OT: Let me ask our British posters a strange question

[pmulcahy11b]

Maybe it's not politically correct, but --

Why is it that British people seem to find it very easy to speak with an American accent (of any kind), but from what I've heard, very few Americans can pull off any sort of British accent?

[StainlessSteelCynic]

And why can't any of you (British or American) do an Australian accent?

[Targan]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

Maybe it's not politically correct, but --

Why is it that British people seem to find it very easy to speak with an American accent (of any kind), but from what I've heard, very few Americans can pull off any sort of British accent?

That is a really easy question to answer from an Australian perspective - our TV and cinemas are completely swamped and dominated by American content so we hear American accents every single day of our lives. I can mimic a variety of American (and British) accents with ease. As far as other Anglophone countries go, America has no need to conquer them militarily - it is doing an excellent job of conquering them culturally. It all comes down to volumes of scale - the American media market is so vast that the prices charged by US networks for their programs are very low compared to local content, because local content (here in Australia anyway) is vastly more expensive to produce.

Please don't take this personally but I avoid most commercial TV network programming here in Australia because I am absolutely sick and tired of hearing American accents punctuated with canned laughter. It makes my skin crawl. I do regularly watch some American programs but they have a particular flavour that I like - NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles and The Unit to name a few. And some American sci fi series are top notch too.

[weswood]

Originally Posted by Targan

That is a really easy question to answer from an Australian perspective - our TV and cinemas are completely swamped and dominated by American content so we hear American accents every single day of our lives.

And you have my most sincere apolgy for that.

[WallShadow]

I, too, have always wondered what the several American regional accents sound like to a non-native ear, and just what changes are required by the non-native speaker to torture English into 'Merkan?

I do remember a very old version of Dracula produced in England back in the '70s that had someone trying very hard (and failing) to produce a Texan accent as one of the characters. Now we have Hugh Laurie (as "House") and Damian Lewis (Capt. Dick Winters in "Band of Brothers" and Charlie Crews in the series "Life") who have quite aptly mastered the art of phonically fooling the Colonial ear.

[TiggerCCW UK]

We have secret classes on it in school so that we can blend in when we come over to re colonise the Americas

Honestly though, I've no idea, although I know that in England my Belfast accent is regularly taken for Scottish or American. I also pick up and lose accents very quickly.

[Rainbow Six]

Whilst I personally don't think that I can mimic any accent (with the possible exception of South African), I think Targan hit the nail on the head - it's probably got a lot to do with the influence that American TV shows and cinema have. Especially the TV shows...I get around 30 different TV channels, and honestly have no clue how many different episodes of the various CSI and Law and Order franchises it would be possible to watch in a week, but it's a lot!

[jester]

I agree, I used to have an ear, especialy when I had roommates from the sotuh or new england, or dated a girl from Oz, I would be able to mimic and pass somewhat, often just to mess with them. Exposure and developuing the ear and of course to mimic what you hear.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by WallShadow

I, too, have always wondered what the several American regional accents sound like to a non-native ear, and just what changes are required by the non-native speaker to torture English into 'Merkan?

After the concentration camp she was in was liberated, my mother got to hear her first person speaking English. He was American -- my said she thought at the time he sounded like he was trying to talk with a mouth filled with bubblegum. I'm guessing he was from the Deep South -- or maybe Brooklyn.

My mother speaks seven languages -- and she says that English was by far the hardest to learn.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by TiggerCCW UK

Honestly though, I've no idea, although I know that in England my Belfast accent is regularly taken for Scottish or American. I also pick up and lose accents very quickly.

I have a weird accent to most people -- they can't place it. It's because I grew up as a military dependent and then had a career in the Army -- my accent is a composite of all the places I lived, plus bunches of expressions and phrases from all over the place.

[Webstral]

Originally Posted by TiggerCCW UK

We have secret classes on it in school so that we can blend in when we come over to re colonise the Americas.

I knew it! South Park was right all along! So was Burke Breathed (Bloom County) when he protrayed Prince Charles ordering the Royal Navy to "retake Massachusetts".

Truth be told, I'd be happy to have a million or more English-speaking immigrants arrive. The English learner (EL) situation in California's schools is becoming a real crisis. I don't have a problem with (legal) immigrants per se, but the system isn't set up to handle the sheer weight of EL in the public schools. California has a population of about 38 million in a nation of approximately 300 million. We'll round this to 10% of the nation's population. One third of the EL in the nation's public schools are in California. In some school districts, EL are 90% or more of the school body. Again, it is what it is. It would be nice to be able to mix in a few more native English speakers--even if their English is a bit dodgy.

Webstral

[pmulcahy11b]

Web, you should try coming here to Texas -- not only is our state the king of "teaching to the test," the Texas legislature is currently considering replacing all the history books in our schools with ones that remove whole swaths of history, putting in sections that are essentially complete bullshit, distorting other sections (did you know that McCarthy was actually right about communists in the US and that he was run out of office without justification? These clowns think so...), and in some cases, just making stuff up. This is because Texas is the state where the Tea Party runs riot and Texas is the headquarters of Right-Wing Wackos Central. Texas kids are already some of the most poorly educated in the country -- and it looks like it's just going to get worse. It's not like our kids aren't going to school -- it's that poor education methods are institutionalized in Texas.

[Webstral]

I've been following the developments in Texas education. It does not seem like a pretty picture.

The Tea Party confuses me. If the electorate doesn't like what their elected officials are doing, why not put more pressure on those officials? With the number of people flocking to the Tea Party, they easily could bury the incumbents with letters demanding a particular policy. Special interests can provide funding, but they can't provide votes. How a legislator votes on given issues is public record. Wouldn't it be simpler to hold a legislator accountable for how s/he votes than create a whole new party? If the numbers involved in the Tea Party were to sign documents representing a unified position, neither Democrat nor Republican incumbent could ignore them. "We'll vote you out" is the one message to which our elected officials really give their attention.

I understand that most republics have the same problem. We're too busy with our everyday lives to get involved in politics until things go south. Ounces of prevention...

Webstral

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Webstral

I've been following the developments in Texas education. It does not seem like a pretty picture.

The Tea Party confuses me. If the electorate doesn't like what their elected officials are doing, why not put more pressure on those officials? With the number of people flocking to the Tea Party, they easily could bury the incumbents with letters demanding a particular policy. Special interests can provide funding, but they can't provide votes. How a legislator votes on given issues is public record. Wouldn't it be simpler to hold a legislator accountable for how s/he votes than create a whole new party? If the numbers involved in the Tea Party were to sign documents representing a unified position, neither Democrat nor Republican incumbent could ignore them. "We'll vote you out" is the one message to which our elected officials really give their attention.

I understand that most republics have the same problem. We're too busy with our everyday lives to get involved in politics until things go south. Ounces of prevention...

Webstral

Two words: "voter apathy." It's a disgrace how little of the eligible population in this country actually votes, and its a disgrace how ignorant the electorate in general is of voting issues. It's why most of those who do vote can so easily be led around by the nose by special interests and the political parties.

In his parting address to the country, George Washington warned of the danger of forming political parties. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were already forming the ancestors of the current Democratic and Republican parties. I really wish that the country had listened to him.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Webstral

The Tea Party confuses me. If the electorate doesn't like what their elected officials are doing, why not put more pressure on those officials?

Like any other extremist group, the Tea Party wants to dictate what everyone's view of the world and how they live will be. Extremist groups are by definition anti-democratic (and I don't mean the party), regardless of what they say. They do not want people to form their own opinions, and a public that knows the issues is a serious threat to an extremist group.

[Adm.Lee]

Just to defend one of my heroes

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

In his parting address to the country, George Washington warned of the danger of forming political parties. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were already forming the ancestors of the current Democratic and Republican parties. I really wish that the country had listened to him.

And another reason people are Tea Partying is that they are in a minority, they have griped to their Congressmen and Senators, and the stuff they don't want is happening anyway. Look at the two who were upset in their primaries this month-- Sen. Bennett was a reliable Republican, but he is being "held accountable" for being outvoted.

FWIW, political stupidity is all over, I think the GOP candidate for governor in Ohio is going to run on repealing the income tax so he can attract businesses to the state. I don't think businesses will come to a state with no schools....

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Targan

...and The Unit to name a few.

Strangely enough, Sayaret Maktal is also referred to as "The Unit" in the Israeli Army. The Unit -- Israel anyone? Hollywood, are you listening?

[pmulcahy11b]

Just a weird thought that popped into my head: do you think Alexander Hamilton's friends called him "Ham" as a nickname?

Actually, Alexander Hamilton's Federalist party died out after the War of 1812. For that matter, John Adams was a Federalist, so I did screw up there.

[weswood]

Originally Posted by Webstral

The Tea Party confuses me. If the electorate doesn't like what their elected officials are doing, why not put more pressure on those officials? With the number of people flocking to the Tea Party, they easily could bury the incumbents with letters demanding a particular policy. Special interests can provide funding, but they can't provide votes. How a legislator votes on given issues is public record. Wouldn't it be simpler to hold a legislator accountable for how s/he votes than create a whole new party? If the numbers involved in the Tea Party were to sign documents representing a unified position, neither Democrat nor Republican incumbent could ignore them. "We'll vote you out" is the one message to which our elected officials really give their attention.

I understand that most republics have the same problem. We're too busy with our everyday lives to get involved in politics until things go south. Ounces of prevention...

Webstral

I think the TEA Partyis trying to let our elected reps know what they are against and for. Such as a smaller government, less taxes, etc. Yes, we can let the elected officials know by voting them in or out of office, but when the elections are held every four years, that's four years elected offials can run amok doing what they themselves want.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by weswood

Yes, we can let the elected officials know by voting them in or out of office, but when the elections are held every four years, that's four years elected offials can run amok doing what they themselves want.

Isn't that always true? The politicians aren't really interested in the voters until the campaign gets well underway -- and then they are largely interested in mollifying them without really doing anything to hurt the special interests that give them money. That's what the BP hearings in the Senate really are right now -- they're a show for the voters. The politicians aren't really willing to bite the hand that feeds them.

[headquarters]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

Just a weird thought that popped into my head: do you think Alexander Hamilton's friends called him "Ham" as a nickname?

Actually, Alexander Hamilton's Federalist party died out after the War of 1812. For that matter, John Adams was a Federalist, so I did screw up there.

Couldnt he have been an AL ?

[Webstral]

Originally Posted by weswood

I think the TEA Partyis trying to let our elected reps know what they are against and for. Such as a smaller government, less taxes, etc. Yes, we can let the elected officials know by voting them in or out of office, but when the elections are held every four years, that's four years elected offials can run amok doing what they themselves want.

I agree completely that the Tea Party want their message to be heard, although they seem to have trouble deciding what that message is. (What organization with more than handful of people doesn't face this problem?) We should bear in mind that the entire House of Reps is re-elected every two years. The drawback of this system is that a Rep is on the campaign trail from the moment he is sworn in until the moment the election results come in. A lot of energy is diverted to the endless campaigning. On the other hand, the feeling of vulnerability that arises from the biennial campaign cycle is something the Tea Party is hoping to exploit. Heck, everybody wants to exploit it.

Governors, of course, are elected every four years. I ought to know what the legislative cycle is in every state, but I don't. I suppose it's easy enough to look up, what with the Internet and all.

I'm guilty of encouraging a thread that is becoming political. I may not be the best moderator to moderate or make a decision about where the line is drawn. Perhaps one of the other moderators might make an assessment?

Webstral

[headquarters]

Yeah - I will give it a try :

The thread was about accents ,somehow politics got in .It seems civil enough .Anyways .The assessment :

Try to say your pieces with a New Zeeland accent .



It is WEIRD but beautiful.

They change the E with an I or some such so that the word EXIT will sound like IXIT etc .

No try to do this with the legislative measures towards which the tea party is currently protesting

Anyone from down under that feels I have misrepresented their wonderous English ,please I will take no blindfold .Just let me finish my last fag and get on with it .



( yes ,it is a joke -and Yanks ,fag is slang for a cigarette in case some of you raised an eyebrow )

[pmulcahy11b]

For some reason, I've always had this idea that Headquarters and General Pain are actually the same person. Hmmm...maybe this post belongs in the Conspiracy Theories thread...

[headquarters]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

For some reason, I've always had this idea that Headquarters and General Pain are actually the same person. Hmmm...maybe this post belongs in the Conspiracy Theories thread...

thank GOD ALmighty thats not the case .

( have you seen his picture ?!?!?!? )

But we have been gaming for 18 years and our brains "absurd recepteors "are finely tuned in sync .

Other than that - I would love to be at the heart of a conspiracy theory .

As for GP -he already thinks he is in one....

[headquarters]

Originally Posted by headquarters

thank GOD ALmighty thats not the case .

( have you seen his picture ?!?!?!? )

But we have been gaming for 18 years and our brains "absurd recepteors "are finely tuned in sync .

Other than that - I would love to be at the heart of a conspiracy theory .

As for GP -he already thinks he is in one....

Also -please take a look at our subforums and tell me : did the same man write these ?

I would have to strive to attain the same mastery of grammar and misspellings that the good General has . Really put an effort in to work my way down to that level.

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by Targan

That is a really easy question to answer from an Australian perspective - our TV and cinemas are completely swamped and dominated by American content so we hear American accents every single day of our lives.

Same here in the UK, and I suspect that's the answer. I'd never realised that Brits were better at American accents than Americans were at British accents, though.

Americans trying to do British accents seem to choose one of two accents - very upper-class, or cockney. This annoys a lot of Brits, since there are plenty more accents to choose from. I do wonder, though, is the opposite true? Do Americans get annoyed that Brits always choose the same American accent?

Russ

[waiting4something]

I always caught a lot of flack in the military, because my strong northern accent. They used to call me a Canadian. When I was in Thailand a Australian guy in a Mc Donalds there thought I was a Canadian too. He said I can always tell the Americans from the Canadians. I was going to tell him that I wasn't a Canadian, but decided to forget about it.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by headquarters

Also -please take a look at our subforums and tell me : did the same man write these ?

I would have to strive to attain the same mastery of grammar and misspellings that the good General has . Really put an effort in to work my way down to that level.

OK, maybe you're both Higgins? Or Robin Masters?

Never mind, that's an old reference -- put "Magnum PI" into Google or Wikipedia and you'll understand...

[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!

A mate from my neck of the woods (NW England) was on holiday in the US and another tourist from the US (he was @ grand canyon or something) asked my mate 'what part of the US are you from?' - obviously he couldnt have been English because he didnt talk like the Queen or the dodgy chimney-sweep in Mary Poppins

And finally - what amazes me is the Dutch and Scandanavians, they speak English better than us English! Many with perfect, if neutral, accents.