fake American dialects (Society Listserv?)

Tue Jun 24 02:27:41 UTC 2008

One of the better jobs (imho) of a fake American accent was English actor
Dominic West off of 'The Wire.'  He's not merely pulling off 'generic
American' but doing a passable job at the subtle Baltimorean dialect.  One
episode in series 2, he had to pull off a local Baltimore street cop, trying
to imitate his idea of a British accent.  Has anyone else ever had to
pretend to be themself?  I'm sure it's happened before, but I estimate it's
rather rare.

On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 9:38 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: fake American dialects (Society Listserv?)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Once, in Amsterdam, my Army buddy and I were stopped by four Dutchmen
> who tried to pass themselves off as Americans. They were *very* good,
> but they gave themselves away by failing to "hold their mouths right."
> That is, they failed to display that ineffable attitude of superiority
> unconsciously projected by white Americans.
>
> To tell it like it is, black Americans likewise project this attitude
> of superiority when dealing with members of the lower orders, e.g.
> Europeans. It's as though only white Americans are regarded as truly
> socially white, to be treated with the proper respect and deference.
>
> Or, at least, that's the way it was when I was a GI fifty years ago.
> Germans, Dutch, Italians, etc., even French, were treated by black
> Americans exactly as they were treated by white Americans, with an
> attitude of friendly contempt that they would never have displayed
> toward white fellow-Americans. To paraphrase Chevy Chase: "We're
> Americans. And you're not."
>
> But then, the Europeans asked for it. One time, we were refused
> entrance to a Dutch after-hours joint because we were black, giving
> rise to an argument between the doorman and our Dutch friends. He was
> adamant: "Geen kleurd!" Then, one of our friends said, in English, the
> magic words: "But they're _Americans_!"
>
> The doorman's demeanor immediately changed, together with his
> language. His scowl immediately became a broad, welcoming smile as he
> said, "You guys are Americans? Well, come in, guys! Come in!" No white
> American doorman would have done that, simply because someone told him
> that some black, would-be patrons were Dutch.
>
> And yes, we did feel just a tiny bit of guilt, knowing that we were
> being admitted solely because we were colored and not kleurd.
>
> -Wilson
>
> On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 4:32 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: fake American dialects (Society Listserv?)
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > My message was essentially about fake American accents which I
> > flatter myself I detected.  And they were intended to deceive -- that
> > is, to sound American -- and were not comic.
> >
> > I hope I will not be coerced into listening to many episodes of PBS's
> > Mystery!  Does anyone else have the same impression, and can name the
> > programs and characters?  I'm beginning to remember possible other
> > instances -- various American detectives or Pinkerton agents coming
> > to assist -- or interfere with -- Holmes; American archaelogists in a
> > Poirot (David Suchet) episode.
> >
> > Joel
> >
> > At 6/23/2008 04:15 PM, David Donnell wrote:
> >>Hugh Laurie's "House" dialect & Charlize Theron's adopted
> >>conversational dialect have nothing to do with "comic effect", unless
> >>I'm missing something.
> >>
> >>Also, you say most people don't know the difference between a good &
> >>bad fake U.S. accent... I guess that's true, sounds like it.
> >>
> >>In any case, my point was that *I* usually know the difference--at
> >>least I think I do--but Hugh Laurie fooled me. I was surprised to
> >>learn that he's a Brit. And if many others are doing fake U.S.
> >>accents as passably as him, maybe I'm not as good at catching 'fake
> >>Americans' as I thought--always possible. I'd be interested in
> >>hearing about 'em.
> >>
> >>DD
> >>
> >>>---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >>>-----------------------
> >>>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >>>Poster:       Page Stephens <hpst at EARTHLINK.NET>
> >>>Subject:      Re: fake American dialects (Society Listserv?)
>
> >>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>
> >>>David,
> >>>
> >>>Having written a few radio comedies all I can tell you is that your
> purpose
> >>>is not to get the accents right but to exaggerate them for comic effect.
> >>>
> >>>In other words accuracy is not your first concern.
> >>>
> >>>I am certain that this becomes much more of a concern for writers of
> Brit
> >>>sitcoms such as Last of Summer's Wine which is localized and the
> characters
> >>>are purportedly from a single place.
> >>>
> >>>What I did was to use standard comic speech and stole blindly from such
> >>>stock characters as Eccles (The Goon Show) and Mortimer Snerd (Edgar
> >>>Bergen's creation) in order to create a perfect idiot.
> >>>
> >>>The point I am making is that you have to deal first of all with your
> >>>audience and then with accuracy since most of them wouldn't know the
> >>>difference anyway.
> >>>
> >>>Then there are the absolutely phony accents - WC Fields comes to mind -
> >>>which are pure inventions - his Micawber in David Copperfield is WC
> Fields
> >>>writ large but it works.
> >>>
> >>>If you want to see Hugh Laurie's talent then watch his Bertie Wooster in
> >>>Jeeves and Wooster or the various characters he played in A Bit of Fry
> and
> >>>Laurie or in Black Adder.
> >>>
> >>>Always remember, however, to take the audience into consideration which
> the
> >>>producer and director  have to do and make it accessible to them and if
> you
> >>>have an international audience you have to make it understandable to
> them.
> >>>
> >>>Today I am able to listen to a Goon Show which starred Peter Sellers,
> Spike
> >>>Milligan and Harry Secombe, but when I first heard one I didn't have any
> >>>idea what the hell they were saying in their various phony accents.
> >>>
> >>>My point is very simple: when you are analyzing any accent you hear on
> TV,
> >>>radio or in the movies you have to take into account the audience to
> which
> >>>it is directed since that is the third participant in the equation.
> >>>
> >>>Page Stephens
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>----- Original Message -----
> >>>From: "David Donnell" <daviddonnell at NYC.RR.COM>
> >>>To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >>>Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2008 9:57 AM
> >>>Subject: [ADS-L] fake American dialects (Society Listserv?)
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>  Was listening to Brit actor Hugh Laurie in his lead role on the TV
> >>>>  series "House"... Was wondering if his fake American accent is as
> >>>>  solid as it seems, or if it's just that his voice is compelling; I
> >>>>  don't pick up anything regional when he speaks, as I often do with my
> >>>>  fellow Americans, no sense of place to it.
> >>>>
> >>>>  Also, South African Charlize Theron seems quite good at her assumed
> >>>>  American accent, although there's something I can't put my finger on
> >>>>  that bugs me about it. (Not that I've spent tons of time listening to
> >>>>  her.) In any case, unlike the "House" guy, Theron's U.S. dialect
> >>>>  isn't just for a role, she apparently uses it in real life...
> >>>>  stateside at least.
> >>>>
> >>>>  Thoughts?
> >>>>
> >>>>  Any other favorite fake U.S. accents? (Whether competent or
> >>>>  entertaining; Monty Python used to crack me up with their screwy
> >>>>  American accents.)
> >>>>
> >>>>  David
> >>>>  Missourian @ NYC
> >>>>
> >>>>  ___________________________________________________
> >>>>
> >>>>  Wikipedia on Hugh Laurie's American accent:
> >>>  >
> >>>>  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Laurie
> >>>>
> >>>>  For his portrayal, Laurie assumes an American accent.[1] Laurie was
> >>>>  in Namibia filming Flight of the Phoenix and recorded the audition
> >>>>  tape for the show in the bathroom of the hotel, the only place he
> >>>>  could get enough light.[8] His US accent was so convincing that
> >>>>  executive producer Bryan Singer, who was unaware at the time that
> >>>>  Laurie is English, pointed to him as an example of just the kind of
> >>>>  compelling American actor he had been looking for. Laurie also adopts
> >>>>  the voice between takes on the set of House, as well as during script
> >>>>  read-throughs.
> >>>>
> >>>>  ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>>  The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>>
> >>>------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
> >>------------------------------------------------------------
> >>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
> --
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -----
>  -Sam'l Clemens
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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