While touring the Salisbury Cathedral with Katy, Lynn and Hugh today it occurred to me how much better everything sounds with a posh British accent. Hugh read us a letter from the 19th century that had been sent to the cathedral by a congregant, which contained the phrase "Mary Ann Smith slapped her in the face and called her a whore". Now, this sounded vulgar and slightly silly when we said it, but coming out of Hugh's mouth came across as more curious and lighthearted than anything else. His version resulted in the ladies and I being overtaken by an uncontrollable fit of the giggles.
Of course, Hugh is not the only one with an accent that changes my perceptions. Small children are possibly my most favorite of all. They just sound absolutely brilliant when they open their mouths and British accents fly out. I know this is ridiculous, but there is a part of me that feels like a four year old with a British accent is definitely more sophisticated, if not smarter than me. On the tube the other day, a little boy, probably no more than three, was sitting in a pushchair (stroller if you're in the US) when he turned to his mother and very nonchalantly asked "Mummy, do we need to go on anymore trains today?" I know reading the phrase doesn't do it justice, but with his tiny voice and perfectly rich accent, he may well have been reciting the numbers of pi or delivering a monologue from Richard III.
Needless to say, I have been practicing my accent like mad and when I return to the States will immediately begin to speak that way and try to convince everyone that I've always had a British accent, but they just never noticed.
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