Ask Hugh Laurie (“House”) about that. He’s in a new sitcom, “Avenue Five” on Netflix, where he switches effortlessly between English and American accents.
It’s harder in general if you start a new language as an adult. It’s harder specifically for some individuals than for others. I had a cousin from Cuba who, in his fifties, bemoaned having never achieved his goal of losing his accent. And he claimed that he couldn’t understand people from Puerto Rico, whether they spoke English, Spanish, or a combination of both. I have a friend from London (Cockney district) who traveled to the north of England, and said he needed a translator.
The ability to learn additional human languages so well that we can use them without noticeable accent is something most of us lose around puberty. It’s one of 2 such global changes, the other occurring around menopause / andropause and affecting the ability to recall facts.
kaffekup over 4 years ago
Ask Hugh Laurie (“House”) about that. He’s in a new sitcom, “Avenue Five” on Netflix, where he switches effortlessly between English and American accents.
J Short over 4 years ago
Yah!
bigal666 over 4 years ago
He has lost a lot of it. When they filmed Conan the Barbarian his accent was so thick they had to dub his lines.
scottartist creator over 4 years ago
It’s harder in general if you start a new language as an adult. It’s harder specifically for some individuals than for others. I had a cousin from Cuba who, in his fifties, bemoaned having never achieved his goal of losing his accent. And he claimed that he couldn’t understand people from Puerto Rico, whether they spoke English, Spanish, or a combination of both. I have a friend from London (Cockney district) who traveled to the north of England, and said he needed a translator.
Ellis97 over 4 years ago
Some accents just won’t leave.
TexTech over 4 years ago
Kissinger has been here sixty years plus and still has more of an accent than Arnold does today.
RabbitHole over 4 years ago
That was written back in 2003 and its now been 47 years and he still hasn’t lost his accent Huey.
pshea over 4 years ago
He’ll be back!
Màiri over 4 years ago
The ability to learn additional human languages so well that we can use them without noticeable accent is something most of us lose around puberty. It’s one of 2 such global changes, the other occurring around menopause / andropause and affecting the ability to recall facts.