Sometimes we
just like things we have been exposed to. This happens with accents too. If we
have always listened to British speakers we will end up finding American
accents difficult to understand, and vice versa. There are so many varieties
of English. I have a soft spot for a Southern American accent, and also a Jamaican accent.
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| Imagen de C. Schoenbohm en Flickr CC |
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What about
you? Do you like an accent in particular? Why?
I can´t identify accents. When I listen to a person, most of the times I don´t know where he is from. Maybe I could guess if he is American or British, but not always. And I can never specify more. Sometimes accents from the USA sound familiar to me, and that´s why I prefer them to those extremely perfect but unnatural BBC journalists. I like the American way of saying t and r, as if they were chewing gum.
ReplyDeletePerhaps what I prefer is understanding people. I enjoy listening to Scorsese: he speaks quickly but clear. Does he sound as an Italian immigrant? Or just like as a New Yorker? I´ll never know.
Maybe what I really like are voices, not accents: better Connery and Eastwood than Caine or Moore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFWQBS1A0bw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtrreSo7k_8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA9fT7f-W-w
Manolo 5ยบ
Obviously, the most important thing about languages is communication. But I do like accents because they tell me about people and places. At first, you might find it difficult to associate English accents to people and people to places. This is something that comes with time.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, I love watching films, TV series and stuff in the original. Sometimes I cannot go back to the dubbing once I have listened to the actor's/actress' voice. This happened to me with Leonardo DiCaprio. I used to think he was a mediocre actor, but then I watched Revolutionary Road in the original. Long Live the King!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf0VqzuWedU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEofBHTrwzQ