Poll: Do You Think British Accents Are More..."Sophisticated"?

[El Dwarfio]

In my opinion, they are. It seems to me, British people sound much more intelligent than Americans when speaking. What do you think?

Ty talking to someone with an Essex accent and seeing if that assumption holds up.

My accent has definitely got me more action here than my looks have though, it's the reason why America > England

EDIT: One thing I've found many Americans under-estimate is just how many British accents there are (it is reckoned there are around 40 odd).

 

[TheRundownRabbit]

No, when I want to judge how sophisticated someone is, I look at their actions, not their words and much less whatever accent they have.

 

[GigaHz]

Personally, I think French accents with a good grasp of the language can outshine even the classiest of Brits.

It just sounds so clean...

I know a lot of Brits will be up in arms about my statement but I work with a lot of Bilingual people. I'd much rather have the language glide across their tongue than a local any day of the week.

 

[FalloutJack]

In my opinion, they are. It seems to me, British people sound much more intelligent than Americans when speaking. What do you think?

Also, this isn't meant as an insult, I don't want anybody to take this the wrong way haha...

As I have been told BY British people themselves, "We are not all of one accent". And it's true. Dependent on where you're from in the UK, you have a different mode of speech, just as I (A man from Pittsburgh) sound wildly different from anyone living in Georgia, say.

In regards to that, I'll ASSUME that you mean the particular accents that SOUND more sophisticated, such as Pierce Brosnan, John Cleese, and Rowan Atkinson. To whit...no, actually. It's not intelligence that voice enhances. It's charisma. You can have a personality of lead and still sound like a decent human being. However, it won't make you seem more intelligent unless you have the brain to back it up. Many times are the people who sound incredible during a speech, but have said ABSOLUTELY NOTHING the entire time.

 

[TomLikesGuitar]

"British accent" is like saying "American accent"; there's too many to make a generalization like that.

It's fucking so hott when a girl has any British accent tho.

 

[Weslebear]

Not sure about sophisticated but sexy as fuck? Then apparently yes.

Oddly enough I have had more than a few people froth at the gash over my voice, telling me straight up that they are in love with my voice.

Good times.

 

[Broady Brio]

I'm British and I sound nowhere near sophisticated. I don't even have a particular accent, it's just... monotone.

I feel your pain there brotha'. I prefer monotone over Scouse or Geordie though.

 

[Gecko clown]

When you say British accents I'm sure you mean, the Queens English and the way upper classes speak. The English that most people speak sounds exactly as sophisticated as americans.

 

[Magicmad5511]

I'm guessing you mean a posh English accent (There are 4 countries in Britain remember and a ton of accents in England alone).
For the posh English accent hell yes. The person coulkd say anything and you'd beive them because it sound so damn intelligent.
I am bit biased on this though.
I'm English.

 

[StarStruckStrumpets]

Anyone who lives in England will know this is bullshit. Most people here sound like uneducated scum. I refuse to say 'British' accent, because that'd mix English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh together. Not to mention some TOWNS have their own accents.

 

[deadish]

I don't think it's just the accent.

The more reserved mannerisms that some British people have and the choice of words they use, probably contributes a lot to the "dignify and sophisticated" image.

It also probably helps that us non-British are only exposed to the "elite" of the bunch, which helps re-enforce this image.

 

[ozium]

What your asking is too vague. There are several British accents and some of them sound absolutely ridiculous. The cockney accent (Danny Dyers' accent) for example is the British equivalent of the American "redneck" accent. It sounds stupid and makes the language and speaker seem moronic. Received pronunciation on the other hand sounds perfect and in my opinion is the best accent to speak the English language in.

To answer your question I'd say that British accents are not more sophisticated in general but rather that there is one British accent which sounds the most sophisticated of all English accents.

 

[AnotherAvatar]

Yes and no. Depends on the region and what region we're comparing them to.

Cockney dialects sound a bit unrefined (though for the record I love that accent, one of my favorites to mimic), also British people say **** a lot more, and there isn't much refined about that.

On the other end they usually enunciate their words more clearly (I'm not sure which region it is that has that more refined tone, now that I think about it... hmm...), and also since they use the u's in various words (colour, flavour) it sounds a bit more sounded out. This is what I'd point to on the "they sound more refined end"

That said, anyone sounds more refined than the terrible deep south accent large numbers of Americans use.

That also said, rock whatever you have and don't feel ashamed or shy about your accent, in no way does it actually make you any more or less refined. The human voice and it's cadence and inflection make it so throughly unique that one can make it out with more clarity and accuracy than a face or body when identifying that person, so be proud of your unique style, whatever that may be.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Why is the first thing I think of a thick Brummy accent? Y'know the least sophisticated accent in existance. I call shenanigans on this entire thread!

Though apparently American girls find certain English accents sexy... Not sure if I should call shenanigans on this as well or book a one way flight to America posthaste!

 

[OriginalLadders]

As a Brit; it depends on the accent.

To me a Welsh accent sounds friendly but simple and Scottish accents can either be extremely friendly or extremely aggressive. As for England, Southern accents can either be incredibly smug and pretentious or just thoroughly stupid, whereas I tend to think of Northern accents as sounding arrogant and stubborn. And finally Midlands accents just sound normal to me, except for Birmingham... horrid accent.

 

[Zen Toombs]

Generally speaking, yes. But as far as I can tell it's mostly the exotic factor for me, seeing as I'm an American American from America.

 

[Khanht Cope]

Have you heard someone from the midlands of england speak, it's hilarious. It was voted the accent that made people sound the stupidest. It certainly doesn't sound sophisticated.

Hey

I'll have you know, I'm from Shrewsbury (West Midlands). And I wouldn't agree that our accent sounds unintelligent.

It depends who you talk to, however. The scruffier classes in the regions use stronger slang, and are less conservative and mannered in tone and speech. The accents can be presented with sophisticated and unsophistcated twists.

 

[Pebblig]

Haha, As others have said, it depends if you're talking about a "Queen" type accent. Otherwise, the number of different accents in the UK is ridonkulous.

Maybe you should've said posh/stereotypical English accent.

 

[Right Hook]

There are many different "British" accents, I'll assume you are talking about the stereotypical posh accent. I guess it sounds more sophisticated but personally I think it sounds stupid, it isn't even the proper way of speaking like many assume it is, it was developed by the nobility and primarily used by them, so everyone who speaks it and isn't an elitist bastard is basically their ***** because they are speaking a dialect invented simply out of the want to make the difference between the rich and the poor more apparent. (I heard this a while ago, pretty sure there is some truth to it but if I am way off let me, don't feel like looking it up right now.)