NationStates Jolt Archive

This is a question to Americans - do movies and TV show a wide selection of American accents? Or do they feature some disproportionately more than others?

This is a question to Americans - do movies and TV show a wide selection of American accents? Or do they feature some disproportionately more than others?

I only ever heard two... intelligible and unintellgible

They tend to favor the California accent which in show bizz terms they call a "neutral" accent. That's why all those news anchors in New York sound like they're broadcasting from L.A.

This is a question to Americans - do movies and TV show a wide selection of American accents? Or do they feature some disproportionately more than others?
The accent of someone you would encounter in the central Midwest is what you’ll hear the most in the media. It’s been that way since radio became popular.

This is a question to Americans - do movies and TV show a wide selection of American accents? Or do they feature some disproportionately more than others?
Depends. Most individual tv shows are set in one city or region and concentrate on that one accent. For example, The Sopranos use the Northern New Jersey accent mainly. You won't hear a southern drawl there. If you watch shows and movies set in a variety of different regions you'll likely hit most if not all American accents.

They tend to favor the California accent which in show bizz terms they call a "neutral" accent. That's why all those news anchors in New York sound like they're broadcasting from L.A.
The West Coast accent was given to it by the media.

The West Coast accent was given to it by the media.
No, the opposite. The media grew up here and thats the accent here became representative of the American accent. I actually studied this in film school.

No, the opposite. The media grew up here and thats the accent here became representative of the American accent. I actually studied this in film school.
The radio came first, and the first radio men were from the Midwest.

No, the opposite. The media grew up here and thats the accent here became representative of the American accent. I actually studied this in film school.
The media grew up in New York, the news accent is more midwestern. The California accent is lazier, no hard ends (we're not 'hanging we're hangin')

Production moved to California (first in Niles California by the Bay Area then to Hollywood) becuase they could film year-round but the head offices remained in New York, in some cases to this day. The national news still comes from New York.

I, too, studied this in film school.

They tend to favor the California accent which in show bizz terms they call a "neutral" accent. That's why all those news anchors in New York sound like they're broadcasting from L.A.

and thank god for that, I think the suicide rate would be pretty high if everyone on TV had a New York accent

aside from the movie Boondock Saints, I don't think I've ever heard a Boston accent on TV or in movies...atleast not a decent one.

The media grew up in New York, the news accent is more midwestern. The California accent is lazier, no hard ends (we're not 'hanging we're hangin')

Production moved to California (first in Niles California by the Bay Area then to Hollywood) becuase they could film year-round but the head offices remained in New York, in some cases to this day. The national news still comes from New York.

I, too, studied this in film school.
Yeah, I said the media "grew up" in CA. Radio grew up in NY, and teh conmpanies started there, sure, but once TV production and movie production got into full sway it was lodged securely in Hollywood and its that accent that you regularly hear in TV and movies. They even have classes out here where people go to get rid of their accents and pick up a CA accent because they feel it is easier to get roles that way.

Standard American english is NOT the Califorina accent. It is a midwestern accent. It is typically considerd to be that of lower Michigan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_American

However, the midwestern accent is now rapidly changing due to the northern cities vowel shift.

http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/midwest/

And as much as I love Minnesota, they have one of the most unplesant accents in the US. Ever see "Fargo?" Quite a few of them actually do speak like that. Not all, but more than enough of them. But they have fits when you call them on it. :D

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Standard American english is NOT the Califorina accent. It is a midwestern accent. It is typically considerd to be that of lower Michigan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_American

However, the midwestern accent is now rapidly changing due to the northern cities vowel shift.

http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/midwest/

And as much as I love Minnesota, they have one of the most unplesant accents in the US. Ever see "Fargo?" Quite a few of them actually do speak like that. Not all, but more than enough of them. But they have fits when you call them on it. :D

.Okay, but the thread is about movies and TV.

Okay, but the thread is about movies and TV.

And those are the topics my post addressed. :D

From the link.....

"General American is a national accent of American English based on speech patterns common in the Midwest of the United States and those used by many American network television broadcasters."

And my post also addressed accents in movies. Specifically the movie "Fargo" with it's Minnesota dialect.

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They tend to favor the California accent which in show bizz terms they call a "neutral" accent. That's why all those news anchors in New York sound like they're broadcasting from L.A.


Yes this is accurate. I call it the west coast accent. Everyone in the westren states speak in this manner. Now there are many accents in the US. The variety begins in the midwest and eastward. I also think that TV does not accurately portray the variety of accents.

I only ever heard two... intelligible and unintellgible

Funny. I've often felt that way when dealing with the Mics waiting my table in Midtown. ;)

But seriously, compare:
"Good Will Hunting" -- Bostonian accents
"Fargo" -- Midwest accents
"My Cousin Vinny" -- New York accents vs. Southern accents
"Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" -- California accents

And those are the topics my post addressed. :D

From the link.....

"General American is a national accent of American English based on speech patterns common in the Midwest of the United States and those used by many American network television broadcasters."

And my post also addressed accents in movies. Specifically the movie "Fargo" with it's Minnesota dialect.

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well, I don't know what that link says, but I know I'm sitting in a room right now that I have been sitting in for 11 hours and that I sit in everyday listening to Lost, CSI: Miami, Boston Legal, X-Men 3 and a billion other major TV shows and movies and there's not a single person I hear that doesn't sound like they're from right here in L.A. As a matter in fact there's David Caruso right now. I don't care if he's supposed to be from Miami in that stupid show, he sounds like he grew up next door to me. That's what I do for a living. I digitize dailies and cut episodes of major TV shows and movies and all the actors sound the same. Like thyre' from right here. The only time they sound different is when they are supposed to sound like they're not from here inwhich case they often sound like they're a Californian TRYING to sound different.

well, I don't know what that link says, but I know I'm sitting in a room right now that I have been sitting in for 11 hours and that I sit in everyday listening to Lost, CSI: Miami, Boston Legal, X-Men 3 and a billion other major TV shows and movies and there's not a single person I hear that doesn't sound like they're from right here in L.A. As a matter in fact there's David Caruso right now. I don't care if he's supposed to be from Miami in that stupid show, he sounds like he grew up next door to me. That's what I do for a living. I digitize dailies and cut episodes of major TV shows and movies and all the actors sound the same. Like thyre' from right here. The only time they sound different is when they are supposed to sound like they're not from here inwhich case they often sound like they're a Californian TRYING to sound different.


Whatever kiddo. Feel free to ignore the evidence/facts (or don't even bother reading it; afterall, it isn't real if you don't read it :rolleyes: ) and believe whatever you want. No skin off my nose if you want to be illinformed.

But I will post one last link for you to ignore about the "California accent."

http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/californian/

Enjoy. Or don't. There's not much point in wasting any more of my time on you.

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Whatever kiddo. Feel free to ignore the evidence/facts (or don't even bother reading it; afterall, it isn't real if you don't read it :rolleyes: ) and believe whatever you want. No skin off my nose if you want to be illinformed.

But I will post one last link for you to ignore about the "California accent."

http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/californian/

Enjoy. Or don't. There's not much point in wasting any more of my time on you.

.
Well, I read the link, but I think I'll just pay attention to what I see and hear everyday including right now. The dailies are coming in for a new movie called Night at the Museum. Its a Ben Stiller movie. It takes place in the New York Metropolitan Museum. Everyone sounds like they're from LA.

Standard American, which IS based on a midwest dialect, is the most commonly heard accent on tv and the movies. I believe that dialect coaches teaching actors to speak made Standard American the 'correct' American English pronunciation. As a result, the California accent, which was certainly NEWER than the midwest one developed FROM Standard American, not the other way around.

So, in fact, people in California may have a dialect that is very close to what is considered Standard American (aside from this thread's previously mentioned tendancy toward laziness in final g's) but that is a result, not the cause, of what we hear in the movies and on tv.

As it happens, I have lived in the New York area all my life, and I have a very good Standard American dialect, because that is how I was taught to speak. When I try to speak with a Brooklyn accent (where I have lived for about 15 years) it sounds fake.

To answer the OP's question, unless a tv show or a movie is set in a particular region for a deliberate purpose, the dialect used tends to be Standard American simply because it is standard, and doesn't call attention to itself. In that, it is much like what I understand Received Pronunciation to be in England.

What i Find funny, is that I'm from Ohio and everyone I see on TV talks with the same Accent I do. (I believe someone mentioned Lower Michigan as the accent, which is very close to Ohio)



Never been to cali, so i've never heard their accent, but i'll tell you i live in Virginia right now, and their Accent pisses me the fuck off.

As it happens, I have lived in the New York area all my life, and I have a very good Standard American dialect, because that is how I was taught to speak. When I try to speak with a Brooklyn accent (where I have lived for about 15 years) it sounds fake.

Heh, I've lived in Texas all my life (though I spent a few months in New Mexico when I was 1, and a few weeks in Colorado back in 1997/1998), and I have an equally good Standard American dialect.

I was taught to talk this way, and I also grew up around a lot of Michiganders and New Englanders in Port Aransas (and a lot of general Midwesterners). If I even attempt to speak with a Texas accent of any sort, it sounds really fake.

I don't even have subtle Texas accent nuances in my speech. I like it that way, really, because I can't stand Texas accents for the most part.

What i Find funny, is that I'm from Ohio and everyone I see on TV talks with the same Accent I do. (I believe someone mentioned Lower Michigan as the accent, which is very close to Ohio)



Never been to cali, so i've never heard their accent, but i'll tell you i live in Virginia right now, and their Accent pisses me the fuck off.

Hey, one of my best friends when I was younger was from Ohio (we actually sound a lot alike). It's such a relaxing, neutral accent.

And yeah, I'd be pissed if I had to live in Virginia, but I live in Texas, so I'm guessing I'm worse off. The accents here range from pleasant to outright unbearable. :p

Hey, one of my best friends when I was younger was from Ohio (we actually sound a lot alike). It's such a relaxing, neutral accent.

And yeah, I'd be pissed if I had to live in Virginia, but I live in Texas, so I'm guessing I'm worse off. The accents here range from pleasant to outright unbearable. :p

my Ex was from South East Ohio and her accent was starting to pick up some west virginia. ARGH.


then again she had a poor vocabulary and made fun of me when i would refer to something as a Mechanism. Damn low vocab people.

Heh, I've lived in Texas all my life (though I spent a few months in New Mexico when I was 1, and a few weeks in Colorado back in 1997/1998), and I have an equally good Standard American dialect.

Quite a few of us Texans born after about 1965 have little or no Texas dialect. We grew up with mass media and surrounded by (and frequently decended from) midwestern transplans. When I lived in the midwest and whenever traveling outside of the south, I was/am frequently asked why I don't have an accent. And here in Texas people ask me where I'm from originally even though I was born and raised here. But such is the modern US I guess.

Though I'm sure part of it stems from wanting to be taken seriously when speaking in public too. :p

my Ex was from South East Ohio and her accent was starting to pick up some west virginia. ARGH.


then again she had a poor vocabulary and made fun of me when i would refer to something as a Mechanism. Damn low vocab people.

1: Eeeew...

2: Eh, people doing shit like that goes back thousands of years. In the Dark Ages, Western Europeans made fun of the Byzantines for wearing nice clothes, living in clean cities, having bathrooms, being able to read and write, and eating with utensils. Don't let it get to you. People like that are just jealous, and that's that.

Almost always they get the people who have as little an accent(by North American Continental standards) as possible.

Unless they're playing a role in which they're supposed to have an accent.

In which case they make the accent as intelligible as possible unless they purposely make it completely unintelligible, even to people who could understand it.

aside from the movie Boondock Saints, I don't think I've ever heard a Boston accent on TV or in movies...atleast not a decent one.

Good Will Hunting. Though those were really exaggerated.

Quite a few of us Texans born after about 1965 have little or no Texas dialect. We grew up with mass media and surrounded by (and frequently decended from) midwestern transplans. When I lived in the midwest and whenever traveling outside of the south, I was/am frequently asked why I don't have an accent. And here in Texas people ask me where I'm from originally even though I was born and raised here. But such is the modern US I guess.

Though I'm sure part of it stems from wanting to be taken seriously when speaking in public too. :p

Yeah, that's true. Like I said, most of the people I was around in the Corpus Christi area (that's where Port Aransas is) were from the Midwest, or were the kids of people who were from there.

I get that when I talk to people, too. It's hilarious when I use a microphone on Half-Life on Chicago servers: People ask where I'm from, and I tell them "Texas", and the obligatory "Seriously?" response comes up.

LOL! Yeah, if somebody speaks like a hick in public, I usually don't take them seriously. :D

Standard American, which IS based on a midwest dialect, is the most commonly heard accent on tv and the movies. I believe that dialect coaches teaching actors to speak made Standard American the 'correct' American English pronunciation. As a result, the California accent, which was certainly NEWER than the midwest one developed FROM Standard American, not the other way around.

So, in fact, people in California may have a dialect that is very close to what is considered Standard American (aside from this thread's previously mentioned tendancy toward laziness in final g's) but that is a result, not the cause, of what we hear in the movies and on tv.

As it happens, I have lived in the New York area all my life, and I have a very good Standard American dialect, because that is how I was taught to speak. When I try to speak with a Brooklyn accent (where I have lived for about 15 years) it sounds fake.

To answer the OP's question, unless a tv show or a movie is set in a particular region for a deliberate purpose, the dialect used tends to be Standard American simply because it is standard, and doesn't call attention to itself. In that, it is much like what I understand Received Pronunciation to be in England.


I think a lot of the Anglos who settled in California were originally from the midwest. Especially in the 1950s through 1970s. Think of all those people leaving the "rust belt" in search of the California dream.

Also, as the Hollywood machine wanted to sound as "American" and "wholesome" as possible they most likely adopted and enforced the neutral midwestern accent.

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1: Eeeew...

2: Eh, people doing shit like that goes back thousands of years. In the Dark Ages, Western Europeans made fun of the Byzantines for wearing nice clothes, living in clean cities, having bathrooms, being able to read and write, and eating with utensils. Don't let it get to you. People like that are just jealous, and that's that.


Key word in that Post was EXGirfriend ;)

I think a lot of the Anglos who settled in California were originally from the midwest. Especially in the 1950s through 1970s. Think of all those people leaving the "rust belt" in search of the California dream.

Speaking of the Rust Belt, about 100,000 Midwesterners moved to the Houston area after the fall of the steel industry in the early-mid 80's.

Come to think of it, my dad's best friend from that time was from Detroit (though he didn't flee the dying steel towns; he was a military transplant). Jim Stafert... Stapert... Ah, I dunno what the hell his last name is. My dad's East Texas accent is so thick that I can never tell how the hell it's pronounced.

Key word in that Post was EXGirfriend ;)

Oh man, if you dumped her because of that, you deserve a bag full of weed. That's fucking classic. :D

Speaking of the Rust Belt, about 100,000 Midwesterners moved to the Houston area after the fall of the steel industry in the early-mid 80's.

Yep. Dallas was growing at about 5,000 people a week during that period. Crazy times. The clubs were a lot of fun back then though.

My family came here in an earlier wave starting in the late 50s.

Yep. Dallas was growing at about 5,000 people a week during that period. Crazy times. The clubs were a lot of fun back then though.

My family came here in an earlier wave starting in the late 50s.

The clubs would've been even better if all those Pittsburghers came down here. Sadly, most of the ones who left Pitt moved to NYC. :p

What i Find funny, is that I'm from Ohio and everyone I see on TV talks with the same Accent I do. (I believe someone mentioned Lower Michigan as the accent, which is very close to Ohio)



Never been to cali, so i've never heard their accent, but i'll tell you i live in Virginia right now, and their Accent pisses me the fuck off.

There are 4 major accents in Virginia [NOVA, Southwestern, James River, and Tidewater] each extremely distinct from one another; as well as countless lesser variations... So you'll have to be much more specific when talking about our accent pissing you off, since there is no real "our accent" regarding this state.

Yeah, I said the media "grew up" in CA. Radio grew up in NY, and teh conmpanies started there, sure, but once TV production and movie production got into full sway it was lodged securely in Hollywood and its that accent that you regularly hear in TV and movies. They even have classes out here where people go to get rid of their accents and pick up a CA accent because they feel it is easier to get roles that way.
Did you stop to consider that the reason that all the people around you in LA talk like that is because of those classes and the movies, and that the California accent is actually different in several albiet subtle ways?

Oh man, if you dumped her because of that, you deserve a bag full of weed. That's fucking classic. :D


that wasn't the whole reason or even part of it.




oh and i'm in the Tidewater area of virginia(i think) I'm in Virginia Beach.

I've heard a lot of accents on TV and in movies. The radio, however, is generally the same - so far as I can tell, non-inflected. It's better that way.

oh and i'm in the Tidewater area of virginia(i think) I'm in Virginia Beach.

Yes, Tidewater... The native accent being closely related to North Carolinian, Southwestern towards that of one from Tennesse, NOVA to Marylander; while James River can be seen as definitively "Virginian".

Of course, it would still be interesting to hear how an accent can piss one off.

Yes, Tidewater... The native accent being closely related to North Carolinian, Southwestern towards that of one from Tennesse, NOVA to Marylander; while James River can be seen as definitively "Virginian".

Of course, it would still be interesting to hear how an accent can piss one off.



Ya'll annoys me.


it just does.

and thank god for that, I think the suicide rate would be pretty high if everyone on TV had a New York accent

What's that supposed to mean? There are hundreds of different accents in NYC, never mind regional accents across the state.

Good Will Hunting. Though those were really exaggerated.
ahh...forgot about that one. Ya know, I don't get why they were so exaggerated, considering alot of the actors are Bostonians

Ya'll annoys me.


it just does.

Y'all (not Ya'll... you mix up there and their alot?) is an abbreviation of "You all" much as You're is an abbreviation of "You are"... And is a matter of dialect not accent... Its usage extends throughout the classic south, up the eastern seaboard to Maryland, has made its way up the rockies into Canada; and is gaining so much momentum as to being a normal part of language no matter where you are. It fills the language gap here in the south that the Northern term "you guys" does. But gaines ground because it has a couple of advantages, (1) it is gender neutral, and (2) it is a monosyllable, thus much more functional within the language similar to the original plural form of address used in English of the past...."thou".

Come to think of it, my dad's best friend from that time was from Detroit (though he didn't flee the dying steel towns; he was a military transplant). Jim Stafert... Stapert... Ah, I dunno what the hell his last name is. My dad's East Texas accent is so thick that I can never tell how the hell it's pronounced.


Useless facts: Detroit wasn't really a steel town, it was the failing auto industry that made people flee Michigan in the 80's. Much in the same way it's doing now.

Useless facts: Detroit wasn't really a steel town, it was the failing auto industry that made people flee Michigan in the 80's. Much in the same way it's doing now.

Yeah, I know. Which is why I said the guy wasn't a fleeing ex-steelworker. :p