Do Brits speak English formaly than Americans?

sitosito Posts: 44MI6 Agent
in General James Bond Chat
Do most Brits speak formal English compare to Americans? I have always notice the dialogue in the Casino Royale to be very well done & formal.

Comments

  • The Sly FoxThe Sly Fox USAPosts: 467MI6 Agent
    edited August 2007
    Not being a Brit, I can't tell you for sure. That said, I do believe some of those across the Pond might be more inclined to be all posh (as they say :) ), just for tradition's sake... Although you'll most certainly find that everywhere. I'm sure in MI6 and Buckingham Palace they're all formal, but if you go talk to everyday people, you'll probably find as many that speak informally as you'd find in North America.

    Not to mention a British accent just makes things sound more formal, anyway... :D
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 37,856Chief of Staff
    Some do, some don't would be the simple answer. There's a thread in the Off Topic Chat Forum discussing accents, etc, you may like to read.
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,467MI6 Agent
    edited August 2007
    They're all a bit posh in Casino Royale. Even Eva Green is posh Brit, a bit like Renee's Ms Jones.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Moonraker 5Moonraker 5 Ayrshire, ScotlandPosts: 1,821MI6 Agent
    Barbel wrote:
    Some do, some don't would be the simple answer. There's a thread in the Off Topic Chat Forum discussing accents, etc, you may like to read.
    A whole three pager, too...
    http://www.ajb007.co.uk/index.php?topic=28994

    Having been told on numerous occassions by almost everyone that I have a generic BBC Scotland accent, I guess I'm pushed into the "do" side whether I like it or not.
    unitedkingdom.png
  • AlexAlex The Eastern SeaboardPosts: 2,694MI6 Agent
    I'm always pleased to hear an English accent. Especially when its formal. Nothing against Cockney, but it seems to be the only one a majority of folks over here might recognize.

    There's this little over-played commercial with a talking Gecko that makes Michael Caine sound like Olivier.
  • HardyboyHardyboy Posts: 5,906Chief of Staff
    It's pretty simple: the Brits speak English like Brits; Americans speak English like Americans. "Formal" is a kind of snobbish distinction, usually applied to the Oxbridge accent to indicate that this is the way to speak English. Accents and dialects vary by region--none is more formal than other. So put that in your pipe and smoke it, 'Enry 'Iggins!
    Vox clamantis in deserto
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,467MI6 Agent
    So which US actor does your voice resemble most, hb, as there are so many different American accents? :)
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • AlexAlex The Eastern SeaboardPosts: 2,694MI6 Agent
    Hardyboy wrote:
    It's pretty simple: the Brits speak English like Brits; Americans speak English like Americans. "Formal" is a kind of snobbish distinction, usually applied to the Oxbridge accent to indicate that this is the way to speak English. Accents and dialects vary by region--none is more formal than other. So put that in your pipe and smoke it, 'Enry 'Iggins!
    Don't laugh at me, Miss Doolittle.:v
  • HardyboyHardyboy Posts: 5,906Chief of Staff
    Napoleon Plural wrote:
    So which US actor does your voice resemble most, hb, as there are so many different American accents? :)

    I've had people tell me I have "no accent," which basically means it's the kind of flat, midwest accent you hear in most American TV newscasters. I have no idea which actor I sound like. . .every time I hear my voice when I let the answering machine pick up, I cringe!

    And, Alex, dude, chill! B-)
    Vox clamantis in deserto
  • highhopeshighhopes Posts: 1,358MI6 Agent
    sito wrote:
    Do most Brits speak formal English compare to Americans? I have always notice the dialogue in the Casino Royale to be very well done & formal.

    Heard Bob Hoskins lately? :)) Now 'at's s'm riot propa tawk, 'at is
  • Sir Hillary BraySir Hillary Bray College of ArmsPosts: 2,174MI6 Agent
    highhopes wrote:
    Heard Bob Hoskins lately? :)) Now 'at's s'm riot propa tawk, 'at is
    Channeling the Artful Dodger, are we? ;)
    Hilly...you old devil!
  • highhopeshighhopes Posts: 1,358MI6 Agent
    Sir Hillary Bray wrote:
    highhopes wrote:
    Heard Bob Hoskins lately? :)) Now 'at's s'm riot propa tawk, 'at is
    Channeling the Artful Dodger, are we? ;)

    Yeah, and it's just as hard to write phonetically as it sounds :)). I hope I'm not being insulting. I think Hoskins is a terrific actor. Does a really good American accent, too. I know when Michael Caine gets in touch with his roots, in something like The Man Who Would be King or Alfie, I really have to concentrate to understand everything he's saying.
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,467MI6 Agent
    There is some awkward footage of a youngish Hoskins talking all posh and pretentious at a late 60s actors' gathering. Not sure if that means his cockney is a fake or he was trying on ingratiate himself with the posh nobs he was with...
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Lady RoseLady Rose London,UKPosts: 2,667MI6 Agent
    Sir Hillary Bray wrote:
    highhopes wrote:
    Heard Bob Hoskins lately? :)) Now 'at's s'm riot propa tawk, 'at is
    Channeling the Artful Dodger, are we? ;)

    More like Dick Van Dyke ... the owner of the worst cockney accent ever captured on celluloid :))
  • Sir Hillary BraySir Hillary Bray College of ArmsPosts: 2,174MI6 Agent
    Lady Rose wrote:
    More like Dick Van Dyke ... the owner of the worst cockney accent ever captured on celluloid :))

    How about the worst accent, period? :o
    Barbara Bach's Russian accent is positively Oscar-worthy by comparison.
    Hilly...you old devil!
  • AlexAlex The Eastern SeaboardPosts: 2,694MI6 Agent
    edited August 2007
    Probably the most cringe-inducing fake accent of all time.

    Cor, Luv a duck! :D
  • bond2002bond2002 UKPosts: 55MI6 Agent
    i speak with a lancashire dialect as thats the county i come from what the hell is formal english ??
  • sitosito Posts: 44MI6 Agent
    bond2002 wrote:
    i speak with a lancashire dialect as thats the county i come from what the hell is formal english ??

    Americans tend to use slang in their conversation. They also tend to swear a great deal. I wonder if Brits do the same thing.
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 37,856Chief of Staff
    sito wrote:
    Americans tend to use slang in their conversation. They also tend to swear a great deal. I wonder if Brits do the same thing.

    Some do, some don't would be the simple answer (feeling of deja vu)- much the same as anywhere else, I'd think. Obviously many people vary their speech patterns (whether consciously or not) according to circumstance- less swearing and slang at the office than in the pub for example.
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