Have you heard anybody speaking with this accent and what to do you think of it?
Mid-Atlantic English describes a version of the English language which is neither predominantly American or British in usage.
"Mid-Atlantic" attempts to use no deliberate Britishisms nor any deliberate Americanisms, so that it can be equally understandable and acceptable on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Canadian English in some ways approaches this ideal; however it is also replete with Canadianisms not readily comprehensible to either Americans or Britons.
Spelling also provides a considerable obstacle given the differences between British and American orthography; Canada, which goes predominantly with the British system, is of little guidance here. An emerging trend seems to be the use of a mixture, such as "colour" and "labor"; this appears to satisfy almost no one.
Along with the written word, there is an attempt to develop a Mid-Atlantic accent, or perhaps rather a non-accent. Here once again Canadian pronunciation, less a few well-known and distinctive Canadianisms, would seem to prove something of a guide. International media are tending to reduce the number of mutually unintelligible versions of English to some extent; this issue, if pressed too hard, will undoubtedly bring up issues of national, regional, and local pride that many feel best left undisturbed.
Mid-Atlantic English is also a name that has been given to a pronunciation of English that was formerly cultivated by actors for use in theatre, and by news announcers. This dialect was formerly used by American actors who adopted some features of British English pronunciation; it was used on stage generally—and especially in productions of Shakespeare and other pieces from the British Isles—and frequently in film until the post-World War II era. This sort of stage-British is now used much less than it formerly was; the recorded speech of Vincent Price in his more formal roles may contain an echo of its sounds, since Price was an American actor trained in England. The British expatriate Cary Grant and the Canadian Christopher Plummer have also exemplified the accent.
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Jordi:
A well known American here in the UK (now a permanent resident here) is Loyd Grossman, whose original home is Marblehead (I think that's what it's called), a suburb of Boston, MA.
He has one of the strangest of accents, totally mid-Atlantic and he is such an easy target for mimics! I enjoy listening to him.
He is well known for TV programs about cookery, but most of all for being on a TV program called "Who lives in a house like this?". He visits homes of famous people and you have to guess "who lives in a house like this" by all the clues shown during the shots. At the end he always says (to the host, David Frost): "Who lives in a house like this? David....it's over to you!" in his cool mid-Atlantic (somewhere just north of the Azores I guess) accent. ;-)
Jordi,
Have you ever heard Thomas Kean (the former Governor of New Jersey and present Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon The United States) speak on television? He's often a guest on the Jim Leher News Hour on PBS. He comes the closest to a person who speaks a Mid-Atlantic English (If you can say that there is such a thing!).
He speaks with a sort of pseudo-British accent which I'm told is the way people speak in the part of New Jersey where he is from. In other words, he speaks an English which is non-Rhotic like British English but is still more American as far as its terminology goes. For instance, I'm, sure Thomas Kean says "elevator" instead of "lift".
Thanks for the information both to Damian and Brennus. I would love to hear samples of those voices on the Internet. I have International television at home and I can watch BBC (for British mainly) and CBN (for American mainly) but I haven't heard anybody quite like that, although some seem to have very clear accents, from a British or Australian point of view.
It would be interesting to check on that New Jersey accent if it's really alive. I have heard old recordings of JF Kennedy and his American accent sounds very "posh" if you know what I mean, although definitely American. I have also heard a similar "posh" American accents in old 30s and 40s pictures (movies). Perhaps Bette Davis, if I'm not wrong, specially in pictures depicting the 19th century or early 20th century American upper class. Perhaps the upper American classes of the time were of British descent or looked more towards England?
Brennus, how do Americans react when they hear such "strange" although "American" accents? Is there such a thing a a "snob" (more British, perhaps) accent in America?
I have also heard similar "posh" American accents... (editing, again)
I'd say William F. Buckley is another example of this half and half accent.
Our accents here in New Jersey vary....some are less rhotic than others (generally North Jersey tends to reflect the NYC accent and South Jersey the Philadelphia accent). Benjamin Franklin once described our state as a barrel tapped at both ends.
Jordi,
Yes, there is a stereotypical "snob" accent in the United States. The one often mimicked was the Brahmin accent of Boston....the "I go to Hahvahd" (non-rhotic)......An exaggerated example of this accent would be the character Thurston Howell III and his wife Lovey on the old sitcom "Gilligan's Island."
I wouldn't say Canadian pronunciation comes close to what might be called a mid-Atlantic accent. Where the Canadian accent is different from the American accent, it's just more Canadian not really more British. At least this is what my ears tell me.
Of course, I'm making huge generalisations here when I write of American, British and Canadian accents. There is no one Canadian accent, no one British accent nor is there any one American accent. But let's just assume we've found a way around this problem, e.g. by taking some typical accents,e.g., Ottowa, RP and mid-Western US.
Some actors speak with a mid-atlantic-style, accent--ever seen Frasier? The accent was sort of "pioneered" by a voice coach named Edith Skinner in the early 20th century. It's still taught to actors in the states as the standard accent for Shakespeare and other classical texts.
You often hear something approaching this accent on NPR (National Public Radio, in the states). As mjd mentioned William F. Buckley speaks with an almost exaggerated mid-Atlantic accent--I used to assume he was British.
The state of Connecticut used to have many upper-crust speakers of that dialect, although (thankfully, in my opinion), this has recently been replaced with light New England accent that is much less silly sounding.
One thing I should mention, though, is that "mid-Atlantic" also refers to a completely different dialect of English spoken on mid-Eastern coast of the United States (in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and the surrounding areas).
Doesn't Glenn Close speak with this accent?
It's interesting that this accent should be considered "standard" for Shakespeare in the US. I don't reckon the Immortal Bard ever spoke in such an accent.
Jim:
The fact is the Immortal Bard didn't speak with a RP accent either, back in the early 17th century. He probably spoke more of an Australian accent :-) or rather something which isn't heard any longer. I suppose it's assumed that the language's most important playwright must be spoken in the best fashion of the time ;-)
Absolutely, so why standardise an artificial accent?
You are, of course, right but what is considered the "best fashion of the time" when delivering Shakespeare in the English-speaking world?
I imagine Americans were trying to get as near as possible to RP English without forgetting they were Americans (even without being able to, if I may say so.)
After all, one of great American Shakespeare productions ambitions (and Canadian, Australian or New Zealand such productions) is to succeed in London, near the bard's homestead.
I can imagine that Shakespeare delivered in a GA accent of the first half of the 20th century couldn't travel easily over the Atlantic whilst the same couldn't be said of British companies delivering Shakespeare productions in the US, Canada or Australia-NZ.
I'm just trying to think how they thought and felt over 50 years ago.
The question would be: can Shakespeare be delivered anywhere in the English speaking world in the original native accent of that company, spoken by educated actors from those countries? Are they expected to adopt a more British or conventional accent?
I don't really know but I would love to know your opinion. Could it be there is such a thing as a Shakespearean standard or model? It's all probably 19th century English RP influence anyway or is it older?
Shakespeare, in the United States, is delivered in an accent called "American Standard," which is perhaps a tad more British sounding than GenAm, but is still American.
In England, the Globe Theatre recently did a production of Romeo & Juliet that was performed in the Elizabethan dialect of Shakespeare's time. Apparently, it sounded very similar to an Irish brogue--nothing at all like the British and American standard accents we use today.
