Talking American

[alexiscartwheel]

Thanks to Language Log, I discovered that the Radio Times did a survey to determine the best and worst American accents by British actors with very amusing results. Hugh Laurie is the best, but also the fourth worst. Michelle Ryan is the worst, but also the third best. So basically, the results are completely meaningless, and prove that British people are poor judges of American accents, that there aren't many well known British actors on American TV, or a little of both.

The BBC then invited people to call in with their best American accents, with laughable results. (Most of the clips, if they sound American at all sound like some ridiculous regional mish-mash.) Thankfully, they have also provided a video of "How not to do an American accent."

Hugh Laurie really is that good though. Mom and I were just talking about that the other night. I had seen him in other stuff before House, but really wasn't that familiar with him or his work. I was shocked to hear his British accent the first time I saw him give an interview.

I, of course, can't speak with a British accent to save my life, which is why I don't pretend to know how. I can't even make myself sound convincingly Canadian, and that's less of a stretch. So even poor Michelle Ryan has a better American accent than my British accent. And honestly, she's not perfect, but I didn't think accent was that bad.

Comments

[sagacious-c.livejournal.com]

That video was fascinating. I love thinking about accents and can't get over the fact that I don't feel like I have one at all -- because I so wish I did! It was eye-opening (HA, ear-opening I should say) to hear that guy struggle with an American accent. I think part of why I don't feel like I have an accent is because nearly everyone on TV and in movies sounds like me.

It's definitely interesting learning that someone is "doing" an American accent. I knew about Hugh Laurie, but I also get thrown sometimes when I hear someone like Nicole Kidman speak in her native accent because she's so good with other accents. I thought Kate Winslet had a good American accent in Titanic, too.

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

Accents are tricky little buggers. You can't have one except in relation to someone else. I've only been told I have an accent in Canada. My accent is very generic midwest, so I'm also used to everyone on TV sounding like me. I actually did meet a grad student at OSU who was studying the "Columbus dialect" a couple years ago, and now I wonder if he ever published anything.

Nicole Kidman is very good at accents. Is she ever actually Australian in movies? And of course, Canadians are on American TV all the time.

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

Nope, never seen it. I did see a video with him on YouTube the other day, only he was being himself and Catherine Tate was being "American".