Now I know Daphne was English, but at times, it seemed like her accent might have had some Irish mixed in it. Does anyone know what I'm talking about, or is my hearing a little off?

Daphne was from Manchester, so I assume that was the accent Jane Leeves was shooting for.

Daphne was from Manchester, so I assume that was the accent Jane Leeves was shooting for.
Her English accent wasn't real then? So is Jane from Ireland?

Her English accent wasn't real then? So is Jane from Ireland?

No, Jane is English (born in Ilford Essex and brought up in East Grinstead in Sussex according to the IMDB) but she speeks in a different English accent for Daphne, which does sound a bit Irish at times.

Her English accent wasn't real then? So is Jane from Ireland?

no she's from england, but when she played daphne she put on a mancunian accent. i.e its what people who come from manchester in the north west of england sound like. here in the uk, people have a variety of regional accents such as scouse in liverpool, cockney in east and south london, brummie in birmingham- though not birmingham alabama, USA that is. and the US has its own regional accents i'm sure, such in mid-west, wisconsin, texas in the south, the bronx NY accent to name as well too :)

no she's from england, but when she played daphne she put on a mancunian accent. i.e its what people who come from manchester in the north west of england sound like. here in the uk, people have a variety of regional accents such as scouse in liverpool, cockney in east and south london, brummie in birmingham- though not birmingham alabama, USA that is. and the US has its own regional accents i'm sure, such in mid-west, wisconsin, texas in the south, the bronx NY accent to name as well too :)

I'm glad someone from across the pond joined us for this discussion.

Yes, the US has many regional accents, and a lot of times accents vary from state to state.

I'm glad someone from across the pond joined us for this discussion.

Yes, the US has many regional accents, and a lot of times accents vary from state to state.

:thanks: TJL

Thanks a lot, both of you guys. I'm glad to hear Daphne's accent did have a little kind of Irish in it. I thought maybe I was hearing things at first. Glad to know I'm not whacked.

BTW, I LOVE Daphne. Actually, this is one of the few shows where I love every single person in the main cast.

Thanks a lot, both of you guys. I'm glad to hear Daphne's accent did have a little kind of Irish in it. I thought maybe I was hearing things at first. Glad to know I'm not whacked.

BTW, I LOVE Daphne. Actually, this is one of the few shows where I love every single person in the main cast.

my pleasure buffyboy :)

Yes, I'm from Manchester and most the girls around here talk like that!

Yes, I'm from Manchester and most the girls around here talk like that!
I know the Manchester accent well (I have friends from there). To me, it's nothing like an Irish accent.


btw - I'm Canadian, but my background is English, Irish, Scottish, French and German.

I'm Irish and never got a hint of an Irish accent in Daphne's accent. John Mahony was from Manchester which may have helped her, although I guess she was probably proficient at major English accents, being a top-notch actress.

I'm Irish and never got a hint of an Irish accent in Daphne's accent. John Mahony was from Manchester which may have helped her, although I guess she was probably proficient at major English accents, being a top-notch actress.

I agree, I didn't catch an Irish lilt in her accent and thought she did a fairly decent job on the Manchester accent (my old boss was from Manchester but tried to put on more of the upperclass "royal" accent which she didn't pull off well) :lol:

It was funny when I was in a pipeband in my teens. I was raised by a Scottish (Gaelic) grandmother and everytime we'd hit the pub after a practice or parade, I'd usually end up back with my Scottish accent just listening to them all yap while loaded. :lol:

I love Daphne's accent too. But I had a question for any SOers from the UK? Or any English speaking SO language expert. I had been wondering when early Americans, say in the 16 and 1700s began to lose a 'British' accent, then I listened to a guy on a radio talk show who was asked this same question and his answer was, they never lost the 'British' accent because they actually never had it. He said that the English spoken, say in George Washington's day was closer to the accent we use today in America than any 'British' accent. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear the whole interview. I got something about the region, or port where many English people sailed to America from was the regional English accent closest to the American accent (admittedly we have many variations even here). I had a theory, but I don't know if it's correct. On the Britcom Are you Being Served? there are some later episodes from a country area, and the people for one thing strongly vocalize the letter 'R' which is characteristic of most of American English (except for like New York City and Boston area). We (I) tend to think of a British accent as a London accent.

I'd be interested in hearing any insights about my question. Thanks for clarifying Daphne's accent. I thought it was a cockney accent. I didn't know about the Manchester accent at all. She kind of sounds like the Gibb brothers, or vice versa, come to think of it.

He said that the English spoken, say in George Washington's day was closer to the accent we use today in America than any 'British' accent. I got something about the region, or port where many English people sailed to America from was the regional English accent closest to the American accent

I really don't know how someone can claim any knowledge of an accent in the mid-18th century. It sounds like someone just trying to sell a book. I guess the main ports used to sail to America were Plymouth and Southampton. I have never heard any British accent which sounds like any American accent although there are so many from both countries that 2 regions, 1 from each country, may sound similar.

I really don't know how someone can claim any knowledge of an accent in the mid-18th century. It sounds like someone just trying to sell a book. I guess the main ports used to sail to America were Plymouth and Southampton. I have never heard any British accent which sounds like any American accent although there are so many from both countries that 2 regions, 1 from each country, may sound similar.

Actually it's not just someone trying to sell a book. Linguistics experts study languages, accents and dialects from all over, and going back for centuries. They can piece them together as well by the written word. It's not that hard.
And yes, it was a different "American English" spoken back during the time of Washington. As you say Yooch, I can't say we hear anyone speaking now with the same accent or language they did then. Any guy comes out nowadays with a thee, or thou he's gonna get a wedgie!! ;)

Good question really - I wonder when the language at least started to fade over in North America cuz Canada used it to a large degree as well, although we have a huge Irish and Scottish influence to ours still on the east coast (that's where you'll still hear "aboot").