Quote:
Originally Posted by Caradhras
Slightly OT
What annoys me about US shows is that the British/English bloke is always the bad guy - and usually talks like the Royal family!
<SNIP>
And finally - what amazes me is the Dutch and Scandanavians, they speak English better than us English! Many with perfect, if neutral, accents.
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Caradhras:
The villain speaks the Queen's English because he is so cool and sophisticated compared to the slobbish 'Merican half-arsed do-gooders. But then the underdog Colonials turn the tables on the uppity ne'er-do-well by some quaint home-spun backwoods (or urban streetwise) trick!
("Why, that's just not cricket! It simply isn't _done_!")
One other factor of Americans speaking English is that they in general have lazy ears. English is a pleasant amble through communication while other languages tend to be a roller coaster ride on steroids comparatively. I work for a computer help desk and when we get clients who are not native English speakers, some of my co-workers are stymied by the accent and unfamiliar rhythms of non-native speakers.
In fact they call me over to try to figure out what is being said. Sad to say, many if not most Americans don't _listen_ very attentively--they expect their language to be spoon-fed to them. JMHO.