British Accents

[Kobushi]

I'll lay bets that most Brits could tell it was fake though; just as you could probably pick our fake American accents out of a lineup regardless of how good we think they are ourselves.

I'd agree with the middle-England bit. Oliver Wood, the Quidditch captain in the first 3 movies, did have a Scottish accent as does Cho Chang in this one. And there's another kid, who is obviously Irish.

Seamus Finnegan has the Irish accent. Although, I couldn't hear a Scottish accent on Cho Chang in the 2 lines she spoke and had pretty much dismissed it as Irish.

The Cockney accent is hard to understand. They can't seem to distinguish between 'f' and 'th' (i.e. three and free sound the same). I used to give my co-worker so much guff over that. The closest Harry Potter character I've heard (or read) would be Stan Shunpike (the bus conductor in Chamber of Secrets).

 

[aloofman]

Hugh Lawrie's American accent in House seems pretty good to me. One of my US pals was astonished when she saw him on Leno (or the like) and realised that he was actually British.

I've long prided myself in being able to tell when someone is faking an American accent, but recently I found out I was being totally fooled...twice.

Mark Addy, from the "Still Standing" sitcom is British. Never saw that coming.

Melanie Lynskey, who plays the stalker neighbor on "Two and a Half Men" is from New Zealand. Didn't even guess it until I finally got around to seeing "Heavenly Creatures."

 

[DavidLeblond]

What exactly is an American accent? Like the British accent, the accent changes drastically based on where you live. Hell, even where I live in North Carolina the accent can vary city to city. I can pick out someone who lives in Greenville, NC (where my mom is from) by hearing them speak one word (I've done it several times too without fail.) And then the people who live on the outer banks (the High Tiders) don't sound ANYTHING like the rest of NC.

 

[Toreador93]

Colin Farrell and Hugh Jackman can do pretty convincing American accents. When I first heard Colin Farrell on the Tonight Show, I was amazed at how thick his accent was!

 

[m-dogg]

Maybe not an overall one, but even I can tell the difference between someone from Brooklyn and someone from say... Texas.

Absolutely. Or Boston. Or the Southeast. Or the Midwest. Or New Orleans. Or the North-central states (though some may say that's just Canadian, eh?) - there are definitely a lot of regional dialects & accents in the US.

Come to think of it, I can often tell what area/state in New England someone is from by their accent.

 

[Kernow]

No matter what else he does, Hugh Laurie will always be Bertie Wooster to me.

Or as the Prince Regent in Blackadder III. Definitely seems odd seeing him play gritty American roles after the very English comedy characters he used to play

 

[aloofman]

Obviously they didn't go to the same vocal coach as the famous British actor Sean Connery. I've seen that guy play Eygitian, Scotish, Irish, American, Russian etc. with flawless accents each time. He's like a chameleon.

Don't get me wrong. I like Sean Connery a lot. But I don't see how someone can say he's good at accents. His attempt at Russian in "Red October" was laughable and if he was Irish in "The Untouchables," then it was in name only.

 

[nbs2]

Obviously they didn't go to the same vocal coach as the famous British actor Sean Connery. I've seen that guy play Eygitian, Scotish, Irish, American, Russian etc. with flawless accents each time. He's like a chameleon.

except, i have yet to find a russian or long time russia resident who doesn't compare his russian to nails on chalkboards.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Maybe not an overall one, but even I can tell the difference between someone from Brooklyn and someone from say... Texas.

LOL. I'd like to be a fly on the wall when somebody from Brooklyn tried to communicate with someone from Texas. They're virtually different languages!

 

[edesignuk]

Don't get me wrong. I like Sean Connery a lot. But I don't see how someone can say he's good at accents. His attempt at Russian in "Red October" was laughable and if he was Irish in "The Untouchables," then it was in name only.

Sarcasm

 

[IJ Reilly]

Or as the Prince Regent in Blackadder III. Definitely seems odd seeing him play gritty American roles after the very English comedy characters he used to play

I don't think that series has ever been broadcasted over here, sadly. I've also never seen Laurie in the American TV show he's in now, which I could well watch but haven't.

 

[ibook30]

There's no such thing as an American accent, or is there? She's Welsh, but she sounds pretty Americanized in HW movies.

It's everyone else in other parts of the bloody world who have bloody accents. Not us Americans and Canadians.

Although in rural Americana, they speak a sort of slurred redneck accent that's pretty funny.

indent]

I have been working with a group in Canada, another in Texas, and one in NYC - and I (could be having auditory hallucinations) hear a strong difference.

My take on it- in the Southern parts if the US folks talk a little slower and with a drawl. In the Northern regions of the US I hear fast clipped speech. Both have a whole list of colloquialisms. Canadians have a different sound too - eh?

Bar none the most intriguing American accent to my ear is the Cajun accent from Louisianna. If you go far south into Lousianna, it is really difficult to understand these guys! Little english, little french, little of something I swear they made up...

One consistant accent across the US is the redneck. Wether it is backwoods Alabama, or upstate NY - the rednecks are keeping it real.....

 

[ATD]

There's no such thing as an American accent, or is there? She's Welsh, but she sounds pretty Americanized in HW movies.

It's everyone else in other parts of the bloody world who have bloody accents. Not us Americans and Canadians.

Although in rural Americana, they speak a sort of slurred redneck accent that's pretty funny.

Here's to the Crazy Ones ​

I could almost be fooled by an Canadian accent until you hear that tell tail "eh" at the end of the sentence.

 

[Danksi]

My Brit accent obviously isn't very clear, as I've had people assume I was from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa!

Bleedin' Canardiens....

 

[ibook30]

Colin Farrell and Hugh Jackman can do pretty convincing American accents. When I first heard Colin Farrell on the Tonight Show, I was amazed at how thick his accent was!

I heard Colin Farrell was called out by old school buddies. They said he was laying down a phony accent on American TV- thicker than anything they had heard from him..

 

[edesignuk]

I heard Colin Farrell was called out by old school buddies. They said he was laying down a phony accent on American TV- thicker than anything they had heard from him..

Maybe that's because he's a complete prat

 

[Danksi]

I heard Colin Farrell was called out by old school buddies. They said he was laying down a phony accent on American TV- thicker than anything they had heard from him..

Sounds like Catherine Zeta-Jones, she seems to switch between her 'original' Welsh, to a more Americanised accent willy-nilly.

I guess it's the business. Accents are nice at times, but for the most part it's also handy to be able to speak in a way that most understand first time around - this is differcult to do with strong accents.

 

[kwajo.com]

canada has numerous accents too, especially in the maritimes it is concentrated. I can tell the difference between people from Cape Breton, PEI, New Brunsiwck, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. If i really tried you can make out different regions of PEI and Newfoundland too, and to a lesser extent Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. for example I live just outside the city of Saint John and I can recognize someone from further along the coast only about a 30-45 minute drive away. the unfortunate thing is that these accents are fading where they used to be very distinctive. too many people got made fun of when they travelled and others developed Upper Canadian accents because we are supposedly not as good as the rest of Canada . anyway, the point is just as maritime culture is an extension of the UK, so are our accents, and their regional nature, so don't be grouping us in with the rest of our confederation

 

[Danksi]

...canada has numerous accents too, especially in the maritimes it is concentrated. I can tell the difference between people from Cape Breton, PEI, New Brunsiwck, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. ...

I remember watching my first Canadian newscast for the maritimes years ago, I thought there were just a lot of Scots/Irish people living there

 

[Mr Skills]

Although I have to say hers is so much better than Gwyneth Paltrow's dreadfully nasal and whiny British accent in Sliding Doors. Aaarrgh.

Huh? So often I've been chatting with someone about movies and the subject of how *good* Gwyneth's accent is in Sliding Doors comes up. It's flawless. I'm from exactly that part of London, they use one of my local tube stations for some scenes. I genuinely thought she was British when I saw that film. Maybe that means my own voice is 'whiny'

 

[Metatron]

Maybe not an overall one, but even I can tell the difference between someone from Brooklyn and someone from say... Texas.

As much as I hate to say it, Texan's do have a southern accent. It never crossed my mine until I went up north to visit some old family friends. A few days went by before they told me how unique I sounded.

God Bless Texas - the most powerful state in the nation.

 

[mpw]

Don't get me wrong. I like Sean Connery a lot. But I don't see how someone can say he's good at accents. His attempt at Russian in "Red October" was laughable and if he was Irish in "The Untouchables," then it was in name only.

except, i have yet to find a russian or long time russia resident who doesn't compare his russian to nails on chalkboards.

So Americans can't do accents or sarcasm. I was joking guys.

 

[Danksi]

As much as I hate to say it, Texan's do have a southern accent. It never crossed my mine until I went up north to visit some old family friends. A few days went by before they told me how unique I sounded.

God Bless Texas - the most powerful state in the nation.

Rene Zellweger does a pretty good Brit accent in Bridget Jones, especially when you hear her 'normal' Texan accent.

 

[mouchoir]

anyone seen Jason Statham's american accent (he is 'turkish from snatch, and does the accent in the new italian job and transporter)

very very very funny.

It's so shockingly bad in 'The One', that even he seems to give up on it half way through!

 

[garybUK]

Fred & George Weazley have a Brummoy accent (Birmingham)

When I went to chicago everyone asked if I was from France or Germany ... uugh i think they were taking the p!ss though

I can't believe they don't know what a serviette is, the woman in Subway looked at me like I was from Mars.