"Ille qui nos omnes servabit"
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alkamal_r — 13 years ago(September 19, 2012 05:22 PM)
Well OK, I can see why it makes sense for them to have the same accent although they did study at different universities, one going abroad, so it's not entirely unreasonable for them to have gone to different high schools too (maybe one got in to a better one? Anyway I'm clutching at straws here I admit).
However I'm intrigued as to this notion that an ethnic origin and from a particular country is the same thing. Would you say Lucy Liu is of Chinese o111crigin or from China? Can they be interchangeably used here, or does it only work with India? What if several generations of your family were born and brought up in America? Say for example, Robert de Niro?
We call this the Loom of Fate. -
nrangerseven — 12 years ago(July 14, 2013 08:54 AM)
You don't understand the incredibly simple concept that the family comes from India and none of the characters were raised in the US so they're not going to have American accents (why aren't you freaking out about the accents of the parents too?) and yet you want to argue semantics? lol Yeah, it only works for India to say someone has Indian origin and is from India hahahahahahahaha
The people you idolize wouldn't like you. -
alkamal_r — 12 years ago(July 14, 2013 05:52 PM)
Yes I do understand that concept, what you seem to have missed in the several posts I have written is that the writers could have written her anyhow they wanted. Some well-off Indian parents (which they must be if she went to Cambridge) send their kids to International schools (in India) where most of them acquire American/English accents depending on the teachers. I understand this is not the norm but I was just mentioning that it would have been refreshing to see an actor/actress of Indian origin speaking with a non-Indian accent, as a strong Indian accent is a bit grating, to my ears anyway, and to the OP too, to whom I was responding. And there was already a character like that anyway so to me it seemed a bit overkill.
Also, for goodness' sake, I
didn't
say it only works for India to say someone having a particular origin and being from that country is the same thing! facepalm So I don't know where you got that from, I think you need to improve your comprehension skills (and you're laughing at me?). I actually disagree with that notion anyway, but was
asking that
as otherwise one would say Lucy Liu is from China. Would you say that? Apparently yes as you answered so sarcastically? And what about people who have lived in the US for a few generations? My other example was Robert de Niro, although I know now he has mixed parentage so that was a bad example. However that throws up even more questions, where would you say he is from, as he has mixed European ancestry?
For clarity, the relevant comment thread went like this:
Me: It's not as if all people of Indian origin have an accent.
Ice-Wine: ALL people of Indian origin FROM INDIA have an INDIAN accent! Fact!
Me: I said "people of Indian origin", not "FROM INDIA".
jejozi: "people of Indian origin" and "FROM INDIA" are the same thing.
Ice-Wine: Alkamal, Indian Origin and FROM INDIA are interchangeably used!
Me: I'm intrigued as to this notion that an ethnic origin and from a particular country is the same thing. Would you say Lucy Liu is of Chinese origin or from China?
^I'd
really, really
love an answer to this, everyone seems to be avoiding that question. Or a better example, is Mindy from The Mindy Project from India? If not then why not, if they mean the same thing? And if yes, then I really don't think she'd agree with you and might even find it a bit annoying.
We call this the Loom of Fate. -
jejozi — 13 years ago(September 04, 2012 06:25 PM)
So, does your family know you think their accent is annoying?
Why is a Latino having an accent "patronizing"? I'd be willing to wager that half the Latinos in America speak English with some kind of accent. Heck, a large percentage of them don't even speak English.
No need for an accent? She's from India!! Very, very few native Asian Indians speak English without an Indian accent. Very, very few people who speak ESL speak English without an accent from their country of origin. YOU may not think you have an accent, but I'll bet you do and I've never heard you speak.
You are quit pretentious and patronizing. WHERE did ANYONE say that French cuisine consists solely of fried snails?
Please, explain what a "normal American accent" is? This ought to be good.
This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here. -
alkamal_r — 13 years ago(September 04, 2012 11:50 PM)
My mum doesn't speak like Priya's character, she speaks English fine, slightly broken but I do not find it annoying. But yes she knows that I hate that accent. My dad doesn't know, never talked to him about accents, but he rarely speaks to me in English anyway. The rest of my generation (and quite a few in the generation above) speak perfect English with an English accent (Received Pronunciation, East London or Birmingham as you seem to be obsessed with being specific).
Having a Latino character in a sitcom with a strong grating Mexican accent is patronizing because not all Latinos speak like that, and nor do they have to. It's almost if the producers want to hammer home: "look he's MEXICAN everybody, you can tell by the accent! Isn't that hilarious!" You might as well have him in a sombrero and poncho, eating burritos. I actually don't know the specific percentage, you seem to do, but this being a sitcom consisting of postgraduates, you'd think that a Latino American would be able to speak English without an over the top Mexican/Spanish accent, which would be the equivalent of Aarti Mann's accent. Nearly every Latino American working in the US film or TV industry does not have a Mexican accent, can you name a few? So why put it on unless you are filming in Tijuana or something? As a comparison, the actor who plays Leonard is actually of Polish and German descent and of Belgian birth, and Howard, of German descent with Jewish roots, but neither speak with an accent, so why is it necessary for a Latino?
Furthermore, you completely missed my point. I mentioned that she needn't have been from India, the writers could have had her as an Indian-American, we already have one person with a strong Indian accent as he had just come over from India, there was no need for another one just because she's brown. I also mentioned that people born in India but educated overseas or in International schools do not have an Indian accent (I have a few friends like this). Anyway, those were just suggestions.
Your point about ESL speakers is complete bull. Many people do have an accent, yes, but there are also SO many people who speak it (myself included) with no foreign accent whatsoever (many even better than the native speakers), especially if they were born here and have spoken it all their lives. It is by no means "very, very few". And no, you have not heard me speak so you have no idea (and you call me patronizing?). FYI, I went to a private secondary school on a scholarship, which Daniel Radcliffe and Skandar Keynes attended. So, how much did you want to bet on this?
WHERE did ANYONE say that French cuisine consists solely of fried snails?
Tru-Dru (on Jan 10, 2012) wrote:
The Indian Language is nowhere as annoying than the French Language that everyone in America hypes up as something being greater than it could ever be..I mean who the Hell eats fried Snails?
Some weird rant about the French language being hyped up (wth?) and a bizarre link to fried snails as if that has anything to do with the language, while trying to DEFEND another country's language and culture. The irony was completely lost on him(/her).
A normal American accent is any accent o1354riginating in the (modern) United States. I hope you enjoyed that.
We call this the Loom of Fate. -
jejozi — 13 years ago(September 05, 2012 06:57 PM)
Why so for Latinos? Are you kidding me? How many generations removed are most Poles, Germans, Scots, English and Irish (Those are the lands my people came from. The UK and German sides have been here a looong time, my grandmother was a member of the DAR, but I'm only 2nd generation on the Polish side. And I speak with no accent, maybe a little Minnesota.)? How many generations removed are most Latinos in America? But the thing is, most Latinos, regardless of whether they're American or not, are also still very much segregated in their own community. Not all, but I'd bet the majority. So not only is Spanish or Spanglish still being spoken by many of them, but those who do primarily speak English most likely learned it from listening to people with an accent, thus picking it up themselves, and were submerged in a community that is heavily accented. Look at George Lopez, he has a bit of an accent, yet was born and raised in America. Same with Jennifer Lopez. It's not Sophia Vergara, but it's very definitely there.
" Nearly every Latino American working in the US film or TV industry does not have a Mexican accent, can you name a few?" I'm going to assume that's a typo, given your rant. Let's see; Enrique Murciano, Cote de Pablooh, wait, she's portraying an Israeli, never mind. Adam Rodriguez. Eva La Rue. I don't know his name, but a recurring DEA agent on Breaking Bad. Kirsten Vangsness portrays Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds. America Ferrera. Mario Lopez. Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen (born Carlos Irwin Estvez). Martin Sheen (born Ramon Antonio Gerard Estevez). Freddie Prinze Jr. Edward James Olmos. Lou Diamond Phillips, Selena Gomez, Eva Longoria, Jessica Alba, Cheech Marin, John Leguizamo, Frankie Muniz, Joaquin Phoenix (and brother River), Cameron Diaz, Eva Mendes, Andy Garcia, Jorge Garcia, Benjamin Bratt, Esai Morales, Hector Elizondo. I'm sure there's more, but I think I've disproven your prejudiced point. Why don't you name some who DO speak with an accent, and we'll see if they're from America or an immigrant. 'K?? And I'm not quoting Manuel from Fawlty Towers.
And you miss the point of the character. She's Leonard's friend's (who is Asian Indian) sister. And he's shagging her. Get it, sloanie????
Where did he say that's all they ate? Snails, or escargot, is a famous French dish, probably the only one known by most Americans.
Unless you've consciously made an attempt to remove your accent, you still have one, however small. Oooo, Harry Potter andwho??? Be still my heart. That proves absolutely nothing. Other than you're a name dropper. Total non sequitur.
It's obvious you know very little about America, so don't even try to tell us who we are. You rely completely on the stereotypes you so loud16d0ly sniff at.
There is no normal American accent.
"Better than the native speakers", ya gotta looooove the irony!!!
This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here. -
jejozi — 13 years ago(September 04, 2012 06:08 PM)
"Normal American accent", what's that? Is that a New York accent or a Minnesota accent? Or a Texas accent or a Georgia accent? A New England accent or a California accent? A northern California accent or a southern California accent? In other words, there IS no "normal American accent".
This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here. -
alkamal_r — 13 years ago(September 04, 2012 09:33 PM)
It's all of those. If anyone was speaking in those accents, most people (i.e. people from outside the US) would say they have an American accent. Just like most people wouldn't know I have a London accent unless they were from the UK, and therefore would say I have a British/English accent. Just like someone speaking Spanish in Mexico would probably be seen as having a Mexican accent, as opposed to the regional variation. And just like someone speaking English in a Broad, General or Cultivated Australian accent would be seen as having an Aussie accent.
I'm not denying regional accents exist, of course they do, but I categorized them as American (which they
are
) because I couldn't be bothered to list however many regional variations there are. If you really want me to be specific then I guess I meant an LA-accent, (which I'm assuming most of the other characters speak in? I wouldn't know). And also, I used the term "normal" because it is a US-based sitcom, and hence an accent from outside those shores is clearly not the norm. For some reason, you seem to getting rather worked up about this.
We call this the Loom of Fate. -
jejozi — 13 years ago(September 05, 2012 04:55 PM)
Ever hear of Canada? Their way of speaking, in the English speaking provinces, is very similar to Americans, yet we're not the same country. Yes, they pronounce some words differently, but it'd be tough for a European to tell the difference between a Minnesota or North Dakota accent and a Saskatchewan or a Washington or British Colombian or Maine and New Brunswick accent. And, a lot of Canadians and Americans don't have much, if any, accent at all.
Your assumption about an "L.A." accent is wrong. With the obvious exception of Raj and Sheldon, they're all rather neutral. Although I don't exactly know were to put Bernie. Oh, and Howard's mom, too, and her New York Jewish mother accent.
Go and play your "you're getting worked up" card somewhere else. Just pointing out the inanities of foreigners complaining about Americans stereotyping, then stereotyping Americans.
This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here. -
mam13143 — 10 years ago(June 15, 2015 04:10 PM)
Well I think she is supposed to be from India in TBBT in which case she would have an accent. It would sound unrealistic to have someone from India talking without any accent. Don't mix her real life with her character.
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corek1949 — 14 years ago(January 22, 2012 03:38 AM)
It is very possible to listen to hear this babe talk without cringing. Some accents are hard to bear (New York Bronx, Newcastle upon Tyne).
Meanwhile reading the rest of the post, if she had come from America it would have been harder to explain the relationship between her and Raj, why is he from India and his sister not. And their parents still being in India. -
rjiwatra — 14 years ago(January 25, 2012 11:33 PM)
I do, and I say this as an Indian born overseas and who went to a British school. From what I've read, Aarti Mann had to use an 'Indian accent 'for the character: 'an Indian from India who LATER went to college in England for further education'. Kunal Nayyar, who plays Raj, in real life is an Indian born in India and later went to college over seas, and although Kunal says he hams up his accent a little for effect, his accent is obviously more natural sounding. Aarti on the other hand is way to ham fisted an Indian accent, it's really harsh and forced, which makes sense considering she's American born and raised so probably has an American accent. I have a mix British and American accent (went to college in LA), and if you asked me to fake an Indian accent, without any reference I'd probably ham fist it too because it's just not something I hear day to day.
Also, like how accents vary across the States, Indian English accents vary across the country of India too. The 'Apu' type accent, and the one when most westerners mock/fake the Indian accent isn't really the norm either. There are some words an Indian can't say without the ridiculous 'Apu' accent, but then there are subtle regional differences.
Anyway, whatever Aarti Mann is emulating it's just grating and annoying as hell, not only the accent (which as I've already stated sounds ham fisted) but also the deep tones she uses in her voice. Just doesn't sound natural at all, but at the risk of repeating myself, that does make sense considering she's putting on an accent that isn't hers. Not every actor is like Hugh Laurie or Yvonne Strahovski who can emulate a 'foreign' accent almost flawlessly. Then again if you look at the Indian actors on the short lived tv series, 'Outsourced', they're all either American or British born and raised and all had to fake an Indian accent for the show. Not a s16d0ingle one of them sounds as harsh and ridiculous as Aarti Mann's faux-Indian accent on The Big Bang Theory. -
jejozi — 13 years ago(September 04, 2012 06:58 PM)
Ya know what? I'll bet there's not one American watching this American show who gives a rat's a$$ as to whether her accent is "too ham fisted". It's only those with low self esteem that have to come on to a message board complaining that an accent isn't accurate. And I thought those from the UK were bad when it came to this.
This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.