Ahmad
Accents/ Acting/ Braveheart/ Scotland

I am a total beginner. I have been watching the movie named "Brave heart"- The English, the Irish, and the Scotts. The Scotts- this was when I came up with the notice that, for me as a foreigner, Mel Gibson's "Scottish" accent was the "clearer" to understand, than the rest of the crew which I assumed they are actually Scots. Consequently, I did try to explain this by the "fact" that Mel Gibson was "acting", while the rest are actually "Sons of Scotland". Any opinions? corrections ?


P.S: "Freedaaaaaaaaa"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3ubag7dtn4

Nov 15, 2015 11:15 PM
Comments · 8
4

It's true, Mel Gibson isn't Scottish, and he doesn't have a strong Scottish accent. As a Scot, when I listen to Mel, I actually hear his American accent more than the accent he was actng with. 

 

By the way, we are Scots, not Scotts. 

November 15, 2015
3

I found the accent of Hamish's father (James Cosmo) to be a real Scot accent ;) Of course I'm not an expert, yet I love Scotland; the accent and the music. 

November 16, 2015
2

Ahmed it's never been a problem for me, even listening to some of the more obscure accents. I guess being a native English speaker helps. The real difficulty is the vocabulary, sometimes they have words and phrases that are local to their region. Still, it's arguably the best accent in the UK

November 17, 2015
1

I'd also add, while a lot fo the actors were Scottish, some key characters (Hamish for example) were played by Irish actors, so there were many actors using non-native accents.

November 17, 2015
1

I would say it's easier to understand more neutral accents than thicker accents in any situation. Mel Gibson does not have a Scottish accent, and his normal speaking voice is fairly accent neutral, he definitely does not have a strong northeastern accent despite being from New York state. His Scottish isn't real, so it's not as thick. I think that's what makes it easier to understand for someone who is not used to listening to Scots.

November 17, 2015
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