Can she pull the accent off?

Question

my friend and i are going to england(london) soon,

and we wanted to blend in because i heard that americans are looked low by some people and we didn't want to be ripped off when we go to places

anyway so my friend has a better english accent than i do, mine actually sounds reallyy fake but we put a sound clip of her reading in an "english accent" and posted it up on yahoo answers on the london section and everybody thought that she was from southern england or whatever

but i happen to know that some people who answer the UK questions are americans,

soooo

do you think she'll be able to blend in?

haha i'm not planning to talk. at all. hahahaha

Answer 1

Three things:

1) No matter how good you think you are at imitating the accent, any native speaker will instantly tell that it's a fake. That would be embarrassing don't you think?

2) If you are concerned about the anti-American feeling over here then why don't you just pretend to be Canadian?

3) People in southern England, and particularly London, sound stupid. Do you really want to speak in an accent that makes you sound like a gerbil?

Answer 2

I am English and as far as i am aware we dont look down on Americans and neither do we rip people off cos they dont have English accents.Nothing sounds worse than a fake accent so why not just be yourself and you may well be surprised by how us English will take to you .l

Answer 3

Haha, that sounds like a good laugh! You should join your friend though. You could do a foreign accent, maybe. An easy one like Itaaalian, hehe. I do foreign accents sometimes for amusement purposes. =)

Answer 4

Ok, Im from Essex, just Outside London, but regularly visit london mind you, and I can tell you now that most people would be able to tell a dodgey accent a mile off, you and your friend should really just use your natural accents. Cause if you put on an accent as others have said its interpreted as making fun of our accent.

And with regard to people taking a dim view of americans, some but not all, disagree with americanisation, but generally hold no personal grudges against american individuals.

Hope this helps :)

Answer 5

This is really pretty silly!

First, I would say the vast majority of Brits don't have a problem with Americans.

Second, Why go somewhere if you have to spend the whole time pretending to be someone else?

Third, How stupid will she feel when people ask her why she's using a fake accent?!?  

Answer 6

It's a bit pointless asking for an opinion on your friend's attempt at an English accent if you don't post a link so we can hear it

Putting on an accent to blend in will make both you & your friend stick out a mile and people will assume you're taking p*ss

Edit: we got the bit about your friend making a recording & posting it somewhere on Yahoo but we can't give an opinion on her accent if we can't hear it, COULD YOU POST THE LINK PLEASE?

Answer 7

Londoners can tell what part of London you are from by your accent, not just what part of England.  They will not be fooled or amused by your fake accent.  Drop it and be yourselves.  Just try to not be too American, which means, lower you voices, act like you have some sense and be polite.    

Answer 8

right

im english from london but thats just sad

just be yourself and if any english muppet looks down on you just tell them 2 f**k off!!