Why is Rory McIlroy putting on a fake American accent?

Jimmy Garlic

Heard him on the radio today putting on a really cringeworthy American accent that he seems to have developed overnight. Why does he feel the need to do that? At least Bono only hams up his fake American accent when he is talking to American audiences.

Nodin

Jimmy Garlic wrote: »

Heard him on the radio today putting on a really cringeworthy American accent that he seems to have developed overnight. Why does he feel the need to do that? At least Bono only hams up his fake American accent when he is talking to American audiences.

Why is Rory McIlroy putting on a fake tan?

Lights On

I've noticed that most Irish golfers do this. Must be something in the water.

The Backwards Man

Us nordies have to adapt to our surroundings

When I'm in the States I can't say 'I'm away out here to smoke a fag hai'.

Nichard Dixon

Probably because he is tired of his accent being described as "cute" by Americans.

Grid.

Has to keep up with McDowell:rolleyes:

Cee-Jay-Cee

Yer wan from Gurls Allowed was on Some morning show last week ( looking like an oompaloompa) and she has the worst god awful American twang on certain words. Her Derry accent was woeful as it was but it is dire now, how anyone could listen to her for more than 5 seconds is beyond me. I'd just want to slap her as soon as she opens her mouth and tell her to quit putting on a stupid accent!

Tarzana2

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Yer wan from Gurls Allowed was on Some morning show last week ( looking like an oompaloompa) and she has the worst god awful American twang on certain words. Her Derry accent was woeful as it was but it is dire now, how anyone could listen to her for more than 5 seconds is beyond me. I'd just want to slap her as soon as she opens her mouth and tell her to quit putting on a stupid accent!

Her accent is truly awful. I honestly don't believe she is putting it on.

Some people seem to pick up accents quickly. It seems to be a form of imitation but I'd say in a lot of cases, it's not intentional. I know when I started working the UK, my co-workers told me that withing a month, my accent had softened. I didn't even realise!

Gaygooner

Yanks don't understand Norn Iron

Frostbit boy is eloquent in Norn Iron

TheLastMohican

Grid. wrote: »

Has to keep up with McDowell the Kardashians:rolleyes:

There, fixed your post sunshine!

kneemos

Heard him on the radio with a slight accent,probably picked up from living and working there.

MakeEmLaugh

It's a Northerner thing. Loads of Northerners head to the States and start talking in a weird mid-Atlantic hybrid accent.

Listen to Nadine Coyle - 1 min 50 secs into this video (“You see, I actually had her in January...”)

Or Van Morrison – 1 min 45 seconds (“...and then I just got back into it about a year and a half ago.”)

Grid.

TheLastMohican wrote: »

There, fixed your post sunshine!

Much obliged;)

TheLastMohican

Just saw to the vid and didn't hear much different from her early accent. A lot of Nordies sound a bit USAish.

The Backwards Man

TheLastMohican wrote: »

Just saw to the vid and didn't hear much different from her early accent. A lot of Nordies sound a bit USAish.

Wrong way round mucker. A lot of yanks sound like us Nordies. It's a common misconception that Iraq was the cradle of civilisation, it was actually Islandmagee

TheLastMohican

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Wrong way round mucker. A lot of yanks sound like us Nordies. It's a common misconception that Iraq was the cradle of civilisation, it was actually Islandmagee

OK baby! Tell me one American that sounds like wee Danielle! And we all understand where the "wee" bit came from.

The Backwards Man

TheLastMohican wrote: »

OK baby! Tell me one American that sounds like wee Danielle! And we all understand where the "wee" bit came from.

Jim Reeves.

There's millions like, but you only want one

Andrew Laeddis

:D:D

TheLastMohican

Andrew Laeddis wrote: »

:D:D

Whaddau laughing at?

DivingDuck

There's been some interesting research done on verbal imitation, the general theory being that it's born out of an unconscious desire to empathise and affiliate, i.e., to belong, understand, and be accepted. It's not just accents, either, it's speech patterns in general-- cadence, pauses, and word choices.

While some people obviously have reason do it intentionally, either to increase appeal to the group they're speaking to (politicians trying to be seen as representative, for example) or to present themselves in a certain way (anyone wanting to be perceived as being from a different social class or group to their actual origins), the majority of people just pick up accents as a natural behaviour.

I know I'm not talking to someone for two minutes before my accent starts to slip and mimic theirs. It's almost never intentional, it just happens.

Hammer89

Lights On wrote: »

I've noticed that most Irish golfers do this. Must be something in the water.

If that was the case McGinley would sound like John Wayne or somebody,

Jinonatron

The comment a few posts back nails this on the head. Accents change and adopt to the surroundings we live in. Not just accents but all behaviour.

As an Irish person if you have a strong accent and you move abroad and you retain Irish accent you will not be understood by your peers.

As an Irish man working in A german international company in China I am dealing with foreigners all the time. I don't have contact with the Irish language that much when I am working. As a result I have been told I sound like a German person speaking to an idiot child. Lots of my old friends at home tell me to talk faster and ask why I use certain phrases and speech so slow. The reason is because in the environment I work in my Irish accent is just not other stood. I am presenting some trainings to Chinese people who have not an iota of English. I have to have a translator in the room with me. She is Chinese. If I speak in an Irish accent I have to work longer because things get lost and are not understood.

Normally about 3 hours back in Ireland and I am back to speaking like an Irishman again.

Badly Drunk Boy

DivingDuck wrote: »

There's been some interesting research done on verbal imitation, the general theory being that it's born out of an unconscious desire to empathise and affiliate, i.e., to belong, understand, and be accepted. It's not just accents, either, it's speech patterns in general-- cadence, pauses, and word choices.

Yes, some people are more susceptible to it also. A friend of mine moved to London and once I decided to give him a call (when people used phones for that sort of thing). He started off talking with a really strong English accent but after a few minutes, the flat Kildare accent kicked it.

Back in the 80s, the athlete Eamon Coughlan had the most irritating American accent. Even as a kid, it really annoyed me.

SeantheMan

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

Back in the 80s, the athlete Eamon Coughlan had the most irritating American accent. Even as a kid, it really annoyed me.

McGregor has the worst accent, the way he tries to pronounce and enunciate all his words with T's...drives me mad. You can tell it's not his real accent at all.

MadsL

Jinonatron wrote: »

The comment a few posts back nails this on the head. Accents change and adopt to the surroundings we live in. Not just accents but all behaviour.

As an Irish person if you have a strong accent and you move abroad and you retain Irish accent you will not be understood by your peers.

As an Irish man working in A german international company in China I am dealing with foreigners all the time. I don't have contact with the Irish language that much when I am working. As a result I have been told I sound like a German person speaking to an idiot child. Lots of my old friends at home tell me to talk faster and ask why I use certain phrases and speech so slow. The reason is because in the environment I work in my Irish accent is just not other stood. I am presenting some trainings to Chinese people who have not an iota of English. I have to have a translator in the room with me. She is Chinese. If I speak in an Irish accent I have to work longer because things get lost and are not understood.

Normally about 3 hours back in Ireland and I am back to speaking like an Irishman again.

I had a hard time following that and you are typing!

screamer

I think people who change their accents overnight to fit in just shows herd mentality. I know foreign people who have lived in Ireland for 30 years and yet retain their own accent and then I see the tools who leave for a few months and come back talking like they've lived in that other country all their lives.

Tarzana2

Tarzana2 wrote: »

Some people seem to pick up accents quickly. It seems to be a form of imitation but I'd say in a lot of cases, it's not intentional. I know when I started working the UK, my co-workers told me that withing a month, my accent had softened. I didn't even realise!

My accent is way more apparent to me when I'm somewhere exotic like Drogheda or Portlaoise. I don't get how fully grown people can lose an accent. I see it as, maybe unfairly, an insecurity or weakness in someone.

valoren

Read an interview with Graeme McDowell where he said during his college days there that trying a dozen times to order a Subway with his Nordie accent became frustrating. He developed the twang to make his life a LOT easier.

topper75

Ulster Scots had big influence in early days of the U.S.A. There is still a mild echo of their accent in the American accent today.

But that is only a part of the story. Much of Rory's changeover is probably rooted in his own insecurity.

K-9

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Us nordies have to adapt to our surroundings

When I'm in the States I can't say 'I'm away out here to smoke a fag hai'.

"I could murder a fag" gets an odd reaction there too.

Tarzana2

Tarzana2 wrote: »

Some people seem to pick up accents quickly. It seems to be a form of imitation but I'd say in a lot of cases, it's not intentional.

There's one poster on here (who shall remain nameless) who picks up accents very quickly. We were out one night and chatting to an Ulster native. The drunker he got the thicker his ulster accent got despite him trying to stop. By the end of the night he would have given Gerry Adams a run for his money