Bono's Irish accent changing?

[martha]

I've been thinking about this for a while, and I was watching some old stuff I taped in '87, and his accent was thicker when he was younger! Has his globe-trotting lessened the Irishness of his accent, or is something else going on? I know that when you move to a different place, you can both lose the accent you grew up with and acquire the accent of the new region.

Anyway, anybody else notice this, or am I nuts?

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They say that magic and the science world collide
Oh, but Einstein saw me lookin' at her and he joined my side

Jonathan Richman
"A Higher Power"

 

[Like O2]

Recently listened to an awesome boot from 1981. One of the first things I noticed when Bono spoke was HOW thick his accent was compared to now!

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"See, the rock star gets his way! Thank you very much. This feels very Elvis. Thank you."

Bono ~ Houston, Texas 4-02-01

 

[TylerDurden]

Lots of people lose their accents if they spend alot of time away from their home country. I really love 'international' accents. Alot of famous Aussies who go live overseas end up picking them up. Nicole Kidman has an Australian/US mix and Elle MacPherson has a strange Aussie/US/France/UK mix which I think sounds great.

 

[CatDubh]

Aye, he's getting americanised!

But he can still say "stroong out like a guitar"

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"Yeah, but the Swing Kings? I mean, people only die at their concerts, you know, they just stop living!"

 

[bailey]

lol. and 'oar and b'.

 

[CatDubh]

'poonk rok'

 

[mad1]

LMFAO CAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 'POOONK ROK'!!!!!!!!!!

 

[zoomerang II]

he certainly doesn't have a strong irish one like when he was young, although i don't think he has aquired an american one, except when he speaks in jest at a show or quoting someone.

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In the stillness of the evening
When the sun has had its day
I heard your voice whispering...

 

[bono-vox]

yip his accent is so much different these days

 

[U2girl]

Well i can't speak for early years, but i think it's still there. I mean, you can hear when he speaks he's neither an American nor a British.

The way he sings "wild hon-eh" or "luv me give me soul", the way he says the F-word, the way he pronounces the letter "r"...

[This message has been edited by U2girl (edited 01-18-2002).]

 

[CatDubh]

Originally posted by U2girl:
when he speaks he's neither an American nor a British.

I don't see where the Brit accent could come from, so no problem with that.

 

[WildHonee]

Originally posted by bailey:
lol. and 'oar and b'.

ROFL I love that!!! And he talks about his pal Michael Stipe and "oarey em"

I wasn't really around to hear Bono's original accent, but I've seen bits of old interviews and things ~~ it's changed a lot!

<---a sucker for accents

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~*Mona*~ LOVE me, give me SOUL
And planting an amazing fern on her shoulder... ~ScottPhisto~

I got lost in the Netherlands!!

You can dream, But you can never go back the way you came

 

[CatDubh]

Originally posted by WildHonee:


<---a sucker for accents

Check out McGregor in The District! You'll die moaning and groaning, Moner!!!

[This message has been edited by CatDubh (edited 01-18-2002).]

 

[WildHonee]

Originally posted by CatDubh:
Check out McGregor in The District! You'll die moaning and groaning, Moner!!!

[This message has been edited by CatDubh (edited 01-18-2002).]

*pedal to the !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

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~*Mona*~ LOVE me, give me SOUL
And planting an amazing fern on her shoulder... ~ScottPhisto~

I got lost in the Netherlands!!

You can dream, But you can never go back the way you came

 

[mad1]

wots the toyime?

 

[cass]

you're nuts martha...where's that pic of the squirrel when i need it?
yes his accent has "thinned" we are all movinrg towards an international accent.... well those of us who have a TV.

"I like to watch.." chauncy gardener


PS:I hope you realise I was j/k with those first few words martha. It was just too good an opportunity to miss. Do you recall the squirrel? TheU2 posted it when someone was feeling low. As the pic opened, I thought "WTF, has this got to do with anything?!!" But as i scrolled down, under the pic it said "Cheer Up". A classic I.com moment imho.
Peace

[This message has been edited by cass (edited 01-18-2002).]

 

[Hewson]

Well its certainly possible that Bono may be losing a little off his brogue, especially when you consider that Michigan raised Madonna now speaks with a full blown British accent.

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The joker is the best card.

 

[u2loopy]

Originally posted by Hewson:
Well its certainly possible that Bono may be losing a little off his brogue, especially when you consider that Michigan raised Madonna now speaks with a full blown British accent.

LOL!!!!!! I CANNOT stand that she does that!


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Work like you don't need to
Love like you've never been hurt
Dance like no one is watching

 

[karl]

interesting topic...

I too have noticed that Bono's accent has significantly changed from his younger days. He more or less seems to have an international accent with Irish flavorings in my very inexpert opinion. It also seems that his accent also reflects the audience he is with. It is similar to Bill Clinton who has a decidedly southern U.S. accent when he was speaking in the south of the U.S.

karl

 

[U2girl]

Originally posted by CatDubh:

I don't see where the Brit accent could come from, so no problem with that.

What i'm saying is he didn't take up neither the US accent nor the British accent.

 

[achtung__baby]

He's sounded Irish/American lately... you can really hear the difference on boots!

Hey... but it's still sexy!

 

[sulawesigirl4]

Originally posted by Bonoforever:
He's sounded Irish/American lately... you can really hear the difference on boots!

Hey... but it's still sexy!

Especially if you listen to the olllld bootlegs. VERY irish sounding.

On a related note, what about Edge? I never really thought his accent was very noticeable. Maybe that's just because he has a softer way of speaking. And Larry? Has his accent changed? Or does he speak?

As for Adam....oh, don't get me started on Adam's speaking voice. hehe.

-sula

 

[U2girl]

Originally posted by sulawesigirl4:
Especially if you listen to the olllld bootlegs. VERY irish sounding.

On a related note, what about Edge? I never really thought his accent was very noticeable. Maybe that's just because he has a softer way of speaking. And Larry? Has his accent changed? Or does he speak?

As for Adam....oh, don't get me started on Adam's speaking voice. hehe.

-sula

Well i heard some ATYCLB era interviews and IMO a person can tell immediately Edge and Adam are British. As soon as they start speaking the British accent is very apparent.
Larry has Irish accent as well.

 

[UV2001]

His accent has changed alot and he pronounces his damn "th" more now. What happened to the Irish "t" sound. Well he does sing it Irish in HMTMKMKM so I can't complain.

 

[doctorwho]

I had the distinct pleasure of going to grad. school with two Irish people (both of whom have remained friends and colleagues) - one from Belfast and one from Dublin (Bono is from Dublin).

When I first started school, I barely understood a word of the person from Belfast. However, as the years past, his accent became so subdued (due to his years in the Midwest) that now he sounds like a person who originally came from Dublin. LOL! As for my friend from Dublin, his accent has slipped so much that I almost never notice it - only for certain words.

It's our nature to speak the way other sound. People do pick up British or Australian or Eastern European or whatever accents when they go abroad - so it's only natural for people to lose their accents over time once they come here. Based on my two friends, I would say that Bono's accent is actually comparatively strong for the amount of time he's spent in the U.S. (and abroad).

 

[SicilianGoddess]

Totally martha! I was listening to old bootlegs and videos and you can totally tell he's losing it. It was so thick back then, so cute!!

I havent noticed any of the other boys cuz well they dont talk as much as Bono.

My mom on the other hand, has lived in the U.S. for almost 30 years and her Italian accent has not changed one bit.

"Christine-a! What are you doinggg-a! Dont you know too mucha U2 can drive you crazy-a!"

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It's cold in the ground
But there's peace in the sound
Of the white and the black
Spilling over

Sicy's Website

Sicy's FTP

 

[U2girl]

Originally posted by SicilianGoddess:



"Christine-a! What are you doinggg-a! Dont you know too mucha U2 can drive you crazy-a!"

ROTF LOL! Italian accents always crack me up in the movies, i can't tell you what it is about them - i think it's always that little "a" at the end that does it.

Having that said, i think the different accents of English are cute. I like all of them.

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be uncool, yes be awkward



[This message has been edited by U2girl (edited 01-18-2002).]

 

[what a bomb!]

Well my uncle who moved to the USA about 12 years ago who is British and now a highway cop in Virginia (where I could be spending Xmas this year!

) has a full blown american accent! about 2 years ago when he came over for my grandad's funeral (his dad) he was singing the hymns in church with this american drawl! sounded very weird! lol

 

[KEJAKA]

I have to say that yes his accent has soften, but I think it is like ten times more sexier than it was when he was younger!

 

[madonna's child]

Originally posted by Hewson:
Well its certainly possible that Bono may be losing a little off his brogue, especially when you consider that Michigan raised Madonna now speaks with a full blown British accent.

that's a horrible fake accent.

irish accents are sexy.

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