This entry is B for BULLSHIT. "Bullshit bullshit bullshit!" A very tenuous B maybe but I thought it would be a good chance for me to talk about my accent and how it gets received here in Boston.
I was quite surprised at just how much people like my accent in New England. I don't even think I have an accent but obviously to everyone around here I do. I grew up just outside of London, in East Hertfordshire/Essex border. I don't think I sould mega posh nor mega common. I'm not a cockney and I don't sound like I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth (Google the analogy if you don't get it!) so I find it bizarre that so many people (strangers) come up to me and compliment me on my voice/accent or stop me mid sentence to say they could listen to me talk all day (*If you could listen to me talk all day, let me finish!!) and that happens all the time. All the time!
Although once you are my friend/co worker I get a lot of funny mimicry. I don't mind it, and certain people sorta check that they aren't pissing me off. I will say some of their impressions of a British accents are TERRIBLE. Which actually makes it funnier to me.
My favourite is Adam, basically doing the Paul Rudd part in Forgetting Sarah Marshall in the below clip:
Which Patrick and a bunch of our friends say intermittently at random times.
I am surprised that there are so many British people doing voice overs and commercials on TV. I don't think there are nearly half as many back home in the UK. Max from Eastenders is the Geico lizard, and there is a lady doing a gum commercial and some bloke doing the Oxy Clean advert for starters.
When I got hired at work it was implied that they would love having a Brit lady doing the phones, like I was some kind of status or gimmick (in a nice way) but it is true! Britishness sells! People take you much more seriously if you talk like me or are from the UK!
On the flip side... my American accent is pretty terrible. I can maybe say 2 words in a Bostonian accent, based on drawing out vowels like "chyeeeeeear" for chair and "smaaarrrht" for smart, like wicked smart! I can do that Valley girl thing though pretty well, if start every sentance with "like oh my gawd..... totally".
2 comments:
Scarlett says, "Oh Maaaeyyyynnn" Thanks Swiper the Fox. But British-ness is totally a gimmick and I have no idea why it took you so long to get a job because really, you have a very cool accent. I am British, I have a crap accent.
Oh yeah, and I want to see the Max from Eastenders advert please - I find it most odd that he is doing an American accent.
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