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When you watch film clips from the 50's and 60's, Americans spoke with a disctinct style and accent. Walter Cronkite, Cary Grant, and Jackie Kennedy spoke this way. Actually, this style of speech probably goes further back than the 50's. Where does this accent come from and why don't we hear it anymore today?
All three had distinctively different accents, the Walter Cronkite version you can still hear in most network news casts that preferred mid-western gravitas, you can still hear the Boston accent of Kennedy. Cary Grant was English and his "American" accent was artificial.
There was a time in films and radio when (after the Silent Movie) when it was expected that diction and American English was spoken correctly and information was as accurate as humanely possible. Now very few know the difference. Tour is pronounced as tore (I tore your shirt) and the Craftsman Bungalow house is mis-identified nine out of ten times. I lay this entirely at the feet of cable, cheap publishers and web for not editing, not knowing a subject well, or even caring. It is not about accurate information, or good grammar, it is all about profit.
Thus when you read a well written novel such as Walter Scott's first novel that was printed in 1823, or literary prose by William Buckley, Jr., it is a cause to celebrate. Language has not died yet; hopefully it will not.
Pronouncing "Los Angeles"
There was once heated debate over how to pronounce “Los Angeles.” Although the name is now commonly pronounced “Loss An-je-les,” its original Spanish pronunciation is “Loce Ahng-hail-ais.” Non-Spanish speaking Angelenos seemed to prefer the harder-sounding anglicized version. During the 1920s and 1930s, the Los Angeles Times vigorously defended the Spanish pronunciation and printed directly below its editorial page masthead, “LOS ANGELES (Loce Ahng hail ais).” When the U.S. Geographic Board recognized the anglicized version in 1934, the Times was outraged, declaring that the pronunciation made the city “sound like some brand of fruit preserve.” The newspaper further suggested that Easterners plotted to deprive the West Coast of its softer-sounding Spanish names, proposing that California would next have to tolerate such place names as "Sandy Ego," "San Joce," and "San Jokkin." In all fairness, however, the Times did not express the same distain for the prevalent pronunciation of San Pedro as “San Pee-dro” rather than the Spanish “San Pey-dro.”
Angeleno socialites fine each other a dolla',
For saying "La Jolla",
But they reward each other with a Picasso or Goya,
For saying "La Hoya",
Pronouncing "Los Angeles"
There was once heated debate over how to pronounce “Los Angeles.” Although the name is now commonly pronounced “Loss An-je-les,” its original Spanish pronunciation is “Loce Ahng-hail-ais.” Non-Spanish speaking Angelenos seemed to prefer the harder-sounding anglicized version. During the 1920s and 1930s, the Los Angeles Times vigorously defended the Spanish pronunciation and printed directly below its editorial page masthead, “LOS ANGELES (Loce Ahng hail ais).” When the U.S. Geographic Board recognized the anglicized version in 1934, the Times was outraged, declaring that the pronunciation made the city “sound like some brand of fruit preserve.” The newspaper further suggested that Easterners plotted to deprive the West Coast of its softer-sounding Spanish names, proposing that California would next have to tolerate such place names as "Sandy Ego," "San Joce," and "San Jokkin." In all fairness, however, the Times did not express the same distain for the prevalent pronunciation of San Pedro as “San Pee-dro” rather than the Spanish “San Pey-dro.”
Angeleno socialites fine each other a dolla',
For saying "La Jolla",
But they reward each other with a Picasso or Goya,
For saying "La Hoya",
- Ogden Nash
It's interesting that other areas within LA have retained their Spanish pronunciations even if they were largely not hispanic. I remember a trip for a picnic my mom told me about, they and the relatives for the midwest took off for the same place. The name involved the spanish pronunciation of the English 'y'. They had the food. My grandmother and family arrived, then left when they didn't show. Apparently they couldn't find it. They did find some place called ho-e-ne-me but that didn't sound right. Of course grandma and familiy were probably waiting for them there.
Now ofcourse, you'd just call. Most who grew up in LA in the 50's and before could use the Spanish pronunciations even if they didn't.
My favorite is the tar pits. The La Brea Tar Pits translates to the the tar tar pits. This is common though the offical name is the La Brea pits.
In terms of the way that the '60's counter culture talked, a lot of the language that supposedly was used, actually only turned up on episodes of The Monkees, The Mod Squad or The Partridge Family. No one went around saying anything was "groovy" or "solid" or "outtasight." Sometimes those words would show up in song titles, but seldom in real conversations. The words that were really used were actually a relative handful.
All things good were covered by "cool" or "far out." If it was especially good, it might have been "a gas."
All things bad were covered by "bummer."
"man" was the all purpose form of address or third person reference, covering both sexes, it also functioned as a sentencing staring interjection, as in "Man, I don't know what's coming down with that stuff, man." Or as I recall a friend of mine back then named Louie, who upon being told by someone that he didn't know who Burt Lancaster was, replied "Man, he was the Birdman, man." With the definite article placed in front of it "The Man" was the collective identity of all authority figures, from government, military or law enforcement offcials, down through the fascist usher who made you return to your real seats at the ballpark.
Marijuana was weed, getting high was getting "wasted", money was "bread", getting caught meant you were "busted." Your father was your "old man" but your "old lady" was your girlfriend. Wherever you were sleeping that night, that was where you were "crashing."
There were some others, but the above represents all that you would really need to fit in back then.
Last edited by Grandstander; 04-10-2012 at 06:24 PM..
In terms of the way that the '60's counter culture talked, a lot of the language that supposedly was used, actually only turned up on episodes of The Monkees, The Mod Squad or The Partridge Family. No one went around saying anything was "groovy" or "solid" or "outtasight." Sometimes those words would show up in song titles, but seldom in real conversations. The words that were really used were actually a relative handful.
All things good were covered by "cool" or "far out." If it was especially good, it might have been "a gas."
All things bad were covered by "bummer."
"man" was the all purpose form of address or third person reference, covering both sexes, it also functioned as a sentencing staring interjection, as in "Man, I don't know what's coming down with that stuff, man." Or as I recall a friend of mine back then named Louie, who upon being told by someone that he didn't know who Burt Lancaster was, replied "Man, he was the Birdman, man." With the definite article placed in front of it "The Man" was the collective identity of all authority figures, from government, military or law enforcement offcials, down through the fascist usher who made you return to your real seats at the ballpark.
Marijuana was weed, getting high was getting "wasted", money was "bread", getting caught meant you were "busted." Your father was your "old man" but your "old lady" was your girlfriend. Wherever you were sleeping that night, that was where you were "crashing."
There were some others, but the above represents all that you would really need to fit in back then.
In my young jr high life we used groovy all the time. Cool and far out started later. Somewhere in there things were 'boss' too. Heck, I was an origional 'valley girl' since we pretty much lived at the Topanga Plaza, I believe the first enclosed mall at least on the west coast, and it became the favorite place to spend in the summer since we didn't have AC at home.
One thing Ive noticed, in American films that portray inner city blacks, I know that in real life, I would understand very little of what they say, but in the movies, I understand them perfectly, because they are actually speaking acting-school English with an ebonic accent.
The British don't do that. If a Brit film protrays someone speaking problematically non-standard English, they retain the pure form in the audio track, and subtitle it. The movie "Rat Catcher" took place in the slums of Glasgow, every one spoke English, but the entire film was subtitled, because even the Brits wouldn't have understood any of it. Everything has to be dumbed down for the Americans.
It brings to mind the classic scene in "Airplane" where Beaver's mom volunteers: "I speak Jive".
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grandstander
Authentic Southern accents are often delightful. Kentucky born Harry Dean Stanton, and Arkansas born Billy Bob Thornton, probably both owe their careers to having the type of low key Southern accent which makes them come across as instantly sincere and likable. It means that you can lie with your audience finding you charming.
A bit like Billy lying about having sexual relations, or W going on about nookulear weapons, lol.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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s-8
I think the accent used by some of the actors and actresses in the old Hollywood movies is easily confused with an upper-crust British accent, but is closer to this:
I can tell the differences between this and a real English accent. The 'o' vowel, for instance, tends to be opener, and rhoticism is often heard in this accent.
Katharine Hepburn was a good example of the upper crust New England accent. In interviews she actually seemed like a really cool person, in contrast to her stiff characters.
Still, since the earliest days of Hollywood, the American accent we know today was alive and well...check out portrays of farmers, as well as the 'all-American actors' like Jimmy Stewart. There was of course the New York accent heard in a lot of the old comedy and gangster films and by Bugs Bunny. The Looney Tunes are actually a good place to hear some of the stereotypical accents from the 1940s and 1950s.
I notice even in the 60-80s people spoke different. Less of a 'Val' intonation (up down, pitch/tone changes) than today.
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s-8
