I’ve written about the frustration I’ve had in California and not being understood but there is another side to this. Americans definitely like the British accent. You can be the most uncouth slob on the planet but, if your accent is English and you’re in the States, suddenly you’re sophisticated, intelligent and cultured.
Recently a guy in a shop asked where my accent was from because ‘it makes my stomach flip over and well…’ He was unable to finish his sentence; such was the power of my voice. Which just made me laugh, believe me, when I’m back home, no one is lost for words over my gorgeous accent.
I have to confess, I may have used this to my advantage now and then. I’m an Essex girl but have more of a Home Counties accent, hard to describe to Americans but I don’t have a strong regional accent. It’s more like Kate Winslet’s (and that’s were the similarity ends, unfortunately.) However, I am willing and able to take it up a notch when required. If I need to return an item to a store, or someone gives me any trouble over something, I bring out the big guns. Think royalty, think The Queen. Oh yes, I ramp it up and then some. Suddenly that refund I wasn’t going to get? It’s all mine. That parking ticket being issued? Cancelled immediately. I’m not totally proud of my behaviour but there’s got to be some benefits, surely? People look at me like a dear in headlights, unable to respond, blown away by my sophistication.
The boys have the same effect on people. I’ve taught them to start their sentences with ‘Please may I have’ when asking for something. Consequently, when we’re in a restaurant, the waiters/waitresses start smiling when the boys order and sound incredibly formal. Their food arrives with extra portions or a pudding comes out as a treat because the ordering was so spectacular.
We were recently listening to a comedy channel on the radio when we heard a comedienne talking about how intimated she was of British children. It was hysterical but the boys didn’t think it was funny, they just couldn’t understand the joke, which made it even funnier. (The British bit starts at 1.10)
My very good friend, Greg, speaks to me in a style Joan River uses to imitate British accents. It’s basically ‘fa fa fa fa fa’ and a really good, posh British accent can come out like that. It’s important to swallow some of the word so ‘awfully’ comes out as ‘awfle.’
I haven’t used the word ‘one’ instead of ‘I’ yet. That’s the ultimate showcase of sophistication and upperclassness. One is saving that for any emergency one may have.
{ 16 comments }
hey lorna wouldn’t it be funny if once in a while your boys would say “please sir, i want xx (some more would be perfect but not always appropriate).”
and if they could get those eyes puss in boots from shrek gets at the same time…GOLDEN! i’d downright squeal if i heard a young boy do that “oliver” turn. heh heh heh
@lisa
I’m so training them to do that! They’ve never seen the film, so they won’t realise. I’ll tell them it’s polite to lift up your plate at the end of the meal and ask for more.
I’ve found I don’t get understood in restaurants too.
I have to ask for what ever I want twice. Especially water! I ask for “warr-terr” and I get an “[giggle] excusemewhatwasthat?”
If I ask for it in an American accent “whaddor” they get it everytime!
I’ve given up trying to speak my language now – “I use the cross-walk to get over the highway and stand in line for the elevator before getting some gas for the car before settling down with a take-out in front of a really good movie!”
Excellent! One was laughing quite loudly this side of the pond.
Great post & great blog!
Those of us with Scottish accents have an even better time of it than the English… That said, I find it can be problematic asking for things in Norfolk, UK…and I *live* there…sigh.
One did laugh quite loudly at this. i love the idea that the Americans think the British are sophisticated. Really. Have they never seen Only Fools and Horses?
Lovely post, I really enjoyed it.
Yes, the accent goes a long way (fellow Brit in USA here). I was once stopped by a cop on a motorbike for not having the new tag on my licence plate, and I managed to avoid a ticket “Oh offissa, I’m terriblee sorree…”
And “Please may I have” just sounds so much better than “Could I get”. Similarly, I’ve taught my kids to reply “yes, please” when offered something, rather than “sure”.
Yes, with my plethora of degrees, I never quite get the acclaim I deserve – it’s only when I open my mouth. (And I’m from the North East.) Even when I swear “it always sounds better”.
If you think it’s bad being understood with a southern British accent you want to try being a northerner! You may as well be speaking a different language althogether!
I spent a year living in San Francisco and by the time I came home I’d changed the way I spoke so severely people thought I was Australian (to the extent that a lady from Sydney once asked me what part of Oz I was from). Apparently they don’t get many Blackpool accents in California
Love your blog – came here on Laura (Potty Diaries) recommendation and will definitely be back!
LBB x
Thanks for all your comments – I love to hear all the different experiences everyone’s having.
@BritInBosnia I should try a Del Boy accent now and then and throw in some cockney rhyming slang. That could be fun for another post!
I’m just laughing out loud in front of my computer! Great post
Wanted to add: have added you on my Useful Links page, under mothers blog: http://www.bebecannelle.com/pages/useful-links#Mothers%20Blogs.
x
I’ve always wanted to know whey it is that us Brits are always cast as villains in the movies huh? Is it because our accents are especially wicked?
This is so true. You could read the phone book and I would think you were a flippin’ genius. Really.
yet here, of course, people are down-grading their accents all the time – think Estuary English, glottal stops and all. Nice post – came here from PM’s selection.
Can I use this as a guest post at OC Register’s Mom Blog? Please??? Suz
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