In Britain it doesn't denote class so much as pretentiousness. It's not an accent people are born with, it's kind of an artificial one that people adopt to project an image.
Yeah but we don't know that, we just thought it was how smart people sounded by default. Interesting that's it's a "fake" or "learned" accent and not natural :o
@@eviltwin2322 RP actually sounds better and clearer. Brits when they move abroad they often talk to people with RP or atleast with more enunciation. Not as singsongi as some accents or as lazy as some accents.
@@eviltwin2322 same with the "valley girl" accent you sometimes hear in the states usually amongst teenage girls and gay men. it's totally affected no one is raised to speak like that no one speaks like that from birth.
@@eviltwin2322 Sorry, I completely disagree with you. It is a class denominator. Believe it or not, certain people really do grow up speaking RP, myself included. I cannot speak any other way. I enjoy these posts, but am horrified that this young fellow speaks such slovenly English and wants other people to speak like that. He drops his consonants all the time, says things like "anyone that" or "people that"... I would say "anyone who" or "people who". His vowels are ugly too. To my ears, he sounds quite uneducated (although I'm sure he's very intelligent). "Smart people," Houston Bush (or do you mean "clever people"? - in the UK, "smart" means "elegant, stylish, grand" rather than "intelligent") do speak RP. It isn't "fake". An educated person shouldn't have a regional accent...
I’m Irish-American, and my entire family lives in Ireland, but I was born and raised and still live in Los Angeles. Whenever I visit my family, I notice myself starting to mirror their intonation and occasionally speak with a bit of a lilt, but nobody’s ever called me out on it so maybe it’s subtle enough. However, after maybe a week or so, I start thinking in an Irish accent and have the urge to speak with it as well. I have to consciously hold myself back and use my native Californian American accent. But, literally, the thoughts in my head sound like Saoirse Ronan. It’s super weird.
Something similar happens to me as well when I go to a place where they have a different accent from my own. I can pick up the local accent so fast, almost without realizing of it. By the way, I lived in Ireland for 8 years (in Co. Kerry if you're familiar with their broad accent) and for some reason, I have an English accent in Ireland and an Irish accent in the UK. Weird, huh?
@@bittorrentsdownload that’s funny! Maybe your accent is kind of in between English and Irish, so when you’re in one place the elements of the other stand out more
As an American that moved to the West Midlands, I totally agree! Sometimes I have to get my husband to "translate" for me....and English isn't even HIS mother tongue! :)
just about everything you see in the states from the uk has "bbc english" or "queen's english" more "working class" accents are far less well represented.
In America, there are two types of British accents that are most prominent in tv and movies. 1) Received Pronunciation : Used by Doctors, lawyers, and Starship captains. 2) Cockney: Used by Chimney sweep, fighters, and Transporters.
In the US, as a young person (I’m 50 now) I always heard “People in England speak the King’s English” so it was always made to sound like it was how Royals and important people spoke. To me it’s absolutely lovely either way
I think Chandler mirrors Emily’s accent because having partially grown up in Canada. There’s a lot of English influence in our accent. My own Canadian accent often sounds somewhat English/Irish and it definitely comes out more around British people
Yes, the RP English accent is beautiful to every American I know. I think that is because it objectively IS lovelier than how we ourselves speak. Jamaican English is also beautiful, and so musical. I mention that to point out that beauty in English accents doesn't necessarily correlate with social power and influence. I think we all just viscerally respond to beauty in our shared language. I love your videos!
It's funny to watch this sitcom in English. Sometimes there are different jokes and other funny moments than in Czech dubbing. It's like watch this first time 😃
I also have a tendency to mirror accents, and it's always unintentional. A few years ago I started working with a woman from Alabama who still has a thick Southern accent. I told her from the beginning that if I started mimicking her accent that I wasn't doing it to make fun of her. I've always had an ear for English-speaking accents, and I have a general western/typical American accent, so maybe that's why it's easier for me to pick up the intonations of others.
Same. I’m from the southern US and speak with a southern accent.. but my southern accent is weird for my area because of the influence of my mom’s midwestern accent. So my natural accent is like a mild southern with a hint of subtle midwestern. But when I’m around others... like when I visited Canada or Chicago or speak with my Aussie or Japanese friend, I unintentionally start picking up their accents! And I never even realize it until someone else points it out to me 🤦♀️
In the US a British considered sexy. Many Americans don't travel much and we soak it in whenever we hear something different. I remember visiting Australia and received attention for my American accent. "Say it again in American." It actually tickled me some.
Hello there, I am American, also a teacher and really appreciate your channel. I try to travel to England as much as I can and have never tried a British accent there. However, I understand that Americans pronounce words differently and have tried to say certain words in British English when in England. That said, I am wondering if it comes off as offensive for me to say parts of sentences in British English and American English. For example, I might ask a cab driver to go to Marleybone pronounced the way I've learned it from British English speakers and not as an American might. Does that make sense?
Dear Shelley, funnily enough, this is yet another pitfall! "Marley-Bone" is NOT the correct pronunciation. It's Mari-lebun. I've just been able to return to England after two years to visit my family. "Mari-lebun" is our station coming in to London from Buckinghamshire (Bucking-em-shah). There's only one way to pronounce things, and that's the upper-class way (hahahaha!!!).
@@connor4435 Don' t be so hard on yourself . Some British people is really nice and educated . I love to talk to elders. They speak clearly and it sounds good .
An American here. Great and entertaining video! Thanks for putting this together, Tom. I, too, have attempted an English accent before (in a RUclips video), which I’m sure is cringeworthy to British ears. FYI, the way you pronounce “consternation” at 3:42 sounds vaguely Bostonian to me in terms of the “nasalization.” What Americans do you think could actually fool a native Brit into thinking he or she is actually British? Off the top of my head, I have heard that Meryl Streep does a good job in “The Iron Lady,” Gwyneth Paltrow does well in “Shakespeare in Love” and Robert Downey, Jr., does well in the Sherlock Holmes films. I would need a Brit to confirm any or all of those. As for Brits doing American accents, I think Hugh Laurie is a master. Thanks again for the great video(s)!
I'm brazilian learning English (also with friends) and the interesting fact is that in the dubbing Ross was actually doing the portuguese 🇵🇹 accent lol. I was curious how they would adapt
How to do Australian accent : 1. Add clear "e" to "a" sound 2. Omit "R" or not, your decision 3. Fight with big spiders on daily basis to make your voice louder. Done
I have an Iranian friend (in America) who speaks fluent English, but he cannot detect a difference between Australian speech and British speech. He finds it mysterious when others speak of a difference.
On Frasier daphne was from Manchester but when they had her so called brother on the show he was trying to do Rp and cockney (a la Chandler here meaning very badly). They just presumed it ok that a brother and sister brought up in the same home would have 2 accents from different ends of the country.
The main thing with Phoebe is that the way she relates to things is so idiosyncratic and off kilter that to her that might’ve been a spot on imitation of a British phrase.
When Americans attempt a British accent: it's not the way you sound but it's the way you sound to us. To our ears. We think in an American accent. We do the Victorian chimney sweep accent, "allo Guv'nuh" because it's the easiest one for us to do. Just like the "Oh my God" valley girl accent (which is obsolete by the way) is the easiest one for you to do. It's all in good fun and there is zero disrespect in it from us.
I think the reason a lot of Americans do RP or Cockney when trying to do a British accent is that those are the only two we really distinguish. I think we interpret RP as speaking properly, and Cockney as sounding uneducated and not very intelligent. Probably someone would do Cockney for broad comedy and RP when trying to sound stiff and proper.
Here in the US, we get exposed to the BBC, Sir David Attenbourough, the various James Bond actors like Sir Roger Moore, etc. Plus Her Majesty the Queen, plus all the rest of the royal family, etc. So we hear a disproportionate amount of RP speech and very little of those rich regional accents you have all around the UK. I hope that explains it.
RP may be spoken by a small minority, but Americans have heard more BBC speech than ordinary speech. Most Americans only have various scenes from various movies as samples of British speech, but the British accent makes a large impression. When I was young, I became fascinated with the posh, Queen's English. It is a captivating experience, and it was more common in British movies from the 1930's and 1940's. Eddie Izzard was met with huge but nervous laughter when he said, "I don't have an accent; I'm English. You have an accent!" because of the neglected irony.
As a Brazílian I find it really hard to speak English with a British accent, my favourite, due to the fact that in my country we are mostly influenced by the American culture. To make up for that, I try to, every day, watch one or two of your videos. And this way, do my best to mirror your accent.
What gets me is how many different accents Britain has for the size of the country. America has far fewer, although there are many different southern varieties. Me - I'm a midwesterner who tries to tamp down that short "O" sound (i.e., "hot dog").
Hello Tom -- American here, who has also lived in the UK. To respond to your query: my sense is that in the USA RP is considered sophisticated & cultivated, and some seem to associate the accent with being sort of stiff and formal (at least I've seen people put on that sort of attitude when trying to imitate the accent). Also, I don't think most Americans are aware of the variety of accents there are in the UK!
I am a non-native English speaker. I struggle to understand Downton Abbey's Daisy and Mrs. Patmore's accents. Could you be so kind as to explain what accents those are and how to understand them better? Big fan of your channel.
@@EatSleepDreamEnglish Thanks! You have no idea of the impact your channel has. I love the English language and I'm always trying to become a better speaker. :) I'll make sure to share your content. Greetings from Peru!!
I love your videos! As an American that moved to the UK, I was totally unprepared for the West Midlands. hahahaha I imagined all British people with the RP British accent, drinking tea from fine china, listening to classical music whilst reading from leather bound books.
The cardinal rule of learning the Received Pronunciation is to say all Ts as Ts, not Ds. In the U.S., British comes out as Bridish. Little becomes liddle.
for myself when I was younger watching American TV shows on public television, they mostly seemed to focus mostly on the posher classes , Upstairs / downstairs ,Masterpiece theater, ETC. up until later, when they started running other British shows like last of the summer wine, and East Ender's it made it seem that all of the British were very posh . and of course it is very appealing to those of us who are not wealthy and worldly. to dream what it would be like to live in such splendor and ease of the posher classes. I call it the Hyacinth Bucket syndrome 😀 since then I have started discovering other older British TV shows here on youtube Open all Hours/ on the busses/ Dinner ladies. the good life, Etc. I love everything British! 🤗❤
I agree that we probably get our ideas of British accents from movies and TV. And since RP is the accent of the BBC, that’s what we usually hear. We watched a lot of BBC drama in our house. So for me, hearing British accents is so common that sometimes I don’t even notice.
@@daverd6434 well, learning English to me is taking a bit from Americans, a bit from Englishes, a little bit more from Australians and so on. Does It mean that I'm part of every group and no one at the same time? Haha
@@francaisparimmersion i dare you with your "whatever accent" go to england and try to be treated as a pair, if you have no role model a person or accent you want to speak like, in the race to improve your english you have no goal, i just can imagine how terrible is your english
@@daverd6434 I've started learning English when I was kid from DVDs made in RP. So my pronunciation have turned out Like that and I've picked up the intonation as well. Brits I meet often say that my accent is too posh, not like the regular Brits. I think cockney and scouse accents are the hardest. I can pronounce their words, but when I put them in a sentence my intonation turns out as if I'm trying to mock them 😃
@@daverd6434 They are learning English. Learning a specific accent is an absolutely mundane and pointless endeavor when compared to actually learning the language. Having a hybrid accent doesn't reduce your ability to speak English as a language, so your assumption that their English has to be terrible because they pick up a bit of each accent, is asinine. Many people already have a hybrid accent. It just sounds like you're extremely judgmental and pretentious. Also, "part of a group or not?" Many immigrants speak English twanged by their mother tongues but are still naturalized citizens; they're just as much a part of "a group" (American, Canadian, British, Australian, whatever) as anyone else.
Fits of all I've got to thank you for your great videos. Now, there is something in the British accent that makes it sound like Ross. I went to the UK to improve my English, after some weeks I found myself speaking like Ross. You might think we overexagerate but it's how you British sound to us. I spent 4 months in Brighton, one more in Carlisle, I went to London, Oxford and Newcastle... And whereas there are subtle difference (subtle for me, of course you could tell lots of differences) In all those different cities people have the same long ending sound, like pushing the end of the phrases, like an elderly British butler (Like saying "Excuse me seeeer", "Sooo",) ... hehehe. So Yes, it's weird for you. But for us it sounds that way. Regarding the pronounced vowels between consonants as in "laboratory", yes, that's a big mistake. That's something everybody notes the first day. Something more complicated is The dropped H and even more the glottal T because there is not a rule, some people use them and some people don't and in some words and phrases... Anyway I understand how you feel when someone mocks Méxican Spanish... For F**k's sake! we don't speak like that. Cheers from Mexico 🇲🇽!! !
I'm from northern england (cheshire, to be more exact) and after 12 years in america, i've developed a hybrid accent, but americans can still detect hints of an english accent. I've learned to speak with a RP, especially at work, so that people could understand me (and even then, some people still have trouble understanding me). I had someone note that i did sound posher at work and i sort of let it "relax" outside of work, something which i wasn't even aware of. Alas, she insisted that if it's not the stereotypical british accent (aka RP), then it's "ghetto".
My native language is Spanish and my original accent is mexican but, when I talk with south Americans I get a colombian accent. I think I sound sexier. However, when I speak in English I always use my "british accent" cause I spent a lot of effort to acquire it.
@@rickdeckard9596 it is not being pretentious at all, If I am imposed to learn a language, then I would prefer to learn the variant, the dialect that sounds better to me. I really like how british accent sounds and I would like to speak like them.
Guess you're right, but is weird speak a british accent in Mexico maybe the spelling, all schools i know teach the american. The only think i really disagree with you is the Colombian accent thing you say about sound sexier.
@@rickdeckard9596 Of course in Mexico I rarely use English, I speak it when talking with friends from other countries. And yea, sorry I just have that weird idea that colombian accent is really pleasant to hear.
I'm from the US and definitely agree that regional accents (aside from Cockney) are very underrepresented here. Most of the Americans I know are maybe only familiar with Received Pronunciation, Cockney, Irish, and Scottish, and often mix RP and Cockney in a very exaggerated way, like Ross does. I grew up watching a lot of English period television that did feature West Country, Yorkshire, and Derbyshire accents, but they never really stuck with me for some reason. We hear regional British accents so seldom in the US that I think we tend to group them all together without recognizing the distinctions between them.
Even more, as you’ve shown here, is the assumption that there is only one Irish or only one Scottish accent (there are loads throughout the country, similarly to the variation in England and even more in some instances). It’s always a fun game for me trying to get Americans (and Aussies, I live in Aus) to guess where I’m from or point it out on a map. Never correct, unless they have family in the area
It's not just pronunciation though. They are using the sing-song lilt that many with the British accent have and also British expressions, "No? Just me then?" Brits often end their sentences with "then" and "isn't it" as styles of speech or expressions.
Dear Tom thank you very much, i would really appreciate and i am sure that many of us would be greatful if you can make some videos about how to get a british accent ... but more about intonation the music of the language and rhythm.
About the bidialectalism... I am Spanish and I live in Castilla y León, where we are supposed to speak with the most standard Spanish accent. Whenever I spend some time with a friend living in Galicia, Andalucía, Cataluña, Extremadura, Basque Country... my accent changes a bit and also my vocabulary. This country has as variety of accents as the UK. It's sad that Hispanic people are always represented with an exaggerated Mexican accent, as if Spain, Colombia, Cuba, Argentina, Uruguay and the rest of the Spanish speaking countries didn't exist. Thank you for reading. Peace! 😊
I subconsciously mirror people with strong accents - it took me weeks to convince a boss I had that I wasn't making fun of her Arkansas (USA) accent! I'm planning a trip to Devon next year, and I can't wait to see what happens when I'm totally immersed in a different culture and accent for 2 weeks!
I enjoyed your content very much! First off, I believe that the RP/BBC accent is perceived as smart due to being the main source of news to the American troops during WWI. Secondly, I do mirror other people but only when I speak Spanish. I live in Texas and most Hispanics here have a Texano accent so speaking to them in my Puerto Rican accent showed to be a bit challenging for them to understand 😄
I have spoken with R.P for the past 9 or 10 years and now I’m Eighteen and when I was learning the accent I actually made a couple of mistakes at the start of the training that I did in school (Accent Training) I speak really posh Since age 9 I’ve had an extremely posh accent......
American Anglophile here. If there is a bumbling English stereotype, I am unaware of it! The typical stereotype is that British people are more eloquent than Americans, all else being assumed equal. The two could be expressing the same ideas and it will always sound smoother and smarter coming from a Brit (RP accent, obviously). Almost any European accent is better than an American accent to an American. Except maybe Southern American accents. I've heard a lot of people swoon over Southern accents. :)
I'm always curious what Brits think of different American accents. I watch a lot of these videos and it always (understandably) references the General American Accent, but there are so many more!
Hi! This was really a nice and fun video. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Just a small request! Can you make a comaparison video of Indian and British accents? It will definitely help people from India to learn more about British accent.
During the 90's (and any decade before) , most Americans initial exposure to a British accent came from American television which usually has an American attempting a British accent. Personally, I didn't know what Cockney was until adulthood.
Ello, Tom. I enjoyed your video and want to get myself used to British Accent because i am speaking American english and always at loss when hearing British people talk. Thank u. Very good lesson
Personally, I love a received british accent. I find it really comforting/relaxing actually. the cockney accent I tend to find comical and I think it's just because my first impression of it was in Mary Poppins so that goofy, over exaggerated presentation just stuck with me. I love these videos! Keep going :)
I always seem to mirror other peoples accents and I have no idea why I do it! I always feel so embarrassed when they call me out on it and I’m like sorry!
Received Pronunciation is the friendliest way for people to learn English, because dialects confuse and drop letters and dipthongs. (You must admit, if we look for common language, that a language like French is hard--letters that one never says anymore in nearly every word, and with growing gender neutrality "the" is friendlier...) It's too bad so many people in England see RP as a threat to their various cultures and would have it dismissed as old-fashioned...It's clarity strengthens the use of the language world-wide. Americans love its sound because of elegant Hollywood and British films; it's just that simple.
I do like British accents, but it’s not my favorite. My favorite accents are: 1. Norwegian English (they have a singing quality to their language which makes for a beautiful accent) 2. Irish 3. Australian
I think southern British accents are generally perceived in the US as proper, attractive, and intelligent but northern British accents are perceived as cute and funny
My husband mirrors accents Omg! It's so annoying and embarrassing. All it takes is just talking to someone with an accent & then he starts. I so cringed when we traveled to Britain and talked to strangers then lol tried to do a British accent. We in the US do love the accents across the pond😊💕, I Especially like Colin Firths and Adin Turners. It'd be awesome Tom if you did a whole segment in a US accent:)) Nice vid👍🏻👍🏻
@@EatSleepDreamEnglish Once in awhile I do because I'm afraid in certain cultures it might be offensive if they pick up on it, like he'll do it when he talks to my mom she has a Spanish. 😁 I'm so glad she doesn't notice it or doesn't care.
Hey Tom Love all you videos about friends and diffrent English accents. Well done! I couldn't help but wonder is the following situation mirroring as you've been describing it? I'm Swiss and so is my cousin. He has a girlfriend in Italy and they communicate in English. I recently noticed that he spoke English with an Italian accent. It was so funny it made me laugh out loud. Thanks in advance
My favorite upper class British accents I've found on RUclips are the Mitford sisters. They sound more British somehow than the German royal family???? Jessica and Diana are my favorites, but I listened to the Duchess of Devonshire too..
I learned Spanish as a first language from Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. I started to learn American English, but my mother was sent to the UK to teach autocad or whatever to people in Oxford. It was like a seminar. This was back in 2006. We barely knew English, but we could defend ourselves. Now living in the UK for 2 years we learned RP. Me, a 9 year old boy in 2008. Spoke with a mixture of RP and Spanish accent. We then moved to the U.S. Teachers noticed my mother’s accent, she still had a Spanish accent as she learned English in her late 30’s early 40’s, quickly put my brother and I in English as a Second Language classes. I speak with a forced American accent which gets tiring, but when I speak with my regular RP/Spanish accent people think I try to sound British. My fear is getting judged by both Americans and Brits. I already get made fun of for having an accent when speaking Spanish. But everything almost exactly translates from Puerto Rican Spanish to RP and it makes life easier. Do I just say screw it and speak with my natural accent, or do I speak with a forced American accent?
Americans don't recognize that many British accents are not considered posh at home and just lump them altogether as classy or charming. Also, all Americans are familiar with Liverpudlian via the Beatles, although they mostly don't understand that it's kind of hick.
Maybe RP and Cockney are chosen as they can broadly represent upper and lower class in films, whereas other accents would be too nuanced for an American audience to understand. Also, they would have difficulty understanding what was being said with accents they are unfamiliar with.
Speaking to the whole mirroring bit... I'm american, from Ohio, and consider myself to have a pretty neutral american accent. HOWever.... If I get on a bit of a bill burr kick and watch a lot of him in a few days, I start t-fronting, raising my pitch, and overall just adopting his shrill boston accent. Especially if I'm angry/exasperated, like he often comes across.
You know, we Americans could tell how mixed up the accent was. I think the point was that the accent was *bad*. That's why Rachel & Monica prank called him to join the bad accent university.
Great video, I love that scene with Ross too….also it’s Chandler with an AN sound not R sound lol but I understand why you may pronounce it differently but I say it with a AN sound and I’m British
Of course we all mirror people's dialect for the same reason which is "showing we are on the same page of understanding, and we do it without knowing sometime, and it doesn't matter"🤷
Tom, I give you information. Several years ago, I would watch Turkish TV series on SCTV during my spare time. While I was watching the film, I could see Turkish male actors who looked just like you. I thought you were a film star from Turkey.
I have been seeking some sort of recognition on my received pronunciation... that comes natural to my tongue....I love it and I certainly don't intend to change it, whatsoever...!!!!!
Tom, that was a fantastic and funny lesson 😊😆 The British accent(s)... I am not American, I am Polish and my mother tongue also uses syllable timed rythem. I think the Americans associate the British accent with both RP and Cockney because the RP is a general one, a standard, a 'bible' of English whereas the Cockney one is considered to be a slang. Now, the rest of the British accents are not recognizable, I am sorry for saying it. But pretend Tom and any other British speakers over there that you are not a British person, you were not born in Britain and you did not grow up in the UK. Then, your brain is not used to even not able differentiate the other British accents. My homeland has got a few accents but a standard language is used widely. We are taught the standard one at schools and if you want to get even a causal job, you are supposed to speak standards. I will tell you more, when you go to the other city and if you use your own regonalism, you can be laughed at that. That is why Poles are capable of recognizing the Polish accents but we speak a general standard. Now, when you learn English all your life and then you go to Northern England and you hear those British accens like Scouse, Manchester etc. you think to yourselves 'where is English I have been learning all my life'. I think the same situation is in America. They learn a standard and when they want to be posh, they at least try and/or refer to RP. Of course American accents are diversed but not in a way the British ones are. What is intetesting Polish people understand Californian accent the most. A reason is the California one uses all syllables as we do in Polish. Anyway, a language is a language, an accent is an accent. There is nothing to critisize. Just bear in mind that if somebody speaks broken English, it means they speak at least one more language 😉💕🇬🇧🇵🇱🇺🇸
We had a lot of British content from the BBC on PBS in the US. Probably accounts for recognizing RP and the associations it has for us. And I think you are right that nonnatives don’t know how to recognize different foreign accents. Not necessarily that we can’t tell them apart, but just because you can tell that they sound different doesn’t mean you know how or why.
Funny video! I am American and it seems to me we love British accents. I love all things British and would like to take a class to learn to speak British English ☺️.
I love the country side views on movies, documentaries of the UK. Beautiful. I would love to hear your thoughts on The show Frasier, episode: “Where every bloke knows your name.” 😂 Can’t wait to visit England this summer! 🇬🇧
Ross speaks in this episode with British accent?! In Hungary they made him speak with Russian accent 😂
I would wanna see that!! 😂
no way!
So funny 🤣
I can’t help but think you look like Daniel Radcliffe
Finally, someone said it. I have watched many of his videos. Couldn't help but thought the same. 😃
I swear I was thinking exactly the same
I came here because he reminds me a bearded Harry potter..
I think so.. 😁
Never thought about it but he does.
Many Americans think that speaking in a British accent (BBC type) adds a certain level of 'class' to the speaker.
In Britain it doesn't denote class so much as pretentiousness. It's not an accent people are born with, it's kind of an artificial one that people adopt to project an image.
Yeah but we don't know that, we just thought it was how smart people sounded by default. Interesting that's it's a "fake" or "learned" accent and not natural :o
@@eviltwin2322 RP actually sounds better and clearer. Brits when they move abroad they often talk to people with RP or atleast with more enunciation. Not as singsongi as some accents or as lazy as some accents.
@@eviltwin2322 same with the "valley girl" accent you sometimes hear in the states usually amongst teenage girls and gay men. it's totally affected no one is raised to speak like that no one speaks like that from birth.
@@eviltwin2322 Sorry, I completely disagree with you. It is a class denominator. Believe it or not, certain people really do grow up speaking RP, myself included. I cannot speak any other way. I enjoy these posts, but am horrified that this young fellow speaks such slovenly English and wants other people to speak like that. He drops his consonants all the time, says things like "anyone that" or "people that"... I would say "anyone who" or "people who". His vowels are ugly too. To my ears, he sounds quite uneducated (although I'm sure he's very intelligent). "Smart people," Houston Bush (or do you mean "clever people"? - in the UK, "smart" means "elegant, stylish, grand" rather than "intelligent") do speak RP. It isn't "fake". An educated person shouldn't have a regional accent...
I’m Irish-American, and my entire family lives in Ireland, but I was born and raised and still live in Los Angeles. Whenever I visit my family, I notice myself starting to mirror their intonation and occasionally speak with a bit of a lilt, but nobody’s ever called me out on it so maybe it’s subtle enough. However, after maybe a week or so, I start thinking in an Irish accent and have the urge to speak with it as well. I have to consciously hold myself back and use my native Californian American accent. But, literally, the thoughts in my head sound like Saoirse Ronan. It’s super weird.
Something similar happens to me as well when I go to a place where they have a different accent from my own. I can pick up the local accent so fast, almost without realizing of it. By the way, I lived in Ireland for 8 years (in Co. Kerry if you're familiar with their broad accent) and for some reason, I have an English accent in Ireland and an Irish accent in the UK. Weird, huh?
@@bittorrentsdownload that’s funny! Maybe your accent is kind of in between English and Irish, so when you’re in one place the elements of the other stand out more
I LOVE a British accent. I feel like no matter what is said it sounds so elegant and sophisticated. :)
River bliss couldn’t agree more!
Go to York! You will hate there accent! I don't think they even speak English!
You have never have heard a brummie or scouse accent have have you?
Go to liverpool
Shane Sawyer nope. I never heard of it.
I think other British regional accents aren't as well represented in US media because Americans would have trouble understanding lol
I think so, as well as not doing the research & studying them
As an American that moved to the West Midlands, I totally agree! Sometimes I have to get my husband to "translate" for me....and English isn't even HIS mother tongue! :)
The differences in slang are hard enough.
just about everything you see in the states from the uk has "bbc english" or "queen's english" more "working class" accents are far less well represented.
Blame the BBC
I mirror peoples accents subconsciously 😂😂
was looking for this comment because I do the same and it sounds really weird xD
Anna Zully ikr 😂
I do too. I used to think I was just weird or something.
Me too!
I do too😄
British accent combined with correct use of grammar, indicates an upper level of education,in a broader sense....!!!!!
Nice lesson, Tom! I loved the spin you gave to teaching British pronunciation through a poor American imitation. Classic scene!
Hello Ethan!!
I'm your student too😀
In America, there are two types of British accents that are most prominent in tv and movies.
1) Received Pronunciation : Used by Doctors, lawyers, and Starship captains.
2) Cockney: Used by Chimney sweep, fighters, and Transporters.
All six of them are the funniest, craziest TV characters ever. I found it difficult to concentrate on the accent because I was busy laughing 🤣😂🤣🤣
In the US, as a young person (I’m 50 now) I always heard “People in England speak the King’s English” so it was always made to sound like it was how Royals and important people spoke. To me it’s absolutely lovely either way
What d'you mean??? Whom with your either??? King' family, upper classes or someone else?
I think Chandler mirrors Emily’s accent because having partially grown up in Canada. There’s a lot of English influence in our accent. My own Canadian accent often sounds somewhat English/Irish and it definitely comes out more around British people
Yes, the RP English accent is beautiful to every American I know. I think that is because it objectively IS lovelier than how we ourselves speak. Jamaican English is also beautiful, and so musical. I mention that to point out that beauty in English accents doesn't necessarily correlate with social power and influence. I think we all just viscerally respond to beauty in our shared language. I love your videos!
Your accent is part of who you are and I wouldn't change that for anyone or anything
I am in love with the British accent.
It's funny to watch this sitcom in English. Sometimes there are different jokes and other funny moments than in Czech dubbing. It's like watch this first time 😃
Did you see the episode where Ross did the awful British accent? What did they do with that when it was dubbed?
@@thoughtfortheday7811 They said that's a foreign accent and it sounds like Czech with Russian accent.
@@martinavylezikova6527 that's great, thanks for letting me know. When they do the dubbing that way, is it funny?
@@thoughtfortheday7811 yes, it is! :-) a lot.
@@martinavylezikova6527 excellent! I have a Slovak friend that speaks Russian and understand Czech so I think they'll love Friends in Czech too.
I also have a tendency to mirror accents, and it's always unintentional. A few years ago I started working with a woman from Alabama who still has a thick Southern accent. I told her from the beginning that if I started mimicking her accent that I wasn't doing it to make fun of her. I've always had an ear for English-speaking accents, and I have a general western/typical American accent, so maybe that's why it's easier for me to pick up the intonations of others.
Same. I’m from the southern US and speak with a southern accent.. but my southern accent is weird for my area because of the influence of my mom’s midwestern accent. So my natural accent is like a mild southern with a hint of subtle midwestern. But when I’m around others... like when I visited Canada or Chicago or speak with my Aussie or Japanese friend, I unintentionally start picking up their accents! And I never even realize it until someone else points it out to me 🤦♀️
In the US a British considered sexy. Many Americans don't travel much and we soak it in whenever we hear something different.
I remember visiting Australia and received attention for my American accent. "Say it again in American." It actually tickled me some.
Hello there, I am American, also a teacher and really appreciate your channel. I try to travel to England as much as I can and have never tried a British accent there. However, I understand that Americans pronounce words differently and have tried to say certain words in British English when in England. That said, I am wondering if it comes off as offensive for me to say parts of sentences in British English and American English. For example, I might ask a cab driver to go to Marleybone pronounced the way I've learned it from British English speakers and not as an American might. Does that make sense?
Dear Shelley, funnily enough, this is yet another pitfall! "Marley-Bone" is NOT the correct pronunciation. It's Mari-lebun. I've just been able to return to England after two years to visit my family. "Mari-lebun" is our station coming in to London from Buckinghamshire (Bucking-em-shah). There's only one way to pronounce things, and that's the upper-class way (hahahaha!!!).
I like British accent more than American
Why is that?
I feel i am a really native speaker😄
Let me answer this one; cause it’s English English, not American English
The posh English accent is like music to me, American accent is quite flat
because american english sounds so vulgar
To be considered smart and sexy is not a bad stereotype I think ; )
Only Americans consider us like that, every single European knows what most of us are, we are drunk idiots who yell at foreigners
@@connor4435 Don' t be so hard on yourself . Some British people is really nice and educated . I love to talk to elders. They speak clearly and it sounds good .
An American here. Great and entertaining video! Thanks for putting this together, Tom. I, too, have attempted an English accent before (in a RUclips video), which I’m sure is cringeworthy to British ears.
FYI, the way you pronounce “consternation” at 3:42 sounds vaguely Bostonian to me in terms of the “nasalization.”
What Americans do you think could actually fool a native Brit into thinking he or she is actually British? Off the top of my head, I have heard that Meryl Streep does a good job in “The Iron Lady,” Gwyneth Paltrow does well in “Shakespeare in Love” and Robert Downey, Jr., does well in the Sherlock Holmes films. I would need a Brit to confirm any or all of those.
As for Brits doing American accents, I think Hugh Laurie is a master.
Thanks again for the great video(s)!
Tom Holland does a fantastic American accent. I didn’t even realize he was British for the longest!
I'm brazilian learning English (also with friends) and the interesting fact is that in the dubbing Ross was actually doing the portuguese 🇵🇹 accent lol. I was curious how they would adapt
Bro u ve missed JOEY. Plz do make a video on difference between Australian accent nd British accent
How to do Australian accent :
1. Add clear "e" to "a" sound
2. Omit "R" or not, your decision
3. Fight with big spiders on daily basis to make your voice louder.
Done
And between Australian and South African English
@@ragilmalik I'm crying 😂😂😂
Aussies pronouce the O sound differently, almost like an Oi. They pronounce their Ts like Ds, just like the Americans do.
I have an Iranian friend (in America) who speaks fluent English, but he cannot detect a difference between Australian speech and British speech. He finds it mysterious when others speak of a difference.
On Frasier daphne was from Manchester but when they had her so called brother on the show he was trying to do Rp and cockney (a la Chandler here meaning very badly). They just presumed it ok that a brother and sister brought up in the same home would have 2 accents from different ends of the country.
Who doesn't love a British accent.. It's the best ❤️
It's just the way he says 'EYE-DENTIFIED' is absolutely brilliant
You missed the moment where Ross was imitating Emily's speech and I think Monica asked him to not talk like her.
The main thing with Phoebe is that the way she relates to things is so idiosyncratic and off kilter that to her that might’ve been a spot on imitation of a British phrase.
When Americans attempt a British accent: it's not the way you sound but it's the way you sound to us. To our ears. We think in an American accent. We do the Victorian chimney sweep accent, "allo Guv'nuh" because it's the easiest one for us to do. Just like the "Oh my God" valley girl accent (which is obsolete by the way) is the easiest one for you to do. It's all in good fun and there is zero disrespect in it from us.
This video had me sitting for twenty minutes debating exactly how to say laboratory.
Labor-uh-tree?
Labruh-tory?
Labuh-tory?
I guess the second one.
I think the reason a lot of Americans do RP or Cockney when trying to do a British accent is that those are the only two we really distinguish. I think we interpret RP as speaking properly, and Cockney as sounding uneducated and not very intelligent. Probably someone would do Cockney for broad comedy and RP when trying to sound stiff and proper.
This is excellent lesson i got from this VDO , fantastic n you deserved the best for teaching the lesson
Thks a lot Tom
Here in the US, we get exposed to the BBC, Sir David Attenbourough, the various James Bond actors like Sir Roger Moore, etc. Plus Her Majesty the Queen, plus all the rest of the royal family, etc. So we hear a disproportionate amount of RP speech and very little of those rich regional accents you have all around the UK. I hope that explains it.
RP may be spoken by a small minority, but Americans have heard more BBC speech than ordinary speech. Most Americans only have various scenes from various movies as samples of British speech, but the British accent makes a large impression. When I was young, I became fascinated with the posh, Queen's English. It is a captivating experience, and it was more common in British movies from the 1930's and 1940's.
Eddie Izzard was met with huge but nervous laughter when he said, "I don't have an accent; I'm English. You have an accent!" because of the neglected irony.
As a Brazílian I find it really hard to speak English with a British accent, my favourite, due to the fact that in my country we are mostly influenced by the American culture. To make up for that, I try to, every day, watch one or two of your videos. And this way, do my best to mirror your accent.
What gets me is how many different accents Britain has for the size of the country. America has far fewer, although there are many different southern varieties. Me - I'm a midwesterner who tries to tamp down that short "O" sound (i.e., "hot dog").
As an American that is studying accents to develop my voice acting skills, this is actually very helpful!
Hello Tom -- American here, who has also lived in the UK. To respond to your query: my sense is that in the USA RP is considered sophisticated & cultivated, and some seem to associate the accent with being sort of stiff and formal (at least I've seen people put on that sort of attitude when trying to imitate the accent). Also, I don't think most Americans are aware of the variety of accents there are in the UK!
I am a non-native English speaker. I struggle to understand Downton Abbey's Daisy and Mrs. Patmore's accents. Could you be so kind as to explain what accents those are and how to understand them better? Big fan of your channel.
Yes! Brilliant idea : )
@@EatSleepDreamEnglish Thanks! You have no idea of the impact your channel has. I love the English language and I'm always trying to become a better speaker. :) I'll make sure to share your content. Greetings from Peru!!
Most of them were using yorkshire accent, except mr.Bates and carson. Daisy was geared more towards manchester dialect if i'm not mistaken
Theirs was my favourite accent. From the Yorkshire area.
Plz make Queen's posh accent failure in The Crown too.. Try look around, I bet ya'll find many in that series
I love your videos! As an American that moved to the UK, I was totally unprepared for the West Midlands. hahahaha I imagined all British people with the RP British accent, drinking tea from fine china, listening to classical music whilst reading from leather bound books.
That's indeed on the continent only!
The cardinal rule of learning the Received Pronunciation is to say all Ts as Ts, not Ds. In the U.S., British comes out as Bridish. Little becomes liddle.
for myself when I was younger watching American TV shows on public television, they mostly seemed to focus mostly on the posher classes , Upstairs / downstairs ,Masterpiece theater, ETC. up until later, when they started running other British shows like last of the summer wine, and East Ender's it made it seem that all of the British were very posh . and of course it is very appealing to those of us who are not wealthy and worldly. to dream what it would be like to live in such splendor and ease of the posher classes. I call it the Hyacinth Bucket syndrome 😀
since then I have started discovering other older British TV shows here on youtube
Open all Hours/ on the busses/ Dinner ladies. the good life, Etc. I love everything British! 🤗❤
I agree that we probably get our ideas of British accents from movies and TV. And since RP is the accent of the BBC, that’s what we usually hear. We watched a lot of BBC drama in our house. So for me, hearing British accents is so common that sometimes I don’t even notice.
I dont think I've got a favorite accent. As long as I understand what people are speaking is fine.
i dont agree the way you speak will determine if you are gonna be part of a group or not
@@daverd6434 well, learning English to me is taking a bit from Americans, a bit from Englishes, a little bit more from Australians and so on. Does It mean that I'm part of every group and no one at the same time? Haha
@@francaisparimmersion i dare you with your "whatever accent" go to england and try to be treated as a pair, if you have no role model a person or accent you want to speak like, in the race to improve your english you have no goal, i just can imagine how terrible is your english
@@daverd6434 I've started learning English when I was kid from DVDs made in RP. So my pronunciation have turned out Like that and I've picked up the intonation as well. Brits I meet often say that my accent is too posh, not like the regular Brits.
I think cockney and scouse accents are the hardest. I can pronounce their words, but when I put them in a sentence my intonation turns out as if I'm trying to mock them 😃
@@daverd6434 They are learning English. Learning a specific accent is an absolutely mundane and pointless endeavor when compared to actually learning the language. Having a hybrid accent doesn't reduce your ability to speak English as a language, so your assumption that their English has to be terrible because they pick up a bit of each accent, is asinine. Many people already have a hybrid accent. It just sounds like you're extremely judgmental and pretentious. Also, "part of a group or not?" Many immigrants speak English twanged by their mother tongues but are still naturalized citizens; they're just as much a part of "a group" (American, Canadian, British, Australian, whatever) as anyone else.
Fits of all I've got to thank you for your great videos.
Now, there is something in the British accent that makes it sound like Ross. I went to the UK to improve my English, after some weeks I found myself speaking like Ross. You might think we overexagerate but it's how you British sound to us. I spent 4 months in Brighton, one more in Carlisle, I went to London, Oxford and Newcastle... And whereas there are subtle difference (subtle for me, of course you could tell lots of differences) In all those different cities people have the same long ending sound, like pushing the end of the phrases, like an elderly British butler (Like saying "Excuse me seeeer", "Sooo",) ... hehehe. So Yes, it's weird for you. But for us it sounds that way.
Regarding the pronounced vowels between consonants as in "laboratory", yes, that's a big mistake. That's something everybody notes the first day.
Something more complicated is The dropped H and even more the glottal T because there is not a rule, some people use them and some people don't and in some words and phrases...
Anyway I understand how you feel when someone mocks Méxican Spanish... For F**k's sake! we don't speak like that.
Cheers from Mexico 🇲🇽!! !
I'm from northern england (cheshire, to be more exact) and after 12 years in america, i've developed a hybrid accent, but americans can still detect hints of an english accent. I've learned to speak with a RP, especially at work, so that people could understand me (and even then, some people still have trouble understanding me). I had someone note that i did sound posher at work and i sort of let it "relax" outside of work, something which i wasn't even aware of. Alas, she insisted that if it's not the stereotypical british accent (aka RP), then it's "ghetto".
You can't beat Dick Van Dyke in Merry Poppins
My native language is Spanish and my original accent is mexican but, when I talk with south Americans I get a colombian accent. I think I sound sexier. However, when I speak in English I always use my "british accent" cause I spent a lot of effort to acquire it.
i ve been doing the same, would you share some tips or the method your are following to get a british accent please?
A mexican pretending british accent? lol
C'mon man, we're americans, literally north americans, why sound british? That's just being pretentious.
@@rickdeckard9596 it is not being pretentious at all, If I am imposed to learn a language, then I would prefer to learn the variant, the dialect that sounds better to me. I really like how british accent sounds and I would like to speak like them.
Guess you're right, but is weird speak a british accent in Mexico maybe the spelling, all schools i know teach the american.
The only think i really disagree with you is the Colombian accent thing you say about sound sexier.
@@rickdeckard9596 Of course in Mexico I rarely use English, I speak it when talking with friends from other countries. And yea, sorry I just have that weird idea that colombian accent is really pleasant to hear.
I looove British accent it is very classy and sophisticated. I mean Queens English
I'm from the US and definitely agree that regional accents (aside from Cockney) are very underrepresented here. Most of the Americans I know are maybe only familiar with Received Pronunciation, Cockney, Irish, and Scottish, and often mix RP and Cockney in a very exaggerated way, like Ross does. I grew up watching a lot of English period television that did feature West Country, Yorkshire, and Derbyshire accents, but they never really stuck with me for some reason. We hear regional British accents so seldom in the US that I think we tend to group them all together without recognizing the distinctions between them.
Even more, as you’ve shown here, is the assumption that there is only one Irish or only one Scottish accent (there are loads throughout the country, similarly to the variation in England and even more in some instances). It’s always a fun game for me trying to get Americans (and Aussies, I live in Aus) to guess where I’m from or point it out on a map. Never correct, unless they have family in the area
I live in US and LOOOOVE British accent!
I love your videos!! Greetings from Argentina
It's not just pronunciation though. They are using the sing-song lilt that many with the British accent have and also British expressions, "No? Just me then?" Brits often end their sentences with "then" and "isn't it" as styles of speech or expressions.
The perception varies in the states. Accent is just a matter of empathy as you stated it.
Dear Tom thank you very much, i would really appreciate and i am sure that many of us would be greatful if you can make some videos about how to get a british accent ... but more about intonation the music of the language and rhythm.
I do this with my friend who is from Nothern London. I have more of a West London accent but with her I tend to mirror the way she speaks.
I'm not a native English speaker. But I do think British English sound elegant and sophisticated.
About the bidialectalism... I am Spanish and I live in Castilla y León, where we are supposed to speak with the most standard Spanish accent. Whenever I spend some time with a friend living in Galicia, Andalucía, Cataluña, Extremadura, Basque Country... my accent changes a bit and also my vocabulary. This country has as variety of accents as the UK. It's sad that Hispanic people are always represented with an exaggerated Mexican accent, as if Spain, Colombia, Cuba, Argentina, Uruguay and the rest of the Spanish speaking countries didn't exist. Thank you for reading. Peace! 😊
As an American, when I hear a RP accent it sounds very educated, high class and proper.
because it is
I subconsciously mirror people with strong accents - it took me weeks to convince a boss I had that I wasn't making fun of her Arkansas (USA) accent! I'm planning a trip to Devon next year, and I can't wait to see what happens when I'm totally immersed in a different culture and accent for 2 weeks!
As an american, received pronunciation sounds very elegant and intelligent to us. As to why that is, i have no idea.
I enjoyed your content very much!
First off, I believe that the RP/BBC accent is perceived as smart due to being the main source of news to the American troops during WWI.
Secondly, I do mirror other people but only when I speak Spanish. I live in Texas and most Hispanics here have a Texano accent so speaking to them in my Puerto Rican accent showed to be a bit challenging for them to understand 😄
I have spoken with R.P for the past 9 or 10 years and now I’m Eighteen and when I was learning the accent I actually made a couple of mistakes at the start of the training that I did in school (Accent Training) I speak really posh
Since age 9 I’ve had an extremely posh accent......
American Anglophile here. If there is a bumbling English stereotype, I am unaware of it! The typical stereotype is that British people are more eloquent than Americans, all else being assumed equal. The two could be expressing the same ideas and it will always sound smoother and smarter coming from a Brit (RP accent, obviously). Almost any European accent is better than an American accent to an American. Except maybe Southern American accents. I've heard a lot of people swoon over Southern accents. :)
This guy looks like a cross between Daniel Radcliffe and Douglas Murray 😂😂
I'm always curious what Brits think of different American accents. I watch a lot of these videos and it always (understandably) references the General American Accent, but there are so many more!
Hi! This was really a nice and fun video. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Just a small request! Can you make a comaparison video of Indian and British accents? It will definitely help people from India to learn more about British accent.
During the 90's (and any decade before) , most Americans initial exposure to a British accent came from American television which usually has an American attempting a British accent. Personally, I didn't know what Cockney was until adulthood.
The attraction a British accent, in my opinion, is of sophistication (Posh) or rebellion (Cockney)
Ello, Tom. I enjoyed your video and want to get myself used to British Accent because i am speaking American english and always at loss when hearing British people talk. Thank u. Very good lesson
Personally, I love a received british accent. I find it really comforting/relaxing actually. the cockney accent I tend to find comical and I think it's just because my first impression of it was in Mary Poppins so that goofy, over exaggerated presentation just stuck with me.
I love these videos! Keep going :)
I always seem to mirror other peoples accents and I have no idea why I do it! I always feel so embarrassed when they call me out on it and I’m like sorry!
Received Pronunciation is the friendliest way for people to learn English, because dialects confuse and drop letters and dipthongs. (You must admit, if we look for common language, that a language like French is hard--letters that one never says anymore in nearly every word, and with growing gender neutrality "the" is friendlier...) It's too bad so many people in England see RP as a threat to their various cultures and would have it dismissed as old-fashioned...It's clarity strengthens the use of the language world-wide. Americans love its sound because of elegant Hollywood and British films; it's just that simple.
Daphne in Frasier has a Yorkshire accent. She claims to be from Manchester though, which is almost identical.
I’m American and I melt for the British accent. Melt ...
I do like British accents, but it’s not my favorite. My favorite accents are:
1. Norwegian English (they have a singing quality to their language which makes for a beautiful accent)
2. Irish
3. Australian
I think southern British accents are generally perceived in the US as proper, attractive, and intelligent but northern British accents are perceived as cute and funny
My husband mirrors accents Omg! It's so annoying and embarrassing. All it takes is just talking to someone with an accent & then he starts. I so cringed when we traveled to Britain and talked to strangers then lol tried to do a British accent. We in the US do love the accents across the pond😊💕, I Especially like Colin Firths and Adin Turners. It'd be awesome Tom if you did a whole segment in a US accent:)) Nice vid👍🏻👍🏻
Hehehe that’s hilarious Roma! Do you say anything to him about it?
@@EatSleepDreamEnglish Once in awhile I do because I'm afraid in certain cultures it might be offensive if they pick up on it, like he'll do it when he talks to my mom she has a Spanish. 😁 I'm so glad she doesn't notice it or doesn't care.
Hey Tom
Love all you videos about friends and diffrent English accents.
Well done!
I couldn't help but wonder is the following situation mirroring as you've been describing it?
I'm Swiss and so is my cousin. He has a girlfriend in Italy and they communicate in English. I recently noticed that he spoke English with an Italian accent. It was so funny it made me laugh out loud.
Thanks in advance
My favorite upper class British accents I've found on RUclips are the Mitford sisters. They sound more British somehow than the German royal family???? Jessica and Diana are my favorites, but I listened to the Duchess of Devonshire too..
I thought if Phoebe’s attempt as trying but failing at it. And not caring. Haha
I learned Spanish as a first language from Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. I started to learn American English, but my mother was sent to the UK to teach autocad or whatever to people in Oxford. It was like a seminar. This was back in 2006. We barely knew English, but we could defend ourselves. Now living in the UK for 2 years we learned RP. Me, a 9 year old boy in 2008. Spoke with a mixture of RP and Spanish accent. We then moved to the U.S. Teachers noticed my mother’s accent, she still had a Spanish accent as she learned English in her late 30’s early 40’s, quickly put my brother and I in English as a Second Language classes. I speak with a forced American accent which gets tiring, but when I speak with my regular RP/Spanish accent people think I try to sound British. My fear is getting judged by both Americans and Brits. I already get made fun of for having an accent when speaking Spanish. But everything almost exactly translates from Puerto Rican Spanish to RP and it makes life easier. Do I just say screw it and speak with my natural accent, or do I speak with a forced American accent?
They try do Mancunian accent on Fraser. When they introduce some of Daphne’s family.
Hey Tom, what about an RP accent video by C3PO? The first posh and clear English accent I heard in films.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh that's an amazing idea!
Americans don't recognize that many British accents are not considered posh at home and just lump them altogether as classy or charming. Also, all Americans are familiar with Liverpudlian via the Beatles, although they mostly don't understand that it's kind of hick.
How does Stewie Griffin (Family Guy) sound to British ears? To my Dutch ears he sounds pretty British.
He sounds like an educated American to us.
Seth MacFarlane says it's his take on the British actor Rex Harrison, who played the phonetics professor, Henry Higgins, in "My Fair Lady".
Fake!
Talking about Bidialectalism, you might think of that IT crowd where Moss and Roy mirror a cockney, football-like dialect, so hilarious 😂
Every time I watch your videos I get more enthusiastic about learning English
Maybe RP and Cockney are chosen as they can broadly represent upper and lower class in films, whereas other accents would be too nuanced for an American audience to understand. Also, they would have difficulty understanding what was being said with accents they are unfamiliar with.
Speaking to the whole mirroring bit... I'm american, from Ohio, and consider myself to have a pretty neutral american accent. HOWever.... If I get on a bit of a bill burr kick and watch a lot of him in a few days, I start t-fronting, raising my pitch, and overall just adopting his shrill boston accent. Especially if I'm angry/exasperated, like he often comes across.
You know, we Americans could tell how mixed up the accent was. I think the point was that the accent was *bad*. That's why Rachel & Monica prank called him to join the bad accent university.
Great video, I love that scene with Ross too….also it’s Chandler with an AN sound not R sound lol but I understand why you may pronounce it differently but I say it with a AN sound and I’m British
i love the vowel sounds. our accent to you doesn’t sound like an accent to us. so yeah we love the sophistication of it
Of course we all mirror people's dialect for the same reason which is "showing we are on the same page of understanding, and we do it without knowing sometime, and it doesn't matter"🤷
Tom, I give you information. Several years ago, I would watch Turkish TV series on SCTV during my spare time. While I was watching the film, I could see Turkish male actors who looked just like you. I thought you were a film star from Turkey.
I have been seeking some sort of recognition on my received pronunciation... that comes natural to my tongue....I love it and I certainly don't intend to change it, whatsoever...!!!!!
Tom, that was a fantastic and funny lesson 😊😆 The British accent(s)... I am not American, I am Polish and my mother tongue also uses syllable timed rythem. I think the Americans associate the British accent with both RP and Cockney because the RP is a general one, a standard, a 'bible' of English whereas the Cockney one is considered to be a slang. Now, the rest of the British accents are not recognizable, I am sorry for saying it. But pretend Tom and any other British speakers over there that you are not a British person, you were not born in Britain and you did not grow up in the UK. Then, your brain is not used to even not able differentiate the other British accents. My homeland has got a few accents but a standard language is used widely. We are taught the standard one at schools and if you want to get even a causal job, you are supposed to speak standards. I will tell you more, when you go to the other city and if you use your own regonalism, you can be laughed at that. That is why Poles are capable of recognizing the Polish accents but we speak a general standard. Now, when you learn English all your life and then you go to Northern England and you hear those British accens like Scouse, Manchester etc. you think to yourselves 'where is English I have been learning all my life'. I think the same situation is in America. They learn a standard and when they want to be posh, they at least try and/or refer to RP. Of course American accents are diversed but not in a way the British ones are. What is intetesting Polish people understand Californian accent the most. A reason is the California one uses all syllables as we do in Polish. Anyway, a language is a language, an accent is an accent. There is nothing to critisize. Just bear in mind that if somebody speaks broken English, it means they speak at least one more language 😉💕🇬🇧🇵🇱🇺🇸
We had a lot of British content from the BBC on PBS in the US. Probably accounts for recognizing RP and the associations it has for us. And I think you are right that nonnatives don’t know how to recognize different foreign accents. Not necessarily that we can’t tell them apart, but just because you can tell that they sound different doesn’t mean you know how or why.
Funny video! I am American and it seems to me we love British accents. I love all things British and would like to take a class to learn to speak British English ☺️.
I love the country side views on movies, documentaries of the UK.
Beautiful. I would love to hear your thoughts on The show Frasier, episode: “Where every bloke knows your name.” 😂 Can’t wait to visit England this summer! 🇬🇧