Changing accents?

[Essex]

I've just been thinking about this thread. Us English are a right old snobby lot when it comes to our accents, especially regarding our overseas cousins. I'm from Essex so I only live 20-30 miles away from the posh lot and I couldn't put a decent posh accent on to save my life.

toodle pip

[Kath]

I'm from Kent so as far as I know I don't have an accent one way or the other (though I'm a little Northern thanks to my mother). I think that we're only snobby about the accent because of the way it's portrayed sometimes. For example in some American programs we have the weirdest mixture of the Queens English and a bad copy of the Cokcney accent (e.g. Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins!)
But back to the topic, i was rewatching the scene where Arwen returns to confront Elrond about her son, and she says a line really strangely:
"You saw there was a child. You saw my son."
Is she putting on some kind of accent there or am I just being really pedantic?

[Lalwendë]

Some time ago I read that Sean Astin's West Country accent in the films was 'bad'. I have since listened to it and to my shame I can't detect much wrong. Are there any West Country folks on here who could confirm it's authenticity? Or am I too stuck in my Northern ways and ignorant of such matters?

For me, I am anything but snobby about accents, I love them and refuse to lose mine because it's part of me and where I am from. Though I do have to offer thanks to Peter Kay for bringing it mainstream, as now a few more people do actually understand half of what I'm saying. What I do object to is when film/programme makers use a kind of ubiquitous Northern accent. I've been watching North and South which is a great adaptation seriously let down by intermingling of too many different northern accents in one town.

[Encaitare]

But back to the topic, i was rewatching the scene where Arwen returns to confront Elrond about her son, and she says a line really strangely:
"You saw there was a child. You saw my son."
Is she putting on some kind of accent there or am I just being really pedantic?

I don't think so... maybe it just sounded funny because about half of the time she's just speaking Elvish, and she suddenly went back to English.

[Kath]

Yes I think you're right Encaitare, I had been skipping scenes and may possibly have gone from an Elvish speaking Arwen to an English speaking one. Ignore that comment.