Wednesday, March 5, 2008

21 Accents

Found this on the blog of the delightfully wicked and always high-larious Maureen Holloway.

And I have to agree with Mo. The woman is bang on except for her Toronto accent. I was born and raised in T.O. and that is nothing like anyone in the city I've ever met, unless they were recently transplanted there from some small town in Ontario or even New Brunswick. Any one from Australia, Ireland, Scotland, France or other country care to comment on the authenticity?

11 comments:

Trudy said...

I loved the Trans-Atlantic 1945 bit!
She's talented.

And yes - you DO sound like that in Toronto!!

(Running fast....)

Anonymous said...

Interesting. When I heard the "Toronto" accent, I thought it was Minnesota (for what that's worth). My niece has an audio track like this; it's wonderful. Maybe I'll post that tonight; thanks.

Claire G said...

Madam, I believe I'm your girl- I'm a proud Aussie, but was born in Holland to an Aussie mum and and Irish dad; I married an Ulsterman (from Belfast, that is), and have a degree in Italian language!

So- first, the two Aussie accents- the Sydney one was spot on perfect. VERY impressed- so few people get that right. The G'daaaaay maaate one was juuuust verging on overdone, but I do know people who talk like that- they're mostly truckers and such (bg). The New Zealand one was a scream- there's constant teasing of our cousins across the Tasman for their accent, and she got it just right.

Now- the Dublin accent was pretty good; the Belfast one, though, was a weak point for me. Too coherent, for one :P No, kidding. But there was something off about it. The Scottish one was good, too, and the Italian one was pretty perfect.

I'm amazed by her! And I really loved her Trans-Atlantic at the end. Any idea where she *actually* comes from?

A Novel Woman said...

Half-past, it did sound a tad mid-west to me too, or at least, East Coast Canada, like some of the Maritimers. I'd stretch it to include small town Ontario, but no way is it Toronto.

Torontonians have a kind of clipped, almost British way of speaking. Think Donald Sutherland or Margaret Atwood.

A Novel Woman said...

Claire! You are indeed my girl with that impressive background!

I have no idea where she comes from. I have friends who are actors, and they've all put their audition tape on YouTube. I guess this woman directed people there from her website, wherever that is.

I'd sure like to know, though.

My youngest daughter has a gift with accents, too. Cracks me up every time, especially her Aussie one. Mind you, she channels Steve Irwin.

Ah, now I'm sad. Sure, he had his detractors, but I miss the big galoot.

Anonymous said...

No Pam, not even close to small town Ontario (I can do that accent - and NO I don't have one, I'm IMITATING it, IMITATING it I say). It sounded like Fargo, North Dakota to me.

Merrymags said...

Sorry to say, her Los Angeles accent was off -- way off. Although there might be some neighborhood enclaves where that accent exists, IMO it was too harsh. Of course, it may be that I don't have an objective ear. I was fascinated with the British accents and loved the 1945 starlet. Instantly thought of Bette Davis.

Midge

A Novel Woman said...

Yutha,

You don't think it sounds like small town Ontario? I don't know, eh. And Fargoites do sound a bit like small town Ontarians, but their accent is a bit more broad.

Midge, couldn't tell you about L.A. but I thought the rest were pretty good. And yes, I thought the last accent deserved a hat, white gloves and a black and white photo.

BB said...

Wow... fabulous effort at a LOT of accents. Always interesting to hear others try an Aussie accent - afraid most end up sounding like Steve Irwin on 'roids. The Sydney one was NEARLY there, but wrong emphasis on the "Australia" - I'd put money on her being American?? Am I right? I can see I shall have to work out how to do sound bites to train y'all up (see how I slip into Texan when i blog? Scary.).
Look forward to more curly questions!
Bush Babe

Mel13 said...

I am a native Texan with ties to South Carolina, so I can give my opinion on those and once again the Texas accent was way over done. It actually sounded more like Tennesee to me, but that is just my opinion. Another one that was a bit off was the South Carolinian accent. That sounds a bit plantation (think Scarlett O'Hara) to me. It was close, but not quite right. I found it amazing that she could do so many different ones with out making them overlap and sound all the same. Very cool.

A Novel Woman said...

Bush Babe and Mel,

I guess if you're from the place in question (and in my case, it's Toronto) then you hear the subtle differences that make the accent a near miss, but for the rest of the world, it's pretty darn close.

I like how relaxed she is about the whole thing. I bet she's fun at a party, especially after a glass of wine or two.