The Overselling of British Accents to American Audiences

Whether its news, politics, entertainment or advertising, the British accent seems everywhere in American culture. There are many contemporary British-accented characters making a heavy impact, including Piers Morgan of CNN, Stuart Varney of Fox News, Stewie of Family Guy, entertainer/host Ricky Gervais, and the Geiko Gecko. The simple explanation for all these British accents may be in how Americans perceive them. A recent Harris Interactive Poll indicates that for Americans, when comparing American accents to British accents, the British accents receive much higher marks for sounding well-educated, intelligent, and sophisticated. This research seems to indicate the preponderance of British accents in American popular culture can be attributed to marketing efforts by entertainment and advertising executives.  A British accent sounds smart, reliable, knowledgeable.  These marketing efforts are one more way to get to the mind of the consumer. Of all the broadcasts for American sport...