Re: Styles of Speech


"Howard Brazee" <howard@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:scu5a2ppr7na79in4q0amr744c11dtr73d@xxxxxxxxxx
On Wed, 28 Jun 2006 09:55:55 -0700, Jon Schild <jjs@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

I have noticed that British playwrights and movie and TV authors use the
class accents to great advantage. The moment a character says her first
sentence, you know a lot about her. That doesn't work as well in the
US, but at least regional accents are still sometimes useful.

Americans typically know very little about regional English accents.
Robert Mitchum was once told to have an English accent. He asked the
director which accent to use, and listed a bunch of candidates. The
director told him to pick one, and he did. American critics though
Mitchum had a terrible accent - British critics thought he was right
on.

There's a style of English accent that sounds more authentic to American
ears. Hence Dick Van Dyke, or Cary Grant. There are, though I admit I
haven't counted them, few regional accents in the USA than in the UK -
though UK regional accents are in decline, for the same reasons they didn't
take off in the USA - too much mobility. (And TV plays a role as well).


J/

BOTW: "Dawkin's God" - Alister McGrath



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