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February 24, 2008
More On Accents
Not long ago I was talking, on the phone, with a real, live British person. Samson, my youngest, walked by and I asked if he'd like to say hello on the phone.
He paused, got a sheepish look on his face and hesitantly said, "I can never understand her."
Not long after that I was listening to a Wait Wait Don't Tell Me podcast. They had a Brit on the phone explaining the differences between Soccer and Football and while the whole thing was pretty funny the part I recall with the most clarity was when the phone call ended and P.J. O'Rourke said, "You know they don't talk like that at home."
[As it happens, the main difference between Soccer and Football is that Soccer is boring and Football isn't. The difference between American Football and Australian Rules Football is white tuxedos and flags (and didn't their officials wear pimp hats in the early 80s)].
A couple nights later I was watching Graham Norton on BBC America. Ashley Jensen, the Scottish gal from Ugly Betty, was one of the guests. Ms. Jensen has a delightful accent (as does Graham) but at some point felt the need to say something about fanny packs in an American accent. This, of course, led to mentioning that an American fanny is a butt while a fanny in the UK is a hoo hoo (and therefore, I suppose, a 'pack' unto itself).
Anyway, when Ashley did her American accent it didn't sound too bad. It sounded very clean and more inflection-free than any Americans I know, but this seems to be pretty common when non-Americans do us (The first time I noticed this was when Emma Thompson was on Ellen and claimed she wasn't really British, but that she was from Dayton, Ohio. She said this in an American accent, though it certainly wasn't a Dayton, Ohio accent. Despite this, Emma is still really cute.)
But it also sounded very, uh, easy is the word I want. I think, what I mean, is that it didn't sound like it was too much work for Ashly to sound like an American. She was very easy to understand, and she wasn't breaking a sweat trying to sound that way.
And then I thought of my trip to England and all the people I talked with over there and how nobody ever said, "What was that again?" and how, once in a while I'd have to ask someone to repeat themselves as I'd get lost in the accent.
Much like Samson does.
The point is, the American accent seems to be easier to understand than a lot of your other accents. And it seems easy enough to make. I know that whenever I try to do an Irish, Scottish, British, or Australian accent I'll get an odd look; and not only when I'm getting my prostate checked.
I was thinking that if we'd all speak using an American accent, I suggest something from the Midwest, we'd all be easier to understand. And folks in the UK and Australia would only have to do it for a single generation before it was the standard UK/Aussie accent.
This reminds me of the time I was at a cookout at a coworker's home. A little girl appeared and talked with another little girl who was there. I asked who the first child was and was told she was Phil's daugter; Phil was a Brit. When I asked why she didn't sound British I was told she was using her "American accent," which is what she'd use when she was at school or around Yanks.
The point, or what passes for a point here, is that even the children can do it.
Why make the change? To streamline communication. Just think how much more would get done without all the "What was that, again" being said due accent-related things.
It would make the world an easier-to-understand, if less interesting, place.
Posted by delmer at February 24, 2008 11:14 AM