[General] Voice over accent

Status
Not open for further replies.

patran

Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Hong Kong
Dear Teachers

I would like to know the accent of the voice over on the link below. And I would like to know if it is good to learn the way the VO speaks.


Look forward to your advice

Anthony the learner


Christina Aguilera "Lotus" Album CM - YouTube
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
And I would like to know if it is good to learn the way the VO speaks.

Wouldn't that depend on the needs of the learner? However, it's a fairly neutral accent.
 

Grumpy

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
It's certainly a neutral accent, but I would not advise you to try to imitate the style of speaking on the VO. Like many advertisement VOs, it is very exaggerated and over-enthusiastic, with no variations of pace, tone or emotion. If I tried to talk like that for more than a minute or so, I would soon be tired out and hoarse; my friends would wonder what had happened to me, my wife would tell me not to make such a fool of myself, and my dog would probably bite me...
 

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
PS - It's not an American accent. Though you probably knew that.
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
It's a Trans-Atlantic/Pacific accent.
 

patran

Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Hong Kong
Dear Tdol, sorry to have such a late follow-up question. I googled about trans-pacific accent, but only little information available about that. Would be appreciated if you can shed more light on that.

Regards

Anthony the learner
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
Don't try to read too much into that remark.

Consider her accent to be neutral — such as can be accepted anywhere in the world as a typical example of how English is spoken.

Rover
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
PS - It's not an American accent. Though you probably knew that.

I'm truly surprised by that, Barb. It certainly isn't an English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Australian or New Zealand accent. I couldn't have said which part it was from but I would definitely have said the speaker was American! Canadian then, maybe?
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
I'm truly surprised by that, Barb. It certainly isn't an English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Australian or New Zealand accent. I couldn't have said which part it was from but I would definitely have said the speaker was American! Canadian then, maybe?
I think that's what Tdol meant by 'Transatlantic', which I know as Mid-Atlantic.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
I think that's what Tdol meant by 'Transatlantic', which I know as Mid-Atlantic.

Yes, I understood Tdol's post to mean American but Barb's specifically says it's not American.
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Yes, I understood Tdol's post to mean American but Barb's specifically says it's not American.
Tdol's post did not mean it was American. The point about Mid-Atlantic/Transatlantic is that it is neither American nor British.
 

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
No, that's where I'm living now. Definitely not. I heard a hint of Australian, I thought. Maybe someone who has moved a lot.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Interesting. To me, a Transatlantic accent means one from across the pond (from wherever the speaker is standing) so for me it means American. Admittedly, that does mean that I should have thought that Tdol meant it was British!

And I thought Mid-Atlantic meant from somewhere halfway down the Atlantic coast of the US!

I clocked maybe one slight Australian twang in one word. The rest of it sounded like an American, or a Brit pretending to be American.
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Interesting. To me, a Transatlantic accent means one from across the pond (from wherever the speaker is standing) so for me it means American.
That was my initial thought. It was only I wanted to mention 'Mid-Atlantic' (a term I knew) and provide a link to something on it that I discovered it was also known as 'Trans-Atlantic'.
The rest of it sounded like an American, or a Brit pretending to be American.
That's perhaps why it's known as 'Mid-Atlantic'. it can sound vaguely British (but not too much so) to Americans and vaguely American (but not too much so) to Brits. It's halfay between. It would also account for the 'Trans-Atlantic'. Each side has the impression that it may come from the other side.
I clocked maybe one slight Australian twang in one word.
That may be the 'Trans-Pacific' thing.
 

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Interesting idea. It may well have been a person from one side of the pond, pretending to be from the other.
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
Elton John speaks BrE, but sings with a weird trans/mid-Atlantic voice.
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Elton John speaks BrE, but sings with a weird trans/mid-Atlantic voice.
There is no need at all for the words I have coloured red. :lol:

*** NOT AN EJ FAN ***
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
I'm not a fan of his music, but I like his outbursts- his contempt of singers miming to backing tapes, for instance. He speaks better than he sings.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top