"The" British Accent

[Kyrisch]

I am an eighteen-year-old American who lives in New Jersey. I have been interested in linguistics for quite some time, and have studied various languages on my own, as well as plan to major in linguistics in college. Besides foreign languages, however, I have also been interested in accents for quite some time. What I found most intriguing was how learning to speak (one's native tongue) with an accent is of comparable difficulty of learning to speak an entirely new language. I figured this was because learning a new language is a completely new skill, while learning an accent is simultaneously "over-writing" a skill and learning a changed one. I thought of the analogy of learning to write with one's left hand and learning to write backwards with one's right (given right-dominance, of course).

 

How does this relate to "the" British accent? Well, first, I put "the" in quotes because it's a common misconception on this side of the pond that there is one definitive BRITISH ACCENT, while I know full well the diversity of the dialects of the kingdom. (It often confounds me how there is more diversity in dialect in a landmass so small as compared to the relatively little across the wide country of the U.S.)

 

Further, a British accent is the first accent that I actually tried to learn to do, mostly by imitation. The problem with imitation is that, often, one exaggerates the features one hears and disregards the ones they do not, resulting in a caricature of the accent. However, I seem to have an innate ability to subconsciously pick up the nuances usually missed in imitation, so it works for me and I excel pretty quickly in accents of all sorts, given only a small audio sample.

 

Now, I have always wondered how "good" the accent actually is, because pulling it in public here (as I often do for the entertainment ) is no test because Americans simply do not have the ear. I've also wondered what regionalism I most closely mimic (as the accent I do is a sort of amalgam of all the accents I've heard). I realized that, because there are quite a few resident Brits on this here forum, this could be a good opportunity to get these questions answered.

 

First and foremost, I don't mean any sort of mockery in doing this, as it is purely a linguistic and intellectual endeavor on my part, and I think this is a good place to request this because while many may take offense, or dismiss my attempts (as many have done upon similar requests in the past), I figured the users of this forum are the most unbiased group I could come across.

 

The problem is, how do I upload an audio file? Any suggestions, not only how but also what to read, perhaps?

 

Thanks.

[Jason Chapman]

I am an eighteen-year-old American who lives in New Jersey. I have been interested in linguistics for quite some time, and have studied various languages on my own, as well as plan to major in linguistics in college. Besides foreign languages, however, I have also been interested in accents for quite some time. What I found most intriguing was how learning to speak (one's native tongue) with an accent is of comparable difficulty of learning to speak an entirely new language. I figured this was because learning a new language is a completely new skill, while learning an accent is simultaneously "over-writing" a skill and learning a changed one. I thought of the analogy of learning to write with one's left hand and learning to write backwards with one's right (given right-dominance, of course).

 

How does this relate to "the" British accent? Well, first, I put "the" in quotes because it's a common misconception on this side of the pond that there is one definitive BRITISH ACCENT, while I know full well the diversity of the dialects of the kingdom. (It often confounds me how there is more diversity in dialect in a landmass so small as compared to the relatively little across the wide country of the U.S.)

 

Further, a British accent is the first accent that I actually tried to learn to do, mostly by imitation. The problem with imitation is that, often, one exaggerates the features one hears and disregards the ones they do not, resulting in a caricature of the accent. However, I seem to have an innate ability to subconsciously pick up the nuances usually missed in imitation, so it works for me and I excel pretty quickly in accents of all sorts, given only a small audio sample.

 

Now, I have always wondered how "good" the accent actually is, because pulling it in public here (as I often do for the entertainment ) is no test because Americans simply do not have the ear. I've also wondered what regionalism I most closely mimic (as the accent I do is a sort of amalgam of all the accents I've heard). I realized that, because there are quite a few resident Brits on this here forum, this could be a good opportunity to get these questions answered.

 

First and foremost, I don't mean any sort of mockery in doing this, as it is purely a linguistic and intellectual endeavor on my part, and I think this is a good place to request this because while many may take offense, or dismiss my attempts (as many have done upon similar requests in the past), I figured the users of this forum are the most unbiased group I could come across.

 

The problem is, how do I upload an audio file? Any suggestions, not only how but also what to read, perhaps?

 

Thanks.

 

Ok first of all I’M BRITISH, but I’m not much of a patriot so it’s no big deal.

I just want to ask what exactly do you mean by the ‘British Accent’ do you mean the way in which the Queen speaks, with an upper class tone ‘Ps and Qs’ or perhaps Hugh Grant. There’s a belief out there particularly state side that us Brits all sound the same.

I myself am Welsh, I have a Welsh accent but it’s not an extreme one I do try to speak with an upper class tone, but it’s mainly to sound clear to others.

My opinion on the British accent is there is no such thing, because Britain like America is split into many parts so therefore you have regional accents, Yorkshire, Herefordshire, Devonshire etc. May I suggest you watch an episode of Frasier, the woman on there Daphne has a Northern accent, almost Yorkshire, then watch Lord of the Rings, Sean Austin’s character Sam has more of a West Country accent perhaps with a bit of Herefordshire mixed in.

I’ve been out to America, and you have many diverse accents from state to state, I’d say Obama’s accent is the closet you will find the standard ‘American Accent.

[StringJunky]

Try Youtube..input: 'English Accents'.

 

Googling 'English accents and dialects' brings up lots of material that you might be interested in but I'm using the UK version of Google.

 

If you are serious about this, I would first find out how to get the UK version of Google as seen by the British..I think it involves using proxies or something. ..I've never tried or thought of this before so I can't tell you how to do it.

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Type this in the address bar: http://www.google.co.uk .This should bring up the UK version of Google then click on the radio button that says 'pages from the uk' before you input your search terms for 'English Accents and Dialects'

[insane_alien]

put the mp3(or whatever compressed format you use) in a zip file and attach it via the attachment button. if you're like me and usually use the quick reply box then you'll need to click 'go advanced'

[Kyrisch]

Ok first of all I’M BRITISH, but I’m not much of a patriot so it’s no big deal.

I just want to ask what exactly do you mean by the ‘British Accent’ do you mean the way in which the Queen speaks, with an upper class tone ‘Ps and Qs’ or perhaps Hugh Grant. There’s a belief out there particularly state side that us Brits all sound the same.

I myself am Welsh, I have a Welsh accent but it’s not an extreme one I do try to speak with an upper class tone, but it’s mainly to sound clear to others.

My opinion on the British accent is there is no such thing, because Britain like America is split into many parts so therefore you have regional accents, Yorkshire, Herefordshire, Devonshire etc. May I suggest you watch an episode of Frasier, the woman on there Daphne has a Northern accent, almost Yorkshire, then watch Lord of the Rings, Sean Austin’s character Sam has more of a West Country accent perhaps with a bit of Herefordshire mixed in.

I’ve been out to America, and you have many diverse accents from state to state, I’d say Obama’s accent is the closet you will find the standard ‘American Accent.

 

Yes, I am well aware that there are various accents, and the one I do is definitely not the posh received pronunciation. From there, I'm lost though... I simply don't have the ear to tell the differences, and I've listened to so many different accents that the one I do is sort of a combination of all those I've been exposed to. As such, it probably won't sound very region-specific, but I am nevertheless curious as to what regionalism it most closely resembles.

[D H]

You might want to start with American accents. The East coast is chock full of distinctive accents.

[bombus]

The thing is Britain is made up of the many peoples who arrived here. The Britons (Welsh, Cornish, Picts) then Anglo-Saxons invaded Southern Britain, the Scotti invaded Caledonia (Scotland), the Irish set up colonies, then we had the Vikings, followed by the Normans (French vikings). So we ended up with not just many accents but a fair few languages as well. Plus the accent young people have in London now is heavily influenced by West Indian (Jamaican) accents, Asian accents and even US gagster rap speak. It's changed since I lived there only ten years ago!

 

I'd guess that US accents probably derive from British West-Country accents, Irish and Dutch with some East European and Italian in some eastern cities.

[Jason Chapman]

Yes, I am well aware that there are various accents, and the one I do is definitely not the posh received pronunciation. From there, I'm lost though... I simply don't have the ear to tell the differences, and I've listened to so many different accents that the one I do is sort of a combination of all those I've been exposed to. As such, it probably won't sound very region-specific, but I am nevertheless curious as to what regionalism it most closely resembles.

 

Any chance you could e-mail me an MP3 sample to have a listen to, I might be able to tell you what region it sounds like.

Is it just the English accents you are after, as in England, or is it the whole of the UK, England Scotland, Wales, Ireland. There are some very distinct differences between them. 'example' every knows what Scotty sounds like of Star Trek, its kind of like listening to two Americans, one having a strong New York accent and the other one being from Alabama.

[the guy]

i'm british and i love doing accents and i'm pretty good at them. theres only a few british accents i cannot do but if i hear them for about 5 or ten minutes i can pick it up. it is the same with all other accents. if you ever had a conversation with me you would find me imitating into lots of odd accents as i speak just out of habit because i find it fun, it actually offends some people but i dont mean it offensively. i am actually from yorkshire and have a slight yorkshire accent. i like hearing non-british peoples impressions of our accents and i would like to hear yours. i can also give you some advice and identify the different areas in yours. if you can follow insane_aliens advice and upload it i would be delighted to hear it. if not then i might be able to give you one of my spare email addresses (i don't know if that is allowed on this forum)

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i have also always wanted to hear and impression of the englsih language. you know how when you are pretending to speak another language you speak gibberish but it kind of sounds like that language? well i would like to hear someone who does not speak english doing and impression of english. if anyone could point me towards a video or sound file i would be thankful

[insane_alien]

i have also always wanted to hear and impression of the englsih language. you know how when you are pretending to speak another language you speak gibberish but it kind of sounds like that language? well i would like to hear someone who does not speak english doing and impression of english. if anyone could point me towards a video or sound file i would be thankful

 

there's some of that on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAA_qbiOQ5k

 

the wierd thing is that my brain sort of twigs it as english until i listen a bit more closely and realise that it is gibberish.

[the guy]

thankyou for that, that is quite interesting, the related video of the 9 yr old japanese kid doing an impression is qutei interesing too.

[Severian]

I have a Scottish accent, but it is quite mild, since only English people seem to be able to detect it. Americans usually think I am English.

[the guy]

this seems a bit random but i always wondered, why did mrs doubtfire always say she (or should i say he) was english?

she/he always said she/he was from england, never once did she say she was from scotland yet she has a distinct highland scottish accent.

[Royston]

It's more than likely that Robins Williams can't pull off an English (whatever region) accent, and that American twang made him sound Scottish.

 

In any case, what sounds distinct if you live in the country, is almost undetectable if you don't. For instance, I can differentiate between a Kiwi and an Oz accent, but when it comes to regional accents of the two countries, I'd have no idea. I'm sure that would sound incredibly silly to somebody who lives in either Australia or New Zealand, but I find it equally silly that somebody can't tell the difference between a Yorkshire and a Birmingham accent.

 

As a side note, if you're used to hearing an actor with a certain accent, and then they try to adopt a foreign accent, you instantly look for flaws. As an example, Andrew Sachs who was famous for his role in Fawlty Towers, sounded bizarre when he started narrating nature documentaries, because he has a very refined English accent in reality. By the same token, Hugh Laurie who plays House, sounded grating when I watched the first few episodes, because I was so used to hearing him with a bumbling toff accent.

 

Out of interest, which State does House sound like he comes from (compared to where he's supposed to come from), and does he do a good job ? I always thought he sounded a little generic. Practically everyone who I've met from the States, who tries to pull off an English accent, sounds like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins.

[Kyrisch]

House does an amazing job with his accent. I was very very surprised when I first learned that he was British. As for state, again I think there is much less dialect density in the states as there is in the UK, so it would be hard to say. He does sound pretty "generic" which means Obama-ish or "East Coast", I guess.

 

Also, I'm going to make that audio file when I can. insane alien's idea to zip it and attach it was what I had originally planned, but I wasn't sure if people were comfortable downloading random files. And again, any suggestions for what I should read?

[Jason Chapman]

I was in the US in 1995, and called everyone 'mate' so most Yanks thought I was Australian. lol

[Klaynos]

Can you upload just audio to youtube?

 

I'd quite like to hear you imitation

 

I've got a pretty bland middle class English accent with a very slight southwesterly pronunciation, but that is more evident when I use local words as opposed to it showing in my accent.

[insane_alien]

Also, I'm going to make that audio file when I can. insane alien's idea to zip it and attach it was what I had originally planned, but I wasn't sure if people were comfortable downloading random files. And again, any suggestions for what I should read?

 

we are uncomfortable downloading files from users who have only just appeared. you are a regular so there won't be such issues(doesn't mean it won't be checked out though, but thats just good security practices).

 

no idea what you should read. anything will do. you could even just dictate your reply to this and post it.

[Jason Chapman]

Have you a facebook account?

[Kyrisch]

So here's a zipped mp3. I decided to read a short news story on BBC, and because I was reading and not speaking I think it ended up sounding a lot more "posh", more like "received pronunciation" than I usually sound. But other than that, I think it's a decent presentation of my best try at imitation.

 

It also sounds distinctly Australian to me at one point, which is bad. Oh well.

british accent.mp3.zip

[John Cuthber]

Bits of it do sound Ausie, but it doesn't sound American which, I guess, is what you were hoping.

[Severian]

I would have guessed you were Australian I think.

[Kyrisch]

I would have guessed you were Australian I think.

 

...Doesn't count if you're American because, unfortunately, so would a lot of Americans; as it seems, nearly every dialect except the one the Queen uses sounds 'Australian' to American ears.

 

This is why I'm interested to hear from an actual Brit.

[insane_alien]

bit australian, bit english but i can't place the region.

[Severian]

...Doesn't count if you're American because, unfortunately, so would a lot of Americans; as it seems, nearly every dialect except the one the Queen uses sounds 'Australian' to American ears.

 

This is why I'm interested to hear from an actual Brit.

 

I am British.