English accents on TV
Jan 24th 2010, 11:55 am
#61
Sursum corda
Joined: Sep 2002
Location: Richmond Hill, GA USA
Posts: 38,860
Re: English accents on TV
It's a southern thing. From the Urban Dictionary:
In the old days people used dollar coins. Some times they would cut them into 4 parts. (2 bits 4 bits). If someone wanted a dollar coin that was not in pieces, they would say "case dollar".This got refreshed several years ago. When some one walks up to you and they say, "Yo, you gots a case quarter?" most of the time they will have 2 dimes and 1 nickle.
A kid walks up to the person working in an arcade and ask "Yo, you gots a case quarter?" They need a quarter to put into a token machine so they can play a game.
In the old days people used dollar coins. Some times they would cut them into 4 parts. (2 bits 4 bits). If someone wanted a dollar coin that was not in pieces, they would say "case dollar".This got refreshed several years ago. When some one walks up to you and they say, "Yo, you gots a case quarter?" most of the time they will have 2 dimes and 1 nickle.
A kid walks up to the person working in an arcade and ask "Yo, you gots a case quarter?" They need a quarter to put into a token machine so they can play a game.
Thanks, mystery solved.
Jan 24th 2010, 3:13 pm
#62
I'm off to find a spanner
Joined: Feb 2008
Location: Maine
Posts: 2,867
Re: English accents on TV
Some other British actors in band of Brothers:
Dexter Fletcher played SSgt John Martin.
Rick Warden played 1st Lt Harry Welsh.
Robin Laing played Pvt Babe Hefron. He was born in Dundee, Scotland.
Owain Yeoman plays Wayne Rigsby in The Mentalist. He's Welsh.
Hugh Grant was born in Hammersmith Hospital, but his family home just down the road in Chiswick which is a great deal posher than Hammermith, and he was educated at Latymer and Oxford, putting the edge on his posh credentials.
Dexter Fletcher played SSgt John Martin.
Rick Warden played 1st Lt Harry Welsh.
Robin Laing played Pvt Babe Hefron. He was born in Dundee, Scotland.
Owain Yeoman plays Wayne Rigsby in The Mentalist. He's Welsh.
Hugh Grant was born in Hammersmith Hospital, but his family home just down the road in Chiswick which is a great deal posher than Hammermith, and he was educated at Latymer and Oxford, putting the edge on his posh credentials.
Jan 24th 2010, 3:55 pm
#63
I Still Remember
Joined: Jan 2010
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Posts: 212
Re: English accents on TV
I can only understand about the first half of each sentence he says, because by the end it sounds like he's ready to cough up blood and the words are just a gargle.
Jan 24th 2010, 4:45 pm
#65
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2009
Location: Illinois
Posts: 338
Re: English accents on TV
Yes, but having said that, I'm hopelessly addicted to that show. Laurie (and his writers) are the best thing on TV. IMO, of course.
Jan 24th 2010, 4:47 pm
#66
I'm back!
Joined: Jul 2002
Location: Richmond, VA, USA
Posts: 4,316
Re: English accents on TV
Mark has also told me that the English have their own troubles understanding how fellow Englishmen pronounce certain words. Here's an example of where this can go horribly awry (this got us in hysterics, btw!).
I honestly have not had trouble any time understanding an American, and I have met people from all over, with all sorts of accents from here. When I was in England, where I worked was in a port town so we had people from cruise liners etc coming in from all over the world, and I would understand them to serve them because I listened and made an effort. I would have felt rude not to do so.
They spoke a different language - HOW is it so hard to understand English???
I get the impression on the whole, that it is a case of fingers in ears, 'lalalalala you're not American so we can't hear you, learn to speak like us or leave!' Actually I have had several people say similar. Thanks for the welcome!
By the way, yes, I still hate it here! 5 years and no end in sight unless I leave my husband 
~ Jenney
Jan 24th 2010, 5:00 pm
#67
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Joined: Nov 2009
Location: Illinois
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Re: English accents on TV
Americans who don't travel to the UK have been accustomed to only hearing Brit accents on TV or in the movies, and it tends to be the same sort of accent over and over. I don't know what region it comes from, but it's basically the way the kids on "Harry Potter" speak, and it's not that hard to understand. When confronted by accents from other regions, most Americans are flabbergasted. It's a shock.
Jan 24th 2010, 5:56 pm
#68
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Location: York, PA, USA
Posts: 856
Re: English accents on TV
I'm surprised that you're surprised that some Americans have trouble understanding English accents. After all, you pronounce words differently than the way they normally pronounce those words and/or than the way they regularly hear other people pronounce them. This is not unique to English speakers, btw. Chileans are well-known throughout Latin America for being especially difficult to understand among native Spanish speakers (which didn't help when I lived there for a couple of years!).
Jan 24th 2010, 6:01 pm
#69
A lion in your lap
Joined: Jul 2003
Location: Sparta NJ
Posts: 7,605
Re: English accents on TV
people generally (or always used to) refer to that kind of English accent as "home counties", i.e. the south eastern corner of England
Jan 24th 2010, 6:09 pm
#70
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Joined: Sep 2002
Location: Richmond Hill, GA USA
Posts: 38,860
Re: English accents on TV
There is a guy who does a voice for a cleaning product that has ( I think) a lovely comforting accent, not sure how muchmore to define it. It's not home counties though.
Jan 24th 2010, 6:13 pm
#71
A lion in your lap
Joined: Jul 2003
Location: Sparta NJ
Posts: 7,605
Re: English accents on TV
traditionally yes, but in recent decades the BBC has used a lot more presenters with "regional" accents.
what's the product called and is it a TV advert? It might be on youtube.
what's the product called and is it a TV advert? It might be on youtube.
Jan 24th 2010, 6:16 pm
#72
Sursum corda
Joined: Sep 2002
Location: Richmond Hill, GA USA
Posts: 38,860
Re: English accents on TV
The commercial is a woman being enclosed in a glass cube and she has to clean everything in the cube with one product.
Jan 24th 2010, 8:18 pm
#74
Sursum corda
Joined: Sep 2002
Location: Richmond Hill, GA USA
Posts: 38,860
Re: English accents on TV
I don't go in for kicking someone when they're down.