Dodgy British accents in American programmes

[rugbychick1]

I'm currently recovering from surgery and binge watching "Bones" for the first time. Why do the accents for any British characters all sound the same? Now I've noticed it, why can't I un notice it?

He's the epitome of 'so bad, it's good'.

Johnny Depp has either a terrific ear, good voice coach or both. He did a really good Boston accent in the movie Blow about drug kingpin George Jung. I grew up next town over from Jung, so I know the accent. I think the Boston accent is hardest of all to master. Some of you might remember Robin Williams mangling it in Goodwill Hunting.

Kiera Knightley is currently butchering it in Boston Strangler.

Don Cheadle's cockney accent in Oceans 11 was hilarious! Sounded like he had done one of those linguaphone courses- " Speak cockney like Dick van Dyke"

On the other hand Hugh Laurie did such a good job with an American accent on House that most Americans were gobsmacked hearing him interviewed on chat shows.

Haha Haha YES! LVP aka Pinky doesn't seem bothered 🤭

The best 007

@BlackAmericanoNoSugar so how should she have pronounced gardai? (as a monoglot anglophone "guard-eye" is roughly what I've always assumed).

Dun Laoghaire too - admit I've not attempted to assume anything on that one

If you think accents are bad, try watching something made for English speakers that has a character who sometimes speaks a foreign language. While speaking that language they’re often actually just making random sounds, saying random things, or using a completely different language. I’ll try to think what it is, but I watched something where a Pakistani character spoke Urdu, as someone who has Urdu as a first language, they didn’t say a single word in Urdu.

Gardai rhymes with lardy only with the emphasis on the second syllable, 'guard-ee'. I googled it and the recommended pronunciation does actually come up as guard-eye, but I suspect it's a different word from a different language.

Dun Laoghaire is spelled the same way in both Irish and English, however it used to be spelled Dunleary and it's still pronounced that way if you're speaking English. She pronounced it 'doon lair-ah' which is what you say if you're speaking Irish.

So she did do a bit of due diligence, but got it wrong.

Dun Laoghaire is Dun Leery.

My husband is Malaysian and we have been living in Ireland for over a decade, not all that far from Dun Laoghaire, he still spells it thusly Dun Lo(random letters, never the same ones).

Haha yes I live in America and usually when Americans do British accents they're not very good, especially network television where they cheap out on dialect coaches! They seem to try harder for film. Not all non-North American people can do American accents well. Kate Winslet is excellent -- she nailed a very difficult regional accent in Mare of Easttown. But while Dominic West did a good job on the Wire, Aidan Gillen was awful.

I bet loads of British actors do dire US accents.

The best Scottish accent I've come across was Mark Strong in Kingsman. I looked him up on IMDB because I didn't realise he was Scottish (he's not).

Kudos to his voice coach for producing a lovely Gerard Butleresque Paisley accent rather than generic "Scotch".

Agree with all the posters pointing out that few British actors can do a convincing American accent. I can’t listen to Brandysnap Cummerbund doing his “american”

Oh, the Geordie accents on Vera! 🙉
Why, though. Why can't they come from somewhere else and just moved there?

Dreadful London accents from the 'Audrey Hepburn school of Cockney' (The Rine in Spine etc) really get on my nerves. Some of the worst offenders were posh old luvvies of yesteryear. Dick Van Dyke is just legend & he was allegedly drunk in a lot of his scenes. Love his dancing & persona.

Lin-Manuel Miranda was no better in the remake. Or maybe he was doing an Ommmaj 🤔

On the other hand Hugh Laurie did such a good job with an American accent on House that most Americans were gobsmacked hearing him interviewed on chat shows.

Hugh Laurie was very good as House. He did trip up a few times, but very seldom. He has mentioned that he found the accent difficult.

Kate Winslet is excellent -- she nailed a very difficult regional accent in Mare of Easttown.

The best! I am American with a fairly good “ear,” and I lived in that part of Pennsylvania for several years, but I couldn't come close to doing that accent. She deserved the awards she won for that role on the accent alone.

One of the giveaways for British actors doing American accents is when they over do the rhotic features of American English, and hit those “r” sounds too hard.

@ditalini Not seen that! Must check it out.

It’s a long time since I’ve read the books, but I thought Bridget’s family came across as very middle-class.

Bernard Cribbins as Perks in The Railway Children was pretty dreadful. I’m not even sure what accent he was aiming for. 😂

I read an interview recently where he jokingly blamed Julie Andrews for not telling him how shit it was!

Good old Dick, love him.

Catriona Balfe (Irish) does a very good English in Outlander. Yet bizarrely Sam Heughan’s accent sounds all wrong to me even though he and I are both Scottish!

The worst ever is Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins.

I agree with Martin Compston doing a good English accent. But James McAvoy in Starter for Ten... dreadful!