sounds like to me.

 

I have never really tried to do an American accent myself and wouldn't know where to start, I'm quite terrible, apart from my own of course, I struggle immitating other British reigonal accents, except maybe one or two words in Brummie (someone from Brimingham).

 

One man who knows better than most is Hugh Lawrie, when I watch House to me he just sounds typically American which took a while to get used to, it's very different to when I was watching his comedy sketches when I was a kid. What does he sound like to Americans? Does he pull off the accent well?

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I had to learn how to do a southern american accent for a play i did a few years ago and oh my god it was easy peasy. Once you get hold of how deep and how to stretch out the words you have it down easy.

 

I have been to America a fair amount of times, mostly New York and California but the differences are outstanding. I love the new york accent, it is full of culture. California accent sounds slow and very very stretched out.

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I've noticed when a lot of people out of the US do the American accent they seem to stick more to the Southern, which I find hilarious because only 1/4 of the country actually talks like that. Or the Valley Girl, which it seemed Emma was doing when she was on Letterman, haha. Also apparently here in New England we have our own accent, whenever I'm out of New England I get asked "are you from NH?" I'm alway thinking "creepy how do they know?!?!?" I never realized we have our own 'accent'.

 

But anyway I was talking with someone from Australia and we were discussing accents and she said "you say your R's very hard", which is true, we put a lot of emphasis on the R's, for instance AmbeR, aRe, wRong, cRazy, etc. We must sound like pirates.

Edited by lavieenrose
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@dazza - Hugh does a pretty good job. I don't watch House regularly so I haven't really listened to his American accent critically. Typically when I watch and actor like that for a longer period of time I eventually pick out some give aways that they're actually English such as putting an R at the end of a word where it shouldn't be etc.

 

@Imagine - Southern accents like those from the Carolinas I think would be easier for someone from Britain to do because those accents tend to use things like a soft R such as you find in British English. They are actually kinda similar but they have a drawl. However a Mississippi accent is much different or other such Southern accents are quite different than that.

 

@yorkshire - I believe that was on Jay Leno that she said that a few years ago. I've noticed the way you guys say Watson tends to be more at the back of the mouth maybe even in the throat. We say it more in the front of mouth. You Brits say it as Wutson.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I like this subject. Keep it coming.

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California accent sounds slow and very very stretched out.

That all depends on who you talk to and if you visited southern or northern California. California is very very diverse. I would argue our accent doesn't vary much with other regions however in California we do incorporate a lot of slang into everyday conversation which makes it rather unique :P.

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There is a quote from Emma that sometimes pops up on the homepage where Emma makes a good observation. When Americans say "Watson", you seem to make it sound like "Waaaaatson". That's the one of the big differences I reckon.

I remember that interview, that is sort of thing I was getting at when I said that some Americans seem to seem to drag words out.

 

You can see that interview here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol_eWgxIGCE (also available on emma-watson.net to download)

 

@yorkshire - I believe that was on Jay Leno that she said that a few years ago. I've noticed the way you guys say Watson tends to be more at the back of the mouth maybe even in the throat. We say it more in the front of mouth. You Brits say it as Wutson.

I think the opposite :P

 

When I say Watson I use the font of my mouth, as opposed to my own name 'Hughes', that's with the back of my mouth.

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I just watched that interview and I don't say it the way she says Americans do, lol. I say it like her without the accent.. if that even makes any sense at all.

 

Do you think that maybe you say it that way because you know that that's how she prefers it? I've tried to say it that way several times but decided it's too much effort to change the way I speak.

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Do you think that maybe you say it that way because you know that that's how she prefers it? I've tried to say it that way several times but decided it's too much effort to change the way I speak.

 

No, I think it's just because that's how I've always heard her name, when she says it (or in British interviewers) so I kind of just picked up on it *shrugs*

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I remember that interview, that is sort of thing I was getting at when I said that some Americans seem to seem to drag words out.

 

You can see that interview here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol_eWgxIGCE (also available on emma-watson.net to download)

 

 

I think the opposite :P

 

When I say Watson I use the font of my mouth, as opposed to my own name 'Hughes', that's with the back of my mouth.

 

Yeh I'd agree, it's definitely from the front of the mouth.

 

 

One place where this thread should go is Americans should post voice clips of their 'British' accents, and vice versa. Anyone not from the US/UK could try both. I'm not going first though... :lol:

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I'm not British but when New Zealanders try to copy it I think we change our words like "carn't" to "cAn't" if you get what I mean? :P To me, your "internet" sounds more like "innernet", "interview"="innerview" xD and really... drawn out. I adore the American mens accent ^_^

 

Padfoot, I read your observation last night and I thought, "Well, I don't say 'internet' like THAT!" Then, this morning, my phone's internet wasn't working (it's a relatively new phone) so I decided to call the phone service. The woman on the line went, "What seems to be the issue with your phone?"

What did I reply? "My phone's INNERNET isn't working. I'm not sure why..." I did a mental slap on the forehead because I REMEMBERED this conversation here and thought, "Well, I'm guilty." LOL. :D

Yorkshire, I think that's a brilliant idea. I'm horrible at a British accent. I bet we'd get lots of laughs listening to each other.

All of you talking about Hugh Lawrie--a few years ago my Dad actually told me he was not American and I refused to believe him. My mind was BLOWN. His accent is pretty convincing.

And you people from New England! Your accents are so thick (particularly with the hard R's) that it's obvious (to me)! I had dinner once with a family from CT and I found their dialogue to be really intriguing to me.

Southern accent--my manager is from VA. The way she says "Here" is a riot. It's like "heAHr". Very drawn out. I find all these accents super intriguing!

Then again, I constantly get asked where I'm from (because of my accent). Mine is hybrid. Primarily NY, and it comes out when I'm particularly mad or frustrated. What I've noticed is that us New Yorkers have a very rapid and clipped way of speaking.

Ok, done with my observations!! Lol.

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Padfoot, I read your observation last night and I thought, "Well, I don't say 'internet' like THAT!" Then, this morning, my phone's internet wasn't working (it's a relatively new phone) so I decided to call the phone service. The woman on the line went, "What seems to be the issue with your phone?"

What did I reply? "My phone's INNERNET isn't working. I'm not sure why..." I did a mental slap on the forehead because I REMEMBERED this conversation here and thought, "Well, I'm guilty." LOL. :D

Haha :D I'm not sure exactly which state/s pronounce it like that but I've definitely heard it a lot :P

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I've heard it primarily around here--it might be an East Coast thing.

Words I have TRAINED myself to speak properly because I don't want to seem stupid:

"Coupons": I GREW up pronouncing it as "Q-pons". My family taught me that one.

"Debt": my History professor admonished us constantly for not leaving the "B" silent.

I completely eliminated "ain't" from my vocabulary, although it occasionally resurfaces... :o

Must be a NY/NJ thing: "ask" is often pronounced as "aks", or "axe" if that makes more sense to you. Don't ask me why. Lol.

And finally, this one that I've had to rack my brains to remember: New Yorkers pronounce "idea" as "ideaR", adding an "R" to the end. I grew up saying this and had numerous teachers in grade school correct me.

:P I thought this might entertain some readers. Lol.

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I´m Argentine.

 

I think American acent is like Argentine´s acent.

For those who doesn´t know we not speak like Spain, Mexico or even Latin America, everybody get shock when listen a Argentine speak, especially yankees because our acent is unique and very different from others.

The American acent as Argentine acent are "language" themselves because they not response to British language or Spanish language.

 

When I listen a yankee to talk it´s fluid, "street" and soft on the contrary when I listen a british to talk it´s closed and strong.

I prefer listening brithish at the school but american it´s a argentine´ld speak :yesyes: .

 

 

See ya!

Edited by EmmaFan
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I´m Argentine.

 

I think American acent is like Argentine´s acent.

For those who doesn´t know we not speak like Spain, Mexico or even Latin America, everybody get shock when listen a Argentine speak, especially yankees because our acent is unique and very different from others.

The American acent as Argentine acent are "language" themselves because they not response to British language or Spanish language.

 

EmmaFan, I do agree with you. The American accent is a "language" in itself. There are striking things about each dialect in a particular language that the distinction between dialect and language gradually fades.

I am very interested to listen to what an Argentinian accent sounds like. You do speak Spanish, correct? I've studied the Castellano (or Castilian) dialect of Spain. My family is Puerto Rican and the accent sounds worlds apart from each other.

Lavieenrose--the "Q-pons" thing! It's quite funny. :D Glad to know it's not just me. ;)

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The Q-pons thing is definitely not an East Coast thing because I grew up in fly-over country saying it the same way.

 

K.Lo, what is it that you find so interesting about CT dialects? I lived there for a while once working in a musical theater and didn't really notice it to be all that different.

 

I think I'm hearing that Americans tend to drag words out. So what else do you Brits here when we speak? Does it sound flat? Non descript? Boring like milk toast? Harsh? What would you try to make your voice do if you were going to attempt an American accent?

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I've always loved hearing so many accents, and you know all the slang and idoms there are because even if you speak the same language it doesn't seem so, as Emma mentioned on Letterman about the band-aid.

 

Here in Monterrey MX we have a very distinct accent, you can always tell if you hear a Regio (people from Monterrey), it's kinda like Texan, though here is Northern accent rather than Southern. It's kinda hard on the way we pronnounce words. There's also the difference of upper calsses and lower classes. I really find it fascinating.

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One place where this thread should go is Americans should post voice clips of their 'British' accents, and vice versa. Anyone not from the US/UK could try both. I'm not going first though... :lol:

Now that would be interesting, I have just attemped it and for somereason when I try to do another accent my voice goes quite high. I'm really terrible so I think I will hold off on this and see if anyone else has a go first.

 

All of you talking about Hugh Lawrie--a few years ago my Dad actually told me he was not American and I refused to believe him. My mind was BLOWN. His accent is pretty convincing.

You should see some of the stuff he did in his early days on shows like Blackadder, you really couldn't imagine him doing what he does now on House, it just shows him to be an incredible actor. I have read that during the filming period for House, he keeps the accent when going about his daily business too.

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You should see some of the stuff he did in his early days on shows like Blackadder, you really couldn't imagine him doing what he does now on House, it just shows him to be an incredible actor. I have read that during the filming period for House, he keeps the accent when going about his daily business too.

 

I had only seen Laurie on one other program besides House, and he had a really thick accent, the kind that Americans would have trouble understanding. I don't remember what the program was, I think he was playing a criminal. After that I was really impressed with his American accent. Then I saw him on a talk show in his normal voice which is much more in the middle. He does have quite a range.

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What about Damian Lewis? I thought his American accent was superb in Band of Brothers...

Yes, I thought he was brilliant in Band of Brothers, I didn't actually know him much before that and at first I thought that he was American rather than British, to me he had a very convincing accent.

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