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British accent: why's it attractive? - Page 2

post #51 of 103
5/20/05 at 3:47pm
Don Cheadle maybe not. but I bet you Denzel gets requests to do his Queen And Country voice from time to time.

believe it or not, an accent is a powerfully attractive thing in and of itself.
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post #52 of 103
5/20/05 at 3:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kittyinjammies
But did the waitress have one of our "people immediately assume we are stupid because we have a thick southern drawl" accents?
She did have a southern drawl, and had I been single at the time, it would been enough for me to ask her to accompany me to the men's room for fifteen minutes.
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post #53 of 103
5/20/05 at 3:55pm
Where you would've no doubt discovered that she had the appropriate plumbing for such a visit.
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post #54 of 103
5/20/05 at 3:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fett
She did have a southern drawl, and had I been single at the time, it would been enough for me to ask her to accompany me to the men's room for fifteen minutes.
Also, they really know how to treat a lady.
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post #55 of 103
5/20/05 at 3:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fett
She did have a southern drawl, and had I been single at the time, it would been enough for me to ask her to accompany me to the men's room for fifteen minutes.
15 minutes? Braggart!!!
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post #56 of 103
5/20/05 at 4:29pm
My accent is slowly picking up some of the Texas drawl which my wife is NOT happy about. She even made me re-record the message on the answering machine in my best English !!
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post #57 of 103
5/20/05 at 4:38pm
You've been confused for an Aussie, Dan? Dare I ask where you're from?

A roommate of mine was on the Underground, where an American was being obnoxious (theory: most of the americans who can afford to go abroad probably shouldn't be allowed to). The woman next to her leaned over and said, "I hate these american tourists, don't you? They're so...loud."

Said roommate is from Texas. She nodded to the lady but didn't open her mouth to say anything.

Geordie accents are tres sexy. Irish accents are as well, as are posh-welsh (a friend of mine has this, no phlegm involved at all), scottish accents on women, and Manchester accents on men.

I think it's the lilt.
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post #58 of 103
5/21/05 at 3:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Masked Muppet
You've been confused for an Aussie, Dan? Dare I ask where you're from?
Near Manchester, though my accent is more Lancashire.

I think it's because they had a very fixed idea of what the "British" accent sounds like, so mine just didn't register as being British. Australian was probably the next logical choice.

I don't mean to be patronising, but it always amuses me how little some Americans know about Britain.
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post #59 of 103
5/21/05 at 3:20am
You guys eat those crumpet things, right? And you call cookies "biscuits" for some reason? And all that tea, right?
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post #60 of 103
5/21/05 at 3:25am
Conundrum: The British apparently agree that Americans are loud. I've yet to hear an American comment that the British are unusually quiet. Why is that?
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post #61 of 103
5/21/05 at 5:43am
since we're on this topic here's a question I've always wondered. as an american (who, quite frankly, doesn't know that much about britain) I can differentiate between a few different types of british accent, but apart from your cockney or your liverpoolian (is that even what it's called?) the rest probably just sounds "vaguely british" to me. so what I'm wondering is, when american actors (like gwyneth paltrow) do a british accent you always hear people in the u.s. comment on how successfully they've accomplished their task, but I sort of get the feeling they really don't sound british at all... except for, perhaps, vaguely.

also, I don't know if it's been mentioned in the thread but I think it's pretty obvious that most british accents, apart from being different, are appealing to people in the u.s. because we think it denotes someone who is urbane, witty and charming.

which is pretty ridiculous since everyone knows british people can't even take care of their teeth.







and they boil everything.
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post #62 of 103
5/21/05 at 7:08am
Personally, if someone has only a vague accent, it won't occur to me that they are from a different country. I've been hearding all kinds of different languages for so long that at some point they merge into something exotic but oddly familier. I can only assume that Dan's accusers have suffered from the same thing if they think he's from Australia based soley on his speech. Or maybe he was wrasslin' a big ol' croc at the time. Woooo! She's a beaut!

I can tell you that anytime somebody from Oklahoma or Texas has national attention (hell, even local attention) of the media, I silently pray that they don't have a thick accent. It's not that I personally think that Southerners are dumb, as I am one of them myself, but I'm scared to think what other people from other places will think. I was horrified at Nick Cage's drawl in Con Air. My God in Heaven. You would have thought he was a waterhead retard from the way he spoke.
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post #63 of 103
5/21/05 at 7:26am
Thread Starter 
We could also turn the whole question around. The consensus seems to be that a foreign accent is alluriung simply because it's different. But I don't know a single non-American who finds the American accent attractive. Why is that?
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post #64 of 103
5/21/05 at 7:38am
Christain Bale's accent in 'Reign of Fire' was atrocious. What part of America is Christian from again?

Gwyneth's and The Hamster's accents are very much 'recieved pronunciation' accents and, as such, don't come from any specific region of England - unless you count 'Middle Britian' as a region - they are acceptable enough, mainly because such accents seem fairly odd when you encounter them in real life. I always feel accents like that are 'learnt' rather than natural and are an, at least partially deliberate, act of disguising where you are really from. I mostly have recieved pronunciation but my london accent comes through every so often.

And where, exactly, does the old lady housekeeper from the 'The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe' trailer hail from? I haven't read the books: is she an alien?

And Cameron Poe is the greatest living American.
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post #65 of 103
5/21/05 at 9:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Clarke
Christain Bale's accent in 'Reign of Fire' was atrocious. What part of America is Christian from again?
I can only hope that is Sarcasm...

Well I'm from Yorkshire and subsequently have a way of speaking that rivals Texan's for reducing perceived IQ. Seriously all male Yorkshire folk either sound like juvenile delinquents or sound like they have just finished a 14 hour shift down t' pits.

I can gurantee that no americans would find the accent sexy, a point proved by the fact that Timothy Dalton, Sean Bean, and Patrick Stewart have all masked their real accents with a far more generic accent.
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post #66 of 103
5/21/05 at 9:32am
What gets me is, according to my Aussie friends, there are only two types of Australian accents...aboriginal and whitelanders. A country that big, with no regional accents...then look at the UK.

"I don't mean to be patronising, but it always amuses me how little some Americans know about Britain."

That's not patronizing...many Americans know so little of America, let alone anywhere else. Our schools are ...lacking.
I still find it humourous, however, that when a friend of mine from Manchester visted us in San Antonio, he had no idea what the Alamo was.
And when we lived in Dallas and picked up friends from Britain, they asked us how much longer were we going to be trapped in the car.
"Um, we're about halfway home from the airport."
"Get out!"
"No, seriously."
Texans think a 45 min drive (no traffic) to get somewhere is a daily commute, no big deal.
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post #67 of 103
5/21/05 at 9:45am
Man, British accents are so sexy that if I had one, I would have sex with myself.

I would kill to have a British accent. AND I HAVE.
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post #68 of 103
5/21/05 at 9:47am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Goldberg
Man, British accents are so sexy that if I had one, I would have sex with myself.

I would kill to have a British accent. AND I HAVE.
What, killed, or a British accent?
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post #69 of 103
5/21/05 at 11:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raiftel
I can only hope that is Sarcasm...

Well I'm from Yorkshire and subsequently have a way of speaking that rivals Texan's for reducing perceived IQ. Seriously all male Yorkshire folk either sound like juvenile delinquents or sound like they have just finished a 14 hour shift down t' pits.

I can gurantee that no americans would find the accent sexy, a point proved by the fact that Timothy Dalton, Sean Bean, and Patrick Stewart have all masked their real accents with a far more generic accent.

isn't Timothy Dalton welsh?

I think Stewart does a better job than Bean in masking the accent. they might want to take example from Brian "THAT'S ENUFF!" Glover, who never once tried to hide his true accent yet still became a Hollywood power player. he was the Sean Bean of his day.
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post #70 of 103
5/21/05 at 5:17pm
Is Bean using his real accent in the Sharpe's series?
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post #71 of 103
5/21/05 at 7:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Masked Muppet
Is Bean using his real accent in the Sharpe's series?
As I recall, pretty much. Occasionally he's affecting a slightly more cultured tone, but that's part of the role.
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post #72 of 103
5/21/05 at 7:12pm
It's been a while since I've seen it but I'm sure that Bean uses his real accent in SHARPE, actually, I know for a fact that he does in RONIN...

"You see that? Nearly Raspberry Jam back there! I said we were nearly Raspberry Jam!"

Anyway, I have a Welsh accent and I even get a few English ladies commenting on it, so I really think my luck will be in when I go to the States.

Here's a question though, do Americans find other accents attractive? Or is it just a British accent thing?
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post #73 of 103
5/21/05 at 7:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Volta
What, killed, or a British accent?
Both.
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post #74 of 103
5/21/05 at 10:09pm
I don't feel that the British accent is all that attractive. Heck you folks tend to mumble half the time and I have no clue what you're saying. Now the Australian accent.... that's hot.
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post #75 of 103
5/22/05 at 6:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brendan
I don't feel that the British accent is all that attractive. Heck you folks tend to mumble half the time and I have no clue what you're saying. Now the Australian accent.... that's hot.
"Look at moi, look at moi, look at mooooiiiiiiiii!"
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post #76 of 103
5/23/05 at 7:07am
True, many of our accents are rubbish. None more so than the Deep Midlands (no apologies whatsoever, your vowels are like a weasel's flanging death-throws). But they're great for comedy, which I assume why so many cheeky chappies from Britain's regional panoply have put their unusual inflections to good use in the stand up comedy field (you know, because all the pits/mines/factories are full to bursting etc etc etc).

Also, as far as attractiveness the "normal" percieved-as-British accent does sound dead posh. Ergo that person sounds rich. Ergo...do the maths.

Hick's knows where my accent places me.
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post #77 of 103
5/23/05 at 9:15am
Actually, I think it's the top hats and monocles that get the chicks. The accents are just a by-the-way.
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post #78 of 103
5/23/05 at 10:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Momotaro
I can tell you that anytime somebody from Oklahoma or Texas has national attention (hell, even local attention) of the media, I silently pray that they don't have a thick accent.
Mine's thick, but it's not Texas, it's Louisiana.

Back on topic, I love a clean British accent. I found Charles' to be quite enticing.
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post #79 of 103
5/23/05 at 11:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Whitehead
Near Manchester, though my accent is more Lancashire.

I think it's because they had a very fixed idea of what the "British" accent sounds like, so mine just didn't register as being British. Australian was probably the next logical choice.

I don't mean to be patronising, but it always amuses me how little some Americans know about Britain.
I'll go one step further and say it's sometimes just plain insulting how Americans are when it comes to this. There's a whole friggin' country here with many different accents in different regions, and almost NONE of them sound like this classic accent that they think we all sound like. Let's get it straight once and for all...

Stop believing the movies. Stop visiting London everytime you come to England. If you did you'd see the vast amounts of different accents that are here. NO ONE sounds like those horribly fake accents Gwyneth and Renee do for the movies other than Plastic, Cockey, Rich, Public school kids or friggin' Royalty!!!

Nearly every American I speak to are confused by where I'm from, I've been accused of being Irish, Australian, French. I astounds me! Yet I'll speak to anyone else in Europe and they'll know I'm English, so it's just down to plain ignorance.

Of course then it doesn't surprise me how you can vote a guy like Bush into the White House if you can be so closed off, and don't understand why most people are pissed with a good 60% of Americans.
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post #80 of 103
5/23/05 at 11:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nada
you can be so closed off
It's a big ocean, pal.
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post #81 of 103
5/23/05 at 11:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankCobretti
It's a big ocean, pal.
Yeah it is, yet I know many of the different accents within the USA. Shit, I can tell the difference between Americans and Canadians.
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post #82 of 103
5/23/05 at 12:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nada
Shit, I can tell the difference between Americans and Canadians.
The flannel shirts are a dead giveaway.
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post #83 of 103
5/23/05 at 1:43pm
I was once acussed of being chinese by a lady from Louisiana when helping her with a computer issue and she asked if she could speak to someone who spoke English???

I too, have been Australian, French, Dutch, Welsh and occasionaly English. I once had an argument with some dude who said I'm not from England as they don't talk like me and he's been there????

I'm from North East Lincolnshire and our accent is not indicative of any location and is rather bland but has all the yorkshire slang. At least I never got the yorky accent thank fuck.
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post #84 of 103
5/24/05 at 8:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrVenkman
do Americans find other accents attractive? Or is it just a British accent thing?
there probably was a time when the italian accent was considered hot, but endless streams of movies with loud, obnoxious wiseguys have really ruined it for us all.
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post #85 of 103
5/24/05 at 11:06am
Clearly the best Brittish accent is the West country one just ask Bristol's finest Darth Vader.

My Dad is a cockney and my mum is from Gloucester - as a result my accent is somewhere in between.
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post #86 of 103
5/24/05 at 12:41pm
I might actually watch Star Wars if Darth Vader was voiced by David Prowse (now that I think of it, Lee & Herring already did a bit about that)
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post #87 of 103
5/25/05 at 5:09am
They did? That doesnt suprise me they also did a skit where Mrs Thatcher was Mr T mum.

They were fantasic, i saw them live once. Its a shame they didnt become bigger than they were
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post #88 of 103
5/26/05 at 5:20pm
God, Professor Henry Higgins would love this thread.
I find that American ignorance of Britain is equaled by British misconceptions about America,media fueled.
BTW is the classic Eliza Doolittle cockney accent gradually dying out with the demise of the classic East End in the 70's. I only heard it when in London in older and middle age people?
I did hear a lot of an accent that sounded to my no doubt ignorant ears like a blend of cockney and Oxbridge.
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post #89 of 103
5/26/05 at 9:56pm
I personnally find that accents in general are sexy, but I gotta say I'm especially attracted to women with British accents, and it all started with this girl I meant at an art gallery. Her name is Gina, her father was from Mexico and her mother from England, and Gina was born and raised there.

She had the total package, her sexy vioce was just the cherry on the top.
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post #90 of 103
5/27/05 at 3:00am
Reading this thread makes me wish I was well-travelled. Alas, if only I had the money to go overseas. I would love to live in another country for a few months. England, Italy, Ireland, Spain....just something new. Ah well, perhaps someday....

I have a question for our British chewers: Have any of you ever heard any American actor/actress do a convincing job of portraying an English accent? I'm sure that most of the generic English accents we hear from Americans in movies are far from authentic, but I was just wondering if there is anyone who does it well.
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post #91 of 103
5/27/05 at 4:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Embrodak
Reading this thread makes me wish I was well-travelled. Alas, if only I had the money to go overseas. I would love to live in another country for a few months. England, Italy, Ireland, Spain....just something new. Ah well, perhaps someday....

I have a question for our British chewers: Have any of you ever heard any American actor/actress do a convincing job of portraying an English accent? I'm sure that most of the generic English accents we hear from Americans in movies are far from authentic, but I was just wondering if there is anyone who does it well.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Renée Zellweger and Johnny Depp have all demonstrated faultless English accents, although Depp's in From Hell was poor by his standards.
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post #92 of 103
5/27/05 at 4:22am
I think when Czech girls speak in english its dead sexy, there is more to this but I wont go there

I am quite the anglophile, hell in high school I wrote a 5 page paper why the revolution was the wrong choice

been to the UK for two weeks, London to Torquy, to Cardiff, to Liverpool, to Manchester, the Lake District, to Edinbourough, to Inverness, to St Andrews, to Coventry, and back to London

Apprently I can do a decent immitation cause while working at Cedar Point as Ride Op I would do a British accent, i would aim for Oxbridge with a hint of west country, and i had two separte British faimlies come and start talking to me and clearly thought I was from england, just that I went to college and got semi posh accent

I must say all do sometiing for me except for Cockney, Brummie,and Liverpudlian particularly asian girls with british accents

Diana Rigg is from Yorkshire you know, but then again she graduated from the RADA, and was a member of the RSC
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post #93 of 103
5/27/05 at 4:58am
In the UK it’s not uncommon to find the inhabitants of the nearest town – perhaps no more than three miles away – uttering some weird dialect that requires the services of a Babel Fish to decipher.

For instance, I live in Haydock, which is equidistant from St. Helens and Wigan. St. Helens people speak in a refined and cultured manner which has often been described as “ambrosia for the ears”.

The pre-Cambrian Wiganer, on the other hand, finds it impossible to manage a single sentence without his ape-grunt interpositions covering the walls with sticky phlegm and everyone wondering what on earth he is talking about.

Disclaimer: The author of this post has made every effort to not let club loyalties get in the way of facts.
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post #94 of 103
5/27/05 at 5:06am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Geoff Foster
The pre-Cambrian Wiganer, on the other hand, finds it impossible to manage a single sentence without his ape-grunt interpositions covering the walls with sticky phlegm and everyone wondering what on earth he is talking about.
I once had an acquaintance, from Wigan, who claimed proudly that "Wiganers have small bladders so they can drink more". Pity I can't type the accent. Like I said, he was an acquaintance.
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post #95 of 103
5/27/05 at 5:07am
Paltrow does generic very well allthough her accents reminds me of Enid Blighton books. I was impressed with Rene Zellweger's in Briget Jones - it did sound very spot on for London (well parts of it, she sounds nothing like my dad for example). Of course the worst one has to by Dick Van Dyke
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post #96 of 103
5/27/05 at 5:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Volta
I once had an acquaintance, from Wigan, who claimed proudly that "Wiganers have small bladders so they can drink more". Pity I can't type the accent. Like I said, he was an acquaintance.
They also have small wallets so they can drink more ... of your money.
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post #97 of 103
5/27/05 at 9:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sharpel007
hell in high school I wrote a 5 page paper why the revolution was the wrong choice
i'm guessing it was before the department of homeland security had been created, huh?

i have a question for the brits (you must be getting tired of these, but bear with me): when terrence stamp gives his indecipherable explanation in front of the slightly unimpressed DEA agent (bill duke) in "the limey", what accent is he using? it sounds outrageous.
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post #98 of 103
5/27/05 at 9:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Cthulhu
She had the total package, her sexy vioce was just the cherry on the top.
I generally avoid girls with packages, total or otherwise.
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post #99 of 103
5/27/05 at 9:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by slowpulse
i'm guessing it was before the department of homeland security had been created, huh?

i have a question for the brits (you must be getting tired of these, but bear with me): when terrence stamp gives his indecipherable explanation in front of the slightly unimpressed DEA agent (bill duke) in "the limey", what accent is he using? it sounds outrageous.
Cockney (East End London), but it's a poor attempt - although not as bad as Don Cheadle's in Ocean's 11.
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post #100 of 103
5/27/05 at 10:53am
Quote:
Cockney (East End London), but it's a poor attempt - although not as bad as Don Cheadle's in Ocean's 11.
I think slowpulse's 'outrageous' is a better description personally. I always interpreted that scene as Wilson laying it on extra thick for Bill Duke's character - playing the harmless foreigner. Stamp's accent is never so false, nor his use of rhyming slang so OTT, in any other part of the film.
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