Picard's accent
s33...@emu.insted.unimelb.edu.au
Jean-Luc Picard is French speaking English.
He was obviously taught by an English person, therefore he speaks English (as
in the English that is spoken in England) with a French accent. I presume that
Americans hear it as English with an English AND a French accent.
Because Stewart is English, his French accent only comes out when his French
background comes up - eg "Where no one has gone before" when he "sees" his
French Mother.
Katharine "I never met a chocolate I didn't like" Shade.
disclaimer: my back hurts.
WEG
>Patrick Stewart is English.
>Jean-Luc Picard is French speaking English.
>He was obviously taught by an English person, therefore he speaks English (as
>in the English that is spoken in England) with a French accent.
I would dispute this. I say he speaks American English. If he did speak
English then he wouldn't mispronounce the rank lieutenant as _loo_tenant.
Mark
--
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Kelly Bundy - An inspiration. And some.
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WEG: csi...@uk.ac.cov.cch or csi056%cch.co...@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
9799...@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu
accent from Jean-Luc Picard. I think a better explanation of the whole thing is
that in Earth of HIS generation, there are less national boundaries and and
his father could have been of French ancestry but living in France for a
hundred years or more!
Salut!
Patrick
William L Moore
language, causing Picard to protest indignantly? Was it "Hide and Q?"
I've always believed that France and England, and possibly all of
Europe, had merged politically and culturally centuries before Picard
was born. (Vive la E.C.!) Hence, Picard has an affinity for things
English, namely Shakespeare and tea (Is Earl Grey big in England?) as
well as things French, namely wine and dear Maman 8-).
So Picard is French, but France has been thoroughly Anglicized. That's
why J.L. Picard, young Picard, Rene Picard, Robert Picard, and Robert's
wife Picard all speak English and have English accents.
So now you ask, "What about the outrageous accents in the holodeck cafe
recreation in 'We'll Always have Paris'?" Simple, mon ami. That wasn't
France, that was Paris . . . 8-)
-Bill
wl...@cd.amdahl.com
robert j kolker
Connery's accent.
Bob Kolker
Catherine Beckstead
> In article <1992Nov16...@emu.insted.unimelb.edu.au> s33...@emu.insted.
> >Patrick Stewart is English.
> >Jean-Luc Picard is French speaking English.
> >He was obviously taught by an English person, therefore he speaks English (a
> >in the English that is spoken in England) with a French accent.
>
> I would dispute this. I say he speaks American English. If he did speak
> English then he wouldn't mispronounce the rank lieutenant as _loo_tenant.
>
> Mark
Thats true. Then again Patrick Stewart was probably directed to pronounce it
that way. After all we dumb Americans wouldn't get it if everyone were
pronouncing it _loo_tenant, and only Picard pronounced it _lef_tennant.
(Although I probably don't have that British pronounciation correct, after
all, I'm just a dumb American as well :)
Someone posted that Stewart was speaking British English with a French
accent. I'm sorry, I don't hear the French accent at all. He seems to
speak no differently then he does on any of his other television
appearances. I'll agree that he has, on occasion, used French words,
"merde", and refering to his mother as "mamam". But I hear no French
accent. So then to answer the question as to why Picard is a Frenchman
with an English accent. (I believe someone already mentioned this, so this
is mearly in agreement with that person). Simple he learned English either
in Britian, or from a British tutor. And with some effort he managed to
get rid of any French accent he may have had. Of course you'll notice so
had his brother and nephew, in Family. So with all this one-worldness of
24th cent. earth, and the fact that English seems to have become the
universal language. Dialects still seem to remain the same. I would imagine
that in such a "one-world" universal atmosphere, English dialects would have
merge themselves into much more of a single dialect. Look at what television
has done to the many dialects in the US today. While we still to have strong
regional dialects, we are seeing them become more flattened out, and sound
more like American TV English with the younger generations. My guess is that
by the 24th cent. dialects would have merge together much more then we are
seeing on TNG. Although maybe with all of the openness of accepting other
cultures, speaking your own dialect was encouraged rather then a standard
dialect taught in the schools.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Catherine Beckstead a...@kryton.uucp
"Do you want to argue with a can of deodorant that registers
NINE on the Richter scale?" --Ace, in "Dragonfire"
Paul Neve
: In article <1992Nov16...@emu.insted.unimelb.edu.au> s33...@emu.insted.unimelb.edu.au writes:
: >Patrick Stewart is English.
: >Jean-Luc Picard is French speaking English.
: >He was obviously taught by an English person, therefore he speaks English (as
: >in the English that is spoken in England) with a French accent.
:
: I would dispute this. I say he speaks American English. If he did speak
: English then he wouldn't mispronounce the rank lieutenant as _loo_tenant.
Maybe, but I reckon he only pronounces it that way because that's how it's
supposed to be pronounced in Federation Standard.
Email (INTERNET): cs_...@uk.ac.king.ceres
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send me 5 pounds registration fee. | (Kryten, upon meeting Lt. Worf)
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Paul "Insanity is an art form" Neve
9799...@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu
accent. So then to answer the question as to why Picard is a Frenchman
with an English accent. (I believe someone already mentioned this, so this
is mearly in agreement with that person). Simple he learned English either
in Britian, or from a British tutor. And with some effort he managed to
get rid of any French accent he may have had. Of course you'll notice so
had his brother and nephew, in Family. So with all this one-worldness of
24th cent. earth, and the fact that English seems to have become the
universal language. Dialects still seem to remain the same. I would imagine
that in such a "one-world" universal atmosphere, English dialects would have
merge themselves into much more of a single dialect. Look at what television
has done to the many dialects in the US today. While we still to have strong
regional dialects, we are seeing them become more flattened out, and sound
more like American TV English with the younger generations. My guess is that
by the 24th cent. dialects would have merge together much more then we are
seeing on TNG. Although maybe with all of the openness of accepting other
cultures, speaking your own dialect was encouraged rather then a standard
dialect taught in the schools.
people with entirely Chinses names who have lived her for generations, and
they speak perfect english with an American accent. Why is it so impossible to
imagine that Jean-Luc's parents or grand-parents or great-great-grandparents
moved to England and that Jean-Luc never lived in France? The idea that the
French of modern earth gave up francais is totally rediculous! I think the expl
anation is just that simple. Jean-Luc is an englishman of french descent, no
more, no less!
Patrick at WSU
Est-ce que tu etudes francais?
James Gasaway
9799...@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu wrote:
(stuff deleted)
> Why is it so impossible to
> imagine that Jean-Luc's parents or grand-parents or great-great-grandparents
> moved to England and that Jean-Luc never lived in France?
>
> Patrick at WSU
> Est-ce que tu etudes francais?
Because Picard *did/does* live in France! This is mentioned in many
episodes, the one where he goes home (Family?) being the most obvious.
James
jgas...@ncsa.uiuc.edu
Univ of Illinois @ Urbana/Champaign
Ristonofer
>>He was obviously taught by an English person, therefore he speaks English (as
>>in the English that is spoken in England) with a French accent.
>I would dispute this. I say he speaks American English. If he did speak
>English then he wouldn't mispronounce the rank lieutenant as _loo_tenant.
(various stuff deleted)
Actually, JL Picard is speaking "new" French, which is English. It is well-
known that England conquers France sometime in the late 21st century, but keeps
them as a quaint wine-making colony. (Source: The episode with Picard's
brother and the stupid little Cockney kid.)
--
Ristonofer
men...@anthem.gn7cg.osd.mil
"What a weird bunch of self-important little primates we are."
Sylvain Chamberland
>csi...@cch.coventry.ac.uk (WEG) writes:
>
>accent. So then to answer the question as to why Picard is a Frenchman
>with an English accent. (I believe someone already mentioned this, so this
>is mearly in agreement with that person). Simple he learned English either
>in Britian, or from a British tutor. And with some effort he managed to
>get rid of any French accent he may have had. Of course you'll notice so
>had his brother and nephew, in Family. So with all this one-worldness of
It's possible. God knows I'm trying - and not succeeding :-( - but it's
possible to lose one's accent. Or never to have one: you just got to have
foreign language courses when you are young, and spend a lot of time on them.
I don't have any problem with Jean-Luc speaking with a British accent.
(After all, in Canada, English-speaking citizens who learned French speak
with a French accent, not the French-Canadian one... it depends on who
teach them... and how...)
>Why is it so impossible to
>imagine that Jean-Luc's parents or grand-parents or great-great-grandparents
>moved to England and that Jean-Luc never lived in France? The idea that the
>French of modern earth gave up francais is totally rediculous! I think the expl
>anation is just that simple. Jean-Luc is an englishman of french descent, no
>more, no less!
No. What about "Family"??? His family still lives in France. And he was
living there too...
>Patrick at WSU
--
Sylvain Chamberland INTERNET: scha...@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca
Dept. of Biology -----------------------------------------------------
University of Waterloo | "Biochimiste un jour, biochimiste toujours!"
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada | - anonyme
Patrick HURT
( Ristonofer) writes:
>>>Jean-Luc Picard is French speaking English.
>>>He was obviously taught by an English person, therefore he speaks English (as
>>>in the English that is spoken in England) with a French accent.
>
>>I would dispute this. I say he speaks American English. If he did speak
>>English then he wouldn't mispronounce the rank lieutenant as _loo_tenant.
>
>(various stuff deleted)
>
>Actually, JL Picard is speaking "new" French, which is English. It is well-
>known that England conquers France sometime in the late 21st century, but keeps
>them as a quaint wine-making colony. (Source: The episode with Picard's
>brother and the stupid little Cockney kid.)
>
Then this would explain his heavy english acccent when he attemps
to speak French. For a French (like myself), it is pretty amusing
to hear Picard saying stuff like "Maman", "Merde!" and so on, but
I still find it rather disturbing and artificial that he has such
a strong English accent in French.
But you have to give them ST writers credit. They even looked up
the songs that children sing, like "Frere Jacques" in that episode
where Picard is stuck in the turbolift with the kids, "Au clair de
la Lune" on the flute in the one where he lives a life with a wife
in 5 minutes of unconciousness, and more that I can't remember. (
sorry but I don't recall any of the episode titles...)
Patrick Hurt
pat...@ir260a.iit.edu
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| Hur...@karl.iit.edu |
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Collette FLANNERY
Also, it is quite common for people who grow up on the Continent to have
an English accent on their English. I guess Jean-Luc was just a brilliant
student and picked up the dialect perfectly. Not so hard to believe either!
Jorge Diaz
>In article <jgasaway-1...@mac20-199.ncsa.uiuc.edu> jgas...@ncsa.uiuc.edu (James Gasaway) writes:
>>In article <168A3DE89...@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu>,
>>9799...@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu wrote:
>>> Why is it so impossible to
>>> imagine that Jean-Luc's parents or grand-parents or great-great-grandparents
>>> moved to England and that Jean-Luc never lived in France?
>>Because Picard *did/does* live in France! This is mentioned in many
>>episodes, the one where he goes home (Family?) being the most obvious.
>Also, it is quite common for people who grow up on the Continent to have
>an English accent on their English. I guess Jean-Luc was just a brilliant
>student and picked up the dialect perfectly. Not so hard to believe either!
Jesus Christ, people!!!
Maybe, just maybe, it's because the fucking ACTOR has a British accent and
they couldn't very well make him get RID of the damned thing, so they left
it alone.
This isn't one of those "Trekkies get a life!" flames, because I love Star
Trek just as much as you guys. But COME ON!!! There are some things that
they just CAN'T change.
--
Jorge Diaz | "I want you to remember, Clark... in all
Georgia Institute of Technology | the years to come, in your most private
Office of Information Technology | moments...my hand at your throat. I want
cco...@prism.gatech.edu | you to remember the one man who beat you."
Jensulu
just coming out, it said that the first choice for Picard's accent was
_American_. ("...something a bit more neutral in accent...")
Just imagine the flames on this group if THAT had happened. :)
Jensulu (resigning as VI)
--
Jensulu the once-and-future Village Idiot
gt4...@prism.gatech.edu | But is a .sig really necessary?
Resigning the post of VI in favor of Dante (who may or may not be deserving :)
Sylvain Chamberland
>In article <menery.7...@anthem.gn7cg.osd.mil> men...@anthem.gn7cg.osd.mil
> ( Ristonofer) writes:
>>Actually, JL Picard is speaking "new" French, which is English. It is well-
>>known that England conquers France sometime in the late 21st century, but keeps
>>them as a quaint wine-making colony. (Source: The episode with Picard's
>>brother and the stupid little Cockney kid.)
>
>Then this would explain his heavy english acccent when he attemps
>to speak French. For a French (like myself), it is pretty amusing
>to hear Picard saying stuff like "Maman", "Merde!" and so on, but
>I still find it rather disturbing and artificial that he has such
>a strong English accent in French.
Come on, Patrick, it does not make any difference to the people the show
is made for! ;-)
But he said "merde" only a couple of times, in the first season only. I
wish the writers would have kept up with that. I was laughing so much when
he said that in "The Last Outpost"...
I guess they don't know or understand that "merde" in French does not have
the "strenght" the English counterpart has... remember, it's supposed to
be a family show... ;-)
>But you have to give them ST writers credit. They even looked up
>the songs that children sing, like "Frere Jacques" in that episode
>where Picard is stuck in the turbolift with the kids, "Au clair de
"Disaster".
>la Lune" on the flute in the one where he lives a life with a wife
>in 5 minutes of unconciousness, and more that I can't remember. (
>sorry but I don't recall any of the episode titles...)
"The Inner Light".
>Patrick Hurt
>pat...@ir260a.iit.edu
Gerald W Katz
>It _could_, in fact, be worse. In an article published when STTNG was
>just coming out, it said that the first choice for Picard's accent was
>_American_. ("...something a bit more neutral in accent...")
>
>Just imagine the flames on this group if THAT had happened. :)
>
There's more to it than that.
The original character to be captain was Riker!
I can't quote verbatim but this information was in
several newspapers when the idea for STTNG was milling about.
gkatz