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@George-K said in Subtitles required:
@Copper said in Subtitles required:
I use subtitles all the time now.
Especially for British mysteries.
Double especially for those with Scottish accents.
It's funny, nobody in the UK has a problem understanding American accents, probably because we grew up listening to Mel Blanc, Paul Winchell and Daws Butler.
Well, when I say 'We', I really mean 'Old people'.
@Doctor-Phibes said in Subtitles required:
@George-K said in Subtitles required:
@Copper said in Subtitles required:
I use subtitles all the time now.
Especially for British mysteries.
Double especially for those with Scottish accents.
It's funny, nobody in the UK has a problem understanding American accents, probably because we grew up listening to Mel Blanc, Paul Winchell and Daws Butler.
That's because the typical American accent one hears in movies, is neutral. It is the absence of an accent. There are minor twangs here and there, but the various UK accents are an order of magnitude more affected, away from neutral.
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@Doctor-Phibes said in Subtitles required:
@George-K said in Subtitles required:
@Copper said in Subtitles required:
I use subtitles all the time now.
Especially for British mysteries.
Double especially for those with Scottish accents.
It's funny, nobody in the UK has a problem understanding American accents, probably because we grew up listening to Mel Blanc, Paul Winchell and Daws Butler.
That's because the typical American accent one hears in movies, is neutral. It is the absence of an accent. There are minor twangs here and there, but the various UK accents are an order of magnitude more affected, away from neutral.
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I wouldn't describe Mel Blanc's accent as 'neutral'.
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I use subtitles all the time also.
On another thought, I would be interested to hear what an "American" accent sounded like when Abe Lincoln was president.
Same with George Washing ton.
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I use subtitles all the time also.
On another thought, I would be interested to hear what an "American" accent sounded like when Abe Lincoln was president.
Same with George Washing ton.
@taiwan_girl said in Subtitles required:
Same with George Washing ton.
https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/facts/washingtons-voice/
Research offers many clues to how Washington sounded. As to the question of whether or not Washington had an English accent, there are many possibilities. Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His parents, Augustine and Mary Ball Washington, were part of the gentry class and of English descent. Since the newly formed United States was physically separate from England, different dialects formed within the early colonies. Likely they would influence the accents of those around Washington in rural Virginia. Further, newer elements of the English language, adapting itself across the Atlantic, may not have made it to the areas with less contact to England. Washington’s accent may have been more influenced by the rural setting of his younger years than it was by his exposure to people with English accents. Considering all of this and his farmer upbringing, it is safe to speculate that Washington’s natural accent was, as Morse portrays it, predominantly American with a detectable English influence.
Washington’s contemporaries described his voice similarly to the way that Morse, Kahn, and others have portrayed it. Fisher Ames, a representative in the United States Congress, said Washington’s voice was “deep, a little tremulous, and so low as to call for close attention.” Other contemporaries of Washington described his tone as dispassionate, which Paul K. Longmore, author of “The Invention of George Washington” argues reassured Americans of a lack of emotionality that could have led Washington to tyranny. George Mercer, a friend to Washington, wrote that “His voice is agreeable rather than strong.” Mercer’s comment supports the idea that Washington’s voice may have been weaker than what has been popularly portrayed.
David Morse in the 2008 miniseries John Adams took a similar, research-based approach to developing Washington’s voice. The result is a low-pitched, raspy, and tremulous voice. Morse opted for a very slight, English accent, especially compared to earlier depictions and Kahn’s performance in Turn. On the search for the right voice, Morse commented, “The accent back then was probably nothing like what we think of as a Southern accent now or a New England accent now, so we tried to find the root of the accents. For Washington, it was a little bit of Cornwall, that western country English accent with a trace of farmer.” The tremulous nature of Morse’s voice in John Adams adds a quiet, reserved nature to Washington that is not as pronounced in other performances.
Morse's performance:
Link to videoKahn:
Link to videoI loved "Turn." Some historical inaccuracies, of course, but overall a fair depiction of the underground network during the American revolution. Also, Burn Gorman...
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@taiwan_girl said in Subtitles required:
Same with George Washing ton.
https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/facts/washingtons-voice/
Research offers many clues to how Washington sounded. As to the question of whether or not Washington had an English accent, there are many possibilities. Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His parents, Augustine and Mary Ball Washington, were part of the gentry class and of English descent. Since the newly formed United States was physically separate from England, different dialects formed within the early colonies. Likely they would influence the accents of those around Washington in rural Virginia. Further, newer elements of the English language, adapting itself across the Atlantic, may not have made it to the areas with less contact to England. Washington’s accent may have been more influenced by the rural setting of his younger years than it was by his exposure to people with English accents. Considering all of this and his farmer upbringing, it is safe to speculate that Washington’s natural accent was, as Morse portrays it, predominantly American with a detectable English influence.
Washington’s contemporaries described his voice similarly to the way that Morse, Kahn, and others have portrayed it. Fisher Ames, a representative in the United States Congress, said Washington’s voice was “deep, a little tremulous, and so low as to call for close attention.” Other contemporaries of Washington described his tone as dispassionate, which Paul K. Longmore, author of “The Invention of George Washington” argues reassured Americans of a lack of emotionality that could have led Washington to tyranny. George Mercer, a friend to Washington, wrote that “His voice is agreeable rather than strong.” Mercer’s comment supports the idea that Washington’s voice may have been weaker than what has been popularly portrayed.
David Morse in the 2008 miniseries John Adams took a similar, research-based approach to developing Washington’s voice. The result is a low-pitched, raspy, and tremulous voice. Morse opted for a very slight, English accent, especially compared to earlier depictions and Kahn’s performance in Turn. On the search for the right voice, Morse commented, “The accent back then was probably nothing like what we think of as a Southern accent now or a New England accent now, so we tried to find the root of the accents. For Washington, it was a little bit of Cornwall, that western country English accent with a trace of farmer.” The tremulous nature of Morse’s voice in John Adams adds a quiet, reserved nature to Washington that is not as pronounced in other performances.
Morse's performance:
Link to videoKahn:
Link to videoI loved "Turn." Some historical inaccuracies, of course, but overall a fair depiction of the underground network during the American revolution. Also, Burn Gorman...
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@taiwan_girl said in Subtitles required:
Same with George Washing ton.
https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/facts/washingtons-voice/
Research offers many clues to how Washington sounded. As to the question of whether or not Washington had an English accent, there are many possibilities. Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His parents, Augustine and Mary Ball Washington, were part of the gentry class and of English descent. Since the newly formed United States was physically separate from England, different dialects formed within the early colonies. Likely they would influence the accents of those around Washington in rural Virginia. Further, newer elements of the English language, adapting itself across the Atlantic, may not have made it to the areas with less contact to England. Washington’s accent may have been more influenced by the rural setting of his younger years than it was by his exposure to people with English accents. Considering all of this and his farmer upbringing, it is safe to speculate that Washington’s natural accent was, as Morse portrays it, predominantly American with a detectable English influence.
Washington’s contemporaries described his voice similarly to the way that Morse, Kahn, and others have portrayed it. Fisher Ames, a representative in the United States Congress, said Washington’s voice was “deep, a little tremulous, and so low as to call for close attention.” Other contemporaries of Washington described his tone as dispassionate, which Paul K. Longmore, author of “The Invention of George Washington” argues reassured Americans of a lack of emotionality that could have led Washington to tyranny. George Mercer, a friend to Washington, wrote that “His voice is agreeable rather than strong.” Mercer’s comment supports the idea that Washington’s voice may have been weaker than what has been popularly portrayed.
David Morse in the 2008 miniseries John Adams took a similar, research-based approach to developing Washington’s voice. The result is a low-pitched, raspy, and tremulous voice. Morse opted for a very slight, English accent, especially compared to earlier depictions and Kahn’s performance in Turn. On the search for the right voice, Morse commented, “The accent back then was probably nothing like what we think of as a Southern accent now or a New England accent now, so we tried to find the root of the accents. For Washington, it was a little bit of Cornwall, that western country English accent with a trace of farmer.” The tremulous nature of Morse’s voice in John Adams adds a quiet, reserved nature to Washington that is not as pronounced in other performances.
Morse's performance:
Link to videoKahn:
Link to videoI loved "Turn." Some historical inaccuracies, of course, but overall a fair depiction of the underground network during the American revolution. Also, Burn Gorman...
@George-K said in Subtitles required:
Also, Burn Gorman...
He plays a great villain, doesn't he. I first saw him in the Doctor Who spinoff, Torchwood, and he's been great in everything that I've seen since.
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@George-K said in Subtitles required:
Also, Burn Gorman...
He plays a great villain, doesn't he. I first saw him in the Doctor Who spinoff, Torchwood, and he's been great in everything that I've seen since.
@Doctor-Phibes said in Subtitles required:
He plays a great villain, doesn't he
Indeed. Look at his characters in The Expanse and Man in the High Castle.
OTOH, in Turn, he actually became kind of sympathetic.
For a British colonizer that is, and that's a pretty low (high?) bar.
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@Catseye3 said in Subtitles required:
Very interesting, George. Thanks for posting.
Yes, that was quite interesting @George-K