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Brown in America

Want to succeed in the US? Try a Brit accent.

By: Santosh :+: Under: Brown in America, Culture, Humor
On: ⋅ March 21, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment
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Sassy Brits in vogue
(img: via BBC)

India, arguably, owes part of its current economic boom to the introduction of the English language by the Brits. However sixty years post-Independence, India is still struggling to get over the legacy of the British Raj. Turns out, it may take much longer than that, if the current success of the Brit accent in mainstream US is a measure of things to come. Megan Lane on BBC talks about the appeal of an old World accent in 230 years post-Independence USA.

A cut glass English accent can fool unsuspecting Americans into detecting a “brilliance that isn’t there”, says Stephen Fry. So is a British accent - of any variety - the route to success in the United States?
A cut glass English accent can fool unsuspecting Americans into detecting a “brilliance that isn’t there”, says Stephen Fry. So is a British accent - of any variety - the route to success in the United States?

The charm of the British accent transcends skin color and gender, take Parminder Nagra, for instance.

As for Parminder Nagra, plucked from Bend It Like Beckham to star in ER with her soft Midlands accent intact: “Oh, she’s thought to be very, very classy, very Oxbridge.”

Who would’ve thunk.
British expats are also more highly regarded in the US than in Australia, another former British colony. Consequently, US Brits keep their accents longer than Aussie Brits. Part of it comes from the social eliteness afforded to someone in the US with “the accent”.

Whereas UK expats in Australia tend to lose their accents quite quickly, those in the US are less likely to, Ms Jones says. “They don’t have as much incentive to change because of the perceived benefits - leaving a message in a ‘posh’ accent about a sought-after apartment and the landlady rings you straight back; the ripped-up parking tickets…”

And don’t confuse the American fascination for British accents with American fascination for foreign accents.

“Gee, I just love your accent.”

When was the last time someone with an Indian accent heard these words?

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