Helen is the only character without a funny accent..

[Meade]

I dont know why people think Helen has an accent. To me she sounds
very neutral. But the other characters really do. I'm not sure,
but Lowell sounds like hes drunk, and Faye sounds British to me.
And Antonio has a funny one too. Also, is Steven Weber from
New York City? Because he sounds like he has a slight New York accent
and so does that guy who plays Joe.


Oh, well i guess its not important, its just interesting because
Helen is basically accent-free.

[spunkygirl]

Actually Helen has a southern accent, Helen grew up in Texas, so she had an accent and Casey didn't though The accent sounds more southern-ish than anything else

[Meade]

Casey did have an accent- it just wasn't Southern. Everyone has an accent. I guess Helen didnt have much of one to me because I'm from the South myself. But I did notice that each character had an accent- not just Helen.
I would say Helen was more neutral than the others.

[barwars]

Helen does have an accent -- the worst part of her character.

[Meade]

What do you mean the "worst part of her character"?

What about Brian and Joes God awful New York accents? Or Antonio's
repulsive I-talian accent?

I think Helen sounds just fine.

[barwars]

Antonio's accent was meant for comic effect.... works very well.

New York accents are 100 times more tolerable than Southern accents.
I simply hate southern accents.

[Meade]

Originally Posted by barwars

Antonio's accent was meant for comic effect.... works very well.

New York accents are 100 times more tolerable than Southern accents.
I simply hate southern accents.

There are many variations of Southern accents- and they are much
more pleasing to the ear than New York. Are you from New York by
any chance?

I'm from Virginia and I have a Southern accent. I suppose you wouldnt
like mine then. Sorry, but the New York accent sounds like jack hammers
on my ears.

[barwars]

Originally Posted by Meade

There are many variations of Southern accents- and they are much
more pleasing to the ear than New York. Are you from New York by
any chance?

I'm from Virginia and I have a Southern accent. I suppose you wouldnt
like mine then. Sorry, but the New York accent sounds like jack hammers
on my ears.

I actually am from NY. I think it's more Texas accents than Southern accents that annoy me. There is a slight difference between the two.

And the word "ya'll".... should never be uttered.

[Meade]

Originally Posted by barwars

I actually am from NY. I think it's more Texas accents than Southern accents that annoy me. There is a slight difference between the two.

And the word "ya'll".... should never be uttered.

Y'all is the proper way to address 2 or more people. It strikes me
funny how yankees say "you guys" - even when its a group of women.
Thats really absurd. But I do agree, Texans have their own way of talking.

[kellynch]

I am from New York (born and raised) and do not have a "Noo Yawk" accent. Neither, by the way, do Tim Daly or Steven Weber. Not all of us sound like Ray Romano or Fran Fine, believe it or not.

And anyone who thinks Fay sounds British cannot possibly have ever heard a British accent. She's actually from New York. Her brother, the well-known pundit Ben Wattenberg, has a rather obvious New York accent, but Rebecca Schull does not speak the same way he does.

To return to a subject that has come up periodically, it is possible for siblings not to speak with the same accent. Henry Kissinger still sounds as if he arrived from Germany about 5 minutes ago. His brother, on the other hand, speaks English impeccably, without the same thick German accent.

[Meade]

Originally Posted by kellynch

I am from New York (born and raised) and do not have a "Noo Yawk" accent. Neither, by the way, do Tim Daly or Steven Weber. Not all of us sound like Ray Romano or Fran Fine, believe it or not.

And anyone who thinks Fay sounds British cannot possibly have ever heard a British accent. She's actually from New York. Her brother, the well-known pundit Ben Wattenberg, has a rather obvious New York accent, but Rebecca Schull does not speak the same way he does.

To return to a subject that has come up periodically, it is possible for siblings not to speak with the same accent. Henry Kissinger still sounds as if he arrived from Germany about 5 minutes ago. His brother, on the other hand, speaks English impeccably, without the same thick German accent.

I realize not all New Yorkers talk like that. But I looked up their bios- and I was right. Tim Daly and Steve Weber are both from the New York area- and they do have very New York accents- they aren't like Archie Bunkers. But they do have very strong northern accents. There are different variations
of the New York accent, just like there are the Southern accents. Anyways, they sound like Yankees. But I suppose that works better since the show takes place up Nawth.

[kellynch]

I know New York accents VERY well (having spent virtually my entire life here), and Tim and Steven have what may more accurately termed a "Northeastern" accent. As do I. Anyone who hears me speak knows I'm from someplace in the Northeast, yet they cannot identify which specific region I'm from. This happens quite often to me. New Yorkers don't realize I'm one of them, and I get asked routinely where I am from.

Dropping one's "Rs" is an extremely important part of speaking Noo Yawk and Lawn Guyland. I never drop my "Rs" -- and neither do Tim or Steven.

I've always found it odd, however, that, of the 2 Massachusetts-based sitcoms discussed here (Cheers and Wings), only one person (Cliff from Cheers) speaks with that distinct local accent.

[Meade]

Ok, but their accent sounds kind of harsh to my ears. Southerners drop the 'r' vowel too, but we lean towards an "aw" sound as opposed to the New Englanders who lean towards a flat "a".

Also, its not just the way you pronounce words, but the intonation too.
The inflection of which you speak.

As for people not liking Southern accents and thinking they sound stupid, thats kind of ignorant, because Southern accents are much closer to old English, or the way they used to speak in England during the 17th and 18th century. I studied language and i was suprised myself, when i learned this.

My own accent even-Virginia Tidewater, is closer to Elizabethan England. When my parents were visitng England, many of the English people commented and said they spoke a "remenant" English. This is becase the South had less immigration from Non-English speaking people- and the ones that did, assimilated more quickly into Southern culture, where there arent any ethnic neighborhoods like there are in the big cities of the northeast.

[AngeFaitore]

Thomas Haden Church seemed to go through a period of time during the beginning of the series where he had a light, breezy costal surfer accent.

[kellynch]

Originally Posted by Meade

Ok, but their accent sounds kind of harsh to my ears. Southerners drop the 'r' vowel too, but we lean towards an "aw" sound as opposed to the New Englanders who lean towards a flat "a".

Also, its not just the way you pronounce words, but the intonation too.
The inflection of which you speak.

When NYers drop their "Rs," I'm talking about when they say, for example, Noo Yawk (which is actually how it's pronounced by people who have the accent). The R is not dropped the same way it is down South. The old joke is that Bahstonians "pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd." Well, Noo Yawkehs would "pawk the caw." Big difference. But neither Tim nor Steven speaks that way.

Native New Yorkers, regardless of their accent, speak quickly, and perhaps that's something you notice when they speak. I don't notice it particularly because I speak quickly too. In fact, we here do pretty much everything quickly and have very little patience for dawdlers.