What accent do you really hate? and which one you love?

You're all quite interesting in terms of your perceptions of Americans. Think I will pull up this website and let my students take a look at it - we are about to study Intercultural Communication and ethnocentrism in my class. PS - I'm American and I did see Enigma ... I believe most historical/docudramas take entertainment value, target markets, ticket sales and political propoganda into account while they doctor their scripts' historical facts. Perhaps actors (example: Dougray Scott) should be held accountable for signing on with bogus material?

Ben, What films do you respect for historical accuracy?

This is a big ask as I do not go to the pictures very much. However, one of the more notable american films which has tried to paint a more balanced picture would have to be K-19: The Widowmaker. Yes, detractors would say that the film still falls miserably short in accuracy, but it is still notable that an american film sought to portray the Russians as the good guys instead of the usual villains.

Adam in cambridge! Don't make me laugh. Still, it isn't as good as oxford.

I hate southern accents. They are very undignified and sound ridiculous.

On the other side of the coin, I like New York accents, but they can also sound bad if they're overexagerrated.

My dad grew up in New York, and I think he speaks it in a good way. He doesn't speak with a deep New York accent, but you can still hear traces of it when he speaks, so it still sounds dignified enough. I think that's how the New York accent should be spoken.

I think I am rather flat accent wise, but I fear that I may have traces of the southern accent in me. AGH! NO! I am trying to improve the way I speak so I sound more like a Yankee because I respect the Yankees accent and think more people should speak like them. Also, I was born in Pennsylvania, so I was born a Yankee to begin with.

<<That still doesn't detract from the point, Uriel. The film was historically unfaithful.>>

It was a MOVIE. We do not expect meticulous historical accuracy out of Hollywood.

You might be interested to know that there was an exhaustive (and factually accurate) DOCUMENTARY on the cracking of the Enigma code on PBS. And PBS is just as American as Hollywood.

Don't suppose you'll be giving us any credit for that, though.

>> I think I am rather flat accent wise, but I fear that I may have traces of the southern accent in me. AGH! NO! I am trying to improve the way I speak so I sound more like a Yankee because I respect the Yankees accent and think more people should speak like them. Also, I was born in Pennsylvania, so I was born a Yankee to begin with. <<

Why not try for a Western accent instead? The Yankee accent can sound very annoying to many people.

Joe, "hate" is a pretty strong word - how does an accent "sound undignified"? Isn't it our content that's either dignified or undignified? I find the evolution of regional accents fascinating. New Yorkers can (not always) go nasal - nasality is rated the most annoying voice quality a speaker can have (I don't know about undignified). Perhaps you don't like a Southern accent because it's not music to your ears ... ? I take it Reese Witherspoon playing June Carter in Walk the Line was not your favorite?
Some people are bothered by the drawl - it's in part responsible for making Southern speech slower - Southern speakers can typically walk through a presentation at 95-110 words per minute - a New Yorker will typically run through the same presentation in 125-145 words per minute! That's a big space gap to allow spare brain time meandering for the New Yorker who is screaming "Time is money - I've got to make it to the subway!" versus the Southerner who wonders "What's your hurry? You need to smell the roses!" Ultimately - it's about what one is accustomed to isn't it? Our ears begin to stereotype people based on their sound. I don't have a Southern accent (I'm originally from Chicago - where we are already pushing the nasal envelope) - personally I think a Southern accent delivering a positive message can be one of the most disarming - warm accents to color one's words ... It's a chick flick, but that aside, the women in Steel Magnolias are the kind of people I would want to know.

This one is for Ben ... Do you think British film makers are more fair and balanced in terms of their portrayal of Historical "villains"? If so, why do you think that is - considering the Brits have had a reputation for being ethnocentric themselves? What changed? A noteworthy film for current political sentiment in Europe was the film Love Actually - Hugh Grant's character certainly makes it clear that American Politicians are not appreciated for their bully tactics ... (Bushism is obvious) I'd have to revisit the producer $$ backing the film to see if any U.S. backers were involved with this production - while certainly not a history film - it did incorporate current cultural attitudes ... in this sense it will at a future date become an historical record to be noted in terms of pop culture at the turn of the century. What I find so fascinating about film, is how powerful it is in terms of shaping our perceptions and attitudes. For all we know something like Love Actually was produced by Americans who are invested in getting the Democratic party back in the next election - the film was quite popular here ... an interesting card to play, don't you think?

Good point, Thea!

What I found funny about President Billy Bob in Love, Actually was that he seemed to be an unholy combination of George Bush and Bill Clinton-- both overbearing in the political power struggle and an unrepentant lecher. (Despite the fact that Georgie, whatever his other faults, is pretty strait-laced and decorous in the sexual arena, and Bill Clinton was a dog you wouldn't trust with your wallet or your wife, but was much more even-handed about foreign policy.)

But from talking to other Brits on other forums I've learned that few of them realize that Bush and Clinton came from opposing parties or that Clinton actually beat impeachment and went on to finish out two full terms.

In other words, they're as oblivious to the details of our political system as we are of theirs! ;)

Eh, I'd take Clinton any day over Bush. He might have had a wandering eye, but at least he could put two sentences together and did not start any illegal wars, among other things. Why should I give a damn how faithful our President is? I've never heard of anyone being fired from their job for being unfaithful. Maybe divorced, but that was up to his wife, and she made her decision. I only care about how he runs the country (or doesn't in Dubya's case)!

I thought the Clintmeister was a lot of fun, and at least knew how to have a good time (although he should have found himself an intern who was smart enough to swa--I mean, hide the evidence). At least he kept us entertained!

Uriel (wonderful name, don't hear that one often), I think the intelligence issue with Monica was the major problem for a lot of people ... Ironically if she had been an intelligent - saavy woman - probably Clinton would have been judged less harshly - if not completely forgiven! Everyone knows he has a penchant for affairs. The only thing that has slowed him down was his heart attack. Everyone knows his marriage with Hillary has always seemed more of a political power alliance than a marriage. I think a lot of people hoped his extra curriculars would be more tasteful choices. It's as if he's always at a cheap smorgasboard - alot of food with absolutely no value. UGH! ... Going back to Ben's complaints about Southern accents and stereotypes, Clinton and Bush in their own ways seem to validate his assessment of Southern accents "sounding" undignified. But again behavior and sound are not one and the same. Certainly Monica was an undignified choice in every way! While I think she also acted undignified, I'm not at all convinced she was capable of knowing what it meant to be dignified. I firmly believe the responsibility for that fiasco rested solely on his shoulders. Monica was an obvious head case who was easily manipulated .. if anyone ever saw his 3 minute 45 second speech to the nation regarding the affair, one would quickly understand the reason why he was known to be a teflon president. His speech (written by a team of experts) was delivered flawlessly. The Southern indignance played out perfectly ... he truly was/is a smooth talking rhetorician! I've always given him credit in that department. Bush - what can I say? Yikes! In my opinion, it's time for the U.S. to go a different geographical direction in terms of their candidate choices next round...
But ultimately it rests in our willingness to pull the oil IV from our arm and make the necessary adjustments to accommodate an alternative energy lifestyle. We are cowboys "lovin" our big vehicles that take us every where on open roads that still allow the luxury of driving like a speed demon as long as you have your police radar on! I'm in full agreement we're pigs at the trough - but on a fall day ripping through the Kansas plains while the farmers burn off the top soil is a dance with the devil - that frankly feels good for purely selfish reasons. Hopefully we can all surrender the cowboy before we find we can't turn back.

"was staying in a very nice hotel in Philadelphia (circa 1996)"

You've actually beent o America!!!?? How did you survive among us uneducated, annoying, twang-speaking, Yanks? At least you tried the country, which is more than I had given you credit for before.

Sorry to interrupt, just back to the topic :p

I really find it surprising that most native English speakers find the French accent cute ... I am French and when I hear French people talking English with a real French accent, I just find it horrible, it sounds like a slaughter ! No kidding, I do find that we French are really bad at speaking English and most of us really speak English in a barbarous way, I just can't understand how you native English speakers can find the French accent beautiful ... Do you all mean that you find cute that a French person should not be able to pronounce "th" properly, is unable to pronounce diphthongs like in "no" or "open" or can't make any difference between "i" in "kid" and "ee" in "sweet" or between "a" in "tackle" and "garden" ? As a native French speaker, I quite don't understand why English-speaking people always find "French English" pleasant to hear whereas most French people just destroy every single English sound. If anyone explained this to me, I would really be grateful !

When people say that they like a certain accent, they are not talking about how true to form sounds are pronounced. They are rather talking about the phonology that they hear. People who like french-accented English are likely to like the sound of French too.