Mimicking Accents

[Baburra]

Do you find it humorous when some people mimic accents for comedy? By this I mean speaking in gibberish or English with just a certain culture's accent. I personally find it funny if the person does it justice and it's done with affection instead of hate. It can be overdone sometimes, of course, and I'd still hate it if the whole population were doing it to each other. But as it stands now, I find it very amusing.

[MyDigitalpoint]

Agree with you. Mimicking accents is really amusing and I like to hear when someone does it.

In fact I would like to do it myself just for fun, but I'm really bad trying to mimic any accent  :pirate:

[thekernel]

I can do an okay Eastern European accent. I'm also pretty good at Eastern Indian imitations. I can't do English in other accents though, it always starts out British before turning Australian.

[justusforus]

Yes if done with the right motive it can be funny.  Even within the United States, we often make fun of our own regional accents.  Many will put on an exagerrated drawl to sound Southern or Texan, I heard a New Yorker on TV (who has a strong New York accent) mimic a Massaschusettes accent by saying "pock the ca'" (for "park the car").  Some even do either a slow confused "surfer

accent" for Californians or of course the famous "Valley Girl" accent for people from Los Angeles.  As to making fun of foreirn accents of other countries, I see how it can be taken the wrong way.

[kitkat0124]

I know some people who can mimick accents of other people. For me it's a talent, not everybody can do it. Personally I'm not good in doing it. Whenever I see someone doing it, I find it really amusing.

[Miya]

It's funny, but it's also interesting to study people who mimick accents. You can really see what stereotypical features are used and such.

[Silverhoop]

I have a knack for mimicking accents, what I find though is that when I sit with someone i can copy their accent fairly competently. However, if I have not been with someone in a while and just do the accent all the stereotypical phrases abound.

Ay! But they do dat doh dont thee (Doesn't spell well either!)

[marmunmrhundun]

It depends on the accents, and yes I find it a little funny. Mimicking accents is kind of funny in my opinion, depending on the accent that is trying to be spoken. I mean it also depends on the person mimicking as well, because it has to be someone that is actually funny lol.

[Emmanuel]

It can be funny if done by the right person. Mostly, it's impressive if the person is good enough. I've never been good at impersonations and I'm awful with accents. My Australian always comes out as Irish or something weird like that .

[surrender2air]

It's funny if they do it well but the accent alone isn't enough. They need good jokes!

[Denis Hard]

Sometimes mispronunciation of words is hilarious so yeah, mimicking accents can be funny to the native speaker but those whom you're mimicking may not think so because you're making fun of them. So I kind of sit on the fence on this one.

I don't mind mimicking regional dialects [of English, amongst native speakers] but attempting to mimick the accents of others who've had to learn the language is unfair and insulting.

[Bonyi]

Yes it is amusing. And it is even more amusing when you can picture or understand what they're trying to mimic.

[Lithium]

It's a very hard thing to do. However, if one succeeds, it becomes funny and great. Mimicking an accent is a very rare thing in my opinion.

[mikka254]

Sometimes, mimic accents for comedy is done in such bad taste that it becomes insulting.

[basmae]

It can be funny if done well, but at the same time it can be quite offensive.  I think it just depends on the audience and their thoughts on the subject.

[Baburra]

It's funny, but it's also interesting to study people who mimick accents. You can really see what stereotypical features are used and such.

Very good point. When people are mimicking accents or even celebrities, I think the details really become prominent and it allows us to study it on another level that we may have missed before. I suppose it's why it is socially acceptable to do so because we also learn from it as people.

[Daimashin]

Some of it is genuinely funny when it's done for entertainment purposes. While other times, I find it rude and borderline racism when the purpose is to make fun of a certain citizen of a country just because English is spoken differently.

[Rosa]

I find mimicking accents quite amusing. We do it a lot here, especially in our cultural scenes. I especially like to do Nigerian and I like to hear British. I think it's just a lot of humor but as you say, if it's only for fun and not hate.