My mom was an Anglophile, so I picked it up early...and got to go to England with my parents when I was 11 which likely pushed me over the edge. And now the wonders of the internet have opened up the world of UK to me, I have "friends" there, follow events, listen to podcasts, watch some TV shows. I'm sure I'm under a lot of illusions about what it would be like to live there, in England or Ireland most likely, but I cherish those illusions. ;-D (just imagine having the NHS!!!) Dual citizenship would be handy but I don't think I'm eligible.
I definitely have a "thing" for the accents...all of them (English and all its sub-accents/dialects, Scottish, Irish...Welsh I have a bit of a tough time with). I used to find watching the Tour de France (or even old recordings of it) somewhat soothing just because of the dulcet tones of Phil-and-Paul (RIP Paul). And the UK gave us Sean Connery, Patrick Stewart, Pierce Brosnan,Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Helen Mirren, Judi Dench - and lots of writers I enjoy.... I've even started to use some British words/uses instead of American - mostly when chatting to folks across the pond, but sometimes not. (I know, weird).
Living there is lovely - but I can provide some disillusionment. Seasonal depression over dreary winters is real. Workmen demanding frequent cups of tea while they fix something on your house would drive me bananas. They do not believe in ‘Have a nice day!’ at the shops. But seriously, other things were awesome. The NHS is not bad but waiting lists for free operations are real. The best part was everyone’s wit. I find people just look at me funny when I try witty retorts here.
Definitely an Anglophile, with all the attendant qualms and reservations about British imperialism. Among other things, I love Staged and Great British Sewing Bee. My daughter discovered Sewing Bee on our last night in London a few years ago, and we realized at a certain point we were going to need to binge it if we wanted to know how it ended. Pottery Throwdown is the same calmer, cheering kind of reality show—the only type I can handle right now. Weirdly I can’t manage GBBO because it’s slightly too mean sometimes for me. 🤷♀️
Tom Baker will be always be The Doctor for me.My introduction to Staged was a promo on FB for Red Nose day. It has the bonus addition of Lenny Henry. I am glad to find out more about it.
There’s a blurry line between when I was an Anglophile and when I became British. Pretty sure it happened before I got dual citizenship. Yes to Young Ones and MP! Did you ever read Viz??
Hello I am also a Anglophile. I love the tudor era and almost all things British. The picture of the young ones brought back a good giggle. I only remember Neil but the show was great. I will have to try the David and Michael show since I think both of them are great.
My Anglophile tendencies kicked in with Monty Python (we all used to meet at our theater prof's house on Sunday nights to watch it. Group loving the Brits).
For pure soooooth in the pandemic, I found The Repair Shop. Sweet stories, memories and heirlooms repaired and brought back to life.
Much calmer than the GBBS.
*ahem* Staged Season 2 (among other things) is driving me toward a VPN. Yahr!
The CBC showed The Young Ones every day after school, I have to admit I remember none of it but have introduced my kids to Monty Python and continue to try to influence them into loving Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to no avail.
I need to go find The Almost Nearly Perfect People. With a sister-in-law who lives in Denmark I am fascinated to see hygge described as conformity, or in anything other than glowing terms. It's a pretty rigid place to live.
The thing I remember most about The Young Ones was the sheer anarchy/absurdism of the comedy, which is true, too, of Monty Python but to a lesser extent. My kids finally got into HGTTG when we listened to it on a long car trip. It was narrated by Stephen Fry and he was perfection. Elder Kid still listens to it when she's feeling out of sorts. So there's one win.
As someone Scottish I always find it a bit odd when I see Americans talk about how soothing British stuff is! GGBO is very cosy, but I've never really noticed with other stuff, and definitely not with our news! Do you really find it more soothing? Is it just RP, or other accents, too? I'm so curious!
For me, it seems to work with most accents, although RP is the most like Xanax to me, even if the voice is describing something awful in the news. It doesn't work as well for me with Glaswegian or Welsh because my brain has to work harder to turn those words into a language I know.
What's weird is that, like, Australian accents to nothing for me. Maybe it's because the British imports that got a foothold here when I was really young seemed somehow more posh or cultured? It's clear that I'm not the only American who has this response. Maybe it's a function of age?
Question for you: can you figure out the region an American is from based on their accent? And do you make any assumptions based on the accent?
To be fair I've heard Weegie accents are apparently hard for everyone else, haha! I think it's because we talk so fast maybe? RP to me is so slow and enunciated.
I wonder! But I've definitely seen an awful load of Americans say similar things to, and I always wonder where it comes from!
I broadly know SOME accents, like Bostonian/Northeast accents sound very West Country/Yorkshire to me, and I can usually identify New York (ish), or Californian and there's the generic ~Southern~ but to be honest, not hugely. From American telly it's mostly the Mid-Atlantic accent I've been exposed to. And I would say, yes, absolutely, though I try not to! There's very much a class-consciousness that I think would perhaps be similar to you hearing RP versus Weegie? My immediate reaction to any accent that doesn't sound "TV" is that they're probably poor and working class - that's usually what shows convey, anyway! - and all the usual classism bundled up with it, but (and sorry for rambling here!) I also find the differences between the way British and American people view class!
I find it all really fascinating, and I'm sorry if my original comment might have sounded snarky or anything, I really am just curious.
Oh! Your comment wasn't snarky at all. And I find this fascinating, too!
I'm not sure if it's because Weegie is fast -- I mean, I live in the northeast and we're speedy talkers, too -- but more that you all do weird things to vowels. It's 100% an accent that American ears can puzzle out; it just takes a minute or two to catch up.
Americans and British have very different cues and mental structures about class. Ours is more race-based than money-based, if that makes sense. Even though our cultures and concerns were the same back before the revolution, they have diverged over the years. You can see the British roots of class if you look really closely but it has become its own thing. I'm sure this is true of other former colonies, too.
I think some of my response to most British accents is that I don't know enough to "read" them as well as I do American regional accents. Maybe that's the appeal?
That's very true, and we do skip a lot of consonants so words can sometimes smush together.
That makes a lot of sense. And true - I do wonder about class structures of other commonwealth countries and former colonies. I think class in Britain is also regional - though I can see that in the US too - and there's also a very ritualistic aspect to being upper-class vs "just" middle class (see: U and Non-U English!) as the middle class started creeping up the wealth ladder.
That's interesting! I also wonder, in general, how much of it is nostalgia inspired by period dramas, perhaps exacerbated by the fact that it's a nostalgia for something that never could have "belonged" to you? I've seen it somewhat in my working-class family's love of Downtown Abbey and that sort of thing.
My mom was an Anglophile, so I picked it up early...and got to go to England with my parents when I was 11 which likely pushed me over the edge. And now the wonders of the internet have opened up the world of UK to me, I have "friends" there, follow events, listen to podcasts, watch some TV shows. I'm sure I'm under a lot of illusions about what it would be like to live there, in England or Ireland most likely, but I cherish those illusions. ;-D (just imagine having the NHS!!!) Dual citizenship would be handy but I don't think I'm eligible.
I definitely have a "thing" for the accents...all of them (English and all its sub-accents/dialects, Scottish, Irish...Welsh I have a bit of a tough time with). I used to find watching the Tour de France (or even old recordings of it) somewhat soothing just because of the dulcet tones of Phil-and-Paul (RIP Paul). And the UK gave us Sean Connery, Patrick Stewart, Pierce Brosnan,Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Helen Mirren, Judi Dench - and lots of writers I enjoy.... I've even started to use some British words/uses instead of American - mostly when chatting to folks across the pond, but sometimes not. (I know, weird).
Off for a cuppa, cheers!
Living there is lovely - but I can provide some disillusionment. Seasonal depression over dreary winters is real. Workmen demanding frequent cups of tea while they fix something on your house would drive me bananas. They do not believe in ‘Have a nice day!’ at the shops. But seriously, other things were awesome. The NHS is not bad but waiting lists for free operations are real. The best part was everyone’s wit. I find people just look at me funny when I try witty retorts here.
Definitely an Anglophile, with all the attendant qualms and reservations about British imperialism. Among other things, I love Staged and Great British Sewing Bee. My daughter discovered Sewing Bee on our last night in London a few years ago, and we realized at a certain point we were going to need to binge it if we wanted to know how it ended. Pottery Throwdown is the same calmer, cheering kind of reality show—the only type I can handle right now. Weirdly I can’t manage GBBO because it’s slightly too mean sometimes for me. 🤷♀️
We're all in a fragile place right now. :)
Tom Baker will be always be The Doctor for me.My introduction to Staged was a promo on FB for Red Nose day. It has the bonus addition of Lenny Henry. I am glad to find out more about it.
Peter Davison here. That cricket jumper. Phwoar!
There’s a blurry line between when I was an Anglophile and when I became British. Pretty sure it happened before I got dual citizenship. Yes to Young Ones and MP! Did you ever read Viz??
What is Viz? (So no, I guess?)
It’s a graphic UK comic. Still published. Bit rude. The Finbarr Saunders character was the best. http://viz.co.uk/
Hello I am also a Anglophile. I love the tudor era and almost all things British. The picture of the young ones brought back a good giggle. I only remember Neil but the show was great. I will have to try the David and Michael show since I think both of them are great.
Totally on Team GB as well. Problematic as it is.
My Anglophile tendencies kicked in with Monty Python (we all used to meet at our theater prof's house on Sunday nights to watch it. Group loving the Brits).
For pure soooooth in the pandemic, I found The Repair Shop. Sweet stories, memories and heirlooms repaired and brought back to life.
Much calmer than the GBBS.
*ahem* Staged Season 2 (among other things) is driving me toward a VPN. Yahr!
The CBC showed The Young Ones every day after school, I have to admit I remember none of it but have introduced my kids to Monty Python and continue to try to influence them into loving Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to no avail.
I need to go find The Almost Nearly Perfect People. With a sister-in-law who lives in Denmark I am fascinated to see hygge described as conformity, or in anything other than glowing terms. It's a pretty rigid place to live.
The thing I remember most about The Young Ones was the sheer anarchy/absurdism of the comedy, which is true, too, of Monty Python but to a lesser extent. My kids finally got into HGTTG when we listened to it on a long car trip. It was narrated by Stephen Fry and he was perfection. Elder Kid still listens to it when she's feeling out of sorts. So there's one win.
As someone Scottish I always find it a bit odd when I see Americans talk about how soothing British stuff is! GGBO is very cosy, but I've never really noticed with other stuff, and definitely not with our news! Do you really find it more soothing? Is it just RP, or other accents, too? I'm so curious!
For me, it seems to work with most accents, although RP is the most like Xanax to me, even if the voice is describing something awful in the news. It doesn't work as well for me with Glaswegian or Welsh because my brain has to work harder to turn those words into a language I know.
What's weird is that, like, Australian accents to nothing for me. Maybe it's because the British imports that got a foothold here when I was really young seemed somehow more posh or cultured? It's clear that I'm not the only American who has this response. Maybe it's a function of age?
Question for you: can you figure out the region an American is from based on their accent? And do you make any assumptions based on the accent?
To be fair I've heard Weegie accents are apparently hard for everyone else, haha! I think it's because we talk so fast maybe? RP to me is so slow and enunciated.
I wonder! But I've definitely seen an awful load of Americans say similar things to, and I always wonder where it comes from!
I broadly know SOME accents, like Bostonian/Northeast accents sound very West Country/Yorkshire to me, and I can usually identify New York (ish), or Californian and there's the generic ~Southern~ but to be honest, not hugely. From American telly it's mostly the Mid-Atlantic accent I've been exposed to. And I would say, yes, absolutely, though I try not to! There's very much a class-consciousness that I think would perhaps be similar to you hearing RP versus Weegie? My immediate reaction to any accent that doesn't sound "TV" is that they're probably poor and working class - that's usually what shows convey, anyway! - and all the usual classism bundled up with it, but (and sorry for rambling here!) I also find the differences between the way British and American people view class!
I find it all really fascinating, and I'm sorry if my original comment might have sounded snarky or anything, I really am just curious.
Oh! Your comment wasn't snarky at all. And I find this fascinating, too!
I'm not sure if it's because Weegie is fast -- I mean, I live in the northeast and we're speedy talkers, too -- but more that you all do weird things to vowels. It's 100% an accent that American ears can puzzle out; it just takes a minute or two to catch up.
Americans and British have very different cues and mental structures about class. Ours is more race-based than money-based, if that makes sense. Even though our cultures and concerns were the same back before the revolution, they have diverged over the years. You can see the British roots of class if you look really closely but it has become its own thing. I'm sure this is true of other former colonies, too.
I think some of my response to most British accents is that I don't know enough to "read" them as well as I do American regional accents. Maybe that's the appeal?
Good!
That's very true, and we do skip a lot of consonants so words can sometimes smush together.
That makes a lot of sense. And true - I do wonder about class structures of other commonwealth countries and former colonies. I think class in Britain is also regional - though I can see that in the US too - and there's also a very ritualistic aspect to being upper-class vs "just" middle class (see: U and Non-U English!) as the middle class started creeping up the wealth ladder.
That's interesting! I also wonder, in general, how much of it is nostalgia inspired by period dramas, perhaps exacerbated by the fact that it's a nostalgia for something that never could have "belonged" to you? I've seen it somewhat in my working-class family's love of Downtown Abbey and that sort of thing.