Why is it that actors and actresses from the United Kingdom and Australia can speak English with perfect American accents and I mean even from different parts of the USA, like Southern, midwestern and New York?

I'm asking because when one of our American actors and actresses try to do an Australian or one of the UK accents, it sounds horrible. David Anders who played Adam on heroes is the only American actor to pull off a perfect Brit accent (Perfect to my American ears). kevin Costner didn't even try in Robin Hood.

I can always tell a fake English or Aussie accent

Americans have accents they are easy to spot

btw I fixed your vids so they would show

Renee Zellwegger does a decent job in Bridget Jones.

I thought James Marsters did a great Brit accent on the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

What did you think of Robert Downey Jr in Sherlock Holmes? Or Brad Pitt in snatch?

I find it funny how so many Americans have no idea that Hugh Laurie is English because his accent is so good in "House". And they don't realize he's been one of our most loved actors/comedians here for 25 years.

This makes me lol.

madonna's an idiot.

Militant said:

cause they r acrors and we r not... i try and do a pommy or yank voice and i get laughed at!!!!!

American is on our TVs all the time, even my kids can do it LOL

Britney's not bad at being english

ZombieKitten said:

American is on our TVs all the time, even my kids can do it LOL

Exactly. When my kids are playing superheroes or something, they'll always put on an american accent. They also used to watch The Wiggles a lot and my daughter does an awesome Australian accent

Lisa10 said:

ZombieKitten said:

American is on our TVs all the time, even my kids can do it LOL

Exactly. When my kids are playing superheroes or something, they'll always put on an american accent. They also used to watch The Wiggles a lot and my daughter does an awesome Australian accent

I need to hear that!!!!!

Militant said:

I find it funny how so many Americans have no idea that Hugh Laurie is English because his accent is so good in "House". And they don't realize he's been one of our most loved actors/comedians here for 25 years.

This makes me lol.

I had the same reaction the first time I heard Idris Elba (Stringer Bell on "The Wire") speak. Had no idea dude was British.

i get turned on by accents ....Mmmm ... accents r hot!!!!!

except mine... i wish i could speak another language... just so i can turn myself on...

oh wait... i already do that!!!!

BlackAdder7 said:

madonna and i share quite a bit. i usually don't open up about our connection to just anyone but i feel safe here at the ORG. she and i are both originally from liverpool, england, which is a small town that stockpiles livers for english people. anyhoo, her accent has always been a bit broad so i taught her to say 'the rain in spain falls mainly on the plain'.

sweetie, you know i love you and believe you 100% and all, but wasn't that a movie? called, 'my fair lady?"

The first clip with Madonna is waaaay to short to make any judgement. It´s only three seconds !

The second clip is ok but I don´t find the actor that convincing...you can still tell that he´s not really a Brit, especially the way he pronunces "they" when he mentions the daughters.

I like James Earl Jones a lot. Sure,he doesn´t sound British but still, I really like his pronunciation and intonation.

I LOVE British accents

Here is a longer snippet from the very same interview with Madonna. When you read the Youtube user comments, you will notice that someone writes that she sounded British in the first 30 seconds and American in the last 30 seconds but honestly, I don´t hear a lot of British influence in the first 30 seconds....she pronounces the "a" in "answer" just like an American would. The way she pronounces "father" or "grandfather" does sound a bit British but, other than that, I don´t really understand why people accused her of trying to sound British. Or rather, I don´t get it based on this interview alone.

I find this whole "British English versus American English" debate rather silly and superfluous because, as big as the differences are, they are not THAT big compared to the varieties of, say, Arabic, Spanish, French or German. And as a person who grew up with Americans and who spent a lot of time with ex-pat Brits later in his life, I don´t see the differences as a huge obstacle for people who have a genuine interest in the English language. Even within England, you have a huge spectrum of different dialects, and even in London you have slight differences depending on what part of the town you´re from.

I say English people should embrace the fact that so many people speak their language, in one way or another. The differences should not be such a big deal.

FauxReal said:

Militant said:

I find it funny how so many Americans have no idea that Hugh Laurie is English because his accent is so good in "House". And they don't realize he's been one of our most loved actors/comedians here for 25 years.

This makes me lol.

I had the same reaction the first time I heard Idris Elba (Stringer Bell on "The Wire") speak. Had no idea dude was British.

He starred in a cracking Uk sci-fi thriller called Ultraviolet years ago. It was sort of like Torchwood with vampires, very good show if you can track it down, though I've not watched it in years so it may have dated badly...

FauxReal said:

Militant said:

I find it funny how so many Americans have no idea that Hugh Laurie is English because his accent is so good in "House". And they don't realize he's been one of our most loved actors/comedians here for 25 years.

This makes me lol.

I had the same reaction the first time I heard Idris Elba (Stringer Bell on "The Wire") speak. Had no idea dude was British.

Nor did I. Well, thinking about it more I remembered I'd seen him in some English stuff a few years back but watching 'The Wire' I forgot until my wife reminded me.

FauxReal said:

I had the same reaction the first time I heard Idris Elba (Stringer Bell on "The Wire") speak. Had no idea dude was British.

Yeah, he seemed to be spot on, but McNulty's English accent leaks out, his phrasing constantly slipping became a distraction - in fact, I'm not sure what accent he was doing, it's definitely not the Baltimore of the other characters. Y'know the guy who played Mayor Carletti is Irish.

I don't think the Brits or Irish are generally any better equpped w/accents, just look at Jason Statham and Colin Farrell.

[Edited 1/31/11 5:42am]

Its because we hear the American accent every day. Americans dont hear the British accent as much and especially not the Australian one. I have heard quite a few Americans pull of the british accent though but NEVER heard a reasonable Australian one. I cringe so bad when I hear Americans try that one.

Can I just point out that when American's talk about an 'English accent', 99% of them are actually talking about BBC English Accent (or occasionally a VERY bad cockney accent).

It's so rare to hear an American trying to attempt any other English accent that I actually can't think of anyone who's done it... successfully or otherwise. Can anyone else..?

Militant said:

I find it funny how so many Americans have no idea that Hugh Laurie is English because his accent is so good in "House". And they don't realize he's been one of our most loved actors/comedians here for 25 years.

This makes me lol.

I saw Hugh Laurie on some talk show a few years ago and simply could not believe he's British, and that he walks just fine. I actually found it disappointing and even a little irritating after a few minutes. "Come on man, just be House, like all the time!"

Arnotts said:

Its because we hear the American accent every day. Americans dont hear the British accent as much and especially not the Australian one. I have heard quite a few Americans pull of the british accent though but NEVER heard a reasonable Australian one. I cringe so bad when I hear Americans try that one.

That´s a very logical explanation that I hadn´t thought of when I wrote my post.

Speaking of Brits being exposed to American English every day...where do you see the future of British English in the near future? Do you think that certain American nouns, verbs, spellings and expressions will infiltrate British English for good? Sure, this would have happened much earlier if that were the case, but then again, these days there is so much more exposure to American English, and on top of that there is also much more of a cultural exchange due to studying or working abroad, global corporations etc.

I´m just curious....

And I´m actually quite surprised that British children still speak British English, considering that they watch a lot of American TV shows.

They don´t dub Sesame Street from American to British English, or do they?

How do British orgers who are ex-pats and who constantly meet English speakers from other countries feel about this whole debate?

As I said above in my previous post, as a non-native speaker, I have a more relaxed attitude.

Paging Genesia!!!!

I don't really think I have a strong accent. What do you guys think? This is me narrating this clip.

Militant said:

I don't really think I have a strong accent. What do you guys think? This is me narrating this clip.

Your British pronunciation of the letter "r", the way you say "Los Angeeleeees" and "fact" (like "fackt") clearly indicate that you are British....in a good way.

Takes less than 12 seconds to find that out.

KoolEaze said:

Arnotts said:

Its because we hear the American accent every day. Americans dont hear the British accent as much and especially not the Australian one. I have heard quite a few Americans pull of the british accent though but NEVER heard a reasonable Australian one. I cringe so bad when I hear Americans try that one.

That´s a very logical explanation that I hadn´t thought of when I wrote my post.

Speaking of Brits being exposed to American English every day...where do you see the future of British English in the near future? Do you think that certain American nouns, verbs, spellings and expressions will infiltrate British English for good? Sure, this would have happened much earlier if that were the case, but then again, these days there is so much more exposure to American English, and on top of that there is also much more of a cultural exchange due to studying or working abroad, global corporations etc.

I´m just curious....

And I´m actually quite surprised that British children still speak British English, considering that they watch a lot of American TV shows.

They don´t dub Sesame Street from American to British English, or do they?

How do British orgers who are ex-pats and who constantly meet English speakers from other countries feel about this whole debate?

As I said above in my previous post, as a non-native speaker, I have a more relaxed attitude.

American words and expressions are commonplace in Britain today, moreso amongst the under-25s, I often hear the rising inflexion that make a statement sound like a question. Language is constantly evolving anyway so it would be churlish to be too uptight about differences in vocabulary etc. I'm wholly in favour of different dialects.

As for pronunciation and spelling, certain conventions ought to be rigidly adhered to if we're gonna maintain the stance of speaking proper English, for the sake of preservation and decency.

Regional American accents definitely are exported via mass media. A steady diet of them, and I bet many folk -- particularly those who already speak some diasporan English -- can pick them up with reasonable skill.

But not all American actors do poor non-American English accents. Alessandro Nivola, for example, apparently does such good ones (at least various British ones) that he's often mistaken by fans and even folk in the industry for being from the UK.

[Edited 1/31/11 10:58am]