Why does picard have a british accent

According to the science fantasy television series Star Trek, Mr Spock had green blood because the oxygen-carrying agent in Vulcan blood includes copper, rather than iron, as is the case in humans. Why does Jean Luc Picard have a British accent? How was Picard saved from the Borg? Eventually they won Roddenberry over. So it wasn't a case that they went out and looked for him, it was that Justman saw him and said, "He's perfect for a starship captain!

The producers or all but one loved him for the part, even if he didn't speak with a French accent. It was a case of picking a French accent or going with an actor who could best act as the kind of starship captain they wanted. And, in a case like that, if the only drawback is an accent, you go with the good actor.

Especially since they couldn't find anyone else they liked for the role. You can read more about it in this trekmovie. Also, one other point to consider: I don't know if they spoke French at home or if, by then, there's a global language like Esperanto , but if Picard learned English while in Britain, that would explain the accent.

Then we can assume that the scenes at the Picard vineyard were in French, just translated to English for the audience. Accents rarely survive the second generation after emigration; ancestor worship can last millennia. Since Picard is born in France, that's not it, though. It's quite possible that Picard learned English well enough to speak like a native, especially after years in an English-speaking environment. If he was learning in France, he would have been likely to pick up a British accent at least nowadays.

Alternatively, there is a common artistic license that allows every actor to speak English even though they should be speaking some foreign or alien language. So maybe the actor is speaking with a British accent but the character is speaking with a French accent.

I don't know whether there was any outcry in France that a French actor wasn't selected, but I doubt there was. Why would there be? As I wrote above, the actor's accent doesn't really matter.

The reason there was no public outcry in France is fairly simple: most movies and television series on French tv are dubbed ie lip-synced in French by another actor. So I am Francophone, and this is how I see it. All my relatives who speak English well and grew up in France not Canada like I did being an expat and all have somewhat of a British accent because that is the type of English they learn.

So I was just fine with it because some of my family still living in France speak English with British accents, granted they aren't as pronounced, but still I thought Stewart was great for the part and did a good job. I don't think the Universal Translator is necessary as an explanation here: the Federation itself is explanation enough. Remember, we're talking about someone raised in a future France, not modern France.

To us, France and Britain are very different places, with totally different languages and cultures and quite a bit of rivalry that keeps them from blending. But to Picard, they would just to two very closely located regions of Earth, which itself is just one planet within the Federation. Imagine a Virginian from encountering someone from modern-day Richmond.

They might reasonably ask, "where is your accent? You don't sound Virginian at all! I myself am from Texas, but no one could tell from speaking to me. I just sound "American. There are, no doubt, native French speakers within the Federation, but it does seem that pretty much everyone on Earth speaks English as well. Indeed, English may even be most people's first language, with regional languages being learned more academically similar to Jewish peoples outside of Israel studying Hebrew for cultural reasons, rather than for primary communication.

Some regional accents certainly remain such as the Russian accents of Worf's parents , but it isn't at all hard to imagine that many families might just have lost their regional accents in favor of a "Federation accent.

Especially given France's proximity to Britain and the ease of travel in Picard's era, it's entirely conceivable that he simply never picked up a French accent, just as millions of Americans fail to pick up the accents of their individual states or regions. SE before follow heavily the Shakespearean play model.

I am not aware of any famous French-accented Shakespearean actors. The UT converts languages so everyone hears them in their own, for example, in ST Voy The 37's, the Chinese military person heard everyone speaking in Chinese, but we heard him speak English. If French were an obscure provincial language in the 24 th century, Picard likely had to learn English before attending Starfleet Academy, and conceivably learned it so well that he could speak it without a trace of French.

Indeed, the notion holds up, even as the concept is stretched further. As a little-spoken language, French might not work with the universal translators, for instance, which explains why Picard mostly speaks English but occasionally lapses into untranslatable French. It also adds weight to his ambivalent attitude towards his family, who wanted him to work the vineyard and all but disowned him when he left for Starfleet. All I got left is my bones », which also could be from where his nickname came.

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