Speaking of accents, most people, at least here, when they think about
"British accent" what they really are thinking about is an exaggerated
"posh English" accent, like the ones used in some British comedies (such
as "Keeping Up Appearances").

  However, in practice it seems that the difference between an average
British accent and an average American accent is way subtler and much more
indistinguishable, at least to me. That may be because I'm not a native
speaker of either, but it still strikes me a bit odd that I can't make
the distinction even in situations where there ought to be one.

  For example, consider this interview with Hugh Laurie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETLHO8kbi_c

  Hugh Laurie is a British actor who is currently acting in an American
TV-series, and is basically "faking" an American accent when acting in
the role, while his natural accent is more British. This is a subject
in that interview (as with most such interviews he participates in).

  However, I simply can't hear a clear difference between how he talks
in that interview (and many other similar intervies), and how an American
typically talks. In other words, I can't hear the difference in accent.
Or more precisely, I couldn't tell that he is British by the way he speaks.

  Is that just me?

  Here's an old comedy sketch where he deliberately uses an exaggerated
Southern American accent, and there's a clear difference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00y3gV0dJow

  But as said, that's rather exaggerated and most Americans (not even the
ones from the South) don't speak like that. :)

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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