It seems that many threads on this forum talk about the importance of GAE because that's the accent used by CNN etc. Living in the UK, although I have access to US news networks on satellite, I watch them rarely. I do, however, watch a large number of US shows (sometimes several a day) and have done all my life. The overwhelming majority of US TV shows are shot in California and employ actors who have obvious Californian accents, even when they are supposed to be set somewhere else. The same is true of movies. The qustion is therefore, why do people keep talking about GAE, when the accent most people hear most, both nationally and internationally, is Californian?
Most often heard accent- US TV and Movies?
<<The qustion is therefore, why do people keep talking about GAE, when the accent most people hear most, both nationally and internationally, is Californian? >>
That's certainly true of television and movies. I get tired of the California accent myself. I'd hate for us to become so homogenized that we all start speaking Californiaese. Ick. I like listening to different accents. Vive la difference. (I know, I'm probably spelling this French wrong too :-))
That's certainly true of television and movies. I get tired of the California accent myself. I'd hate for us to become so homogenized that we all start speaking Californiaese. Ick. I like listening to different accents. Vive la difference. (I know, I'm probably spelling this French wrong too :-))
Oops, I didn't mean to offend anyone from California. If I did, "sorry," as they say in England.
I don't know that Californian, especially the variety Kirk talks about is anything more than a minor local variation on a GAE template, and not particularly widespread beyond the West Coast. But most actors in Hollywood probably grew up elsewhere, and now just live there for obvious work-related reasons, so I wouldn't think that the majority of them actually have it.
However, I agree that when shows are set in a location that has a specific regional accent it should behoove the actors to use it! After all, they're ACTORS -- actors LOVE to do accents! (Granted, some of them do 'em better than others...)
The horror-comedy "Lake Placid" was set in Maine (even though the real Lake Placid is in New York), but not a single Maine accent cropped up. In "Dolores Claiborne", on the other hand, Kathy Bates and crew did wonderful Maine accents that really gave the movie a sense of place.
And I don't really know much about Chicago accents, but to me, Kevin Bacon in "Stir of Echoes" had a little bit of a hardness to his voice that I thought was in keeping with the setting as well. Perhaps someone from the Midwest who knows that area better than me (and has seen the movie) can comment on that?
However, I agree that when shows are set in a location that has a specific regional accent it should behoove the actors to use it! After all, they're ACTORS -- actors LOVE to do accents! (Granted, some of them do 'em better than others...)
The horror-comedy "Lake Placid" was set in Maine (even though the real Lake Placid is in New York), but not a single Maine accent cropped up. In "Dolores Claiborne", on the other hand, Kathy Bates and crew did wonderful Maine accents that really gave the movie a sense of place.
And I don't really know much about Chicago accents, but to me, Kevin Bacon in "Stir of Echoes" had a little bit of a hardness to his voice that I thought was in keeping with the setting as well. Perhaps someone from the Midwest who knows that area better than me (and has seen the movie) can comment on that?
<<That's certainly true of television and movies. I get tired of the California accent myself. I'd hate for us to become so homogenized that we all start speaking Californiaese. Ick. I like listening to different accents. Vive la difference. (I know, I'm probably spelling this French wrong too :-))>>
Well you can rest assured that linguistic research has consistently shown that the media have no effect on accents (they may popularize certain buzzwords and phrases but even this is relatively peripheral compared to language as a whole). Language change as pertaining to accents only works with person-to-person contact.
I get BBC America on my tv and no matter how much of it I choose to watch, once I walk away from the tv set my accent hasn't changed one bit.
<<I don't know that Californian, especially the variety Kirk talks about is anything more than a minor local variation on a GAE template, and not particularly widespread beyond the West Coast.>>
California English certainly has some distinctive features to it, and as the state's population has become more settled (as of 50 years ago nearly everyone was still from "somewhere else" while there is a sizable amount of native-born and raised Californians these days) some regional patterns, most notably the California Vowel Shift (which is present in my speech), have begun to emerge.
However, it's worth noting that "General American" is a relatively hazy concept so no one really speaks it 100%.
<<But most actors in Hollywood probably grew up elsewhere, and now just live there for obvious work-related reasons, so I wouldn't think that the majority of them actually have it.>>
Yes, just because they're acting in California doesn't mean they're necessarily from here.
<<However, I agree that when shows are set in a location that has a specific regional accent it should behoove the actors to use it! After all, they're ACTORS -- actors LOVE to do accents! (Granted, some of them do 'em better than others...)
The horror-comedy "Lake Placid" was set in Maine (even though the real Lake Placid is in New York), but not a single Maine accent cropped up. In "Dolores Claiborne", on the other hand, Kathy Bates and crew did wonderful Maine accents that really gave the movie a sense of place.>>
Ah, one my pet peeves---actors with the wrong accent for the role! Most obvious to me are when non-Californians try and play Californians and certain things slip out which would never be said by a Californian. Travis and I have discussed how none of the actors playing Wisconsinites on "That 70's Show" sound like they're from Wisconsin. Back to California, I was able to reliably pinpoint which actors in "The OC" were originally from California and which ones weren't. Worst "OC" offender? Mischa Barton's New York accent which shines thru in pronunciations like ["m{r\i] and ["n{roU] , while Californians are invariably "Mary-marry-merry" merged and would have ["mEr\i] and ["nEr\o(U)] for "marry" and "narrow." I have to chuckle at the New York pronunciations which unexpectedly pop out of a character who supposedly has grown up in Orange County all her life (but then again, "The OC" isn't necessarily the paragon of realism, either. At least half the people I know from Orange County are Asian-Americans and there's not a single Asian on the show.
<<Oops, I didn't mean to offend anyone from California. If I did, "sorry," as they say in England.>>
Don't worry about it, I'll be ok :)
Well you can rest assured that linguistic research has consistently shown that the media have no effect on accents (they may popularize certain buzzwords and phrases but even this is relatively peripheral compared to language as a whole). Language change as pertaining to accents only works with person-to-person contact.
I get BBC America on my tv and no matter how much of it I choose to watch, once I walk away from the tv set my accent hasn't changed one bit.
<<I don't know that Californian, especially the variety Kirk talks about is anything more than a minor local variation on a GAE template, and not particularly widespread beyond the West Coast.>>
California English certainly has some distinctive features to it, and as the state's population has become more settled (as of 50 years ago nearly everyone was still from "somewhere else" while there is a sizable amount of native-born and raised Californians these days) some regional patterns, most notably the California Vowel Shift (which is present in my speech), have begun to emerge.
However, it's worth noting that "General American" is a relatively hazy concept so no one really speaks it 100%.
<<But most actors in Hollywood probably grew up elsewhere, and now just live there for obvious work-related reasons, so I wouldn't think that the majority of them actually have it.>>
Yes, just because they're acting in California doesn't mean they're necessarily from here.
<<However, I agree that when shows are set in a location that has a specific regional accent it should behoove the actors to use it! After all, they're ACTORS -- actors LOVE to do accents! (Granted, some of them do 'em better than others...)
The horror-comedy "Lake Placid" was set in Maine (even though the real Lake Placid is in New York), but not a single Maine accent cropped up. In "Dolores Claiborne", on the other hand, Kathy Bates and crew did wonderful Maine accents that really gave the movie a sense of place.>>
Ah, one my pet peeves---actors with the wrong accent for the role! Most obvious to me are when non-Californians try and play Californians and certain things slip out which would never be said by a Californian. Travis and I have discussed how none of the actors playing Wisconsinites on "That 70's Show" sound like they're from Wisconsin. Back to California, I was able to reliably pinpoint which actors in "The OC" were originally from California and which ones weren't. Worst "OC" offender? Mischa Barton's New York accent which shines thru in pronunciations like ["m{r\i] and ["n{roU] , while Californians are invariably "Mary-marry-merry" merged and would have ["mEr\i] and ["nEr\o(U)] for "marry" and "narrow." I have to chuckle at the New York pronunciations which unexpectedly pop out of a character who supposedly has grown up in Orange County all her life (but then again, "The OC" isn't necessarily the paragon of realism, either. At least half the people I know from Orange County are Asian-Americans and there's not a single Asian on the show.
<<Oops, I didn't mean to offend anyone from California. If I did, "sorry," as they say in England.>>
Don't worry about it, I'll be ok :)