# What do these English accents say about these people?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 5, 2008, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134 "2008-03-05T02:45:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/1 "2008-03-05T02:45:20Z")
Emma Watson sounds a lot like her HP co-stars to me. But what “kind” of accent is it? What does it say to an actual English person?
Those kids’ accents sound different to me from the Top Gear guys. What kind of accent do they have?
How about Patrick Stewart?
How about Michael Caine? He supposedly said that his accent was very ordinary and even “street”, but that Americans couldn’t tell.
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### Author:  [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/2 "2008-03-05T03:02:39Z")
The HP folks sound like well, school kids to me - which is, I guess, appropriate.
Top Gear guys have accents that sound pretty much like you’ll hear all over the south of England. Michael Caine is less refined, that’s true.
Patrick Stewart sounds very well-spoken, but in his case I think that it’s cultivated - he was a RSC actor or some such.
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### Author:  [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/3 "2008-03-05T08:52:07Z")
Emma Watson speaks like a generic English public schoolgirl in the HP film, a bit of an Enid Blyton jolly-hockey-sticks accent. The other ginger kid has a much more regional London accent IIRC - those two characters are meant to be immediately distinguished in terms of class by their accents, names etc.
The top gear presenters have uninteresting SE England accents. The way they speak, however, seems to be influencing a lot of middle-aged English men. If you ever want to impersonate a tedious middle class buffoon, try speaking like James May does.
Michael Caine’s accent is legendary - he’s often mimiced by impressionists. It is a working class East London accent, but I’ve never met anyone who sounded quite like him.
Patrick Stewart has the sonorous, deep voice of an RSC actor - almost a charicature of what a Shakespearean actor sounds like. He’s a yorkshireman IIRC, but I can’t hear that region (usually quite distinctive) in his accent myself.
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### Author:  [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/4 "2008-03-05T09:21:39Z")
Richard Hammond still has traces of a midlands accent, to me. Jeremy Clarkson’s accent is actually quite posh - he did go to public school (i.e. expensive private school), after all. Listen to him say “Ford Fake-us” or “Vaylks-wagen”.
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### Author:  [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/5 "2008-03-05T09:22:24Z")
The Cocky Watchman writes:
\> Emma Watson speaks like a generic English public schoolgirl in the HP film, a bit
\> of an Enid Blyton jolly-hockey-sticks accent. The other ginger kid has a much
\> more regional London accent IIRC - those two characters are meant to be
\> immediately distinguished in terms of class by their accents, names etc.
Let me translate this for Americans. Enid Blyton was a writer of children’s stories whose career lasted from about the 1920’s to the 1950’s. This is probably a reference to her series like the Famous Five and the Secret Seven, where the main characters are English public school children who go on adventures. “Jolly-hockey-sticks” is a description of a sort of English public school girl (that’s public in the British sense, which means it’s a private school) who’s enthusiastic about things like playing hockey (that’s field hockey, not ice hockey). “Ginger” is red-haired.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/6 "2008-03-05T09:45:09Z")
[QUOTE=The Cocky Watchman]
Patrick Stewart has the sonorous, deep voice of an RSC actor - almost a charicature of what a Shakespearean actor sounds like. He’s a yorkshireman IIRC, but I can’t hear that region (usually quite distinctive) in his accent myself.
[/QUOTE]
Now that you mention it, I think I can detect a hint of Yorkshire in his voice - particularly when he tries to sound wistful and croaky.
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### Author:  [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/7 "2008-03-05T09:50:45Z")
[QUOTE=Cardinal]
the Top Gear guys. What kind of accent do they have?
[/quote]
I don’t hear Clarkson or Captain Slow as having noticable acccents, which means I guess they’ve got they same standard English middle class (ahem) _non_-accent as me. Actually there’s something I can’t place about Clarkson but that’s probably more about his delivery than any accent.
> [@](#):
>
> How about Patrick Stewart?
I’ve heard him revert to his native Yorkshire accent (on the Parkinson show maybe?) it is quite a revelation.
> [@](#):
>
> How about Michael Caine?
This is a bit weird, what the **Watchman** said, an East End accent. But a very well spoken East End.
> [@](#):
>
> He supposedly said that his accent was very ordinary and even “street”, but that Americans couldn’t tell.
For _ordinary_ read _common_ (working class). I’ve wondered about this. Is Spike (in Buffy) supposed to be posh? When to a Brit it sounds like he’s from a London punk band? Does Michael Caine sound classy to Americans?
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### Author:  [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/8 "2008-03-05T10:02:31Z")
For this American, Michael Caine always sounded kind of tough. To me he always sounded like a smart blue collar guy. Maybe that has to do with some of his roles from his early career.
ETA: I always thought a young Michael Caine would have been a good Flashman.
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### Author:  [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/9 "2008-03-05T10:08:36Z")
I can see this getting a bit circular, Michael Caine sounds just like the kind of guy that _wossisname?_ that English East End actor plays 🙂
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/10 "2008-03-05T10:12:56Z")
[QUOTE=Small Clanger]
Actually there’s something I can’t place about Clarkson but that’s probably more about his delivery than any accent.
[/QUOTE]
Touch of unspecified Midlands in his voice, I’d say - especially when he gets emotional (i.e. every show).
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### Author:  [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/11 "2008-03-05T10:38:45Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout]
Now that you mention it, I think I can detect a hint of Yorkshire in his voice - particularly when he tries to sound wistful and croaky.
[/QUOTE]
Didn’t he grow up speaking one of those yorkshire dialects?
> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> Touch of unspecified Midlands in his voice, I’d say - especially when he gets emotional (i.e. every show).
Again, I’m pretty sure Clarkson grew up in Yorkshire, but went off to a public school where he no doubt lost much of his native accent.
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/12 "2008-03-05T12:35:50Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater]
Didn’t he grow up speaking one of those yorkshire dialects?
[/QUOTE]
Shame he didn’t keep it.
“Eh up, Mister Troi, Ah’ll be ‘andin’ t’bridge o’er to thee now. Now just mind t’Klingons, d’y’ear me lad…”
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### Author:  [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/13 "2008-03-05T12:42:08Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon]
“Eh up, Mister Troi, Ah’ll be ‘andin’ t’bridge o’er to thee now. Now just mind t’Klingons, d’y’ear me lad…”
[/QUOTE]
My question of “What would it be like if [Compo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_of_the_Summer_Wine) got command of the USS Enterprise?” has been answered! 🙂
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### Author:  [@ZomZom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZomZom)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/14 "2008-03-05T13:57:35Z")
What about [Maxi Jazz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxi_Jazz) and [Tom Hardy](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0362766/)? These guys sound practically identical to me.
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/15 "2008-03-05T14:48:07Z")
[QUOTE=Small Clanger]
Is Spike (in Buffy) supposed to be posh? When to a Brit it sounds like he’s from a London punk band?
[/QUOTE]
Spike is supposed to be an upper-class Englishman pretending to be a working-class punk. And sometimes he slips into American pronunciations.
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### Author:  [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/16 "2008-03-05T15:52:12Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by \* **The Jolly Watchman** :
> Emma Watson speaks like a generic English public schoolgirl in the HP film, a bit of an Enid Blyton jolly-hockey-sticks accent.
Emma Watson’s accent in the HP films is only a somewhat exaggerated version of her “natural” accent - she actually goes to a public school in Oxford, home of the “Received Pronunciation” accent. The only major difference is the phrasing and choice of words - mainly the lack of modern slang. For instance I have never heard Hermione refer to Voldermort as “gay” :dubious: Nor does she chuck in four letter words for effect :smack:
Harry is absolutely standard, middle class, south east England (nearest to non-accent you’ll find). Ron is much the same but slightly less “posh”. Comments re slang and expletives also apply to them and helps to give the films an old fashioned air.
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/17 "2008-03-05T15:57:40Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon]
“Eh up, Mister Troi, Ah’ll be ‘andin’ t’bridge o’er to thee now. Now just mind t’Klingons, d’y’ear me lad…”
[/QUOTE]
While it is proper 24th-Century Starfleet protocol to refer to female officers as “Mister,” I don’t think that gender-neutrality extends to terms like “lad,” does it?
🙂
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/18 "2008-03-05T16:42:44Z")
Er, yeah, what can I say. I’ve never really watched Star Trek much… all those names sound the same to me… :o
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### Author:  [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/19 "2008-03-05T16:57:35Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater]
Again, I’m pretty sure Clarkson grew up in Yorkshire, but went off to a public school where he no doubt lost much of his native accent.
[/QUOTE]
I can confirm Clarkson is from Yorkshire, but you wouldn’t guess that from his accent.
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### Author:  [@bryanmaguire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bryanmaguire)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-english-accents-say-about-these-people/440134/20 "2008-03-05T19:22:53Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow]
While it is proper 24th-Century Starfleet protocol to refer to female officers as “Mister,” I don’t think that gender-neutrality extends to terms like “lad,” does it?
🙂
[/QUOTE]
In ireland at least “lads” can be used in a gender neutral way when addressing a group of people informally.
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