American voices

[DracoM]

Increasingly, I tune in to R4 and find I am being addressed by American voices. Is this anyone else's experience?
I find it very irritating, but.............is that just me?

[LezLee]

Increasingly, I tune in to R4 and find I am being addressed by American voices. Is this anyone else's experience?
I find it very irritating, but.............is that just me?

Not just you. I'm quite alarmed my this trend.

[gurnemanz]

I haven't noticed a marked increase in American voices and wouldn't be "alarmed or "irritated" if I did. It is desirable and indeed essential in my view to have some diversity of voice on our main speech channel. I tend to enjoy the participation of non-British English speakers, whether American, Canadian, Irish, Australian (just about acceptable), African, South Asian, West Indian, Hong Kong etc.

Decades ago when I used to listen to pop stations what did annoy was the tendency of British DJs to affect an American or transatlantic accent in an attempt to sound more trendy. I don't think they do this so much any more.

[Frances_iom]

guess the Beeb is looking to the future as a poor client state - until global warming gets here we can't quite make banana republic status in American eyes and Airstrip 1 status is not as important as it used to be.

[DracoM]

Phew! THAT serious?
And there was I thinking it was just me being whimsical .......................!!

[cloughie]

I haven't noticed a marked increase in American voices and wouldn't be "alarmed or "irritated" if I did. It is desirable and indeed essential in my view to have some diversity of voice on our main speech channel. I tend to enjoy the participation of non-British English speakers, whether American, Canadian, Irish, Australian (just about acceptable), African, South Asian, West Indian, Hong Kong etc.

Decades ago when I used to listen to pop stations what did annoy was the tendency of British DJs to affect an American or transatlantic accent in an attempt to sound more trendy. I don't think they do this so much any more.

No but there are many younger contributers to the airwaves who have American and more annoyingly Australian accentuations to their speech - making statements that sound like questions ( ie they go up at the end of a sentence). Then I suppose I am equally annoyed by presenters whose voices drop into a mumble at the end of sentences.

[eighthobstruction]

http://www.for3.org/forums/showthread.php?19942-Americanisation-of-BBC-Radio-4&highlight=american

[Leinster Lass]

http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...light=american

Tom Hanks or Tom Service - tough call (not). I wonder if Americans who listen to classical music stations have a similar blanket objection to British voices. You'll never get a trade deal if Joe Biden happens to read this thread, you know!

[Bryn]

Tom Hanks or Tom Service - tough call (not). I wonder if Americans who listen to classical music stations have a similar blanket objection to British voices.

I think that, in general, British voices, especially RP ones, are at a premium in the US of A.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I have absolutely no problem with American accents - particularly as many of them are closer to English accents of the 17th century than English RP is now Indeed if you want some idea of what Shakespeare sounds like Appalachian and Viriginian accents will be far closer than John Gielgud . But I don’t much care for the ‘fake posh’ (English influenced? ) North Eastern Seaboard accent you hear from some American actors and Academics.This is a modern development and I wonder if it’s a rare example of a trend being picked up from British media in the States ?

[Leinster Lass]

I think that, in general, British voices, especially RP ones, are at a premium in the US of A.

..but American voices are automatically at a discount in the UK?
I'd love to have Marin Alsop read me the news if Tom Hanks isn't available.

[Bryn]

..but American voices are automatically at a discount in the UK?
I'd love to have Marin Alsop read me the news if Tom Hanks isn't available.

I don't think it's automatic. Just good taste.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

If an American has something worthwhile to say, I’m happy with that. Surely it’s the content that matters. The accents of presenters doesn’t bother me.

Suzy Klein’s Estuary English doesn’t worry me as much as her bossy tone.
Tom Service’s Scottish accent doesn’t create any barriers, but his know-all assumptions on so many topics do.
Elizabeth Alker’s Lancashire accent doesn’t worry me at all. (I’m from that area.) But her patronising yelping drives me crazy.

I do draw the line at Steph McGovern though.

[french frank]

I don't think, according to "our" principles, that (any) accent should alone be a criterion for exclusion/exclusion. Speaking without special knowledge on the subject (che novità!), these may be newly fled refugees seeking British citizenship.

That said, I am an RP supporter since I consider this a 'neutral accent', there being no region of England, north or south, that does not have its own regional/local accent according to outside ears. Having a standardised, general purpose accent seems to me to have its uses. And as with individuals, some accents annoy, others attract; and some seem to be favoured while others are (unofficially) excluded. No egalitarianism there.

So my solution would be to send these Americans - if they are to be regular BBC staff, not if they are occasional contributors - to the BBC School for Received Pronunciation. As contributors, as Alpie says, the proof of their worth lies in what they say.

[Bryn]

. . . I do draw the line at Steph McGovern though.

No objection to her form of expression from me but when exactly did she present on Radio 3? Does she, perhaps, have carefully hidden knowledge of the sort of topic that falls within the remit of Radio 3?