Three answers from readers of The Guardian (U.K.)...
The American accent, like the British, consists of several regional variations. Some of these are likely to have evolved in part from English regional accents (eg the southern American accent has echoes of archaic Yorkshire pronunciations). A distinctive American accent was almost certainly established by the late colonial era (1750s to the 1770s); this is borne out by accounts from English travellers.
During the period covered in most westerns (1860-90), large numbers of recent immigrants from Europe and elsewhere had moved into the west. But to be fair to Hollywood, this is reflected in a lot of cowboy movies: John Ford, in particular, included Irish, German and Scottish characters in his films, and virtually all the movies about Billy the Kid include the English land baron, John Tunstall, whose death sparked off the Lincoln county war.
Geoff Clifton, Solihull, West Mids
Cowboys weren't all fresh off the boat from Liverpool. They and their ancestors arrived over a long period from many places, including Spanish territories: as vaqueros, in California from 1687, they have a good claim to be called the first cowboys.
Nonetheless, John Cleese played a sheriff in Silverado with his usual accent. It sounded unusual, but historically there was nothing much wrong with it. Cowboys might have had Cambridge degrees.
jno50
Butch Cassidy's father was from Preston, Lancashire. His mother was a Geordie. So he may have had an accent that was half Andy Kershaw, half Sarah Millican. What Colin Firth would make of it we can only guess.
Aidan Turner-Bishop, Preston, Lancs
I don’t know if American cowboys back then have actual American accents; it’s not technically something you can just go and see for yourself, considering this isn’t 1885 anymore. All modern interpretations of the cowboy has always been associated with the so called “Wild West” culture. In the historical sense the “Wild West” refers to an era of American expansionism between 1803 and 1912, in which thousands of Americans migrated west for a variety of reasons. Real life cowboys at the time were ranchers, and half of them were African-American or Mexican; considering being the minority would cause have its downsides, like a job which pays very little money. So it’s not that crazy to think cowboys might not have American accents. In fact, Americans learned cattle ranching from the Mexican equivalent known as the “vaquero”. The word “buckaroo” is in fact the mispronunciation of “vaquero”. In short, not all cowboys are thought to be the stereotypical American with southern accents.
ReplyDeleteI think cowboys in the past did have American accents, because I think although most of them who signed the declaration of independence mostly came from Britain, it doesn’t close the probability that cowboys had American accents at that time. Because I think cowboys exist since like the eighteenth till the nineteenth century and that is quite some time for you to develop the native accents which is American. Another thing that I want to discuss here is maybe the pictures people got in their mind when they hear the word cowboy. Some people misinterpret the word cowboy as some guy with some dual wielding gun who can draw the as fast as the eye can blink, when it is not actually it. A cowboy I think if I’m not wrong is just some ordinary rancher but they can use their lasso and their horse to catch herds of cows or horses.
ReplyDeletein the article it was stated that cowboys were originally spanish, doesn't that mean they should have had spanish accent instead? Nevertheless, cowboys had spread through the land of America and some historic foundings may proved that cowboys once settled in Liverpool before coming to the land of America. Therefore, it does make sense if some cowboys adapts with their british accent and i agree if hollywood should think more Colin Firth than Clint Eastwood. Apparently, it is already widely known that cowboys are constantly perceived as an older version of American culture especially when hollywood presented them to the world in form of movies. Therefore, cowboys' accent is more likely determined by the location in which they settled in. This is because their origin, in terms of area, has significant impact towards the language as well as the accent for cowboys to adapt.
ReplyDeleteAccents have been something that fascinate me. I have heard a lot of different accent from different countries. To be honest, I don’t know whether cowboys have American accents or not. From watching movie, we all know that cowboys have those unique accent that is quite different from how usual American speaks. Cowboys are originally not from America, so it is expected that cowboys would have different accent. Cowboys are usually seen living in the southern part of America where they have southern accent there. I have heard a little bit of southern accent and it is actually similar to the cowboy’s accent that we hear in the movie. The characteristics of the accent is how the say yall instead of you all. They usually drag the vowels when saying something. However we should never make fun of others accent. It is one of individual’s uniqueness to have an accent.
ReplyDeleteBecause I’m not really sure whether or not cowboys use the American accent or not, I like to talk about some of the interesting facts regarding cowboys. An interesting fact that I researched is that back in the days it’s common to find cowboys riding camels. I think what makes cowboys prefer riding a camel is due to the fact that camel has high endurance compared to horses. Although horses can move at a higher speed compared to camels, they get tired easily and need food in order to travel for long distance. Thus, camels seem to be a better option since they can store their energy on their humps, allowing them to travel for days without stopping for food. Another interesting fact regarding cowboys is the way they walk. In many Wild West movies, cowboys are often portrayed to have a lean back type of walking, like how Connor McGregor walks before he starts his match. The reason why they walk in a very strange way is that their legs feel numb after sitting down on a horse or a camel for hours. Since cowboys traveled in long distances, they spent the majority of their time sitting on a horse, which can be very tiring. Thus, the reason why cowboys walk in a strange way is that their legs are hurting after sitting for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI think cowboys should retain their American accents in the wild west themed movies. Why? Because, the way they say howdy and giddy up are things that make cowboy a cowboy. It has become a trademark that glued up to cowboy. Many Americans living in Midwest are very proud to their history of Wild West. They were rough people living in a dangerous place and survived the harsh environment. They are very proud to their identity as Southerners. They get angry if they are compared to the Yankees and they would be angrier if their identity as cowboys are replaced by some Englishmen. I think casting Englishman as cowboy would led to backlash and maybe seen as cultural appropriation by some Americans. Beside, who want to watch cowboy that speak in Cockney accent. We want real badass American cowboy, not an Englishman riding a horse. Englishmen should stay at its popular role as secret agent in movies.
ReplyDeleteEveryone knows English, naturally, because English is an international language. With this international language (English) has facilitated the international communication process, for example, tourists, from any country, if they travel abroad, they must speak English (indeed it doesn't have to be, because mandarin is also possible because Mandarin is Asian , but the most recommended is English because English is the number one language). But do you know that English in general has 2 accents that are the most widely used and the best known, namely 'british or bristish accents, and American accents. And according to the title, this time we will discuss the differences between these two accents. But on the fact thay how did cowboys go from British to Southern accents is still a mystery to myself.
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