A Letter to My Son, Another Letter to My Son

[Kel]

Graeme's two shorts are posted under the Sound Files link from the main page and he's done a terrific job with reading them, treating us Yanks to his Aussie accent! They hold the perfect inflection of cluelessness and humor that I've given the father in my mind when I've read the "letters".

Nice job Graeme!

[Graeme]

Thanks, Kel.

I have to insist, though, that I don't have an accent.....

I'm intending to go through my short stories to see what else I can record, but I'm not making any promises.

[RMiller]

I have to insist, though, that I don't have an accent.....

Yanks have more of an accent than anybody. I mean, the British invented the darn language. Well...William the Conqueror did after he invaded in 1066. English was Germanic, but Will's French influence changed it to the language we know today. Modern English is the bastard child of Old English and Norman.

So?that was?pointless. Um, I guess I was saying something about accents. Americans have them more than Britains. But I?ve been told that Oregonians have the subtlest accents in the English-speaking community and it is hard to distinguish their nuances.

[colinian]

Yanks have more of an accent than anybody. I mean, the British invented the darn language. Well...William the Conqueror did after he invaded in 1066. English was Germanic, but Will's French influence changed it to the language we know today. Modern English is the bastard child of Old English and Norman.

So?that was?pointless. Um, I guess I was saying something about accents. Americans have them more than Britains. But I?ve been told that Oregonians have the subtlest accents in the English-speaking community and it is hard to distinguish their nuances.

I have a question. I'm real curious about something me and my friends notice listening to music. Why do British, Australian, and New Zealand singers seem to lose their native accent and sound like they have an American/Canadian accent when they sing, but their native accent when they speak?

Colin

[Graeme]

It is by no means universal, but one key reason is that the USA is still one of the biggest markets in the world for English-language music. If you sing with an accent, you lose some of that market, unless the accent is considered sexy (eg. Ricky Martin).

Just my opinion.

[Trab]

I don't think it's even quite that simple Graeme. Many 'foreign' singers sing beautifully in English, yet cannot speak a word of it. Quite simply, they are making music with their voices, and as such, do so without any accent, if that's the sound they're trying to achieve. If the major market is the US English sound, that's what their voice coaches have them sing like.

And Colin, I'll thank you to not say American/Canadian accent as that's just about like saying Australian/New Zealand accent, or more closely to home, New York/Texas accent. I do think that there is a 'mellowing' of accents within the English language though, primarily due to TV and film. Eventually we may all speak Californian. (Let me go kill myself now, before it happens to me!)

[colinian]

I don't think it's even quite that simple Graeme. Many 'foreign' singers sing beautifully in English, yet cannot speak a word of it. Quite simply, they are making music with their voices, and as such, do so without any accent, if that's the sound they're trying to achieve. If the major market is the US English sound, that's what their voice coaches have them sing like.

And Colin, I'll thank you to not say American/Canadian accent as that's just about like saying Australian/New Zealand accent, or more closely to home, New York/Texas accent. I do think that there is a 'mellowing' of accents within the English language though, primarily due to TV and film. Eventually we may all speak Californian. (Let me go kill myself now, before it happens to me!)

Yeah, I guess I should have said "Northern Calfiornia/British Columbia" accent.

There's a girl at my HS who moved here from Vancouver BC this year, and IMO she "has no accent" -- except when she says "schedule" which she pronounces "shed-yule" while we pronounce it "sked-jewel".

Colin

[Trab]

Sheddule it is!

I understand that there are over 30,000 Canadians directly involved in the LA TV and movie industry in either writing or acting. Goodness only knows how many more are in the technical fields. There is a reason we sound so much like 'Hollywood'. We have a pronounced influence there. I don't think that the cheaper production costs in Canada hurt that either. You probably wouldn't believe how many American shows are actually filmed/taped in Canada. Even in my little town there have been two this year. In a slightly larger town about 25 minutes drive from here, they've had 5 productions.

[Jason Rimbaud]

Graeme,

I had read both pieces a few months ago and enjoyed the oblivion of the father.

But when I listened to you read the piece, the amusement in your voice as you read

the piece added so many levels of enjoyment. I picture the father to be somewhat

out of touch or maybe in denial but good hearted and filled with love.

By the way, you sound a lot like my Executive Chef. His voice sounds sexy too.

Jason R.

[captainrick]

And Colin, I'll thank you to not say American/Canadian accent as that's just about like saying Australian/New Zealand accent, or more closely to home, New York/Texas accent. I do think that there is a 'mellowing' of accents within the English language though, primarily due to TV and film. Eventually we may all speak Californian. (Let me go kill myself now, before it happens to me!)

Let me just add as a true child of the South, that my southern drawl is completely intact, thank y'all very much.

Rick

[colinian]

And Colin, I'll thank you to not say American/Canadian accent as that's just about like saying Australian/New Zealand accent, or more closely to home, New York/Texas accent. I do think that there is a 'mellowing' of accents within the English language though, primarily due to TV and film. Eventually we may all speak Californian. (Let me go kill myself now, before it happens to me!)

Let me just add as a true child of the South, that my southern drawl is completely intact, thank y'all very much.

Rick

My teacher talked about the blending of accents in the U.S. in my Communications Studies class. She said that in large cities in Southern states the southern drawl is disappearing. Do you agree?

Colin

[captainrick]

My teacher talked about the blending of accents in the U.S. in my Communications Studies class. She said that in large cities in Southern states the southern drawl is disappearing. Do you agree?

Colin

To some extent, yes. Depends on the "City" or the area generally. I travel quite a bit so I do see this some. Metro areas Like Atlanta and all of Florida are losing the accent. In fact, in most areas of Florida, you would think you were talking to someone in Cali. The most unique accent was in pre-Katrina New Orleans. Natives there have an accent almost identical to a Brooklyn accent but a little less nasal and not as fast. Mississippi really doesn't have any large cities. But even in Jackson area you can see a bit of the drawl fade. But, we got guys that really talk like Larry the Cable Guy too. And some women who still sound like Scarlot O'Hara. I think the more rural the area, the more prominent the drawl. City dwellers tend to be clustered around more people who have moved to the South from other areas like northern and western states, and the melting pot effect seems to dissolve the drawl. I also think in the age of mass communication, cable tv, etc etc. the more we hear "normal" speech the more the coloquial speech disappears. Hope that answers that.

Rick

[RMiller]

Oops.

I didn?t know I was starting a communal diatribe on English accents.

While we?re at it, Charlie Hunnam, bless his hot soul, can?t speak cockneyed to save his life. That performance in Hooligans was awful. I?m not British, and I could tell he was faking it. You drop the ?H?s, not throw them on the ground with extreem prejudice.

[colinian]

To some extent, yes. Depends on the "City" or the area generally. I travel quite a bit so I do see this some. Metro areas Like Atlanta and all of Florida are losing the accent. In fact, in most areas of Florida, you would think you were talking to someone in Cali. The most unique accent was in pre-Katrina New Orleans. Natives there have an accent almost identical to a Brooklyn accent but a little less nasal and not as fast. Mississippi really doesn't have any large cities. But even in Jackson area you can see a bit of the drawl fade. But, we got guys that really talk like Larry the Cable Guy too. And some women who still sound like Scarlot O'Hara. I think the more rural the area, the more prominent the drawl. City dwellers tend to be clustered around more people who have moved to the South from other areas like northern and western states, and the melting pot effect seems to dissolve the drawl. I also think in the age of mass communication, cable tv, etc etc. the more we hear "normal" speech the more the coloquial speech disappears. Hope that answers that.

Rick

Rick, Thank you, that's a great answer.

Colin

[RMiller]

Metro areas Like Atlanta and all of Florida are losing the accent.

Too true. I lived in a suburb of Atlanta when I was a kid and had a very thick accent. I had a truck that was supposed to follow verbal commands that you told it, but my accent was so think it wouln't do what I said.

But on recent trips to the heart of the city, I wouldn't be able to tell I was in the south if there wasn't a Waffle House on every corner.

[DesDownunder]

Colinian wrote:

But, we got guys that really talk like Larry the Cable Guy too. And some women who still sound like Scarlot O'Hara.

Larry the Cable Guy? And then Scarlett O'Hara?

In that case shouldn't it be Clark the Gable guy?

OK yes I know about Larry just funnin' wit y'all.

In OZ we have all sorts of accents from the diabolical to the pretentious.