Is an "American" accent really that easy to do?

[terry78]

It seems like no one from the states, unless they really try, can do an plausible accent of someone from another country, yet a lot of actors that are from England or other countries can play an American with ease. Is our dialect just that simple to imitate?

 

[Mee]

I thought lots of people could do a British accent?


But I wouldn't know if ours is easy to copy, it comes natural to me.

 

[enterthemadness]

I dunno, maybe. I used to get mistaken (and I sometimes still do) for being British or some foreign guy. Speech problem.

 

[terry78]

I thought lots of people could do a British accent?


But I wouldn't know if ours is easy to copy, it comes natural to me.

We all can do one, but it never sounds believeable.

 

[Machx72]

I found it the other way around, until I moved back to America. Many people confuse a lot of the accents, and underdo them. I've had people swear to me that they were doing a proper accent, yet I grew up with an English one and around English people.

However, I did find that most Brits that try to do an American accent usually end up imitating a deep redneck accent, which also ends up sounding more comical than anything.

 

[Mee]

We all can do one, but it never sounds believeable.

I've heard quite a few good ones.

I've been told mine is pretty good.

 

[SpHinX]

I know real Mexicans can't do an American accent, atleast the ones I've encountered English people seem to do it without ease, but we are also able to imitate other countries without that much of a problem too; maybe it depends on the person...

 

[Kevin]

i sound like i'm from the country when i try to sound like a brit.

 

[lars573]

I found it the other way around, until I moved back to America. Many people confuse a lot of the accents, and underdo them. I've had people swear to me that they were doing a proper accent, yet I grew up with an English one and around English people.

However, I did find that most Brits that try to do an American accent usually end up imitating a deep redneck accent, which also ends up sounding more comical than anything.

Southern is easier to do. According to Lucy Lawless anyway. Problem is that "American" has so many regional dialects it's hard to pin down. But that is no different than any other nation.

 

[Darren Daring]

See, those people doing the proper accents are actors. They're professionals.

 

[lars573]

They are they've also had training from professional languag coaches.

 

[Dew k. Mosi]

I do good with most accents except australian. I usually end up lilting too much and sound Irish

 

[Danger Mouse]

The bigger reason, IMO, is that American English is much more exposed than any other types of English, thanks to Hollywood. With such great exposure, imitation becomes a lot easier because there's so many material of reference.

 

[Dew k. Mosi]

DM, who do you think you are coming in here and using logic?!!!

 

[Danger Mouse]

Eep. It's the Gemini killer!

*scrambles to change date of birth in profile*

 

[War Lord]

I can do a decent Irish, Scottish, and Australian accent so it's not quite true that a North American can't do European accents.

As it's been pointed out, the US is such a diverse place that there really isn't such a thing as an single American accent that represents the US as much as accents from other countries.

P.S. John Hillerman as Higgins on Magnum PI did an excellent British accent, despite being Texan.

 

[Danalys]

there's enough english reference material aswell tho. it's just that every now and then you get a keanu reeves in dracula performance. i found natelie portman pretty bad in v for vendetta aswell resently.

 

[Dew k. Mosi]

Eep. It's the Gemini killer!

*scrambles to change date of birth in profile*

I don't kill Geminis. I just kill.

 

[Rambo, John J]

Apparently one of the hardest accents to do is the Northern Irish (Specifically Belfast. And even more specifically - west Belfast). Watch Brad Pitt in The Devil's Own. Hilarious!

'Aye'.

 

[Hades]

I guess I have a Canadian accent

 

[Halcohol]

It's different for everyone how easy an American accent is to do... for example for us in Canada we're pretty similar to an American accent so it's pretty easy. The way people talk in the northern half of the country is easiest for me to do, that includes the exaggerated "Fargo" accent.

A generic southern accent is pretty easy for most of the world to pull off, but it usually is the most redneck sounding accent you've ever heard A lot of people can't differentiate between a Carolina accent, an Arkansas accent, or a Texan accent. There's as many variations of an American accent as there are of an English accent.

I find that a Louisiana accent is harder than hell to pull off, just like a New England accent. It just doesn't feel natural to speak that way

 

[BT18]

very few foreign accented actors can really do a passable American accent, much less do it "with ease". Even the best like your Gary Oldmans still probably do alot of preparation with phonetically preparing their lines and what not.

And it's almost always people from other English speaking countries who are the successful immitators. Australians might have it come the MOST naturally because of the huge success and popularity of American tv and movies among their culture. It's probably rare for any kids growing up to not hear it on a daily basis.

I seem to notice, atleast online Americans raising less of a stink about foreigners doing mediocre attempts at Yank-speak (Colin Farrell and Clive Owen come to mind) than foreigners blasting Americans/Canadians for their perceptions of bad attempts at overseas accents.

 

[Halcohol]

^The reason foreign actors' imperfect American accents are acceptable is because it's expected that actors from overseas would try and break into the American market by replicating the accent.

It's far less common for American actors to be cast in roles where they have to adopt a foreign accent, and thus it usually is more noticeable. Compare the general acceptance of Clive Owen in Sin City with the incredibly horrible performance of Keanu Reeves in Dracula.

 

[Arkady Rossovich]

There is no such thing as an American accent.I have heard that people from the southern states have a slured speech,but that is nothing unique.

 

[November Rain]

accents are all relative, put yourself in a certain location for about six months and we'll see how easily affected you are to a changing tongue.

and this is coming from someone that have over six which all naturally change depending to who i'm speaking to.