# Brits: Sebastian Gorka's accent? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830 "2017-02-02T17:06:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/1 "2017-02-02T17:06:06Z")
As mentioned in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=817943), Deputy Assistant to the President Dr. Sebastian Gorka was a guest on All Things Considered the other day. Is this guy’s accent for real? His wikipedia says he was born and raised in London. But I daresay to most americans he just sounds some douchebag trying to sound posh (as **Damuri Ajashi** put it, Thurston Howell from Gilligan’s island). [Sample of his accent](http://www.npr.org/2017/01/31/512702666/white-house-adviser-defends-trump-executive-order-on-immigration) as provided by **DSYoungEsq** in the previous thread. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/2 "2017-02-02T17:09:19Z")
Not a Brit, but I believe it’s technically called Oxbridge Punchable. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/3 "2017-02-02T18:42:06Z")
Sounds to me like someone who’s accent has been modified by spending time abroad. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/4 "2017-02-02T18:51:34Z")
To me sounds more like a native German speaking English rather than being from any county of England. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/5 "2017-02-02T21:28:57Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > To me sounds more like a native German speaking English rather than being from any county of England. I don’t see any reason that would be so, according to [his biography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Gorka#Personal_life_and_education): [Quote=Wikipedia] Sebastian Gorka is the son of Paul and Susan Gorka who escaped from Communist Hungary during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. He was **born and raised in the U.K.** where he attended St Benedict’s School, Ealing and received his first degree from the University of London. [/quote] So. Ealing. University of London. Seems about as [posh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Received_Pronunciation) as it gets. ETA: He sounds genuine Upper Class Twit, but he looks like [William Stryker](http://marvel-movies.wikia.com/wiki/William_Stryker,_Jr.). Mutants need to get ready. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/6 "2017-02-02T22:23:33Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > I don’t see any reason that would be so, according to [his biography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Gorka#Personal_life_and_education):So. Ealing. University of London. Seems about as [posh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Received_Pronunciation) as it gets. He doesn’t have an RP accent really. It’s an unusual one though. He actually sounds a bit like a less-mannered Loyd Grossman. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/7 "2017-02-02T22:24:41Z")
To me he sounds like an upper class Brit (Received Pronunciation, so no geographical lilt) but with a hint of that slightly nasal ‘transatlantic’ accent that Loyd Grossman was mocked for having as a UK TV celebrity in the 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/8 "2017-02-02T22:28:05Z")
> [@Staggerlee](#): > > To me he sounds like an upper class Brit (Received Pronunciation, so no geographical lilt) but with a hint of that slightly nasal ‘transatlantic’ accent that Loyd Grossman was mocked for having as a UK TV celebrity in the 80’s. So it wasn’t just me hearing the Grossman accent then. Phew. Here’s Loyd for those who don’t know him: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ymbR_cng7dk/hqdefault.jpg "Vic and Bob - Masterchef") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymbR_cng7dk) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/9 "2017-02-02T22:38:13Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > ETA: He sounds genuine Upper Class Twit, I disagree. I do agree that he sounds more like Grossman. However, I’ll note that Hungary borders Austria, so those detecting a German element may well be right. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/10 "2017-02-02T22:50:58Z")
To me his accent has a touch of South African English about it. He reminds me of [Nick Mallet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF2NU3WG84o) ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/11 "2017-02-03T04:52:18Z")
It’s not posh, his vocab is obv educated. Without looking at his background I’d say fellow Brit, first generation of east European ancestory (the name kind of gives that much away), raised north-ish London, speaking first language English with inflections influenced by immediate family and close immigrant community. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/12 "2017-02-03T07:32:06Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > To me his accent has a touch of South African English about it. He reminds me of [Nick Mallet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF2NU3WG84o) Agreed. I can’t think of any native UK accent it really resembles - it’s like an average of the southern half of England, with a few South African influences, the occasional American vowel, and a few Germanic-sounding consonants. ---
**Author:** ![HowSoonIsThen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@HowSoonIsThen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HowSoonIsThen)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/13 "2017-02-03T08:07:15Z")
I was expecting something comically over the top based on your description. As it stands, that accent doesn’t seem that strange to me. I’d say it sounds more like a very posh Australian or South African accent than a “British” accent, but I wouldn’t have given it much thought were it not for this thread. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/14 "2017-02-03T10:14:00Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Agreed. I can’t think of any native UK accent it really resembles - it’s like an average of the southern half of England, with a few South African influences, the occasional American vowel, and a few Germanic-sounding consonants. To me, he sounds like a Brit who has lived in the US long enough that his accent has been slightly Americanized. He also seems to speak a bit faster than most “posh” Brits, which makes him sound even more American. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/15 "2017-02-03T10:26:57Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > To me, he sounds like a Brit who has lived in the US long enough that his accent has been slightly Americanized. He also seems to speak a bit faster than most “posh” Brits, which makes him sound even more American. But if we subtract the bits that sound specifically non-Brit (that people are describing as South African or USA), we’re still not left with something that fits any identifiable British regional accent, or RP. I imagine he may sound generically a bit British to non-Brits, but to me, he sounds similar to what I would expect from a non-British actor impersonating a blend of different ‘British’ accent traits, and not even getting that quite right. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/16 "2017-02-03T10:37:41Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > But if we subtract the bits that sound specifically non-Brit (that people are describing as South African or USA), we’re still not left with something that fits any identifiable British regional accent, or RP. > > I imagine he may sound generically a bit British to non-Brits, but to me, he sounds similar to what I would expect from a non-British actor impersonating a blend of different ‘British’ accent traits, and not even getting that quite right. I didn’t mean to imply that there bits of American accent or Americanism thrown in here and there, but that pretty much his entire speech pattern was “shifted” a bit in the direction of American English. Some people seem to absorb accents from those around them more than others. I’m a bit like that myself. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/17 "2017-02-03T11:07:34Z")
Definitely not posh / upper class English accent, nowhere near. Sound generic home counties that has gotten irritatingly elongated, Lloyd Grossman style, from time spent in the US. ---
**Author:** ![SallyMJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SallyMJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SallyMJ)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/18 "2017-07-17T21:48:58Z")
Sebastian Gorka it was born in the UK – but his first language is Hungarian, not English. I think that’s the source of his particular accent. ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/19 "2017-07-17T23:44:38Z")
I have met one or two Hungarians who have spent many years in the UK and they don’t sound like that. However, pupils of public schools like St Benedicts tend to pick up an RP accent. He stresses the first syllable, which is probably picked up from spending time in the US. Yes, a weaker version of Lloyd Grossman’s accent, I think he hails from Boston. So maybe he spent some time in that part of the US, presumably keeping the company of the moneyed classes. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830/20 "2017-07-18T00:15:59Z")
I’ve just listened to the linked interview. Definitely a touch of Lloyd Grossman in the prolongation of certain words. It sounds like he’s gone to a lot of trouble to sound like that, where _that_ is privately educated English - and he’s trying too hard. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-sebastian-gorkas-accent/778830.md?page=2)