# Faking accents in England **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 2, 2003, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566 "2003-08-02T17:04:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/1 "2003-08-02T17:04:17Z")
You want mundane and pointless? OK, you’ve got mundane and pointless! 🙂 Here in America, it appears to me that the most favorite accent for us to fake is an English accent. I can’t get any more specific than that though, like naming a regional dialect, like say, cockney, because, for one, I don’t know the names of any other dialects, and also, I hear our fake accents don’t sound like they come from any of those regions anyway, because they sound fake to an actual English person. So anyway, if you live in England, what appears to you to be the most popular accent to fake? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/2 "2003-08-02T17:08:43Z")
Do you mean which _English_ accent is most often faked, or which accent per se. I’d say the latter is the “cod Irish”, that English people always think my Irish wife will find hilarious. She doesn’t. Alternatively, generic “American” (usually sounds like a bad Texan accent), and fake Indian/Pakistani, though this is often frowned on. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/3 "2003-08-02T17:11:43Z")
It’s a bit difficult to guess what sort of English accent the average American is trying to fake … most of the fake English accents I’ve heard sound either vaguely Australian or vaguely South African to me. Dick Van Dyke in _Mary Poppins_ is attempting a Cockney accent (that is, a particular subset of a working-class London accent). You can recognize a real Cockney accent by the way it sounds absolutely nothing like Dick Van Dyke in _Mary Poppins_. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/4 "2003-08-02T17:13:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*Do you mean which _English_ accent is most often faked, or which accent per se. > > I’d say the latter is the “cod Irish”, that English people always think my Irish wife will find hilarious. She doesn’t. Alternatively, generic “American” (usually sounds like a bad Texan accent), and fake Indian/Pakistani, though this is often frowned on. \*\* Oh, sorry I wasn’t more clear. I’m talking about **any** accent spoken **anywhere** in the world. By the way, what is “cod Irish”? Obviously I know about Irish accent’s, but what’s the cod part? (Yes, this question gives away that I’m a dumb American :D) Oh, and sometimes I like faking an Indian accent. Actually, it’s more trying to sound like Apu from the Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/5 "2003-08-02T17:16:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Steve Wright \* > \*\*It’s a bit difficult to guess what sort of English accent the average American is trying to fake … most of the fake English accents I’ve heard sound either vaguely Australian or vaguely South African to me. > > Dick Van Dyke in _Mary Poppins_ is attempting a Cockney accent (that is, a particular subset of a working-class London accent). You can recognize a real Cockney accent by the way it sounds absolutely nothing like Dick Van Dyke in _Mary Poppins_. \*\* Hehehe. Hey, if you’ve seen Family Guy, isn’t Stewy supposed to be speaking with a British accent? ---
**Author:** ![HerMajestyLorna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7cd45c/32.png) [@HerMajestyLorna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HerMajestyLorna)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/6 "2003-08-02T17:21:04Z")
Yeah, **Joel** , he sure is. But I think it’s not really supposed to be at all authentic. I mean, he’s a baby, he has a football-shaped head, he’s smarter than most people I know, and he’s a cartoon. So I think the authenticity of the accent becomes irrelevant. _sigh_ I love Family Guy. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/7 "2003-08-02T17:24:36Z")
So which dialect is he supposed to be speaking? Or does it sound like any English dialect at all? Oh, and in the episode where he tried to teach a baby girl from England how to speak proper English, I’m assuming that she was supposed to be speaking with a Cockney accent? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/8 "2003-08-02T17:31:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Steve Wright \* > \*\*It’s a bit difficult to guess what sort of English accent the average American is trying to fake … most of the fake English accents I’ve heard sound either vaguely Australian or vaguely South African to me. > > Dick Van Dyke in _Mary Poppins_ is attempting a Cockney accent (that is, a particular subset of a working-class London accent). You can recognize a real Cockney accent by the way it sounds absolutely nothing like Dick Van Dyke in _Mary Poppins_. \*\* His cockney acent is noted as being one of the worst (semi-serious) appempts at an Englsih accent. The worst American accent by a Britisher _ever_ was Eric Idle’s attempt at an American accent as a Monty Python member. I remember thinking “What the hell is that ?” when I heard it the first time. It was this weird slowed down nasal gargle with all the “A’s” flattened and drawn out. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/9 "2003-08-02T17:32:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joel \* > \*\*So which dialect is he supposed to be speaking? Or does it sound like any English dialect at all? \*\* It’s not really a regional accent - I think it’s meant to be a sort of middle-class university educated accent - also known as “Received Pronunciation”. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/10 "2003-08-02T17:34:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\*His cockney acent is noted as being one of the worst (semi-serious) appempts at an Englsih accent. > > The worst American accent by a Britisher _ever_ was Eric Idle’s attempt at an American accent as a Monty Python member. I remember thinking “What the hell is that ?” when I heard it the first time. It was this weird slowed down nasal gargle with all the “A’s” flattened and drawn out. \*\* Preview is not just my friend, it should be my lover and bear my children! _His Cockney accent is noted as being one of the worst (semi-serious) attempts at an English accent._ ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/11 "2003-08-02T17:36:08Z")
Wow, thank goodness you corrected yourself. I had **no** clue what you ment by Englsh. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/12 "2003-08-02T17:36:17Z")
**astro** , Eric Idle’s “American” accent is only the worst that made it to the States. Plays on British TV, and especially on the radio, have attempts at American accents so woeful I almost chew my own arm off listening to them. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/13 "2003-08-02T17:40:53Z")
When I saw “Who Framed Roger Rabit” I had never heard of Bob Hoskins before and didn’t realize for a long time that he’s British. In my opinion, he’s an example of a British person doing a good job at faking an American accent. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/14 "2003-08-02T17:51:24Z")
Other very bad fake American accents: Gary Oldman in _True Romance_ Catherine Zeta Jones in _High Fidelity_ ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/15 "2003-08-02T17:58:06Z")
Do Gary Oldman and Catherine Zeta Jones actually have _any_ kind of authentic accent? To me, they both sound fake every time they open their mouths, whatever they’re supposed to be… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/16 "2003-08-02T18:09:04Z")
While we’re on the subject, what did 'Merkins interpret Anthony Hopkins’s accent to be in the Hannibal Lecter movies? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/17 "2003-08-02T18:55:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*While we’re on the subject, what did 'Merkins interpret Anthony Hopkins’s accent to be in the Hannibal Lecter movies? \*\* Sounded like a transplanted Brit. Same applies to his “Nixon” role, although he gave it the old college try. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/18 "2003-08-02T21:41:43Z")
Murricans faking neutral English accents seem to place to much emphasis on separating syllables grinding out vowels, and hitting word ends too hard, especially t’s. ---
**Author:** ![LauraLittlePony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LauraLittlePony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LauraLittlePony)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/19 "2003-08-02T21:49:39Z")
I love it when British people do American accents. I’m an American, and I much prefer to listen to most British accents–I just think faked American accents are so funny. To answer **jjimm** ’s question, I never really thought about it–I certainly never thought he was British. I guess I thought it was just a. . . cultured? voice of some kind. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/20 "2003-08-02T22:06:46Z")
Heh…I recently got paid to teach 200 Brits how to sing with an American accent. The childrens choirs had no difficulty learning to sing in perfect Midwest Neutral, but the adults had a much harder time of it (and ended up sounding more Ulster than Iowa, IMO). Your average Brit does an American accent about as well as your average American does an English accent: not very. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566.md?page=2)