This morning, as I raised the blind in the kitchen, I saw a beautiful buck just a few feet from the window. I rarely, if ever, see bucks on our property and have never seen one this close! Unfortunately, I didn’t have my phone with me, so the perfect shot eluded me. However, he stayed in the yard for a long time, eating the brush, safely camouflaged from human predators. We must have stood there for 10 minutes watching him. Don took a video, which is on his IG account (@donsroadtrip).
Look closely. You can see him.
We think he’s an older buck. He was walking slowly and bit stiffly – sort of like us – but goodness, was he beautiful!
I said to him “Stay here on this side of the road. You’re safe here.” He is, as all of the surrounding property is privately owned by our neighbors.
A beautiful way to start our morning. Almost like a private viewing, just for us. He didn’t seem at all concerned that we were standing on the other side of the window. I’m not even sure he noticed us. Normally, when we see deer right outside the kitchen, they notice us, freeze for a moment, and move on. Not this guy. And we’re grateful for that.
It’s gray, windy and cold out there today. Not my favorite weather.
This is what it looked like around here in the late afternoon yesterday. I had walked down the driveway to get the mail (including the newest Louise Penny) and turned back toward the house. I didn’t try to lighten this photo because I wanted you to see it as taken. As I said on IG, I love our house, but I find this particular barren view depressing.
Sigh.
I think I’ll put up the porch Christmas lights today simply to have some cheery lights out there. We need that.
We watched Florence Foster Jenkins last night. What a wonderful movie, with the incomparable Meryl Streep, who I am convinced can do anything, Hugh Grant, and Simon Helberg. As I was watching, knowing nothing about the actual filming whatsoever, I became convinced that it was filmed, at least in part, in England. I believed that more than a few of the actors who were playing American characters were British. There’s a ‘tell’ in the way they do an American accent – a sort of flatness, a bit of nasality, a change in inflection – that I can spot a mile away. (It is, after all, what I do for living.) There are some British actors who do American dialects flawlessly. But, I have to say, most of them don’t. It sort of drives me crazy.
Sure enough, much of it was filmed in England. And the actors I was suspicious of? British.
My theory – and it’s just a theory – is that to Brits, the American accent sounds flatter, more nasal, less melodious. After all, one of the things I love about British dialects as a rule is their use of much more melody and range than we tend to use. So the actors, and their coaches, tend to concentrate on the nasality they think they’re hearing and the comparatively flatter, less rounded vowel sounds that we use, and the sound becomes a wash of those qualities, which are part of, but by no means all of the qualities in the way we speak. We have our own melodies that we use when speaking. They’re just different than a British dialect.
I suppose Brits would say the same thing about Americans using British accents, though I do think, generally, we’re a bit better at it. When I was acting, I was often pulled aside by audience members who were British and were convinced that I was also British. Obviously, I wasn’t.
This is daily life around here when you have two actors living in a cottage, one of them a vocal coach. We constantly comment about actors emphasizing the wrong word in a line, or stressing pronouns when it’s not at all appropriate, or not articulating clearly, or, in this case, not quite sounding American. We can’t help it. On the other hand, we far more often praise actors’ work, knowing everything that goes into making a role come alive, and just how tough that is. Acting is hard work and exemplary acting? Amazing. Rare. Meryl Streep? One of the rarest.
I’ve also started The Comforts of Home, Susan Hill’s newest Simon Serailler mystery. It’s excellent.
I had a couple of comments from readers concerning On Tyranny, which I recommended yesterday. It’s on sale on Amazon for $6.39 in paperback and the Kindle version is $3.99. Go for it!
Happy Wednesday.
How wonderful to see that buck outside your window. I haven’t seen many deer lately but I hope they are hiding from hunters. Our bird feeders have gotten quite busy again and the birds make me so happy. Missing Asheligh but she got home safely. It’s cold here, but the sun is out and that’s nice. Annie has found a sun puddle and is sleeping and that makes me drowsy! Things to do today so must go!
Me too. One of which is ‘pay the bills!’
You also get people who I think probably are English doing really strange things with their accents to sound more like an American’s idea of an English accent, the voice over on the Norwegian cruise advert drives me and my other half spare every time we hear it.
Yes. It’s a bit over the top!
And the mangling of the word leisure is just wrong, you should not say ‘leee shure’ in a put on posh English accent, no one in England pronounces it that way.
It’s a very small thing in the grand scheme of things but it just grates every time.
Nope. Only we Americans say it that way!
i live in ‘whitetail deer country’ and the pretty creatures love our (safe) pastures and fields- at almost any hour, i can look out and see bucks, does, or fawns enjoying the acorns or other flora- it is a never-ending treat-
… and yes, let me jump on the ‘merle bandwagon’ too- i enjoy everything she is in for the sheer pleasure of watching her BECOME the character (even when the film is less than perfect, she has her part spot-on)- i can’t think of any actress from the current crop of luminaries who even comes close to her range of talents-
take care- stay warm and dry- and, as always, regards-
barb in texas
There’s no one better, Barb!
The same happens when German speak Swiss German (there are so many dialects). They don’t get it. Often it’s ridiculous. Even if Swiss people try to speak another dialect, it sounds silly mostly. Of course there are some professionals.
If Swiss people speak German (German German) you can identify the region in Switzerland they come from.
It’s also interesting to try to find out where English speaking people, not natives, come from. Every language has its specific accent.
I especially like British English from the North. There is a BBC production of “North and South”, which is one of my favourite movies.
Well, part of my work for the past 30 years has been to research various dialects – both American and foreign – of course, for English speaking actors speaking with a foreign accent in some play or other. I find it fascinating!
What a gorgeous buck! I saw the video on Instagram. He does move slowly, but maybe he is just cautious.
When David Tennant was in the American version of Broadchurch, he used an American accent. It made me so uncomfortable! I don’t know why, as he was good. I think it was because I had never heard him do that accent before. I could only take about 20 minutes of it, then I turned it off!
Fortunately, I watched the British version. Question: why did we even need an American version?
Here I go with my personal peeve; anyone born north of the Mason-Dixon line trying to do a Southern accent! I was raised by a Texan and an Arkansan, friend to several other Southerners, and the phony accent grates on my nerves!
Lovely photos of the buck. We live on a street that is their access from the hills to a water supply. We get to see a dozen or more a day, if we watch at the right times. Even the babies are sometimes with them, and we have a couple pairs of twins. Luckily, most folks around here are careful of them and there are few casualties.
Well, anyone who knows their stuff – and I’m one of them – knows there are hundreds of Southern regional dialects. And actors who are coached by someone who is qualified will be taught that specific regional dialect. But I know what you mean, many people think there is just one general sounding Southern accent and we know that’s not true!
I was born in Northeast Louisiana, a bit north of Monroe, where my maternal aunt lived. I was on an airplane once and heard vacationers speaking. I knew immediately that they were from that area and not somewhere else in the South.
I’m sure. We know our native sounds!
The buck is magnificent, and I hope he lives out his natural life in the way nature intended.
My Cornish friends tell me I have the perfect California accent. Huh? Californians have an accent? It’s so funny to me to realize that from their perspective, I have a California accent, not a Chinese one, which I don’t, BTW. Born and raised Californian. It’s all relative!
You most likely don’t have a California accent, Wendy! When I lived there, I sounded an awful lot like everyone else and I’m from the Midwest!
Once again Claudia you have shared very interesting information. It’s amazing what a trained ear can hear! You started me on the Louise Penney books that I fell in love with so I too can’t wait to read her new one. Thanks for all you share 😊
You are very welcome, Janet!
Love your buck in the brush. Our deer, I’ve been told, are very light weight compared with other parts of the country and tend to live only about 3 years. I would like to think that’s not true. Perhaps it’s thanks to mountain lions (no thanks).
Interesting you mention the nasality being focused upon when speaking with a different accent. Some of my French family complain about this when Americans speak French — it sounds too nasal to them. Then there’s Peter Sellers’ funny English-French accent, which really sounds nasally to me.
I, too, can’t help myself criticizing the heck out of performances sometimes. Lucky, Don and you have someone who completely comprehends the behavior.
Thank you for this post and more. Enjoyable comments, too.
As with most of these situations, those who are natives are sensitive to others speaking their language and pick up on variations in the sounds. No matter how well I spoke French when I was there, everyone knew I wasn’t a native.
Thanks, Marth!
Happens to me, too, no matter how hard I try. One word of French from me and the response is always English!!
We think we’re pulling it off, but not quite, right?
Oh, Claudia – terrific post. And part of your topic today is sort of a pet hobby of mine – detecting which actors in something are Americans doing a British accent or vice versa. You’re an expert – who do YOU think is good? I think I often know that someone is doing an accent, but I have been TOTALLY stumped by others on quite a few occasions. I didn’t know Kate Winslet was British when I first saw “Titanic” – I thought she was very good. And I never dreamed Dominic West or Juliette Stevenson were British, after seeing “Mona Lisa Smile.” Both of them, IMHO, were spot-on “Americans.” Gary Oldham in “JFK” too – decades ago. Overall I tend to think the Brits are better at doing us than vice versa, but I haven’t got anything solid to base it on. In my case, more of them have fooled me into believing they were American than the other way around. I do understand what you’re talking about – I think the Brits who aren’t terribly good at “American” do sound more flat & nasal than they really should. I also think the Aussies are quite good at sounding American – what’s your view on that? Very interesting subject to me. I love it when you blog about your work. Wish you’d do it more often. There are so few people in the world who’re experts at it like you are. You were smart to put up your Christmas lights now – this gray dullness is really numbing. Those sparkling colors are going to brighten things more than you know! Great move. Peace. 🎄
#Resist
#ProtectMueller
I think Gary Oldman is the best. Most everyone else has a “tell” or two. Some word or inflection that, no matter how well they do otherwise, tips me off. Even the actors you mentioned. Aussies might be a bit more attuned as their particular sounds are closer to ours – flatter vowels. etc. But don’t hold me to that. I don’t count Aussies who’ve lived in America for a long time or who had one American parent, a la Mel Gibson. Even the young man that I’m coaching in Anastasia, who has lived in the US for several years, can sound totally American, but then I’ll catch him on something and he’ll have reverted back to his Australian sounds.
I’m going to disagree with you, however, I think Americans do British a bit better than the Brits do American. It’s easier to find the melody, round the vowels, crisp up the consonants. We ‘get’ that sound. We ‘get’ the melody. And most of us who started acting young did lots of shows with British dialects; Noel Coward, Oscar Wilde, Alan Ayckbourn, etc. – I’ve been doing them since I was 12. Whereas, I think the British actors have less exposure to American plays – they do them, for sure – but not as routinely as we do their plays because they have a long tradition of great British playwrights. Part of our tendency to know how to do a British accent is due to a history of American theater looking up to British theater. That’s changing, but there’s a long, long history of Americans having to learn Brit accents at a young age in order to be cast. And of American theaters doing British plays.
So you think Americans are better at British accents? VERY interesting. Well you certainly know what you’re talking about. Now I’m going to listen even more critically. It still blows me away though, when I find out weeks or months later that some actor I thought was American was really British. As I said, I never had an inkling with those 2 in “Mona Lisa Smile.” Totally stunned to learn they were Limey. But then we also have John Lithgow whose Winston Churchill was spot-on, in this amateur’s opinion at least. So I guess one never knows. 😀
xo
I watch a lot of British mysteries and dramas. When they do American accents, I always think they are mocking us. Like the line, “Americans, they were late to the first war and late to this one.” in a drama about WWII. Love it!!
I don’t think they are, but I think they tend to go for a more extreme sound than they need to.
I thought that was the best work Hugh Grant ever did!
I agree. I thought he was just wonderful!
Claudia, this question has alittle to do with today’s post but I hope you are up for a short discussion.
Recently saw a review of “To Kill A Mockingbird” , the play, on broadway.
I think it was on CBS saturday or sunday morning. Love the book, Love the movie…..can I ask your opinion on the play?
(if I had the time and money, I may see it but not rushing out to get a seat)
thanks for your reply, if you so choose to reply.
I have no idea whether the play is good or bad. I like Jeff Daniels. I like Aaron Sorkin. And a friend of mine is in it. But as a devotee of the book and the brilliantly done movie of the book, I don’t want to see a stage version. Never have. I have these characters firmly in my head and I don’t want them messed with. I saw a clip of Jeff Daniels as Atticus Finch, and, though I love him, his ‘southern’ dialect had the same falling inflections that his Michigan-born dialect has. Ummm…no.
But that’s my personal opinion rather that a review having seen it.
I walk by the theater all the time as it’s right next to the Broadhurst where Anastasia is playing. Still not going!
He looks like a big one…my son saw our deer in the yard again when he took the garbage up the driveway this past weekend…I get so excited when I see them!
We see deer all the time, but mostly does and young deer. Seeing a buck this close is rare!
I love the Brit accent but I’ve often noticed (especially in BBC dramas I see on Masterpiece) that when they go “American” it just is off a bit. It’s interesting to hear a really good analysis of that by someone who actually has studied and understands the nuances of speech. Thanks for this — nicely illuminating and I’m going to be listening for that!
Gray and gloomy here, too. Michigan seems to be doing that pretty consistently since we returned from England and I suppose it fits my “back in the USA mood” these days! Lights sound like a fine idea!
Same here! It’s gray and gloomy here today – again. I’m so over it!
That buck is beautiful. What a gift to see him out your window! We used to see deer regularly here the first few years we lived here. That was because we had woods behind our house and an empty field on the north side of our house. Now there are houses in those once-empty spaces and we don’t see deer anymore. We have the State Park right by our house, so hopefully the deer went to live there. But, of course, the State Park allows deer hunting certain times of the year, so….I know. Grrr.
The gray and gloom photo of your house is actually beautiful. Though I know what you mean – it’s the same weather here. Just dark and gloomy most of the time, now through March. Except we have about a foot of snow on the ground right now, too. Can’t believe technically it’s still fall.
Meryl Streep…my favorite actress!
It is beautiful, I know. It’s just that I know this will be here for more than a few months!
Streep is the best!
So interesting to see your professional take on British actors/American accents. An accent that’s off sticks right out. Lately John and I have noticed more and more male actors sounding like exaggerated versions of Paul Giamatti in his Downton Abbey portrayal of Harold Levinson, and have come to the conclusion they all have the same vocal coach. And to jump forward in time to today’s post, I too like the Amazon pause function showing the actors.
That vocal coach needs to be replaced!
But your lawn is so greeeen … says the gal in California :)