# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/41 "2003-08-03T16:47:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joel \* > \*\* About the only time I’ve still noticed an accent in a song, is Midnight Oil’s “Burning Beds” and Pink Floyd’s “Another brick in the wall” when the children are sinning. \*\* Ever heard of a group called The Beatles? And less well known, Lindisfarne. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/42 "2003-08-03T16:49:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by amarone \* > \*\*Not just Brits - the locals seem to be able to pronounce Atlanta without any t’s. A’larna, with a glottal stop where I put the apostrophe. \*\* I’m from Maryland, and I do the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/43 "2003-08-03T16:52:52Z")
See also the Television Personalities, most British punk bands (Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols, the Clash, X-Ray Spex, etc). Of course, then you have it the other way–some singers “thickening” their accents while singing (for whatever purpose). A bit like country singers putting on country accents when they don’t naturally have one or heaping on the twang to stress they’re country. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/44 "2003-08-03T17:00:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by amarone \* > \*\*Ever heard of a group called The Beatles? And less well known, Lindisfarne. \*\* I’m not sure that I have herard of Lindisfarne. But as for the Beatles, I don’t think I’ve heard them sing with an accent. Of course, this could be because I’m American and if I were British, maybe I’d notice it. But from my point of view, I only noticed an accent when they talked, not when they sang. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/45 "2003-08-03T17:30:22Z")
It seems like only yesterday… [Why do English people sing like Americans?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=143197) ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/46 "2003-08-03T18:57:45Z")
In “Another Brick in the Wall” the children are “sinning?” Damn, that song is creepier than I ever realized. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LauraLittlePony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LauraLittlePony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LauraLittlePony)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/47 "2003-08-03T21:33:57Z")
Loch Nest! That is so cute! It makes me feel like the Nessie has a cozy little home made of enormous twigs and hair and scraps of things. And maybe he tweets! 🙂 There’s a part of the Beatles Anthology videos where Paul McCartney does an American accent. Something about it just tickled me; he sounded British except sort of bold and brash or something. . . I think I find it so amusing because it says so much about how people view America. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Caprigenus\_Chevre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@Caprigenus\_Chevre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprigenus_Chevre)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/48 "2003-08-03T21:57:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*In Sliding Doors she spoke with an Estuary accent, while in SiL she had standard RP diction. \*\* what about “Emma”? (just curious) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/49 "2003-08-03T22:07:56Z")
> [@](#): > > AHHHHH yes the chameleon affect, I have it bad. Yeah, I have that as well. If I’ve been chatting with Brits I seem to pick it up, especially if alcohol is involved. (Actually, the Brits aren’t strictly necessary if there’s alcohol involved. It just happens.) Now, I’m a native Southern Californian so I have no accent. But I met the family of a girl I was dating (never you mind how long ago this was!) and one of her sister’s asked if I was Irish. I admitted to some distant Irish ancestry, and she said she could tell by my “accent”. Weird, eh? I hadn’t even been around any Irish people. Another girl I dated, from St. Louis, said I had a “surfer” accent. (Which I definitely don’t.) We were talking about accents at work, and I mentioned that I pick up the accents of people I’m around. My workmates said they could see how I could fall into a British-like accent. (Apparently my speaking syntax reminds them of it.) I know this is the opposite of what the OP is asking, but there it is. Additionally, when I intentionally do an English accent it is Python-esque and for comedic effect. Same reason I do German, Russian (badly), and southern rural American accents. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/50 "2003-08-03T22:19:18Z")
I definitely suffer from the chameleon effect. What with my dad’s whole family being from Fort Worth, I so much as _think_ about Texas and I start talking with an accent, causing major eye-rolling amongst my family. I really don’t do it on purpose! The Westbank New Orleans accent, however, is a really, really difficult one to pick up; I’ve got a few phrases down (“He’s from out dah Paahrish”) but since it’s generally a cross between Mississippi and the Bronx, it’s a bit of a challenge. Even osmosis hasn’t worked on this one. I will also confess to sounding surprisingly Irish after spending a few weeks there some years back. I blame it all on my heritage; I never realized how Irish my mom’s side of the family was until I realized that everyone in Ireland looked like my close relatives. You want to hear really, REALLY bad faked accents? Watch an episode of Cafroll O’Connor’s post-All In the Family show, In the Heat of the Night. The collection of phony accents on that show is almost too painful to contemplate. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/51 "2003-08-03T22:25:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joel \* > \*\*I’m not sure that I have herard of Lindisfarne. But as for the Beatles, I don’t think I’ve heard them sing with an accent. Of course, this could be because I’m American and if I were British, maybe I’d notice it. But from my point of view, I only noticed an accent when they talked, not when they sang. \*\* Two that sound very Liverpuddlian to me are Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (the “picture yourself…” part) and Lovely Rita, Meter Maid. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/52 "2003-08-04T04:28:19Z")
By the way, does anybody know the difference between a Brooklyn accent and a Bronx accent? I can’t tell the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/53 "2003-08-04T05:28:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by amarone \* > \*\*Two that sound very Liverpuddlian to me are Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (the “picture yourself…” part) and Lovely Rita, Meter Maid. \*\* The next time I hear those songs I’ll look for an accent. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/54 "2003-08-04T12:30:46Z")
And what do UK Buffy fans think of Spike’s diction? For the longest time I had no idea that James Marsters was an American doing an accent? ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/55 "2003-08-04T12:41:33Z")
> [@](#): > > Two that sound very Liverpuddlian to me are Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (the “picture yourself…” part) and Lovely Rita, Meter Maid. As a scouser in Wales, I can tell you that the song you’re _really_ looking for is _The Ballad of John and Yoko_, especially the “Christ” in “Christ, you know it ain’t easy”. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/56 "2003-08-04T12:42:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joel \* > \*\*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. \*\* …And us Brits reckon you lot over the pond don’t understand irony. I can’t remember the film, but Michael Caine played A Southerner (US) and was even worse. Revenge for Dick Van Dyke… ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/57 "2003-08-04T14:45:34Z")
Don’t understand irony? ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/58 "2003-08-04T15:10:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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_. \*\* Isn’t EastEnders a cockney accent? For some reason, I’ve gotten this fascination with teaching myself the different British accents - and I’m getting quite good at the East End London accent. I think deep down I’m hoping that the next time I visit England, I’ll be offered a bit part on the show :D. I’m also currently trying to learn the Northumberland accent. I’ve pretty much got the ‘posh’ accent and the regular old British accent down pat. I don’t think I’d be brave enough to try and fool anyone over in England with it - I’d probably be seen through immediately, but I did fool a few Americans at Disneyland a couple of years ago - I just did it for fun, there was nothing harmful in it. I got really good treatment, too - I’ve decided that Americans are so enamored of the British accent that they treat them better in stores :D. Ava ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/59 "2003-08-04T15:46:40Z")
> [@](#): > > …And us Brits reckon you lot over the pond don’t understand irony. > I can’t remember the film, but Michael Caine played A Southerner (US) and was even worse. That would only be ironic if _eg._ Michael Caine was actually born in Alabama. What _is_ ironic is that many British people who say that Americans don’t understand irony don’t understand irony. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566/60 "2003-08-04T22:00:08Z")
Having heard Bob Hoskins’ attempt at an American accent I was assuming Joel’s post was irony/sarcasm… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-accents-in-england/192566.md?page=4)