Why doesnt all English people speak like Charles Dance?

[Goofguy]

It's pretty damn hard to change accents and make it sound convincing. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

That being said, I wonder which language has the most accents? I'm assuming it's English seeing as how even within Canada, the United States, England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand and Australia, there are several different accents of their own. Then again, I could be very wrong.

 

[shootthebandit]

Spoiler: birmingham

- Ozzy's nervous system has been so heavily damaged by blow I'm amazed his accent can still be called Brummie.

Brummies talk so slowly anyway. The might as well not have a nervous system anyway

Please tell me you read that in a brummie accent

 

[octafish]

Nonsense, everyone should speak with a slight Leeds accent...isn't that right Alan?

Has Michael Caine's speaking voice changed dramatically lately or something? He's a fantastic actor and his character in Zulu has a wonderful British Officer voice, but all I can think of when I think of Michael Caine is, "You're only s'posed to blow the bloody doors off!" Cockney as all hell.

I'm with you there, after all what does Michael Caine sound like?

 

[searron]

I'm Norwegian but our dialects doesn't really vary much.

I think they do, as a native speaker you will tend to over look things like that generally. There are 4 main groups of dialects in Norway, and each of these groups has sub dialects with different grammar syntax and pronunciation. Then in Norwegian you also have two different writing systems. I could easily ask why doesn't everyone use Nynorsk or Bokmal. Then you also have the fact that Swedish and Norwegian are mutually intelligible enough to the point where linguists argue about whether they are actually different languages or dialects of the same language.

For reference on Norwegian dialects( in bokmal) http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norske_dialekter

 

[Brown_Coat117]

Because then everyone would be super.

And when everyone's super, no one is.

Well played sir, have a cookie

 

[Olas]

Why doesn't everyone homogenize and speak the exact same way? I don't know, maybe because we don't want to, and if we did it would take away some of our cultural diversity and make us all boring.

The formation of different accents is what happens when people spread out form somewhat isolated communities. With the world becoming more international and interconnected you may someday get your wish.

edit: Also, unless you're trying to be ironic or something I feel the need to point out that the title should be "Why don't all english people speak like Charles Dance?"

 

[KeyMaster45]

Dude, here in the states the accent can vary from town to town let alone regional. Most people don't hear their own accent. Case in point: My family went to London at the end of May and we were almost immediately identified as from the Southern US simply by our accents, but we don't hear it at all; we actually have an almost unnoticeable southern accent by US standards.

Hell, even word pronunciation is going to vary from person to person; placing different emphasis on certain syllables.(I know I do it just because I feel some words get more of a kick by stressing certain parts of them)

Do some of our accents sound horrible? You bet your ass they do, and even we can barely understand some of them. You'll be hard pressed though to get people to consciously change them though as an accent is something that is very deeply ingrained in a person on a near subconscious level. The best you can hope for is someone to slowly, unwittingly, adopt a new accent if they move to an area where there's a noticeably different one.

 

[Varitel]

I think regional accents are great. They help give a distinct feel to different regions speaking the same language. I live in the Boston area, which is renowned nationally (maybe even worldwide, but I'm not sure) for its distinctive, and easily recognizeable accent (The scout from TF2 is supposed to be from Southie (South Boston) and has the accent). I think it's wonderful that the Boston area is the only place in the entire world where you are likely to hear the phrase "I'm goin' down to the packie to get some beeahs".

packie - A liquor store.

beeahs - An approximation of the regional pronunciation of "beers".

Full Translation: "I am going to the liquor store to purchase some beer"

 

[Smiley Face]

Well, good luck to them if they try... not everyone can afford a voice coach, and even if they can, I don't think many have the patience to voice train themselves.

Would they realy need a voice coach? How about just watching BBC? Or all channels broadcasting in "RP"?

Yes, yes they would. The way you can tell this is that not everyone who watches a whole lot of the BBC comes out speaking differently. Maybe adjusting your voice comes particularly easy to you, but changing to a different accent, getting it perfect and having that stick, is very difficult and requires a lot of work. Moreover, most people associate their own thoughts with their original accent, and if their accent changes, it sounds unnatural to them - regardless of whether or not they feel it's 'better'. Mimicry comes easily to me, when I'm exposed to a new accent or way of speaking, I'll often find myself adopting it for a week or so without realizing it - and for me to permanently change my base accent would be very tricky.

As much as I love Charles Dance's voice, it would be a tragedy to homogenize the English language like that. England is FASCINATING, you have such a diverse range of accents in such a small area, and then when they cross-pollenate, it goes even further. Charles Dance's accent is good, but it's good because it Stands Out, and it works well with his vocal capabilities and demeanour. Other people with different accents, English or otherwise, are not necessarily quantifiably worse, but qualitatively different - they make the strengths of their accent work for them.

I mean, to take Game of Thrones as an example - imagine a Game of Thrones where EVERYONE talked like Charles Dance. Firstly, it would be boring. Secondly, some people have accents which work better for them, or close enough as to make no difference. For example, Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont)? Would he be better off to talk in a different accent? He ROCKS. Would Mark Addy have been a better Robert Baratheon if he'd talked otherwise? I mean yes, he would have come off as more refined and deliberate, but not everyone IS more refined and deliberate, not everyone wants to seem that way, and not everyone wants to be that way.

Moreover, it's a part of culture, tradition, and personal choice - and you're not offering any good justifications to sweep all those away, just a vague articulation of some sort of eugenic approach to linguistics.

 

[Dangit2019]

I'm from Texas, and a lot of people think we talk with a big southern drawl. On the contrary, that's more to the southeastern US, whereas Texans talk in a sort of normal sounding American accent, just a BIT LOUDER. WE'RE VERY FRIENDLY PEOPLE BUT WE HAVE A BIT OF A REPUTATION FOR SPEAKING VERY LOUDLY IN PUBLIC SPACES. I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT STEREOTYPE CAME FROM.

To answer the OP's question, those actors have been trained for years to completely master their voice. Charles Dance probably doesn't even talk like that in private, but he most likely has a "broadcast voice" that he uses in public because it's very clear and legible to every English-speaker.

 

[Wyvern65]

I'm from Texas, and a lot of people think we talk with a big southern drawl. On the contrary, that's more to the southeastern US, whereas Texans talk in a sort of normal sounding American accent

HAHAHHA . . .er. . . sorry, you're serious, aren't you?

While there's a big difference between the GA and TX accent, for example, (no Texan ever told me "why, y'all's just as cute as a pig in muuud,") /everyone/ thinks they sound 'normal'. As someone who grew up in MA (I once actually parked a car in Harvard yard - it was traumatic and I needed therapy for years,) spent more than a considerable amount of time in NY, then lived in Dallas for 12 years, and has been lucky enough to travel from the Appalachians to New Orleans to Los Angeles and too many places in between to count, let me just assure you: Texans really do have a thick Southern drawl. You don't sound like Scarlett O'Hara, granted, but you'll never pass as anything but Southern. This isn't a bad thing, but something to celebrate.

Yeah, we all have weird accents. To someone /not/ from Texas you folks have an accent you can hear from a mile away. The 'default' American accent is the midwestern accent that the newscasters try to mimic. Iowa and Ohio probably come closest to it from what I've heard. Or maybe PA, oddly enough.

 

[Starik20X6]

"If you speak in a horrible accent why not change it?" Well most people wouldn't consider their accents to be horrible.

I'm Australian, and every time I hear my own voice played back to me I want to remove my vocal chords with a hacksaw blade. But then again, my (American) girlfriend loves it so what do I know...

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

I'm English, I wish I could speak like Charles Dance, but I'm a Northerner so...

 

[GoaThief]

The last time I was in Cornwall well....not much charm there

Nonsense, we have rustic charm.

I am also writing to inform you of your impending death, by way of several red hot pasties crammed up your behind. I suggest making some form of will.

Arr, innum.

Ere, eyes sounds like gert pirate and proud of em. Wasson shag?

 

[Johnny Impact]

Why don't all Americans speak in the mushmouth style of New England lobstermen?

Because not all Americans are from New England.

Same with England.

Regional drift occurs in all languages, sometimes over a distance of just a few miles.

 

[Flatfrog]

Stephen Fry and Michael Cane. They all have very similar ways of talking. Slow, measured and they enunciate words perfectly.

Except they have very different accents, at least to an English ear. Fry, as a Cambridge-educated public-school Englishman, speaks what is usually called 'RP' or 'received pronunciation' - essentially, upper-middle class Home Counties English, which also used to be called 'BBC English'. Michael Caine is a Londoner and speaks with a well-spoken Cockney.

Any accent can be spoken clearly - even Glaswegian or Geordie!

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

The last time I was in Cornwall well....not much charm there

Nonsense, we have rustic charm.

I am also writing to inform you of your impending death, by way of several red hot pasties crammed up your behind. I suggest making some form of will.

Arr, innum.

Ere, eyes sounds like gert pirate and proud of em. Wasson shag?

Ride on ma cock, ride on.

Note to mods: Translates as Right on my cock, right on i.e. That is correct/general agreement my friend/general form of address, then first meaning repeated for emphasis. I am not suggesting GoaThief does anything with my penis.

 

[Dangit2019]

I'm from Texas, and a lot of people think we talk with a big southern drawl. On the contrary, that's more to the southeastern US, whereas Texans talk in a sort of normal sounding American accent

HAHAHHA . . .er. . . sorry, you're serious, aren't you?

While there's a big difference between the GA and TX accent, for example, (no Texan ever told me "why, y'all's just as cute as a pig in muuud,") /everyone/ thinks they sound 'normal'. As someone who grew up in MA (I once actually parked a car in Harvard yard - it was traumatic and I needed therapy for years,) spent more than a considerable amount of time in NY, then lived in Dallas for 12 years, and has been lucky enough to travel from the Appalachians to New Orleans to Los Angeles and too many places in between to count, let me just assure you: Texans really do have a thick Southern drawl. You don't sound like Scarlett O'Hara, granted, but you'll never pass as anything but Southern. This isn't a bad thing, but something to celebrate.

By "normal", I pretty much meant middle America. And it does get really apparent in more rural areas. I happen to live in a small city, where the accent is present, it's just a little streamlined. I would've mentioned that, but I wrote it at 3 AM and wasn't in the clearest mindset.

 

[The Great JT]

As for the American perspective, allow me to quote History Of The World Part 1. Ahem...

"We don't have a language, just a stupid accent!"