Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

crystalGwolf t1_j9xu9u9 wrote

Reply to comment by anthonybsd in TIL residents of Tangier Island, 12 miles off the coast of Virginia, have remained so isolated they still speak a dialect similar to the original colonists from the 1700s by emily_9511

As a British person, couple points:

  1. There's no such thing as a British accent, it includes 3 countries each with their own substantial regional differences
  2. Received pronunciation or standard southern or just London accent is most dominant and you'll find it around London and home counties but only there
  3. Some Americans may pronounce certain words with similarities to London Shakespearean English but there's no way Elizabethans/Georgians walked around with the nasally accent Americans do today. Village towns in the black country and south west of England are going to be consistently more correlated
4

Re-AnImAt0r t1_j9y2gam wrote

>with the nasally accent Americans do today

wait, you watch Avengers and think Samuel L Jackson, Robert Downey Jr, etc. somehow have "nasally" accents but Peggy Carter and the other Brits who don't pronounce their "R"s and whose air literally goes up into their nose when pronouncing an A or H don't? crazy. You have heard King Charles speak, yes?

4

crystalGwolf t1_j9y8zeu wrote

I don't watch those films but in my experience, Americans in real life sound nothing like they do in films/tv. All the Americans I've met talk at volume and at a high nasally pitch. If I imitate an American accent, it's very much through the nose.

I won't respond to British people not pronouncing Rs because I've already explained Britain is 3 different countries with huge differences in accents and that probably just relates to one small section of England that I am not familiar with at all.

The "Brits" you see in Hollywood films tend to cater to the American audience of what they think a British (specifically English) person sounds/acts like and resembles no one in England. The portrayal, at best, invokes eye rolling and, at worst, is offensive.

King Charles is the King and the Royal Family have their own distinct accent. I wouldn't call it nasally but more blustery, back of the throat.

0

anthonybsd t1_j9yentg wrote

> I don’t watch those films but in my experience, Americans in real life sound nothing like they do in films/tv.

Do you perchance mean 40+ old movies and TV when the insanely artificial mid Atlantic accent was prevalent? That would be understandable. However, nowadays the main TV accent is some variation of midwestern and this form honestly is very common, so I am not sure which Americans you talk to :)

3

crystalGwolf t1_j9yw5fv wrote

No, like in Friends. They all have pretty innocuous accents. Modern Family is all a bit nasally tbf. It's always a bit of a shock hearing an American in real life though. Very distinct sound that they make

1

AndyZuggle t1_j9zc90f wrote

> No, like in Friends.

North Eastern accents are nasal. Jewish accents are nasal. The main cast consisted of:

Jennifer Aniston: North Easterner (NY)

Courtney Cox: Southerner

Lisa Kudrow: jew

Matt LeBlanc: North Easterner (MA)

Matthew Perry: Canadian

David Schwimmer: NYC jew

2

anthonybsd t1_j9ywkx6 wrote

Interesting. Friends has roughly New York accents (especially Joey). Modern Family is typical modern Midwestern. Perhaps it sounds stranger because actors (especially theater actors) tend to annunciate their words more, but that’s all I can think of.

1

crystalGwolf t1_j9ywvcr wrote

Maybe it's just because I grew up watching Friends aha

1

bgrill881 t1_j9yjwhp wrote

America actually has about 11-15 separate and distinct regions and cultures, that have a huge affect on the dialect. I would say they are more different than your 3 countries. Found the article, found it fascinating….. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-map-11-separate-nations-colin-woodward-yankeedom-new-netherland-the-midlands-tidewater-greater-appalachia-a8078261.html?amp

3

crystalGwolf t1_j9ywau1 wrote

Absolute load of shite aha

Uk has about 40 dialects and 6 local languages in a fraction of space and population

1