if you've watched The Crown on Netflix
you may have noticed that the actors
don't sound like British people in the 21st century
they've changed their accents
in order to fit into the time period
in which the show is set.
in this video, I'm going to show you some of the sound changes
the actors have made
and I'll compare them
to clips of the real Queen Elizabeth in 1947
actress Claire Foy plays a young Queen Elizabeth in the show
in the following video clip
is she saying word number (1) or word number (2)?
She's actually saying word number (1)
linguists give vowels names to make it easier to talk about them
the vowel in the word "man" is called the TRAP vowel
in the early to mid-20th century
it sounded closer to an "e" type of vowel
here's a clip of the real Queen Elizabeth in 1947 saying the same word
it's an "e" type vowel here
though she's actually saying a diphthong
moving from one vowel to another.
now here's a clip of Claire Foy being interviewed
she's British and she's using her normal accent
here the vowel is closer to an "a" type sound
so in the early to mid-20th century
the TRAP vowel sounded like
but nowadays it sounds like
listen to Claire Foy in The Crown
say the final vowel sound in this word
next listen to the real Queen in 1947
say the final vowel sound in this word
notice that both of them say an "i"-type vowel
like in the word KIT
now listen to Claire Foy using her normal accent
say the final vowel sound in this word
here she's using an "ee" vowel sound like in the word FLEECE
linguists call this the HAPPY vowel
it's often spelled with the letter "y"
at the ends of words
in old-fashioned Standard British English it was pronounced as
but nowadays it's pronounced as
listen to Claire Foy in The Crown say the vowel in this word:
next listen to the real Queen say this word
now listen to Claire Foy in her normal accent say this word
notice that the vowel sound in the first two clips sounds darker
that's because it's made further back in the mouth
in the final clip it sounds brighter
because it's made more forward in the mouth
linguists call this vowel the GOOSE vowel
you may have heard of the term GOOSE-fronting
and this describes the process of this GOOSE vowel
moving ever more forward in the mouth over the past century
these are just a few of the accent modifications
that the actors in The Crown have used to sound more old-fashioned
have you noticed any others?
comment below and let me know
please share this video with anyone who likes the Crown or the royal family
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