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Unpleasant accents?
Topic Started: Feb 9 2007, 07:53 AM (437 Views)
Joe
Coffea Canephora
I find NZ and Canadian accents to be slightly irritating. Apologies to the appropriate members, of course.

In the shadow of the light from a black sun
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Where are the frost giants I've begged for protection?
I'm freezing
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Krazy
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Not to be funny or anything but what's the point of this thread?
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Regullus
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Reliant
I wouldn't have thought to bring to the topic up but I have noticed (and I would imagine the reverse is true but I can't tell) a lot of English actors don't do an American accent very well. Now Aussie, New Zealand and South African actors can do an American accent very passably. I've often wondered if this apparent difficulty was genuine or disingenous? :unsure: Is it what they hear? Or is it what they think the accent is?

To my ears, I find the pseudo American accent pretty harsh.

Edit:

PS - We don't actually have anyone from NZ on the board.
tempus_teapot
 
I'd like to add that at this point I have taken my Spider Jerusalem action figure and tied his wrist to my Cassidy (from Preacher) action figure just so I can work out which positions are feasible with them and which aren't.

Read that and weep, internet. Weep!

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Krazy
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Well, let me tell you Reg, the reverse is also true Americans doing British accents, are truly terrible at it, and you can spot them a mile off.

But Hugh Laurie does a pretty good American accent in House.

Besides what is an English accent? Devonshire, Scouse, Mancunian, Cockney, North London, Yorkshire? Its like comparing a New York accent and a Southern Accent and lumping them under 'American'.
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Regullus
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Reliant
Oh, I agree with you, I'm sure the Americans do equally bad or worse and again which accent. It's funny you used Hugh Laurie as an example of a "good" American accent because that's exactly who I was thinking of when I thought of a "bad" American accents; it's very harsh to my ears. :D I know he just won an emmy which goes to show accent mimicking doesn't have a whole lot to do with acting, strangely. :blink:

Helen Mirren is quite good or at least she was in The Clearing(?) with Robert Redford.
tempus_teapot
 
I'd like to add that at this point I have taken my Spider Jerusalem action figure and tied his wrist to my Cassidy (from Preacher) action figure just so I can work out which positions are feasible with them and which aren't.

Read that and weep, internet. Weep!

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Joe
Coffea Canephora
Krazy
Feb 9 2007, 02:42 AM
Not to be funny or anything but what's the point of this thread?

What's the point of any thread?
In the shadow of the light from a black sun
Frigid statue standing icy blue and numb
Where are the frost giants I've begged for protection?
I'm freezing
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Krazy
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I haz powah!
Joe, well just sort of saying you can't say really say a whole country's accent annoys you because there are so many different ones in it.

For example, Sarah Chalke and Emmanuelle Vaugier are both Canadian but they have different accents and I find neither annoying. Can't think of any more off the top of my head.

Reg, I find Hugh Laurie's American accent harsh in House as well, probably because I've seen a lot of his British stuff, especially the Jeeves and Wooster and his comedy sketch show with Stephen Fry, imaginatively titled A bit of Fry and Laurie and his "real" voice is not like that.

And yeah Helen Mirren is a top actress, won several awards for her latest movie "The Queen." (and it was The Clearing)
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Regullus
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Reliant
I'm very partial to Helen Mirren although I have not seen her latest. I've seen a lot of Hugh Laurie's comedic work and I think overall he's excellent as (although the show is not my favorite) House and his performance is a departure from what I have seen in his comedic roles. I've always admired that British actors have greater flexibility in their role offerings and the actors themselves are normally excellent except for the accent. In the US, although it is improving, actors are much more pigeonholed and to be honest, deservedly so sometimes. Probably because we rely on looks more.
tempus_teapot
 
I'd like to add that at this point I have taken my Spider Jerusalem action figure and tied his wrist to my Cassidy (from Preacher) action figure just so I can work out which positions are feasible with them and which aren't.

Read that and weep, internet. Weep!

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Bex
puppet dictator
Krazy, in your opinion, how was James Marsters' (Spike) accent on Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
I belong to one of those families that does not speak to or see its members as often as we should,
but if someone needed anyone to fall on a sword for her, there would be a queue waiting to commit the deed.
-Min Jin Lee
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Krazy
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I was just watching Angel series 5, the one with Spike in. James does a very convincing accent, I would place it as similar to Estuary (south-east) English.

Edit: I seem to be blowing my own argument out of the water , but nonetheless, Gillian Anderson was very convincing as well in the recent-ish BBC adaptation of Bleak House.

Its just I find it very annoying when people think a British accent is talking like you've got two plums stuffed in your mouth and a rod up your backside faux aristocracy that you see in so many things. /mini rant.
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Boeing
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What annoys me most about accents is the misconceptions people have of them.
I want you. I want you so bad. I want you so bad it's driving me mad. She's so heavy!
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Joe
Coffea Canephora
Krazy
Feb 9 2007, 09:01 AM
Joe, well just sort of saying you can't say really say a whole country's accent annoys you because there are so many different ones in it.

For example, Sarah Chalke and Emmanuelle Vaugier are both Canadian but they have different accents and I find neither annoying. Can't think of any more off the top of my head.

Reg, I find Hugh Laurie's American accent harsh in House as well, probably because I've seen a lot of his British stuff, especially the Jeeves and Wooster and his comedy sketch show with Stephen Fry, imaginatively titled A bit of Fry and Laurie and his "real" voice is not like that.

And yeah Helen Mirren is a top actress, won several awards for her latest movie "The Queen." (and it was The Clearing)

Well I mean I didn't specify that you had to list countries. If you find Londoners or Brummies to speak repulsively, by all means.

In the shadow of the light from a black sun
Frigid statue standing icy blue and numb
Where are the frost giants I've begged for protection?
I'm freezing
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Eral
Kopi Luwak
Silk is from NZ. She may be silent, but she still counts.

Australia is one of the few places that doesn't have regional accents. Although some people accuse Queenslanders of speaking more slowly. Kate Winslet is the only actress who has successfully done an Australian accent, that I can think of. American actors all end up sounding like Poms on methamphetamines when they try. So terrible.
There was a Simpsons episode set in Australia where the accent was SO WRONG I couldn't watch it. Even Meryl Streep couldn't get it right.

I thought Hugh's accent was rather good. :blush:

I do an a fairly good Irish accent: but the giveaway is you can't tell where I'm from. When I really go for a Cork accent, I speak so fast it becomes unintelligible to all non-Irishers.

Mr.FPS suffers from a delusion that he can do a Cockney accent. :cringe: It's too awful.
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Krazy
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Joe I'm a (north) Londoner, I don't have that much of an accent at all. I've got an accent that anyone in the UK could understand, even though I have trouble understanding alot of the broader accents if they use dialect.

But my nephew whose father was brought up in Manchester has a noticeable northern accent. Now my nephew having been raised in London speaks with a London accent except for a few words like glass, brass, pass which he insists on saying as if he was a northerner. It is quite amusing to listen to.

This is for Eral, because I can do a cockney accent :D

Cup of rosy and a slice of holy please. The trouble's been given me an earful and clocked me one after we had an argy. Cor blimey it hurt I can tell ya.
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Joe
Coffea Canephora
Krazy
Feb 9 2007, 05:41 PM
Joe I'm a (north) Londoner, I don't have that much of an accent at all. I've got an accent that anyone in the UK could understand, even though I have trouble understanding alot of the broader accents if they use dialect.

But my nephew whose father was brought up in Manchester has a noticeable northern accent. Now my nephew having been raised in London speaks with a London accent except for a few words like glass, brass, pass which he insists on saying as if he was a northerner. It is quite amusing to listen to.

This is for Eral, because I can do a cockney accent :D

Cup of rosy and a slice of holy please. The trouble's been given me an earful and clocked me one after we had an argy. Cor blimey it hurt I can tell ya.

I should have specified the people who talk like this: " Oy went wiff me mates 'alf the way there. Some bloke 'it me right inna teef."
In the shadow of the light from a black sun
Frigid statue standing icy blue and numb
Where are the frost giants I've begged for protection?
I'm freezing
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Eral
Kopi Luwak
Joe, the thread is hijacked. (Thank you Regullus.) You should now be discussing different accents, and not whether you like them. This is because no-one else wants to be insulting to others.

If this sentence is supposed to be 'Strine, it should read, "Oy wen' vere wiff me mates. Arf way*(uh) froo me beer, sum bluddy bastard 'it me(uh) roight inna teef. Farkin 'ell. Ya carnt ave a kwoi-yet beer enny wair."
*indicates a voiced exhalation of breath.
If meant to be vaguely working-class English, "Oy went wiff me mates 'arf way dere. Sum bloke 'it me roight inna teef."

I always enjoy the accents on BBC programs. The Bill was particularly enthralling in this regard. I find it hard to believe that anyone other than George Bernard Shaw would dislike this musical and charming speech pattern. I loved it ever since watching "The Sweeney" as a wee slip of a girl.
My mum used to dislike the Belfast accent: it's very clipped, and has a lot of "oi" sounds, which she felt was unrefined. I personally think it was more the Republican coming out in her, and her deep dislike for the Rev. Ian Paisley. She never said it to anyone outside our immediate family though, because she was a woman of good manners and respect for others.
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Bex
puppet dictator
It's been interesting to hang out with a friend who can actually hear the difference in my and Justin's accent from someone from rural BC or even Calgary. All Canadian accents are definitely not created equal. We sure as hell don't talk like Torontonians, or Newfies.
I belong to one of those families that does not speak to or see its members as often as we should,
but if someone needed anyone to fall on a sword for her, there would be a queue waiting to commit the deed.
-Min Jin Lee
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lara
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Kopi Luwak
Yeah, I have a friend in B.C. who one day started to mimic my Manitoba accent. It was hilarious, because I didn't even know I had one, and another friend said she'd noticed I spoke differently from other B.C.ers but she hadn't realized it was my accent.

So, Joe, just curious: What Canadian accent do you hate? How do we sound to you? I'm thinking of famous Canadians whose accents you may have heard and to me they don't sound much different from other Canadians (except maybe Newfies). Uh, Pamela Anderson? Peter Jennings? Nelly Furtado? Wayne Gretzky? Colin Mochrie? Kiefer Sutherland? Well, okay, Gretzky sounds goofy and Sutherland has an exceptional voice.
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Joe
Coffea Canephora
lara
Feb 9 2007, 09:58 PM
So, Joe, just curious: What Canadian accent do you hate? How do we sound to you? I'm thinking of famous Canadians whose accents you may have heard and to me they don't sound much different from other Canadians (except maybe Newfies). Uh, Pamela Anderson? Peter Jennings? Nelly Furtado? Wayne Gretzky? Colin Mochrie? Kiefer Sutherland? Well, okay, Gretzky sounds goofy and Sutherland has an exceptional voice.

I don't *hate* anyone's accent. Thinking back, I really should have not made the topic of this thread what I did.

The Canadian accents I can't identify specifically, but most of my exposure to them has been from watching the House of Commons and other political events. I imagine I must have been exposed to a large regional variety.
In the shadow of the light from a black sun
Frigid statue standing icy blue and numb
Where are the frost giants I've begged for protection?
I'm freezing
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Silk
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Black
*growls softly at Joe (in a New Zealand accent)*
"We'll try being kinder if you'll try being smarter"
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Regullus
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Reliant
Hey Silk. :)
tempus_teapot
 
I'd like to add that at this point I have taken my Spider Jerusalem action figure and tied his wrist to my Cassidy (from Preacher) action figure just so I can work out which positions are feasible with them and which aren't.

Read that and weep, internet. Weep!

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Joe
Coffea Canephora
Silk
Feb 10 2007, 04:55 AM
*growls softly at Joe (in a New Zealand accent)*

8)
In the shadow of the light from a black sun
Frigid statue standing icy blue and numb
Where are the frost giants I've begged for protection?
I'm freezing
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lara
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Kopi Luwak
Joe
Feb 10 2007, 05:20 AM

The Canadian accents I can't identify specifically, but most of my exposure to them has been from watching the House of Commons and other political events. I imagine I must have been exposed to a large regional variety.

What the heck were you doing THAT for? I'm a journalist, and I don't do that.

Lordy, someone knows us by our politicians.

French or English Canadian accents? It's pretty plain which is which.
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Joe
Coffea Canephora
lara
Feb 10 2007, 07:09 PM
Joe
Feb 10 2007, 05:20 AM

The Canadian accents I can't identify specifically, but most of my exposure to them has been from watching the House of Commons and other political events. I imagine I must have been exposed to a large regional variety.

What the heck were you doing THAT for? I'm a journalist, and I don't do that.

Lordy, someone knows us by our politicians.

French or English Canadian accents? It's pretty plain which is which.

English. I consider Gilles Duceppes as Canadian as he considers himself. ;)

I enjoy watching Canadian and British parliaments when C-SPAN shows them because I guess I'm just a politics junkie.
In the shadow of the light from a black sun
Frigid statue standing icy blue and numb
Where are the frost giants I've begged for protection?
I'm freezing
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Silk
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Black
Hey Regullus :D

Umm ... what happened to my sig?
"We'll try being kinder if you'll try being smarter"
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