Drusilla's Wacky Accent
Eric F.
British viewers? I'm curious...
Later,
Eric F., Buffy Fan
----
Cordelia: So there's no more glove thingie?
Xander: No, a little Living Flame, a little Mesquite. Gone for good.
Oz: Sounds like we missed a lot of fun.
Xander: Then we're TELLING it wrong!
SeanHarry
>British viewers? I'm curious...
It's deplorable because it's so bad. I would have voted it as the worst every
interpretation of a foreign accent by an American actor (and Juliet Landau was
brought up in Britain, so she should know better) but I've just heard David
Boreanes's Irish accent, which is even worse.
It would be a bit like all American characters on British TV going around
wearing 10 gallon hats and saying 'Howdy Partner!'
Sean Harry
DesertRoaz
>
>>OK, I'll bite (pun intended). Why is Dru's accent so deplorable to
>>British viewers? I'm curious...
Sean wrote:
>
>It's deplorable because it's so bad.
Could you be more specific? I have heard people with heavy London accents and
to me, they don't sound that different from Juliet Landau. What was she doing
wrong? (To my American ears, her accent sounded more authentic and consistent
than James Marsters'.)
RSSIF sig: DesertRoaz, Tatiana Malinina MEGA-fan
BTVS sig: "I am twice the fool it takes" -Xander
New stuff on my website, www.expage.com/page/desertroaz
(delete mondenom to reply)
Cally
<19990308172441...@ng-fc1.aol.com>...
>Sean quoted
>
>>
>>>OK, I'll bite (pun intended). Why is Dru's accent so deplorable to
>>>British viewers? I'm curious...
>
>Sean wrote:
>
>>
>>It's deplorable because it's so bad.
>
>Could you be more specific? I have heard people with heavy London accents
and
>to me, they don't sound that different from Juliet Landau. What was she
doing
>wrong? (To my American ears, her accent sounded more authentic and
consistent
>than James Marsters'.)
And as a South Londoner born and bred, I'd have to agree with you. Juliet's
accent is way better than James' (although his did improve over time).
Cally
Eric F.
> It's deplorable because it's so bad. I would have voted it as the worst every
> interpretation of a foreign accent by an American actor (and Juliet Landau was
> brought up in Britain, so she should know better)
I didn't know she's American. Judging from her apparently British accent, I
thought she was from the UK.
I just don't get what's bad about it, but I'll accept your judgement (I am by no
means an expert on UK accents, either).
> but I've just heard David Boreanes's Irish accent, which is even worse.
Hey, now. Doing convincing accents is hard. I can do UK/Australian accents, but
no one would EVER be fooled by me. And I certainly would NEVER be brave enough to
try an Irish accent on millions of helpless TV viewers, since it would probably
insult them (but then, that's just me). ;)
I HAVE been fooled, however. Until recently, I didn't realize that Viviann Leigh
(of "Gone With The Wild" fame), was from Britain, since she did such a good
Southern accent.
And then there's Sean Connery, who never changes his accent, even when he's
playing an Arab Sheik.
Then there's Nicole Kidman, who unfortunately has dropped her cool Australian
accent for a more "American" one (did I mention I love accents?). So sad... :(
> It would be a bit like all American characters on British TV going around
> wearing 10 gallon hats and saying 'Howdy Partner!'
Oh, OK.
Later,
Eric F., Buffy Fan
----
"You know, I just woke up and I looked in the mirror and thought, "Hey, what's
with all the sin? I need to change. I'm dirty,
I'm bad with the sex, and the envy, and the loud music us kids listen to
nowadays. Oh, I just suck at undercover.
- Buffy
Kim Tymecki
was) Austrian accent in Seven Years in Tibet. More like seven years in the
theatre if you ask me, what a horrible movie. Worse than Hugh Grant in
"Lair of the White Worm" or "Night Train to Venice," and I thought those
would be the worst movies of all time.
NetGrlWill
Years in Tibet. More like seven years in the theatre if you ask me, what a
horrible movie.<<
Good gods, that movie was insanely boring! Luckily, I saw it on video. But I
still refer to it as Seven Years in Front Of My TV Set. Ugh. Ugh.
Yet...that's why the gods created the fast forward button.
"You can't fight in here, this is the war room!"
--DR. STRANGELOVE.
RIP Stanley Kubrick. =(
Teresa
Frank: There's no humidity in Hell. Hell's a dry heat.
--"Doll's Eyes", H LOTS.
...a friend in need's a friend indeed...a friend who'll tease is better...
--"Pure Morning", Placebo
Nola
>
> >>My vote goes to Brad Pitt doing an (I read it was) Austrian accent in Seven
> Years in Tibet. More like seven years in the theatre if you ask me, what a
> horrible movie.<<
>
> Good gods, that movie was insanely boring! Luckily, I saw it on video. But I
> still refer to it as Seven Years in Front Of My TV Set. Ugh. Ugh.
> Yet...that's why the gods created the fast forward button.
>
> "You can't fight in here, this is the war room!"
> --DR. STRANGELOVE.
>
> RIP Stanley Kubrick. =(
>
was historical, and I rather enjoyed Brad Pitt's performance! (sexiest
man alive, People Magazine Award) Just put me down as a #1 Fan!
(a movie does not need gunfire, violence, profanity to appeal to me)
--
A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice
person.
--
Nola J
NetGrlWill
was historical, and I rather enjoyed Brad Pitt's performance! <<
I'm not a Pitt fan, I'll say that up front. Like anyone couldn't tell ANYWAY.
But I did enjoy the photography as well. If the plot wasn't going
anywhere...at least that beautiful background wasn't either. You've got me
there. The movie did pick up towards the end. I did like the friendship
between Pitt's character and the child. Ok, so it wasn't ALL bad. =)
AReine
MUST be made of Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker's Dracula. I mean... in the
history of bad accents... that man gets the prize. And he even went up against
some of the other actors in that film... <shudder>
AR
"And how would you react then if I told you I was the Antichrist?" - Shallow
Grave
"
DesertRoaz
Areine wrote:
> mention
>MUST be made of Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker's Dracula. I mean... in the
>history of bad accents... that man gets the prize. And he even went up
>against
>some of the other actors in that film... <shudder>
Yes, Reeves' accent was bad. Winona Ryder's accent was no bargain, either.
(Couldn't they hire a dialect coach? Eww.) Somehow it managed to be a good
movie anyway.
BTW, Dangerous Liaisons is the first movie I saw Keanu in. Fortunately he
spoke with no accent. And he was such a doll...
Edward McArdle
<as...@moonheart.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> DesertRoaz wrote in message
> <19990308172441...@ng-fc1.aol.com>...
> >Sean quoted
> >
> >>
> >>>OK, I'll bite (pun intended). Why is Dru's accent so deplorable to
> >>>British viewers? I'm curious...
> >
> >Sean wrote:
> >
> >>
> >>It's deplorable because it's so bad.
> >
> >Could you be more specific? I have heard people with heavy London accents
> and
> >to me, they don't sound that different from Juliet Landau. What was she
> doing
> >wrong? (To my American ears, her accent sounded more authentic and
> consistent
> >than James Marsters'.)
>
>
> And as a South Londoner born and bred, I'd have to agree with you. Juliet's
> accent is way better than James' (although his did improve over time).
>
> Cally
Let's not forget that their accents are from hundreds of years ago.
Who knows what they were like then?
And vampires, being dead, can no longer change.
--
Edward McArdle.
You need to alter my return address to reply to me.
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~mcardle
- me, my tennis club, photos, verses, a novel....
David Adrien Tanguay
> Let's not forget that their accents are from hundreds of years ago.
> Who knows what they were like then?
> And vampires, being dead, can no longer change.
Angel's accent changed.
--
David Tanguay d...@Thinkage.on.ca http://www.thinkage.on.ca/~dat/
Thinkage, Ltd. Kitchener, Ontario, Canada [43.24N 80.29W]
Timothy A. McDaniel
David Adrien Tanguay <d...@thinkage.on.ca> wrote:
>Angel's accent changed.
For which fact I sink to my knees five times daily to thank the Lord
with loud hosannas.
I've heard the type described as a "Lucky Charms accent".
--
Tim McDaniel. Reply to tm...@crl.com;
if that fail, tm...@austin.ibm.com is my work account.
Matt Russo
sean...@aol.com (SeanHarry) wrote:
> >OK, I'll bite (pun intended). Why is Dru's accent so deplorable to
> >British viewers? I'm curious...
>
> interpretation of a foreign accent by an American actor (and Juliet Landau was
> Boreanes's Irish accent, which is even worse.
>
> wearing 10 gallon hats and saying 'Howdy Partner!'
>
>
Juliet Landau wasn't brought up in Britain.I actually like her accent because
it sounds cool.
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
SeanHarry
>it sounds cool.
I have been lead to believe that Juliet lived in England for quite a while as a
child, which would make sense, as her parents, Martin Landau and Barbra Bain,
spent around three years in this country making SPACE 1999.
Thankfully, when we need an American accent on British TV, we hire an American
(or Canadian) actor.
That said, I love the characters of Spike and Drusilla, and think both James
Masters and Juliet Landau give fun performances, but as an Englishman cannot
help but wince at their terrible accents. And all my friends feel the same way.
With the exception of my Irish frience, who cringe whenever they have a Angel
flashback episode.
Sean Harry
CTGreyCo
deser...@aol.commondenom (DesertRoaz) writes:
>Sean wrote:
>
>>
>>It's deplorable because it's so bad.
>
>Could you be more specific? I have heard people with heavy London accents
>and
>to me, they don't sound that different from Juliet Landau.
Your comment reminds me of when I was a young child watching the "Dave Allen
Show" on PBS. The skit was a stage production of Hamlet, and as each new
character entered the stage and began to speak, the audience cracked up.
I didn't get the gag until the Jamaican showed up. It was the *accents*. Only
the first guy spoke in a proper Royal Shakespearean Theatre accent.
I think most Americans can't tell the difference between Cockney and proper
British accents, much less Brits, Irish, Scots, and Aussies. I suppose to our
cousins across the pond it sounds as if an actor is speaking in New Yorker,
Southern bell, Valley Girl/Surfer Dude, Midwestern broadcast standard, and
Minnesotan in random order from sentence to sentence.
"Well fiddle dee dee, dude, that's yer problem, you betcha."
Sheesh. That's hard to say, but only b/c I know the accents and how jarring it
is to jumble them. Wacky, indeed.
---------
The plural of "y'all" is "all y'all."
CTGreyCo
(AReine) writes:
>Bad accents? BAD ACCENTS?? Since we're on a vampire-related NG... mention
>MUST be made of Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker's Dracula. I mean... in the
>history of bad accents... that man gets the prize. And he even went up
>against
>some of the other actors in that film... <shudder>
Let's not forget Kevin Costner's "British" accent from _Robin Hood:Prince of
Thieves_. Sometimes he tries it; sometimes he doesn't.
Consistency! Is it too much to ask? If he had stuck to the bad accent, I
could just write it off as "bad accent". If he spoke American, I could
rationalize "in the MovieVerse, he's actually speaking with a British accent".
But the waffling! It made me notice how he was speaking more than what he was
speaking!
And his dialogue coach got screen credit!
CTGreyCo
deser...@aol.commondenom (DesertRoaz) writes:
>BTW, Dangerous Liaisons is the first movie I saw Keanu in. Fortunately he
>spoke with no accent. And he was such a doll...
His surfer dude accent is dead on, though. Party on, Ted.
CTGreyCo
deletethis...@ozemail.com.au (Edward McArdle) writes:
>Let's not forget that their accents are from hundreds of years ago.
>Who knows what they were like then?
A few years ago I read that linguists believe that the English of Shakespeare's
time probably sounded much like that of the Southern US.
"Is that a dagger Ah see befoah me, y'all?"
Nola
>
> >>Sorry, but I rather enjoyed it. The photography was fantastic, the plot
> was historical, and I rather enjoyed Brad Pitt's performance! <<
>
> I'm not a Pitt fan, I'll say that up front. Like anyone couldn't tell ANYWAY.
> But I did enjoy the photography as well. If the plot wasn't going
> anywhere...at least that beautiful background wasn't either. You've got me
> there. The movie did pick up towards the end. I did like the friendship
> between Pitt's character and the child. Ok, so it wasn't ALL bad. =)
>
most dreamy eyes, his smile just makes me melt, and I'm not complaining
about the chest and arms (and err, butt) on the man! Also, even though
he CAN act, it's not even necessary!
On another note, look at the success of Arnold Swarsenager (spelling?)
he went pretty far with NO talent!
DesertRoaz
(me)
>>BTW, Dangerous Liaisons is the first movie I saw Keanu in. Fortunately he
>>spoke with no accent. And he was such a doll...
>
>His surfer dude accent is dead on, though. Party on, Ted.
>
>
Poor Keanu. Everyone here hates him but me.
DesertRoaz
>I think most Americans can't tell the difference between Cockney and proper
>British accents, much less Brits, Irish, Scots, and Aussies.
I think most of us can, because they are extremely different. What is hard for
some of us to tell, perhaps, is whether an accent is done well or not. I am
still wondering what Juliet Landau did wrong with her Cockney accent. (James
Marsters' problems were obvious to me but not hers.) I am very interested in
different British accents, and I try to learn them myself. I'd find it helpful
to know.
KING9089
>could just write it off as "bad accent".
Having done a fair number of stage accents in my time, I recognized Costner's
accent-thing. It's when you're trying to do an accent, and your mouth won't do
it, or forgets how to do it--and you end up just "talking funny." That's what
he was doing, IMHO---just talking funny. His accent wasn't his own, wasn't
british, wasn't anywhere in between. It was just full of lots of weird sounds.
:-) And I agree, it's one of the worst on screen. Very distracting.
Cara
KING9089
>American
>(or Canadian) actor.
Not always. :-) I've heard lots of BAD American accents in Britain, though
probably more often on stage than screen. Maybe the way Americans think Juliet
Landau's accent is a real English accent, some Brits hear other Brits doing
American accents and don't hear the errors? :)
Though I'll admit that British actors in general are better at accents in
general than American actors.
Cara
Laura Wilson
Yeah, Winona only has one accent: California Prissy
>Let's not forget Kevin Costner's "British" accent from _Robin Hood:Prince
of
>Thieves_. Sometimes he tries it; sometimes he doesn't.
>
>Consistency! Is it too much to ask? If he had stuck to the bad accent, I
>could just write it off as "bad accent". If he spoke American, I could
>rationalize "in the MovieVerse, he's actually speaking with a British
accent".
>But the waffling! It made me notice how he was speaking more than what he
was
>speaking!
>
>And his dialogue coach got screen credit!
>
Probably as a form of humiliation!
Laura
Angel Sparrow
Someone has to say it, so it might as well be me...
CTGreyCo wrote:
> In article <19990309011311...@ng111.aol.com>, are...@aol.com
> (AReine) writes:
>
> >Bad accents? BAD ACCENTS?? Since we're on a vampire-related NG... mention
> >MUST be made of Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
he sounded terribly stuffy, and not very British.
> Let's not forget Kevin Costner's "British" accent from _Robin Hood:Prince of
> Thieves_. Sometimes he tries it; sometimes he doesn't.
"Unlike some other Robin Hoods, I speak with an English accent."
Hadda say it.
Angel, who can't hear anyway and just reads the captions
Kim Tymecki
out or anything. But I do have a fine appreciation of bad films (I'm
Canadian, we're the kings of BAAAAD movies) This movie was bad, like,
Canadian bad. It was "hey, Brad Pitt agreed to do this movie...cool, we
have no money left for plot writing. But we have MOUNTAINS!!! Pretty
mountains, Brad would look soooo good standing in front of them."
OH! And let's not forget him in The Devils Own. I cannot believe the Irish
say AY! quite so often.
Eric F.
accents American dude that I am), as to why her accent is so abhorrent
to UK viewers is that she kinda sounds like she has a speech impediment
(much like the various actors/actresses that inhabited "Dr. Who". Jon
Pertwee comes to mind)...
Am I even close?
If not, I give up. ;)
Later,
Eric F., Buffy Fan
----
"I knew you've been lying...Undead liar guy!" - Xander
DesertRoaz
>That said, I love the characters of Spike and Drusilla, and think both James
>Masters and Juliet Landau give fun performances, but as an Englishman cannot
>help but wince at their terrible accents. And all my friends feel the same
>way.
Could you please, please tell me what Juliet Landau did wrong with her accent?
Pretty please? With sugar on it?
DesertRoaz
>
>Though I'll admit that British actors in general are better at accents in
>general than American actors.
>
>Cara
>
Thanks because the British are superior to Americans.
DesertRoaz
Barbarian Yank
DesertRoaz
>
>Thanks because the British are superior to Americans.
>
>DesertRoaz
>Barbarian Yank
Whoops I meant "that's" because, not "thanks" because. doi.
DesertRoaz
Barbarian Yank
NetGrlWill
>British accents, much less Brits, Irish, Scots, and Aussies.
I can very well tell Irish from Scottish from Aussies. And even Welsh too. =)
Teresa
Frank: There's no humidity in Hell. Hell's a dry heat.
--"Doll's Eyes", H LOTS.
President Muffley: You can't fight in here, this is the war room!
--DR. STRANGELOVE.
NetGrlWill
Just one of those very few who doesn't find him interesting at all. Now my
mother, on the other hand, she'll agree with everything you said. =)
AReine
have to laugh now...
On a really cheesy accent note... Rod Steiger in "The Specialist." I know,
probably no one wants to admit to seeing it but... another classic bad accent,
there.
KING9089
If you ever run into a Cockney in a dark alley, I wouldn't go telling him he
wasn't a proper Brit... :-)
Cara
(who lived in the East End for 2 years)
DesertRoaz
>The only possible reason I can think of (being the ignorant about UK
>accents American dude that I am), as to why her accent is so abhorrent
>to UK viewers is that she kinda sounds like she has a speech impediment
>(much like the various actors/actresses that inhabited "Dr. Who". Jon
>Pertwee comes to mind)...
>
>Am I even close?
>
>If not, I give up. ;)
>
Hmmm...I don't know if she sounds like she has a speech impediment, but it's as
good an explanation as any (since no one will tell us ;-). The only thing I can
think of is that perhaps her accent is exaggerated and sounds forced.
Edward McArdle
> Edward McArdle wrote:
> > Let's not forget that their accents are from hundreds of years ago.
> > Who knows what they were like then?
> > And vampires, being dead, can no longer change.
>
> Angel's accent changed.
Ah! But Angel ceased to be dead... or something.
--
Edward McArdle.
You need to alter my return address to reply to me.
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~mcardle
- me, my tennis club, photos, verses, a novel....
Tante Joan
wrote:
>A few years ago I read that linguists believe that the English of Shakespeare's
>time probably sounded much like that of the Southern US.
Not quite. The regional dialect considered closest is Mountain,
usually Southern Appalachian, the theory being that there are pockets
(or "hollers," most likely) where generations of speakers have been
speaking English relatively unpolluted by outside influences.
Therefore the Scots-Irish-English speech patterns and cadences is
pretty darned close.
--TJ
probably emailed and posted to all and sundry, especially Sundry
CTGreyCo
deser...@aol.commondenom (DesertRoaz) writes:
>>
>>Though I'll admit that British actors in general are better at accents in
>>general than American actors.
>>
>>Cara
>>
>
>Thanks because the British are superior to Americans.
Pfah. That's because accents are more important to Brits than to Americans.
Anyone else shudder at Kenneth Brannagh's American accent? It's something in
his Rs. He's trying too hard to pronounce them.
It's not bad. It's not really that distracting once you get into it...it's
just for the first few minutes I sit there thinking "Kenneth Brannagh's
speaking with a passable American accent".
Sometimes I wish my disbelief was easier to suspend.
Tilandra
Again" (co-starring with his ex, Emma Thompson) You could *See* him
struggling to mumble... like mumbling is an important part of speaking like
a yank...
Tilandra
"Business" site at: http://members.tripod.com/Tilandra NO POPUPS
"When the Q-tip meets resistance, you're supposed to stop."
CTGreyCo wrote in message <19990310143718...@ngol06.aol.com>...
SeanHarry
>accent?
>Pretty please? With sugar on it?
She spoke. Every word that she utters as Drusilla is simply wrong for an
English accent.
But I still love her :-)
Sean Harry
KING9089
>Shakespeare's
>>time probably sounded much like that of the Southern US.
>
>Not quite. The regional dialect considered closest is Mountain,
Yet another one of these much debated questions....
I have heard (honestly) that the standard (stage) accent of Shakespeare's time
is similar to:
1) Standard American English
2) Cornish accent
3) Cockney accent
4) North England accent
there ya go....
Though if the wise Shakespearian scholar Bevington is correct is his list of
what the different vowels were meant to sound like in Shakes' plays, I think
Cockney is the closest.... Of course, Bevington may be wrong...
Cara
DesertRoaz
>
>She spoke. Every word that she utters as Drusilla is simply wrong for an
>English accent.
>
>But I still love her :-)
Well...I am afraid I can't simply take your argument on faith, if you
can't/won't give specifics. So....I guess I will have to go on thinking her
Cockney is pretty good. :-)
DesertRoaz
>----------------------------
>Someone on this thread identified it as a London accent, and huge
>numbers of people still bitch about Pitt's accent in "The
>Devil's Own" and I have read many Irish posters who claim that it was
>well done. But then I know someone in Gainsville who thought Keanu
>Reeves did ok in Devil's Advocate, and that accent seems to annoy
>people on general principles.
I thought his accent wasn't bad in DA. It was subtle and when a "faked" accent
is subtle, any errors are less glaring.
>
>At any rate, I expect that an accent sitting in the middle of
>different accents stands out. If you expect someone to be faking the
>accent you will be more critical than if you think the person might
>have that accent from birth.
Good point. You look for mistakes.
>Once you start getting critical, your own
>mother probably fakes her accent, and is in fact from Pakistan (Or
>Finland, if she is really from Pakistan).
>
>It would be interesting to do a study of accents, and to see what
>people think (having them hear the accents 'blind', not knowing who is
>native, and who is 'faking it'.) Setting up the controls might be
>tricky, but perhaps not as tricky as you'd think.
>
>
>
>
Very interesting input, Liv. I'd like to see such a test done myself. One
reason I am interested is I am working on mastering some accents for my acting
class. Not easy.
CTGreyCo
(NetGrlWill) writes:
>>I think most Americans can't tell the difference between Cockney and proper
>>British accents, much less Brits, Irish, Scots, and Aussies.
>
>I can very well tell Irish from Scottish from Aussies. And even Welsh too.
>=)
>
I think it should go without saying that Buffy-watchers and NGers are better
than the average American. ;)
Perhaps I'm just more aware of the "wandering accent" phenomenon due to my own
foible. I can't stay in a solid British accent if I'm ad libbing. I flit from
Alistair Cook on Masterpiece to East Enders and back again. But at least I can
TELL what's going wrong.
Plus, it's not just the accent, it's the lingo. Think of Shaw's "My Fair
Lady". Eliza masters a plummy accent, but she still talks of "them which did
her [aunt] in". Higgins passes it off as the new slang.
Subject matter and grammar. It's such a complex liguistic world...
CTGreyCo
deser...@aol.commondenom (DesertRoaz) writes:
>The only thing I can
>think of is that perhaps her accent is exaggerated and sounds forced.
I think that's the usual accent problem. Actors try to straddle the line of
knowing their lines and acting with pronouncing those same lines in a new and
unusual fashion. It's not just different vowel sounds, it's different tonal
qualities to a sentence and different paces to speech.
You should here me when I speak to my Southern cousins. I pick up their accent
right away, but I don't slow down the pace. It sounds really goofy.
It's one reason why Meryl Streep is so amazing. She inhabits her roles, accent
and all. The accent helps her to blend into character, instead of jarring the
viewer right out of the film, as Costner et. al. do.
It's another reason foreigners butcher American accents.
Dudes, we don't care. Just relax the mouth!
BTBanzai
>> > Let's not forget that their accents are from hundreds of years ago.
>> > Who knows what they were like then?
I always thought it was because the lady's completely lost her marbles.
Bonnie B. o/'
"There is no Night without its Star, No Day without its Shadow"- Stephen A.
Cornine
CTGreyCo
king...@aol.comnospam (KING9089) writes:
>
>Though if the wise Shakespearian scholar Bevington is correct is his list of
>what the different vowels were meant to sound like in Shakes' plays, I think
>Cockney is the closest.... Of course, Bevington may be wrong...
David Bevington???
I took his class! He's great! Tho I had a friend who was writing an essay and
questioned the stage directions from _Othello_--are we sure about their
accuracy? who determined that Desdemona drops her handkercheif here and not
there?
David replied that he had. He'd edited that edition.
But I swear somewhere I read Shakesperian English was like Georgian. The
state, not the country.
Enough of the wacky linguistic conversation. Back to Buffy for me.
CTGreyCo
> Once you start getting critical, your own
>mother probably fakes her accent,
OK, one last wacky remark.
My best friend in grade school's mother was from Germany. She had a strong
German accent. Her daughters couldn't hear it! They thought she talked like
everyone else.
I never understood it till I went away to college. I was rotten and didn't
call home for a month. When I did, it sounded like my mother was speaking to
me in a Southern accent.
Hmmm...she must sound like that all the time. I just never heard it before.
Apparently your ears can tune out accents after a while just as your nose can
tune out odors.
Eric F.
> British accents.
That's 'cuz us Yanks love your accents so much! :)
Later,
Eric F., Buffy Fan
----
Giles: That was a bit...um...British, wasn't it?
Buffy: Welcome to the New World.
Sorry, couldn't resist. ;)
SeanHarry
>can't/won't give specifics. So....I guess I will have to go on thinking her
>Cockney is pretty good. :-)
Saying what is wrong with Drusilla's accent is like saying describe an
elephant. You know what it is, but it's impossible to put into words.
Drusilla speaks in an exagerated, over the top fashion, that is so obviously an
American trying to copy the Cockney accent. There is no subtelty or nuance in
her inflection.
Imaging John Waynes American accent. Slow it down. Exagerate every word,
forcing it out. Every aspect of the accent that is familar, times it by ten.
Every cliche people recognise, play upon. Now, if a British actor playing an
American did that you'd be offended. And rightly so.
But over here we've got pretty used to offensivly bad portrayals of varios
British accents.
Sean Harry
John Baker
> >British accents, much less Brits, Irish, Scots, and Aussies.
>
> I can very well tell Irish from Scottish from Aussies. And even Welsh too.
Me too! Speak for self White Man.
cla...@mindspring.com
wrote:
I had that exact problem, plus, whenever I called home I would start
using that same accent, even though I never did at any other time.
Schnookie
>
DesertRoaz
>
>Imaging John Waynes American accent.
Is John Wayne's "American" accent even authentic? He lived the good life in
Southern California, he wasn't a cowboy in real life. I think that midwestern
twang was a put on, but someone correct me if I am wrong.
Thanks for the clarification of your impressions re JL's accent, though.
DesertRoaz
RSSIF sig: Ahead of her time re: Tatiana Malinina
BTVS sig: Carrying the torch for Drusilla and Spike
DesertRoaz
>Now, if a British actor playing an
>American did that you'd be offended. And rightly so.
I just noticed this sentence, hence the separate post.
No, I am not offended. I figure the actor isn't doing the accent very well
because he hasn't learned it properly or because accents aren't his thing.
I have heard bad American accents by English actors plenty of times. Hey, I am
a devotee of Monty Python -- John Cleese and Michael Palin's attempts at
American accents were pretty bad. Eric Idle's was good, though. Daniel Day
Lewis' appearing and disappearing American accents -- I counted at least two,
with a smattering of English and Irish sprinkled in for good measure -- in Last
of the Mohicans made me cringe, but I love him. It doesn't make me mad, just a
little smug. ;-)
NetGrlWill
Southern California, he wasn't a cowboy in real life. I think that midwestern
twang was a put on, but someone correct me if I am wrong.<<
It was NOT a Midwestern accent, that much is certain. I think he was going for
Southwestern, like Arizona, New Mexico something or other. Now that brings up
an interesting topic...the lousy Midwestern accents actors use! Eeeek!
vicpusateri
netgr...@aol.com (NetGrlWill) wrote:
<snip>
> Now that brings up
> an interesting topic...the lousy Midwestern accents actors use! Eeeek!
oh come on now, no one has been more abused than we new yorkers [or noo
yawkas, as hollywood would have everyone believe] have been. not everyone
says "dese-dem-dose" or "turty-turd and turd" but to this day we just can't
shake the image.
my favorite: mike myers as linda baldwin on "coffee tawk" - "we'll tawk about
cawfee, ya dawg, and ya dawter."
victoria
[or, in new yorkese, victorier]
--
Frank: "You can't believe in fun. Fun is not a faith."
Mike: "Fun is my god, Frank. I worship fun."
_Homicide: Life on the Street_
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
CTGreyCo
Baker) writes:
Hey, I did speak for myself! I even wrote "I think". And "most Americans".
You **two** ***specific*** Americans being able to tell the difference doesn't
negate that sentence. *I* can tell the difference, too. Whoop de doo. The
three of us don't come close to representing a decent sampling of "most
Americans" .
It's the ultimate anecdotal rebuttal. Play nice with the numbers. Or argue a
different point.
CTGreyCo
(cla...@mindspring.com) writes:
>>
>I had that exact problem, plus, whenever I called home I would start
>using that same accent, even though I never did at any other time.
EXACTLY! People would say to me "You've been talking to you mother, haven't
you?" It would take a few minutes with others to get my 'real' accent back.
It's what happens when I visit those Southern cousins. I pick up the accents
of other people during our conversations.
It's usually too subtle to notice.
At least, I really really hope it's too subtle. My mom does tend to hit me
once or twice when we first get down South.
Kim Tymecki
Almost (and note I said *almost*) every New Yorker I meet sounds that way to
me! When Americans do Canadian accents eek! Believe it or not, I do NOT
end every sentence with eh! And I have never been oot and aboot. EVER.
lol.
Eric F.
I went to Vancouver, B.C. once, & was never able to pick out the Canadians by
listening for an accent (unless they said "out"). ;)
Later,
Eric F., Buffy Fan
----
Gwendelyn: So, this is your home?
Faith: Yeah, the, uh decorator just left.
Gwendelyn: Faith, do you know who the Spartans were?
Faith: Wild stab, a bunch of guys from Spart?
cla...@mindspring.com
wrote:
The scary thing is, I don't know if I had the accent my whole life and
didn't notice until I lost it. But in reality, even when growing up, I
though people in the South talked funny. I guess TV gave me that same
Southern Californian accent that half the people in this country have.
Schnookie
BTBanzai
>using that same accent, even though I never did at any other time.
So did I! When I called my Grandmother from college, I realized she came from
Brooklyn. I had never noticed it before because I had heard her every day. It's
like living with someone who's losing weight. They have to wear something
dramaticly new before you notice it sometimes.
simon
writes
>It would be interesting to do a study of accents, and to see what
>people think (having them hear the accents 'blind', not knowing who is
>native, and who is 'faking it'.) Setting up the controls might be
>tricky, but perhaps not as tricky as you'd think.
That happened on a radio programme once. I was at my aunts in
Wolverhampton (a place outside birmingham in the west midlands, UK) and
she told us that she had been listening to a programme that had two
genuine W.midlanders and two fake. I can't remember if she got it right
but that's the story. Ozzie Ozbourne and Billy Brag have W.midlands
accents.
--
simon
Kim Tymecki
I have a friend and any time we get together (which isn't that often) we get
hyper and talk like dorks. It's kind of a mix between a bad cockney and an
even worse MawnChestah (I know it's spelt wrong, say it out loud though!)
She's insane. Maybe she thinks she sounds cool, who knows?
DesertRoaz
>
>She's insane. Can we just leave it like that?
Good point...it could be that the exaggerated speech is supposed to be a
symptom of her derangement.
Eric F.
Kim Tymecki wrote:
> She's insane. Can we just leave it like that? I have a friend and any time
> we get together (which isn't that often) we get
> hyper and talk like dorks. It's kind of a mix between a bad cockney and an
> even worse MawnChestah (I know it's spelt wrong, say it out loud though!)
> She's insane. Maybe she thinks she sounds cool, who knows?
I was chatting with a guy (he said he was Welsh, so I guess he'd know), on
BuffyUK & was asking him about Dru's accent. He came up with the same theory:
That her accent is like that 'cuz she's insane.
Works for me.
Later,
Eric F., Buffy Fan
----
The Lovebirds Coo:
Cordelia: Oh great. So now I'm your taxi and your punching bag?
Xander: I'd like to think of you more as my witless foil, but have it your
way.
Cordelia: Personal shopper or motivational speaker...neato.
Xander: Motivational speaker on what? Ten ways to a more annoying you?
Cordelia: You drag me out of bed for a ride? What am I? Mass transportation?
Xander: That's what a lot of the guys say, but it's just locker room talk. I
wouldn't pay it any mind.
And last but not least, the apparent origin of the "Buffy" term: Scooby Gang:
"Come on Cordelia. If you want to be a member of the Scooby gang, you gotta be
willing to be inconvenienced every now and then". - Xander
Ben Walsh
>That happened on a radio programme once. I was at my aunts in
>Wolverhampton (a place outside birmingham in the west midlands, UK) and
>she told us that she had been listening to a programme that had two
>genuine W.midlanders and two fake. I can't remember if she got it right
>but that's the story. Ozzie Ozbourne and Billy Brag have W.midlands
>accents.
Billy Bragg is from Barking, Essex, fercryinoutloud. He sounds nothing like
a Brummie.
ben
Micky DuPree
: Please tell me, what is there NOT to like about Brad Pitt?
_Interview with the Vampire_. _The Twelve Monkeys_ redeemed him,
though.
: On another note, look at the success of Arnold Swarsenager (spelling?)
: he went pretty far with NO talent!
Yeah, but the accent was genuine. ;-) Bleah.
-Micky
saun...@jmu.edu
> Hey, I did speak for myself! I even wrote "I think". And "most Americans".
> You **two** ***specific*** Americans being able to tell the difference doesn't
> negate that sentence. *I* can tell the difference, too. Whoop de doo. The
> three of us don't come close to representing a decent sampling of "most
> Americans" .
> It's the ultimate anecdotal rebuttal. Play nice with the numbers. Or argue a
> different point.
Well I represent 100,000,000 americans and we all can tell the difference.
So poop on you.
gROv@whywouldievencarewhatkindofaccent
simon
<her...@dalymount.com> writes
but that's what I thought.
--
simon