Americanised Speech

[bhowells]

I was only saying the other night with my friends down the pub that the Americans are very polite, young people always addressed people as sir and madam. Elvis was always the Southern gentleman throught his life.

Havent had the pleasure of the states as yet but my wife has promised to take me there when I turn 50 next year, Memphis is top of the list as I am an Elvis freak.

Thank you very muuuch.

[davidb]

why are the current crop of uk actors in the states so keen to give up their english accent and speak american ? hugh laurie ,anna friel etc . james mason who i watched the other night in the london nobody knows was big in the states and he never done that ,nor david niven ? or did they ? perhaps you know better

[rustywhite]

Let me know if you make it to Memphis. I'll be happy to suggest a number of places to visit.

As for Americanisms, as an American I hear the devolution of our version of English everyday. The world is dumbing down and American pop-culture and Hip Hop Icons are leading the way.

I hate that the letter "Z" is used to replace the letter "S" in mainstream advertising, etc. "Boyz in the Hood" as an early example.

I do not remember the title, but I do remember reading a sci-fi comic strip in the magazine "Heavy Metal" which showed the language devolving into jibberish. Half the fun of the strip was trying to decypher the dialogue. The strip was written toward the end if the 1970s.

Originally Posted by bhowells I was only saying the other night with my friends down the pub that the Americans are very polite, young people always addressed people as sir and madam. Elvis was always the Southern gentleman throught his life. Havent had the pleasure of the states as yet but my wife has promised to take me there when I turn 50 next year, Memphis is top of the list as I am an Elvis freak. Thank you very muuuch.

[Steve Crook]

The bigger problem is words that have different meanings in British English and American English. Especially when they have opposite meanings in each dialect,

e.g.
to Table
"We'll table that suggestion"
British: To raise it for consideration
American: To suspend from consideration, to shelve

Momentarily
British: For a moment
American: In a moment
"The aeroplane will be taking off momentarily" doesn't make much sense to the British

Bathroom
British: A room containing a bath or a shower, but not necessarily a toilet
American: A room containing a toilet but not necessarily containing a bath or shower

Biscuit
British: Baked item which is hard when baked and softens over time (US cookie or cracker)
American: Type of quick break (UK similar to a scone)

Blow off
British: To fart
American: To not turn up at a meeting

Bomb
British: A striking success
American: A total failure

And so on. I work with an American lady (although she's quite well Anglicised) and we keep finding new ones

Steve

[john audley]

The 'bathroom' must be the most ludicrous

[CaptainWaggett]

Originally Posted by davidb why are the current crop of uk actors in the states so keen to give up their english accent and speak american ? hugh laurie ,anna friel etc . james mason who i watched the other night in the london nobody knows was big in the states and he never done that ,nor david niven ? or did they ? perhaps you know better

James Mason played Americans in several films - Bigger than Life and The Reckless Moment, to name two. Hugh Laurie and Anna Friel are playing Yanks in their (highly paid) tv series - why shouldn't they do accents? Can't speak for Friel, but Laurie has managed to convince a large section of the audience that he actually is American. Why is that a problem?

[scholes]

I was listening to one of the morning programmes on Radio 4 the other day about how unsuccessful some English actors and actresses are at 'doing ' American accents, especially within the Theatre circuit.
Whilst Dick van Dyke's cocknified English accent was cited as a poor example of that which many Americans typify as English, our own interpretation of US dialects is not much better.

However whilst the plethora of 'Americanisms' which currently pervade our verbal heritage is quite alarming, the current penchant for 'Australianising' our speech is even more of a concern. Emphasis on each sentence containing a hidden interrogative is plain bloody annoying, and must ,I argue, be blamed on that early evening soap called 'Neighbours.'
Richie Benaud and Rolf don't speak like that.
If Peter Finch had continued along similar lines surely he would have had poor old Virginia McKenna thinking 'now is that a romantic proposition or not?'
I spoke to somebody on the phone the other day and the last part of each of his sentences finished with that pronounced high inflexion, which quite frankly grated.
What ever happened to phrases like-
'Gooday mate'
'Alrighty blue'
'Where yers going, sport?'

Grumpy old men ain't we?

[davidb]

its a problem for me because i find it off putting because i know he doesnt speak like that ! and from an english perspective hugh laurie has a fine english accent .would the show be as successful though ? probably not .maybe its just me but i always think of sandra dickinson when i hear it ,or those two appleton /all saints girls and it puts me off !

[Briant]

The standard American greeting is not 'Hi' now it is 'Hey!' ( I always reply 'Horses eat it.')
Not forgetting 'Durr' meaning 'You fail to grasp what I am saying to you.' 'It's not rocket science' meaning' It is quite simple.' 'On my watch' is a military term now used by some UK politicians to mean 'during my tenure in office.'

When did actresses become 'actors' anyway? LOL! Oops, that's an Americanism!

[CaptainWaggett]

Originally Posted by davidb its a problem for me because i find it off putting because i know he doesnt speak like that ! and from an english perspective hugh laurie has a fine english accent .would the show be as successful though ? probably not .maybe its just me but i always think of sandra dickinson when i hear it ,or those two appleton /all saints girls and it puts me off !

So does that mean that you find any actor adopting a different accent off-putting or just English actors playing Americans? Hugh Laurie certainly isn't the only actor whose best-known role is with a different accent (as anyone who has heard David Tennant being interviewed will know).

[scholes]

Originally Posted by davidb its a problem for me because i find it off putting because i know he doesnt speak like that ! and from an english perspective hugh laurie has a fine english accent .would the show be as successful though ? probably not .maybe its just me but i always think of sandra dickinson when i hear it ,or those two appleton /all saints girls and it puts me off !

The point is that Shore's hard hitting, and sometimes very cutting Jewish wit has to be carried off with an authority,which I think Laurie does very convincingly.
I watch House mainly for the fact that his predilection for the bon mot is the best part of the show.
Whilst the med stories are a bit samey every week, with some American shows-Boston Legal for example - once you get into the characters you're hooked.
Dr. Cutty (Lisa Edelstein) is always worth a look anyway.

[batman]

Originally Posted by davidb its a problem for me because i find it off putting because i know he doesnt speak like that ! and from an english perspective hugh laurie has a fine english accent .would the show be as successful though ? probably not .maybe its just me but i always think of sandra dickinson when i hear it ,or those two appleton /all saints girls and it puts me off !

I know where you are coming from davidb. There are some actors whose voices are so part of their screen persona that it is difficult to accept this 'new' voice. Thats not a criticism of their acting abilities (although the skill of reproducing decent accents seems to be a dying art) but simply a personal reaction to some performances.

[davidb]

thats exactly it ,hugh has been around since the mid 80s and now heres someone who looks exactly like him but talks with an american drawl ,in the past doing the american accent has smacked of desperation to be noticed as well i.e the appleton girls so im just not comfortable with it ,

[Dame Starry]

Originally Posted by CaptainWaggett James Mason played Americans in several films - Bigger than Life and The Reckless Moment, to name two. Hugh Laurie and Anna Friel are playing Yanks in their (highly paid) tv series - why shouldn't they do accents? Can't speak for Friel, but Laurie has managed to convince a large section of the audience that he actually is American. Why is that a problem?

It doesn't really matter, does it?
You have your opinion and davidb has his - to which both of you are entitled; it isn't for either of you to question the other's opinion or to try and change it. You must agree to disagree.
If we all thought the same, what a dull old World this would be!

Vive la difference!

DS x.

[john audley]

Some time ago our great Michael Caine was being interviewed on Parkinson (he is hilarious for interviews) and spoke about some film he had just completed where he (Michael) had to speak 'American' as he put it and had to have voice training
They then showed a clip of the film where Michael is speaking 'American' with a distinct Cockney accent