Lol, interesting plan.
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leyther — 16 years ago(May 05, 2009 08:32 AM)
never really heard an american accent that stops me in my tracks (although i could listen to eliza dushku all night long :o). the american accent doesnt do it for me, but i have met a few from the states who loved to hear me speak. when speaking to a few female friends over there i was told to keep talking, when i said, what about, the answer was, say anything but just keep talking!! even swearing was music to their ears (actually educated them on the correct pronounciation of a couple)
one thing i did notice was that i never had any trouble understanding any accent i encountered, but i had to repeat myself quite often as they had trouble with mine.
i remember in an old cheers episode they had on an english cleaner, who when she spoke had such a cut-glass accent you would think she was related to the queen - at least they dont do that anymore
i spent a bit of time working in france and i've always had a thing for the female french accent. there's just something about that accent that hits the right spot. i think if i was told to take out the rubbish and clean the toilet with a toothbrush it would still sound sexy done in french!
a question; do the americans know how varied the english accent is? although we're a small country the number of accents and dialects is massive in comparison; scouse, geordie, yorks, lancs, manc, brummie, black country, east anglian, cockney, cornish, bristonian, etc etc. i would guess that most who say they love an english accent would consider the southern-based accents as the ones they mean. -
xela23 — 14 years ago(January 08, 2012 10:50 PM)
Yes, we know how varied the English accent is, but definitely couldn't give you the names of the different types beyond maybe cockney. It makes sense that you guys have so many accents (more than us) - your country is much older, so people had time to settle in places and form their own unique accents. We honestly love all English accents (and Irish and Scottish ones as well) - not just the Southern-based ones. You all just sound so educated and sophisticated to us.
I don't blame you for not liking our accent
I agree that it is usually ugly. I agree with you on the understanding accents thing too - as an American, I really have to focus when I hear British people speak, but I don't think British people have a hard time understanding us. Probably because we pronounce words very much how they are spelled (almost too clearly), whereas you guys sometimes seem to leave off the "r" sound and in general blend your words together a bit so sentences flow better. -
aerodo — 14 years ago(January 19, 2012 05:19 PM)
I love how Welsh is just generally forgotten by most, while it's probably one of the ones most imitated by us Angles.
American accents arn't all that bad. I like the way they relfect alot of different cultures. -
Ithilfaen — 16 years ago(October 22, 2009 04:37 AM)
It's funny because I spent a lot of time in France and most people there have a disastrous English and everyone kept telling me how they loved THE British accent better than THE American accent because Americans chewed their words and I was trying to make them understand that there are dozens of 'British' accents and more than a few 'American' accents and that they'd be hard pressed trying to understand a cockney or Scottish accent. It's like in French, there are many different regional accents that can leave the foreign French speaker perplexed but for some reason they think when you speak English you just have either THE American or THE British! lol wait til they hear THE Aussie! lol
For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco -
Holkospinner — 15 years ago(May 27, 2010 03:57 PM)
I don't like the sound of American English at all. This is not so much about the various accents but about the way Americans use their voices and how the "r" is pronouced. It sounds throaty, artificial and annoying. Not always of course but British English is heaven to my ears compared to American English.
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jefgg — 11 years ago(April 23, 2014 04:44 AM)
I am American. I think a lot of Americans either really like or really hate English accents. I am neutral on accents. Maybe it is because I grew up hearing the South African accents of my cousins. I like New York accents like my own because they make me feel at home.
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stantheman1961 — 9 years ago(April 17, 2016 08:04 AM)
Im British as regards American Accents the best of the best for me would be Hugh Laurie (House) Andrew Lincoln,Lauren Cohan,David Morrissey,Lennie James (Walking Dead) Christian Bale (Batman) (American Psycho),Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln),Chiwetel Ejiofor(12 Years A Slave),Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl),Idris Elba(The Wire),Kate Winslet(Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind)Damian Lewis(Homeland),Sonya Walger(Flash Forward),Karen Gillan(Selfie)there are many more i could include but lets finish with Vivien Leigh as Scarlett OHara(Gone With The Wind)
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Midgegirl — 9 years ago(April 17, 2016 10:37 AM)
I think American accents are now so ubiquitous that they no longer have any novelty value for other nationalities. Back in the 40s and 50s an American accent was an advantage to GIs over here in the UK but nowadays they're there every time we watch any sort of screen. Americans, however, have such a huge entertainment industry that they have much less need to import programmes from overseas thus they hear other accents far less frequently than the rest of us hear yours. "Familiarity breeds contempt" so the saying goes. Nothing personal.