Coldplay accent

Kess   Thu Mar 19, 2009 9:07 am GMT
Hi
Don't you find Coldplay accent very weird/inconsistent?

In the song TALK they pronounce the word in a Californian way: [tA:k].

In the song VIVA LA VIDA they pronounce the word FOREIGN in a New Jersey way: [fA:r@n].

That's very weird.
Coldplay, stick to one accent.

PS
And don't steal other people's songs anymore, VIVA LA VIDA's melody was stolen from Alizée-I'm fed up ( European and Asian hit released in 2003).
Pat   Thu Mar 19, 2009 3:50 pm GMT
By pronouncing "talk" the "Californian way" you simply mean pronounced with a cot-caught merger. The c-c merger is found in the entire Western United States, all of Canada, much of the North Central US, parts of the North and South, and in parts of the East Coast. This accounts for a great many speakers... As for pronouncing "foreign" in the NJ way, you do realize that that pronunciation is found throughout a great deal of the east coast...
LivingStone   Thu Mar 19, 2009 5:00 pm GMT
There's no American accent that has /A/ in both ''talk'' and ''foreign''.
In Boston, which is cot/caught merged, ''talk'' has a rounded vowel /Q/, while ''foreign'' has an unrounded vowel /A/.
Another Guest   Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:39 pm GMT
It also seems to me that Chris Martin always sounds like he has a cold when he's singing. Strangely, he sounds more normal in his interview. And yes, they do seem to take quite a bit from other bands. Cure, Depeche Mode, Pink Floyd, Joy Division, The Smiths, etc.
Lazar   Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:46 pm GMT
<<In Boston, which is cot/caught merged, ''talk'' has a rounded vowel /Q/, while ''foreign'' has an unrounded vowel /A/.>>

In Boston, "talk" and "foreign" both use /Q/.

As for Coldplay, like a lot of groups, they tend to use a variable singing accent with American and British influences. I really think it's no big deal.
AJC   Fri Mar 20, 2009 8:07 am GMT
It sounds more like [tA.O.O:k] to me. I don't think this is common in any real accent.
Damian in Edinburgh   Fri Mar 20, 2009 8:50 am GMT
The alt rock Coldplay guys have adapted their respective accents to suit their occupation and its international appeal, but in fact their natural accents (apart from that of Guy Berryman) are more or less standard English English RP with a wee tad of the London in the case of Jonny. All come from professional backgrounds.

Guy Berryman is actually a local lad as far as we're concerned here in Edinburgh - he was born just across the Firth at Kirkcaldy, in Fife, Scotland, but attended the Edinburgh Academy before going on to University College London - in London of course - which is where he met up with the other lads.

Chris Martin, from Exeter, Devon, England, went to the independent Sherborne School in Dorset, prior to UCL.

Jonny Buckland was born in up-market and very trendy Islington, in North London, England, but moved to North Wales with his parents when he was four and initially went to school in Mold, Flintshire, ultimately going to UCL.

Will Champion - from Southampton, Hampshire, England where he went to school before UCL, where the whole show began and the rest is history.

Their accents have been adapted for the scene, as I say, which is why they probably seem to be "weird and inconsistent" but privately their original accents reign for the most part.