# What Type of English Accent is Considered to be High Class and Cultured?



## DemonDragonJ (Aug 16, 2021)

England is a relatively small nation, in terms of geographic size, but is has a great variety of regional accents, and, although I am not intimately familiar with all of them, I do know that some English citizens place great importance on those accents, to the point that some people can determine a person’s social status by their accent. Whether or not that is fair, some accents are considered to be cultured and refined, whereas other are seen as crude and unsophisticated.

Therefore, I am wondering what type of English accent is considered to be high class and elegant, in the rare chance that I ever need to use an English accent. I am not entirely certain of when such a situation may ever arise, but it would be very good to be able to sound high class and well-educated.

For any users here who either are English or are well-versed in English culture, what type of English accent is considered to be high class, cultured, and sophisticated?

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Big Bob (Aug 16, 2021)

Definitely a mancunian accent.


100% high class.

Reactions: Funny 3


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## Karma (Aug 16, 2021)

There is none in america. The accent mostly associated with someone of high class died off in the early 1900s.

The closest thing to it today is a southern accent, but thats usually the one associated with dumb ppl lol

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Island (Aug 16, 2021)

Is this for your Netflix show?

Reactions: Funny 11


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## Big Bob (Aug 16, 2021)

Serious answer would probably be conservative or contemporary RP.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 1


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## DemonDragonJ (Aug 16, 2021)

What type of accents did Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee have? They always sounded remarkably cultured and elegant, no matter what role they played.



Island said:


> Is this for your Netflix show?



No, it is simply for my own curiosity and edification.


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## Island (Aug 16, 2021)

DemonDragonJ said:


> No, it is simply for my own curiosity and edification.





DemonDragonJ said:


> the crew is planning to film me at a medieval renaissance fair on Sunday, September 12

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 9


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## DemonDragonJ (Aug 16, 2021)

Island said:


>



That is a coincidence, as I actually have been meaning to ask this question for some time, well before the crew revealed their intention to film me at the renaissance fair.


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## Big Bob (Aug 16, 2021)

DemonDragonJ said:


> What type of accents did Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee have? They always sounded remarkably cultured and elegant, no matter what role they played.


They both spoke in RP.

Reactions: Useful 1


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## DemonDragonJ (Aug 16, 2021)

Big Bob said:


> They both spoke in RP.



In that case, it seems that that may be the type of accent that I am seeking.


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## Big Bob (Aug 16, 2021)

DemonDragonJ said:


> In that case, it seems that that may be the type of accent that I am seeking.


Good luck in learning it and for whatever use you have for it.


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## Karma (Aug 16, 2021)

Cant for DDJ to flex his english accent on LotS


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## Smoke (Aug 16, 2021)

The transatlantic accent is what you're looking for. You've all heard it before. It's what was used in old ass movies and tv shows.



> The Mid-Atlantic accent, or Transatlantic accent, is an accent of English, fashionably used by the early 20th-century American upper class and entertainment industry, which blended together features regarded as the most prestigious from both American and British English



Sadly, it was never a real accent. It was a made-for-the-screen accent.

Reactions: Informative 2


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## Swarmy (Aug 17, 2021)




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## Yami Munesanzun (Aug 17, 2021)

Cockney.

Prove me wrong.

Reactions: Funny 1 | Optimistic 1


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## ЯƎWO⅃ᖷ (Aug 17, 2021)

RP- received pronunciation or as I like to call it "The Queen's english"

if you ever try this, please post a vocaroo in this thread for us to rate

Reactions: Friendly 1


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## Gin (Aug 17, 2021)

americans are incapable of emulating good english accents, even if they're professional actors, so probably not worth the attempt

but the 'nice' accents are typically from the southeast of england, and most well-known english actresses have them or pretend they have them, eg. elizabeth hurley, keira knightley, emma watson

i can't think of an ideal male example off the top of my head because there's a lot more class variation in accents for famous british men, but definitely not michael caine

Reactions: Useful 1


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## Kitsune (Aug 17, 2021)

Gin said:


> i can't think of an ideal male example off the top of my head


Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch have classy English accents.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Aduro (Aug 17, 2021)

Big Bob said:


> Definitely a mancunian accent.
> 
> 
> 100% high class.


Nah, its gotta be scouse. Chicks dig the sounds of a Goose getting fed thorugh a woodchipper.

But seriously, the standard stuffy British accent (the one you usually hear on BBC news) is called Received Pronunciation.
Its the result of having certain mannerisms buggered into upper class children in private schools like Eton and Harrow. Eton teaches very specific codes of grammar and enunciation that have helped its pupils look down on everyone with a different dialect as scum for the last 500 years.


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## Lee-Sensei (Aug 17, 2021)

William F. Buckley IMO.


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## UtahCrip (Aug 17, 2021)

english accents one of them accents that cant be gangsta. a english guy trying to run up on me with the tool saying "what's good, mate" dont strike no fear.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## DemonDragonJ (Aug 17, 2021)

UtahCrip said:


> english accents one of them accents that cant be gangsta. a english guy trying to run up on me with the tool saying "what's good, mate" dont strike no fear.



Have you ever heard Christopher Lee or Tony Jay's voices? They absoluely could be intimidating and terrifying without needing to be overly aggressive.


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## UtahCrip (Aug 17, 2021)

DemonDragonJ said:


> Have you ever heard Christopher Lee or Tony Jay's voices? They absoluely could be intimidating and terrifying without needing to be overly aggressive.


if they got british accents then ima go with no.


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## reiatsuflow (Aug 17, 2021)

The real question is try to find a cultured american accent.


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## 海外ニキ (Aug 18, 2021)

Yami Munesanzun said:


> Cockney.
> 
> Prove me wrong.




Why stop there? Just go full _A Clockwork Orange_ on us, my dude.


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## Nep Nep (Aug 18, 2021)

For the love of god don't fake an accent.

Don't be this guy.


Stop it. Have some dignity.


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## Yami Munesanzun (Aug 18, 2021)

Gawr Gura said:


> Why stop there? Just go full _A Clockwork Orange_ on us, my dude.


Hahn?


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## DemonDragonJ (Aug 18, 2021)

UtahCrip said:


> if they got british accents then ima go with no.



Obviously, you have never heard their voices, if you are saying that.



Nep Nep said:


> For the love of god don't fake an accent.
> 
> Don't be this guy.
> 
> ...



What if I audition for a play, and am cast to play a British character? If British people can have convincing American accents, there is no reason that an American person cannot have a convincing British accent.



reiatsuflow said:


> The real question is try to find a cultured american accent.



Vincent Price was American, and he had an amazing suave and smooth voice, so, if I could imitate his voice, I would definitely do so, but his voice is very difficult to imitate, at least for me.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Cardboard Tube Knight (Aug 18, 2021)

This is kind of against the grain, but Irish accents. That's what my Siri has. 

Welsh accents are nice when I can understand them, also Wales is the part of the UK where all the girl with the big booties are. 

If DDJ writes a Netflix show it'll probably get picked up.


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## Yamato (Aug 18, 2021)

Only you would ask this


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## Yamato (Aug 18, 2021)

David Attenborough’s accent and voice is nice

Reactions: Like 1


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## Jim (Aug 19, 2021)

Accents are hard to talk about alone and generally come hand in hand with dialects. I don't know them all and there's more than you're most likely aware of. Accents and dialects tend to be named after the group that's stereotypically associated with it, whether the group originated it or not.

US based accents that come to mind are African American English and Appalachian English.

Now having an unpopular dialect doesn't mean one is inferior to another. For example, African American English has a habitual case which the other accents lack.

In African American English, these two sentences have different meanings

"He is in the kitchen" vs
"He be in the kitchen"

When trying to imitate someone's manner of speaking, such differences are usually unknown.

Reactions: Funny 1 | Useful 1


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## Kobe (Aug 19, 2021)

Pick one from here. All equally marvellous.


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## ЯƎWO⅃ᖷ (Aug 21, 2021)

you sure you don't want this english accent ddj?


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## Xel (Aug 21, 2021)

Not a native speaker and I can never even remember which accent is which

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Delta Shell (Aug 21, 2021)

Brummy

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Schneider (Aug 26, 2021)

Delta Shell said:


> Brummy


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