+Ryan Shaver Yep Canadians are Americans....as are USAers and others geographically below the USA. As the Arrogant Worms might ask, how did one country take the name of an entire continent? lol
I'll take your word for it as you're British and you know. ;) I'm American and, as much as I would love to learn a British accent, I'm terrified to try simply because I have absolutely no confidence in being able to do it, and the last thing I'd ever want to do is make anyone who happens to be British insulted by my accidentally sounding like a pretentious fool, lol!
CaptainGoofysstash im sure no one would care, think of all the americans on british tv who do terrible british accents, you wouldnt be the first try not to do the traditional posh one or the cockney accent, it sounds terrible haha
Well its not really ' the British accent '... I mean Britain has 4 country's all with there own accents and accents in those country's vary from city to city... The whole of britain doesn't have the upper class posh voice... There are so many accents
I'm British and it's really funny to see you slide from an American to a British person. Also fascinating is the fact that my feelings about you changed - when you were an American academic, I saw you as an ordinary, decent American: when you had a middle class British accent I thought you were an idiot: and when you had a British accent I thought you were more fun, real, saucy. Now I haven't got a clue who you are but I've learned allot about my own unconscious bias'! Great accents though - perfecto!
And here, ladies and gentlemen, we have a text book case of TMI😂 I agree though, it was fascinating to see the dude slide from a craggy toothed aristocrat to a craggy tooth pub brawler, then right back into a boring old Canadian😂 Man's got skills!👍👏
I happen to know David, he was a professor of mine. And I will say, firstly, that regardless of what people think of his accents in this video, he's an excellent teacher. I have seen many productions in which accents were required (Irish and English) that he was the vocal coach for and they were all excellent, not cartoony or stereotypical at all. And I have seen him do an Irish accent in a play and it was different than this. More natural, not so "Lucky Charms" ish.
Wow. That was totally spot on. I grew up in a Southern English RP environment and I can tell you, if you need a dialect coach you wont get better than this. The telltale sign someone is faking RP is they overdo it and it sounds rather exaggerated, like C3PO. A native speaker will be able to hear that (and anyone who likes Star Wars probably). This guy is very good. Actually, Anthony Daniels who plays c3po is a good case study. He speaks RP in real life and exaggerated RP as C3PO.
As a native Brit, he's definitely a pro at the accent. I cringe when I see most Americans/Canadians attempt an English accent - it goes a bit Oliver Twist via Australia! The ONLY word I even remotely thought sounded a bit off was 'heaven'. A bit too "hev-in". I hear it more as "hev-un". Otherwise, a pro.
That is probably because he is making more of a Shakespearean accent while saying that part, not the standard accent. If I recall correctly, English language went through a vowel change in recent centuries. Before that change the 'uh' sound in the second syllables of words like 'heaven' or 'evil' were pronounced like short 'ee' sounds.
I thought it sounded a little funky ;) but then again I live in DC and I draw more similarities to Canadian accents than I do to a southern American drawl.
Because there are two things that I despise. One is blatant stupidity and the other one is smugness. It's both smug and blatantly stupid to say that he's not American when Canada is in... oh, surprise! It's in America...¬¬. People from the US are not the only Americans there are. But well, who am I to judge, ultimately?
I'll be honest. I was definitely not expecting a Canadian to be able to pull off a convincing English accent. Growing up in England and having heard many people mimicking English accents, I've never heard as convincing an attempt as this before. let alone hear anyone describe the annunciation so effectively. Well done!
I'm from just outside London, speak with a cockney accent, but often change it to RP (received pronunciation) when meeting important clients, his upper / middle class accent is spot on.
Standard English is called RP or received pronunciation. He was doing a cockney accent when he said working class, BUT there are hundreds of British accents/dialects.
Few weeks ago I was travelling on a train to Birmingham (i'm not English speaker) and I heard a little kid talking about velociraptors. It all makes sense when you said the 4-syllabed words became 3-syllabed. The kid was Saying all time: i'm a VLoCiRAptAAAAh.. then I kept repeating "Vlociraptah" all week. I'll keep practising My accent to became a proper "vlociraptah".
There isn't a 'British accent'. There are recognizable Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh accents (but even these have a large degree of variance within them).The accent he is portraying is a Southern English variant ( Received Pronunciation). And, actually, he is very, very good. I doubt most English people would think he wasn't English.
+aucourant RP English is considered standard English dialect, though. So it can be considered standard English in the same sense that Hochdeutsch is standard German dialect. It's also the dialect thought to school children across the world; the reason more people don't speak it properly is mostly that most people suck at adopting dialects beyond their native one.
There isn't an American one, either, but his was pretty good at getting the jist of it, if you contrast from the accents of English-speakers from other countries.
@@Dendarang: Received Pronunciation (RP) is not a dialect; it is an accent. The dialect of those who use it is Standard English, but by no means all speakers of Standard English use RP; in fact, most don't.
M0vingtargetz98 Proficiency in a language's terminology is not actuated by one's citizenship of a certain country. like we all totes speak english yh?? so like theres wayyy diff reasons sum1 will b gud @ talkin in that language. Maybe it's education-based, or different types of influences, but either way, labeling yourself "British" will not instantly make you highly-literate, and labeling yourself "American" will not instantly make you illiterate.
Valerie Lopez I know what you mean, I'm nor British or American but this is what I observe from meeting with one and watching movies of both sides movies like the imitation game. Even when cursing, humor/doing comedy or praising other people, British tends to make it more complex. I have an uncle that is British, married to my auntie. Please don't say it makes you literate or illiterate If you are either one because I never meant it that way. Lots of genius from both countries and maybe American like to keep it simple with their words?
Thanks David! You are now officially my British dialect coach! I've just been invited to submit a self-tape for role where I'd play Stanley Rous, the 6th president of FIFA for a football docudrama being produced in Mumbai. I want to get the dialect just right, and your coaching here is invaluable.
Gaurav Rai You are hindu not an Indian? LOL wtf is wrong with you dude? I cant be british because of what, my name? I'm in no means an englishman I agree, but a proud 3rd generation British Citezen I can certainly confirm..what you want my NI Number?
As an English person, I'd have to say that if I jist heard those voices out of context, I would think 'Hey, that American man is quite good at doing English accents'.
Alberta's actually in Canada, haha. That's why there's that 'southern' United States accent thrown in there, since the United States also speak English. Pretty interesting how similar some Canadian dialects can sound like a dialect from the United States.
I literally grew up watching UK shows and movies so I adapted to the Received Pronunciation very quickly, even though I live in Canada and have never been to the UK. Very many people are amazed and confused by me, because I can change my accent mid-sentence. I'm working on a Glasgow Accent and a Scottish Highlands one (around Inverness area).
He's a little off on words like 'want' and 'on', the difference between an American 'O' sound and an English one is huge and he doesn't fully commit to it. Other than that's he's pretty damn good.
@@PasscodeAdvance : Take your agenda and shove it up your ass, snowflake. And WTF is up with this idiotic 'cis' horseshit anyway? 'Cis' is the dumbest-sounding word ever invented to differentiate between actual men and women, versus mentally-ill fakers enabled and emboldened by societally-sanctioned delusion. Triggered much now? Too bad, deal with it.
That was very informative, thank you. You've definitely helped me improve my British accent. Sometimes I like to speak in different accents to people when I'm on vacation for fun/practice. It's interesting to see how differently people react to you depending on what accent you have. I find that people are more likely to trust someone with an upper class British accent than, let's say, my standard Western American accent.. and man, is it funny to see how people react to a white guy having a Japanese or East Indian accent haha. It's all in fun. I do accents rather well, actually. ;)
I came here just to find out if he's getting it right. It's only when he's concentrating fully, such as at 1:00 minute, that he sounds convincingly English. For the rest, I think he's speaking in a manner which sounds English to the American audience this is for. To be fair, when he gets it right, it is absolutely right.
Well, you can hear that he is a drama teacher. It sounds a bit like someone playing in a Shakespearean play instead of someone talking in a "standard British accent" which, by the way, doesn't exist. Nontheless, he's doing a good job.
Nicolas Annen I don't about "doesn't exist". Standardised English is English which reveals no regional variation. In Universities too, the Received Pronunciation was a teachable standard of English learned in first class educational institutions. With that in mind there is also "U" and "Non-U", a way of identifying vocabulary only used by the aristocratic class. The combination of the two will give you a good view of standardised English often known as BBC English. Richard Dawkins is a well known example of the style. In short, the English as spoken and used by first class newsreaders in England is almost always what is thought of as standardised English, so, if you're still unsure, switch to the BBC and watch the news. Both their neutral intonation and choice of vocabulary is standard English.
Pierre Menard Well... How would I know he was an American except for his accent? I had thought this myself, but how would that explain how it only sounds English to me when he is concentrating the hardest? If I were so coloured wouldn't I think all of it sounded American?
The whole point of speech is to communicate with other people. That is the reason that BBC English was introduced, it could be understood even when radio reception was bad. As the population age and their hearing gets worse, clear speech will become more important. Glottal stops, bad grammar and shouting won't cut it. Personally speaking, being partially deaf, if you can't talk to me in good English don't bother, having to repeat everything wastes your time and mine.
This is great, thank you! I'm in the process of learning to sing in an upper class English accent. Not easy with the vowels being held out so long on certain notes.
+Saba Well, of course. this is an upper class english accent - the stereotypical accent to non-brits. I'm British but I've lived in the states for years, and whenever someone goes to imitate a "Brit" accent, they always go for the upper class dialect. Rarely ever do they try to imitate how most Englishmen speak. That said, this professor does a great job at the upper class dialect.
+Saba He does specifically mention that he was going for the upper class dialect. He even shows the difference between an upper class and working class dialect near the beginning. EDIT: Or accent, as the case may be.
Saba Hey, speak for yourself. You need to get out more from your rough roots then, and expand your social circles. No one is my family is 'rough', nor are the people with whom I associate.
2:39: David is terrific and extremely skillful. Being trained and reared in England and living in hostile Brooklyn. If I could imitate some of the dialects, the path may have been smoother, rather the resistance. I would still need my mirror and my conscience, presenting myself as the way I am, to adapt, but not to change my identity order to gain fake fading favor. As the tired adages often uttered: "Be yourself!" "Accept and adapt." How contradictory!
I'm in Alberta, married to a Canadian and from England. I could still hear a Canadian accent although it was only soft. But he was awesome at it, my husband has tried to do a British accent and fails, but then I can't do a Canadian one either lol
I am Southern English and have the middle class accent outlined at the beginning of this video. I am pretty impressed. I wouldn’t have known he was Canadian.
You have done well... Very well.. I am born in Australia to a Welsh father and Australian mother.. I am also lucky enough (also cursed) to have extremely good audio retention memory.. to the point where I can tell if someone has an ulcer or a blister or has bit their tongue when speaking to me as I can hear the difference.. but the blessing is that I can impersonate many voices and characters and pretty much can do any accent that I hear enough of the crucial pronunciation of plus it's cadence, etc.. but any how I really wanted to say that you old chap, have a splendid way of being able to teach others
That was bloody awesome, mate! As a non-native English person from (Western) Europe who has an ("Atlantic English") American accent "thanks" to all those American movies and television series, I wish I could speak English with a (more) British accent.
Ok, I'm English and the Queen, probably, only actually talks like that. So if you're not English and you think that's how we speak all the time, well it's not.
How do you figure? Upper class, educated people usually speak proper English, whether that's proper American English or proper British English. BOTH sound actually correct, rather than uneducated, half-way slurred English that comes from the South, sometimes New York, and lower class British people.
Plot twist: He’s actually English, and he was just putting on an American accent in the beginning.
Haha perfect
Except this tutorial has no plot.
That's a Canadian accent in the beginning ;)
Ah I see, btw may I ask ur opinion as a Brit guy about my Brit imitation? I'm Indonesian and I love this cool accent :D
Canadian
As an Englishman I'm extremely impressed with these accents. I think the professor could fool some Brits that he is a native.
My elocution lesson would have much more fun if he had been my tutor.
Mark Lawrence Hah, he'll make you guys into a noob, being a Professor and all
Mark Lawrence Plot twist, he's actually British pretending to be American
***** He also mentions how to change up the tongue from "our Canadian tongue"
***** ah! what a fool I am!!
Oh my, I forgot he was American. Well done.
Edit: he's Canadian
+Reese Labbe True, kudos, you're very observant
Reese Labbe Well Canadians are a more advanced species of American, the advancement comes with heightened intelligence and observational skills
+Abel Salas Canadians are Americans: North Americans.
Ryan Shaver *deep inhalation*
*deep exhalation*
+Ryan Shaver Yep Canadians are Americans....as are USAers and others geographically below the USA.
As the Arrogant Worms might ask, how did one country take the name of an entire continent? lol
i am british and he does the accent perfectly!
I'll take your word for it as you're British and you know. ;) I'm American and, as much as I would love to learn a British accent, I'm terrified to try simply because I have absolutely no confidence in being able to do it, and the last thing I'd ever want to do is make anyone who happens to be British insulted by my accidentally sounding like a pretentious fool, lol!
CaptainGoofysstash im sure no one would care, think of all the americans on british tv who do terrible british accents, you wouldnt be the first try not to do the traditional posh one or the cockney accent, it sounds terrible haha
Well its not really ' the British accent '... I mean Britain has 4 country's all with there own accents and accents in those country's vary from city to city... The whole of britain doesn't have the upper class posh voice... There are so many accents
Adam Marshall i know but that is a very good standard english accent, that you associate with the news etc.
Adam Marshall called a general accent
the way he switches between accents so quickly and seamlessly is so good wow
I'm British and it's really funny to see you slide from an American to a British person. Also fascinating is the fact that my feelings about you changed - when you were an American academic, I saw you as an ordinary, decent American: when you had a middle class British accent I thought you were an idiot: and when you had a British accent I thought you were more fun, real, saucy. Now I haven't got a clue who you are but I've learned allot about my own unconscious bias'! Great accents though - perfecto!
Oops! Didn't notice you were Canadian
And here, ladies and gentlemen, we have a text book case of TMI😂
I agree though, it was fascinating to see the dude slide from a craggy toothed aristocrat to a craggy tooth pub brawler, then right back into a boring old Canadian😂
Man's got skills!👍👏
Oh boy, you gotta love british ppl. Accent is cool, they speak very clear and let's not forget, they have one of the best and funny insults :D.
American speak very clearly!!!
***** 落下的出豐u版凱撒y落後悔意見豐滿懷裡唔i㕞+.5`
.了n,√q冫吾池7 ?
ranker4 knobhead
***** Indeed, you clunge.
His accent is brilliant 👌
But which one?
I happen to know David, he was a professor of mine. And I will say, firstly, that regardless of what people think of his accents in this video, he's an excellent teacher. I have seen many productions in which accents were required (Irish and English) that he was the vocal coach for and they were all excellent, not cartoony or stereotypical at all.
And I have seen him do an Irish accent in a play and it was different than this. More natural, not so "Lucky Charms" ish.
Wow. That was totally spot on. I grew up in a Southern English RP environment and I can tell you, if you need a dialect coach you wont get better than this. The telltale sign someone is faking RP is they overdo it and it sounds rather exaggerated, like C3PO. A native speaker will be able to hear that (and anyone who likes Star Wars probably). This guy is very good. Actually, Anthony Daniels who plays c3po is a good case study. He speaks RP in real life and exaggerated RP as C3PO.
As a native Brit, he's definitely a pro at the accent. I cringe when I see most Americans/Canadians attempt an English accent - it goes a bit Oliver Twist via Australia! The ONLY word I even remotely thought sounded a bit off was 'heaven'. A bit too "hev-in". I hear it more as "hev-un". Otherwise, a pro.
That is probably because he is making more of a Shakespearean accent while saying that part, not the standard accent. If I recall correctly, English language went through a vowel change in recent centuries. Before that change the 'uh' sound in the second syllables of words like 'heaven' or 'evil' were pronounced like short 'ee' sounds.
Lisa S I’m playing Mrs. Sowerberry in Oliver so that’s why I’m here lol
@@kafulu1742 God, I hate Shakespeare
his american is more american than americans'
+sethraptor True that...
Canadian.
He's a teacher :D
sethraptor true
I thought it sounded a little funky ;) but then again I live in DC and I draw more similarities to Canadian accents than I do to a southern American drawl.
I’m honestly more impressed by his working class accent. I have never ever ever ever heard a North American nail it so accurately as he just did.
More cockney that "working class" imo. But then again, if you drive an hour in any direction on our little island, the dialect changes substantially.
For everyone saying he is American, he is Canadian.
Still American :3
Bryan De la Hoz Not really
Oh, really? Then, what? (He is American, though, I just want to see which far-fetched argument you will use)
Bryan De la Hoz He's not American, he's Canadian. Don't know why you're trying so hard to make an argument about this.
Because there are two things that I despise. One is blatant stupidity and the other one is smugness. It's both smug and blatantly stupid to say that he's not American when Canada is in... oh, surprise! It's in America...¬¬. People from the US are not the only Americans there are. But well, who am I to judge, ultimately?
I'll be honest. I was definitely not expecting a Canadian to be able to pull off a convincing English accent. Growing up in England and having heard many people mimicking English accents, I've never heard as convincing an attempt as this before. let alone hear anyone describe the annunciation so effectively. Well done!
2:49 that was the purest American voice I have ever heard and I live there
I know right! haha :)
Arianna Petersen Yeh maybe if you're making fun of George Bush , that accent works.
For the love of god, do more!
love your profile picture XD
I'm from just outside London, speak with a cockney accent, but often change it to RP (received pronunciation) when meeting important clients, his upper / middle class accent is spot on.
@Hello there, how are you doing this blessed day?
@@edithbannerman4 spiffing
@@davidhunt6519 lol that’s good to hear, hope you’re enjoying your day? Where you located?
@@edithbannerman4 you know London ?
@@davidhunt6519 yeah I’m now living in Ohio, USA
This guy has a better English accent then me
What a cool fucking guy.
2:05 "you take a hard candy, you put it in the back of your tongue.." and YOU CHOKE"😳🙊
gotta keep your tongue flat then, mate...
😂 crazy
Is it a must to put a hard candy in the back of my tongue when it come to speaking British English?
I'm from London and I have to say he nailed it! How does he make his accent sound 100%?!
I love the British accent !
Damn, you're very good at this.
He is THE MAN. Astonishing control
Standard English is called RP or received pronunciation. He was doing a cockney accent when he said working class, BUT there are hundreds of British accents/dialects.
thanks quite a bit
I have spoken English all my life, but have had a slight speech problem this helped me.
Thank you
Fantastic! I'm playing Shakespeare himself in a small stage production in a few months and I'm nervous about getting it to sound convincing!
Few weeks ago I was travelling on a train to Birmingham (i'm not English speaker) and I heard a little kid talking about velociraptors. It all makes sense when you said the 4-syllabed words became 3-syllabed. The kid was Saying all time: i'm a VLoCiRAptAAAAh.. then I kept repeating "Vlociraptah" all week. I'll keep practising My accent to became a proper "vlociraptah".
Love this
There isn't a 'British accent'. There are recognizable Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh accents (but even these have a large degree of variance within them).The accent he is portraying is a Southern English variant ( Received Pronunciation). And, actually, he is very, very good. I doubt most English people would think he wasn't English.
+aucourant RP English is considered standard English dialect, though. So it can be considered standard English in the same sense that Hochdeutsch is standard German dialect. It's also the dialect thought to school children across the world; the reason more people don't speak it properly is mostly that most people suck at adopting dialects beyond their native one.
There isn't an American one, either, but his was pretty good at getting the jist of it, if you contrast from the accents of English-speakers from other countries.
aucourant ehh
@@Dendarang: Received Pronunciation (RP) is not a dialect; it is an accent. The dialect of those who use it is Standard English, but by no means all speakers of Standard English use RP; in fact, most don't.
Ireland isn’t in Britain. That’s like lumping a US or Canadian or Australian dialect in with England/Scotland/Wales
I am British, you're accent is fantastic, I am here to as my French friend wants pronunciation videos, I will send this to him, great content!
incredible skill. its interesting how the shape of the differen't accents' mouths affect a groups' general appearance and personality
Incredible how he just slips effortlessly into different dialects.
This is great and amusing to what from a British point of view
Wow this was amazing! I'm from London and this was spot on
Fabulous teacher!
That was incredibly delightful and informative. Just wonderful. Thank you Professor.
Haha this guy must be a handful in real life but as a teacher he's very good and charming!
This is fantastic. The syllables are so on point and something I had never realized.
@Hello there, how are you doing this blessed day?
Being a working class brit, i can now infiltrate Conservative
party's sex parties :D
Keep shoveling your coal. Gross.
Matt Peopleson ROFL!!!!!!!!!
Thank you professor. I have a job that requires a constant improvement of speaking skills and confidence and i know this is going to help me a lot.
Im nor British or American but one thing I realized that British uses more complex vocabulary when they are speaking.
Depends on the person, not the language or nationality.
Valerie Lopez no he/she is right. We genuinely do. Much more pronounced even the cockney working class accents mate
M0vingtargetz98 Proficiency in a language's terminology is not actuated by one's citizenship of a certain country. like we all totes speak english yh?? so like theres wayyy diff reasons sum1 will b gud @ talkin in that language. Maybe it's education-based, or different types of influences, but either way, labeling yourself "British" will not instantly make you highly-literate, and labeling yourself "American" will not instantly make you illiterate.
Valerie Lopez I know what you mean, I'm nor British or American but this is what I observe from meeting with one and watching movies of both sides movies like the imitation game. Even when cursing, humor/doing comedy or praising other people, British tends to make it more complex. I have an uncle that is British, married to my auntie. Please don't say it makes you literate or illiterate If you are either one because I never meant it that way. Lots of genius from both countries and maybe American like to keep it simple with their words?
Kuro Senpai If you want to stereotype two groups, go ahead. You're making assumptions based on general stereotypes and a few experiences.
Thanks David! You are now officially my British dialect coach! I've just been invited to submit a self-tape for role where I'd play Stanley Rous, the 6th president of FIFA for a football docudrama being produced in Mumbai. I want to get the dialect just right, and your coaching here is invaluable.
@Hello there, how are you doing this blessed day?
He was great!!!!!!!!!Im British and I could not even tell
A person from Yorkshire, I love that accent!!!
0:48 - Seems like Michael Caine sits way back in his chair, you sounded just like him lol!
Oboro Clam Chowder yea hes proper cockney
I could listen to this forever...
wow. what an unnoticeable transition :O
The professor is just amazing!
Im british..I do not know what I am doing here...god its that part of youtube again :s
Mahfuz Sheikh You are muslim not British.
Gaurav Rai You are hindu not an Indian? LOL wtf is wrong with you dude? I cant be british because of what, my name? I'm in no means an englishman I agree, but a proud 3rd generation British Citezen I can certainly confirm..what you want my NI Number?
Keep going; it's not weird enough yet.
@@mahfuj_sheikh oh what a English lord
I enjoyed every second of his speech.
It's nice to listen people with British accent after all.
But god this man is amaizing!
As an English person, I'd have to say that if I jist heard those voices out of context, I would think 'Hey, that American man is quite good at doing English accents'.
Alberta's actually in Canada, haha. That's why there's that 'southern' United States accent thrown in there, since the United States also speak English. Pretty interesting how similar some Canadian dialects can sound like a dialect from the United States.
I literally grew up watching UK shows and movies so I adapted to the Received Pronunciation very quickly, even though I live in Canada and have never been to the UK. Very many people are amazed and confused by me, because I can change my accent mid-sentence. I'm working on a Glasgow Accent and a Scottish Highlands one (around Inverness area).
Would love to hear some of the ones you're working on. Any sources that you find to be essentially helpful? Just curious.
cmeride79 www.speaklikethebrits.com
I join the throng of impressed brits. Do Yorkshire next!
He's a little off on words like 'want' and 'on', the difference between an American 'O' sound and an English one is huge and he doesn't fully commit to it. Other than that's he's pretty damn good.
this man is brillant
Wow! Great tutorial! He's got it spot on! Brilliant!
This guy could totally abuse this power to pick up american women... hahaha with great power comes great responsibility... lol
William Nicklin lol
Why would ANYONE want an american woman ? Yikes !
@@angelofembers8271 OOF
@@angelofembers8271 He was referring to women, not those heavy cows grazing in the local community barn
@@PasscodeAdvance : Take your agenda and shove it up your ass, snowflake. And WTF is up with this idiotic 'cis' horseshit anyway? 'Cis' is the dumbest-sounding word ever invented to differentiate between actual men and women, versus mentally-ill fakers enabled and emboldened by societally-sanctioned delusion. Triggered much now? Too bad, deal with it.
I could listen to this guy for hours
Kind of weird but you sound exactly like my pop and you look like him too! Lol
I think u just found him *
i think you found ur sister there. (peace)
I wasn’t convinced so much by his Irish accent but the Scottish one he nailed perfectly and I’ve been trying, without much success, to replicate it.
Ps, at the end of the day he ends up sounding more English than I do. Fair play.
First impression: totally amazing! I want to know more!
That was very informative, thank you. You've definitely helped me improve my British accent. Sometimes I like to speak in different accents to people when I'm on vacation for fun/practice. It's interesting to see how differently people react to you depending on what accent you have. I find that people are more likely to trust someone with an upper class British accent than, let's say, my standard Western American accent.. and man, is it funny to see how people react to a white guy having a Japanese or East Indian accent haha. It's all in fun. I do accents rather well, actually. ;)
Adrian D Yaasss.
You are really really amazing....
and he actually ends with "have some fun"
I wanna see him do a wolverhampton accent lol!
That was pretty impressive ! Seriously ! Not everyone can do that even if they learn it.
I came here just to find out if he's getting it right. It's only when he's concentrating fully, such as at 1:00 minute, that he sounds convincingly English. For the rest, I think he's speaking in a manner which sounds English to the American audience this is for. To be fair, when he gets it right, it is absolutely right.
Well, you can hear that he is a drama teacher. It sounds a bit like someone playing in a Shakespearean play instead of someone talking in a "standard British accent" which, by the way, doesn't exist. Nontheless, he's doing a good job.
Nicolas Annen
I don't about "doesn't exist". Standardised English is English which reveals no regional variation. In Universities too, the Received Pronunciation was a teachable standard of English learned in first class educational institutions. With that in mind there is also "U" and "Non-U", a way of identifying vocabulary only used by the aristocratic class. The combination of the two will give you a good view of standardised English often known as BBC English. Richard Dawkins is a well known example of the style. In short, the English as spoken and used by first class newsreaders in England is almost always what is thought of as standardised English, so, if you're still unsure, switch to the BBC and watch the news. Both their neutral intonation and choice of vocabulary is standard English.
Pierre Menard
Well... How would I know he was an American except for his accent?
I had thought this myself, but how would that explain how it only sounds English to me when he is concentrating the hardest? If I were so coloured wouldn't I think all of it sounded American?
Pierre Menard
I didn't claim to be able to tell the difference between American and Canadian accents. So how is making that mistake a rub?
I watched this like four years ago to learn this accent and now he's my teacher lol
The whole point of speech is to communicate with other people. That is the reason that BBC English was introduced, it could be understood even when radio reception was bad. As the population age and their hearing gets worse, clear speech will become more important. Glottal stops, bad grammar and shouting won't cut it. Personally speaking, being partially deaf, if you can't talk to me in good English don't bother, having to repeat everything wastes your time and mine.
Great,he really does different accents,this guy is good!He´s a speech therapist!Congratulations Professor!
Brilliant!
Excellent and very practical. Wish Prof. David Ley had his own UA-cam channel with more tutorials!
This is great, thank you! I'm in the process of learning to sing in an upper class English accent. Not easy with the vowels being held out so long on certain notes.
Very Enjoyable and Easy to Listen.
Who is American and learning British accent ?
Me!!
so impressive.
Im British. Barely anyone sounds like this. We all sound quite rough tbh
+Saba speak for yourself loool
I'm British and it sounds excellent
+Saba Well, of course. this is an upper class english accent - the stereotypical accent to non-brits.
I'm British but I've lived in the states for years, and whenever someone goes to imitate a "Brit" accent, they always go for the upper class dialect. Rarely ever do they try to imitate how most Englishmen speak. That said, this professor does a great job at the upper class dialect.
+Saba He does specifically mention that he was going for the upper class dialect. He even shows the difference between an upper class and working class dialect near the beginning. EDIT: Or accent, as the case may be.
Saba Hey, speak for yourself. You need to get out more from your rough roots then, and expand your social circles. No one is my family is 'rough', nor are the people with whom I associate.
2:39: David is terrific and extremely skillful. Being trained and reared in England and living in hostile Brooklyn. If I could imitate some of the dialects, the path may have been smoother, rather the resistance. I would still need my mirror and my conscience, presenting myself as the way I am, to adapt, but not to change my identity order to gain fake fading favor. As the tired adages often uttered: "Be yourself!" "Accept and adapt." How contradictory!
MARRY ME.
Probably the most interesting video on this channel
You'd think a professor would know the difference between an accent and a dialect.
I'm in Alberta, married to a Canadian and from England.
I could still hear a Canadian accent although it was only soft.
But he was awesome at it, my husband has tried to do a British accent and fails, but then I can't do a Canadian one either lol
Very easy, oh yeah, I am British...
This dude is amazing. Well done.
don't know why but he looks like Michael Jackson
I can't see how you came to that conclusion mate. Lol
omg yes!
I am Southern English and have the middle class accent outlined at the beginning of this video. I am pretty impressed. I wouldn’t have known he was Canadian.
I learned Brits English from Stewie Griffin >.
wot the duce??
You have done well... Very well.. I am born in Australia to a Welsh father and Australian mother.. I am also lucky enough (also cursed) to have extremely good audio retention memory.. to the point where I can tell if someone has an ulcer or a blister or has bit their tongue when speaking to me as I can hear the difference.. but the blessing is that I can impersonate many voices and characters and pretty much can do any accent that I hear enough of the crucial pronunciation of plus it's cadence, etc.. but any how I really wanted to say that you old chap, have a splendid way of being able to teach others
I'm British why do people want a British accent so badly? lol
Mas A Because actors need it.He is a drama teacher.
That was bloody awesome, mate!
As a non-native English person from (Western) Europe who has an ("Atlantic English") American accent "thanks" to all those American movies and television series, I wish I could speak English with a (more) British accent.
Ok, I'm English and the Queen, probably, only actually talks like that. So if you're not English and you think that's how we speak all the time, well it's not.
This is the kind of accent meant to be used in shows, making it a "larger" accent so it sounds more realistic to those in the audience.
@Emily Rhodes Lol, I'm American and upon watching this video I guessed that that was probably the case. ;)
I'm English and I speak like this....It depends where in England you come from.
Did you listen to him at all? This is upper class..
+FichDichInDemArsch I'm from Lincolnshire, there are loads of different accents not just one
I must say though, that's the best English accent I've heard from a non-Anglo in a while. :P
'Proper' and 'upper class' are not synonymous.
How do you figure? Upper class, educated people usually speak proper English, whether that's proper American English or proper British English. BOTH sound actually correct, rather than uneducated, half-way slurred English that comes from the South, sometimes New York, and lower class British people.
Jonathan Bowen That last part was very ignorant of yo u to say, as there are well-educated folks in the South.
Sure they are.
I Love listening to his voice
I bet he couldn't do a Scouse accent?
And where are you from?
+Stephen Bamber 3:25? isn't it Scouse?
+Zielone Trampki that is Scottish
i can listen this forever
All wrong and he's an "expert" wow merica that knowledge
MrLyndonBJohnson Thank you for this. Props to you.
MrRickyWow Thanks. You're welcome!.
Americans and Canadians deciding what constitutes an accurate English accent. Jesus wept.
I am impressed. You are good.