Accents
Last night I happen to catch Christopher Hitchens talking on the TV. Here is my question........if he had the accent of Gomer Pyle, would people consider him to be the intellectual he is considered to be today? Seriously, if he spoke the EXACT same words but had the sound of Gomer, how would it come across? I believe we have some bias when it comes to accents. I get the impression that if someone speaks with a British accent, it's assumed they have a high I.Q. There is NO doubt Mr. Hitchens is very intelligent, and I find myself being impressed with his use of the English language. Would Jeff Foxworthy be as funny if his accent was British? I just can't help thinking he wouldn't be as funny........so I am accent prejudiced then aren't I? What if Snoop Dog spoke with the accent of Mr. French? What if Hillary could speak in ALL accents.........wait, she does already doesn't she?
Excuse my shallow post today, but I just wanted to see if I am the only person that thinks British folks get more respect JUST because of their accent.
Bonus question........can you hear the difference in the accents of people from England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa? Not I!!
7 Comments:
I'm just glad I don't have an accent at all!
At least when I type I don't...
"...if he had the accent of Gomer Pyle, would people consider him to be the intellectual he is considered to be today?"
Only in West Tennessee ;-)
Not only do they sound more intelligent, they're sexy as all get out. That guy from House, Hugh Laurie. I didn't know he was British as he plays an American on the show. One day I saw him on a talk show and I was a goner just hearing his natural Britishness. It was loverly. Okay, I don't think that was where you were going with that, but dem's da berries!
Love the British accent, & wish that we Americans had retained it when our forbearers came over the pond. And, yes, they definitely sound more intelligent---across the board---than do we, imo.
Surely you jest, BIL, when you say you can't hear the distinction between a Scottish, Irish, Aussie or British accent! Check the wax in your ears :)
TGIF everybody!
Shallow? How could it be shallow if you referred to Mr. French? How many people out there besides me knows who he's talking about!!
Actually, a British accent often makes quite serious things sound hilarious to me. (Too many years of listening to Monty Python sketches, probably.)
I even get tickled listening to an N.T. Wright message.
Nice blog ppost
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