Accent (linguistics) - Social Factors - Acting and Accents

Acting and Accents

Actors are often called upon to speak varieties of language other than their own. For example, American actor Dick van Dyke attempted to imitate a British accent in the film Mary Poppins. Similarly, an actor may portray a character of some nationality other than his or her own by adopting into the native language the phonological profile typical of the nationality to be portrayed – what is commonly called "speaking with an accent". One example would be Viggo Mortensen's use of a Russian accent in his portrayal of Nikolai in the movie Eastern Promises.

Accents may have associations and implications for an audience. For example, in Disney films from the 1990s onward, English accents are generally employed to serve one of two purposes: slapstick comedy or evil genius. Examples include Aladdin (the Sultan and Jafar, respectively), The Lion King (Zazu and Scar, respectively), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Victor the Gargoyle and Frollo, respectively), and Pocahontas (Wiggins and Ratcliffe, respectively - both of whom happen to be played by the same actor, American David Ogden Stiers).