What happened to your funny accent?

dennisg
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 1:18 am

Lavallee wrote:
Let me add that the accent might be coming from non English speaking countries (about 80 % of the world (Chinese are throwing off the numbers here)). I have been speaking English for at least 35 years and I still cannot get rid of my French accent when speaking English: wait till I sing, it will not go away .

Some people have a very good ear like Celine Dion (sorry to bring her up) who has a strong French accent when she speaks but sounds anglophone (a local term in Quebec) when she sings. Some Spanish singers are also the same where the Spanish accent comes out in regular conversation but sounds American when singing. Most non English people when singing will try to imitate the English accent but it is no a given. See how often Chinese are laughingstock on the internet when trying to sing in English. An accent is very difficult to hide unless you learn the second language young enough.


Something is certain the American culture is everywhere and I am enjoying it, but paying attention to the other cultures make life quite interesting.

Marc
I have a feeling there are about 20 million Japanese people logging on to their version of YouTube, laughing hysterically at our pathetic attempts to do karaoke in Japanese.

There are always going to be cultures that simply were not raised with the peculiar sounds we make in English. So even when they sing American songs, their native accents come through -- strongly. Mostly, though, I'm referring to those people from countries where American phonetics aren't so distant from their own. I've travelled around a bit, and I've heard Germans, Italians, French, Israelis, and a variety of Spanish speakers sing in English extremely well, despite the fact that they can barely speak the language.

Here's something that just occurred to me: there's probably a correlation between one's ability to sing well and one's ability to imitate other accents. I've noticed that people who have an ear for music are also very good at speaking foreign languages.


Lavallee
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 1:33 am

I knew what you meant with the American accent being imitated by other English speaking people. I also know you have traveled a lot (from former post I read from you) so I did not mean to be judgmental on the question you posted, just wanted to bring another angle.

Also I agree about the sounding right when one's sing, if you have the right sound when you sing, it should be easy to learn another language, as, everything relates to that: hearing and repeating.

Marc


AndyT
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:04 am

I've wondered about this myself since oh... maybe the early 70's. I think... LOL
A friend pointed it out to me way back then and I've always wondered about it.
I still don't really know why it happens, but I think its mostly unconscious.


willem
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 4:29 am

I think it's all imitating,,and of course you try to make it sound like the way it must be,,when we learned englisch at school it was more to the england way then the american way,we have very much trouble with ''think'' it is a word that is not in our natural movements and i think you can alway's hear it,,well you hear it alway's in every word(dutch/englisch accent),,but when we study the whole thing i think we (or we all) can come far,,you alway's listen to the original artist,,,and now i wonder how would we sing ''YOUR SONG'' By Elton John,,or how sing's Elton..


tovo
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 9:56 am

Yep Dennis, here I am, awake and well! :P

Well what can I say, you all know very well how I speak english by now, haha! (really no offence taken here Tony, I knów! ;) ) I think that's really because here in Europe we dó hear american english áll the time, escpecially in the northern european countrys, cause we use subtitles and all....

But also because I've been in LA many times (my sister used to live there, so I often visited her)..On the other hand, I have for example an english friend who really speaks british, after spending a lot of time with her I start talking british english more and more...

As for singing, depends on the artist as well...I noticed when doing Brain Damage (Roger Waters is british), I did and do use the english pronounciation for words like path and grass...sounds weird to do it otherwise..

So there are many factors involved in this matter I think..

For example, a part of Belgium speaks dutch too, bút with a héavy belgium-accent, but when they sing, it sounds wáy more dutch..why is that, I don't know!

Interesting question Dennis!


dennisg
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 10:44 am

Lavallee wrote:
I knew what you meant with the American accent being imitated by other English speaking people. I also know you have traveled a lot (from former post I read from you) so I did not mean to be judgmental on the question you posted, just wanted to bring another angle.

Also I agree about the sounding right when one's sing, if you have the right sound when you sing, it should be easy to learn another language, as, everything relates to that: hearing and repeating.

Marc
Marc,

I didn't at all think you were being judgmental or even remotely negative. I thought you were doing a good job of adding insight to the thread topic.


reiver
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 1:47 pm

Dennis

I agree with most of what's been said so far. I have a pretty strong accent and it seems natural to try to smooth that out when I sing.........although the aim is not to sound American, it's just to sound less Scottish and more easily understood. In addition to that I think most of us learn songs by listening to the original artist and naturally pick up their phrasings and pronunciations. If the artist happens to be American then naturally it is these sounds that we start to mimic. Of course, there are songs that I'm happy to sing in my "full" accent but these would tend to be more traditional songs that lend themselves to my glottal stops and odd pronunciation.

I think it's interesting that you mention singers from areas of America which also have strong accents doing the same thing - and I think this tends to support my theory. We're not specifically trying to sound American - just less "whatever-we-are".

Stuart


sbutler
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 2:17 pm

As having been born and raised here in the states, I noticed the American sounding singers long ago, but always assumed that it had more to do with (as Michele theorized) a more natural way of enunciation than any intent of trying to sound like something else.


Since English speaking society's all got their language start from England, maybe that accent was so strong, it was just easier for new Americans who were lazy to just not add the flare of the English accent. So maybe without the effort there was no accent at all and there you have the American way.

Just a look at it backwards I suppose. But for what ever reason, I like every accent that is different than what I normally here in the states. Its a reminder to me that although the place I live in is small, the world is not.

And I have also not heard any accent coming from an Aussie or Swiss guitar. They all sound sweet.


Scott


tovo
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 2:55 pm

I remember now...Elvis Presley had a lót to do with it as well! :P


Max
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Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:17 pm

Great topic!

I think there is also a theory that a different part of human brain processes singing and a different processes speaking. Therefore when you sing it's not your natural accent that goes out. This could also be some why people who stutter can flawlessly sing.

Max


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