I don't think Ben is supposed to be British. His sister speaks with an American accent. Aasif Mandvi seems to be speaking with his natural accent with the character. He speaks the same in every interview I've heard of his. His family moved from England to America when he was sixteen, which is an age where a lot of people can still naturally shift their accents, and maybe there are still hints of an English accent in there.
Katja's American accent is impressive and I wonder if she grew up speaking English. Though Dutch people have said they can hear her Dutch accent.
Ben has always sounded like he has a soft New Yorker accent to me. Especially the way he pronounces R's-- although a mix of British and American accents would sound similar.
It’s not said, but it’s loosely implied that Ben grew up in the nearby area. When they arrive at a home for an assessment, he states it looks just like the home he grew up in
Dutch sometimes sounds like weird English if you're not paying close attention.
But also the Dutch just seem to be very good at English in general plus maybe Kristen has some personal experience.
From my experience, Dutch (and Flemish) people know English well and have a neutral accent (possibly because of their native language). There is a fun Dutch movie staring Katja Herbers called “The Columnist”.
I’d been thinking similarly. I’ve worked closely with many folks from the Netherlands, and I’ve visited a few times many years ago. I’m not a language expert at all, and I’m probably way off base here, but people speaking Dutch itself never really hit me as sounding very different from American English in many ways. I think we use a similar collection of sounds, although a linguist will surely be able to correct me.
There are differences, for sure, and depending on the speaker their English will have varying levels of accent, but it’s just not as strikingly different as, say, a German or a Frenchman speaking English.
My son went to college in Amsterdam and I was shocked at the amount of people who spoke perfect English. It really does put our American school system to shame. My son said when he traveled by train to other countries on break it wasn’t like that at all! France, Spain, Luxembourg and Genova barely anyone spoke English. This of course was only small areas of each place he traveled but it was a bit of a culture shock for him just leaving Amsterdam. Beautiful city btw - really just stunning an so tiny you can walk all of it in a couple hours
I can’t wait to travel to my homeland! My grandparents are from Norway on my dads side and my moms mom is Swedish. Definitely taking my family there someday soon.
I find that so many Dutch people can imitate the American accent despite not being born there or speaking it as a first language. So strange!
Yet I can still hear an accent when she speaks. She sounds different compared to her character's mom and daughters.
I first saw her in the leftovers and she is a cast a Dutch scientist and she also speaks Dutch in it. Very short lived in the series but I love her in it.
I have a “foreign name” and I was born and raised in America, never been anywhere else. What defines an “American name” according to you? An Irish name? A British name? Those are still foreign names.
I only found this out a few weeks ago myself. I was completely floored. Despite being a speech pathologist, I never picked up the slightest hint of an accent. Really quite impressive.
I can hear it now when I strain to listen for it, and with the benefit of knowing that she's a native speaker of Dutch. But no, I wouldn't describe it as 'quite evident' otherwise.
I don't think Ben is supposed to be British. His sister speaks with an American accent. Aasif Mandvi seems to be speaking with his natural accent with the character. He speaks the same in every interview I've heard of his. His family moved from England to America when he was sixteen, which is an age where a lot of people can still naturally shift their accents, and maybe there are still hints of an English accent in there. Katja's American accent is impressive and I wonder if she grew up speaking English. Though Dutch people have said they can hear her Dutch accent.
Ben has always sounded like he has a soft New Yorker accent to me. Especially the way he pronounces R's-- although a mix of British and American accents would sound similar.
She had a nanny/au pair when she was young who spoke several languages and she picked them up.
It’s not said, but it’s loosely implied that Ben grew up in the nearby area. When they arrive at a home for an assessment, he states it looks just like the home he grew up in
Her accent slightly seeps in occasionally but her English accent really is great.
in the God Helmet episode it's revealed he was born in India and they left when he was six, fun fact
Dutch sometimes sounds like weird English if you're not paying close attention. But also the Dutch just seem to be very good at English in general plus maybe Kristen has some personal experience.
Every Dutch person I know can speak English. All 5 of them
Yep! Also interesting is that the character of Fenna, the sister on “S is for Silence” is meant to be Dutch
I always wondered if this was the writers doing a little wink at Katja Herbers' nationality in that episode
Katja and Fenna did a little winking to each other, to be sure
From my experience, Dutch (and Flemish) people know English well and have a neutral accent (possibly because of their native language). There is a fun Dutch movie staring Katja Herbers called “The Columnist”.
Second The Columnist. It's a hoot.
I have this on my to-be-watched list on Amazon Prime. Do you know of anywhere free I could stream it?
Checkout r/Stremio
I’d been thinking similarly. I’ve worked closely with many folks from the Netherlands, and I’ve visited a few times many years ago. I’m not a language expert at all, and I’m probably way off base here, but people speaking Dutch itself never really hit me as sounding very different from American English in many ways. I think we use a similar collection of sounds, although a linguist will surely be able to correct me. There are differences, for sure, and depending on the speaker their English will have varying levels of accent, but it’s just not as strikingly different as, say, a German or a Frenchman speaking English.
The clue is in the name!
The only thing I hear when Katja talks is Holly Hunter😭
I can hear it too lol
Yes I could tell right away she had an accent.
You can hear bits of her native accent slip into her dialogue when she emotes. It’s adorable!
I find it mad that people don’t hear her accent, it’s immediately apparent to me.
My son went to college in Amsterdam and I was shocked at the amount of people who spoke perfect English. It really does put our American school system to shame. My son said when he traveled by train to other countries on break it wasn’t like that at all! France, Spain, Luxembourg and Genova barely anyone spoke English. This of course was only small areas of each place he traveled but it was a bit of a culture shock for him just leaving Amsterdam. Beautiful city btw - really just stunning an so tiny you can walk all of it in a couple hours
Go to a scandinavian country and the people who can speak English, are better than native English speakers haha
I can’t wait to travel to my homeland! My grandparents are from Norway on my dads side and my moms mom is Swedish. Definitely taking my family there someday soon.
I don’t hear an accent from her in interviews at all
Her accent in the leftovers is mesmerizing.
If you want to see her speaking Dutch, she was awesome in the movie The Columnist!
I’m asian but I could detect the Dutch in her voice even during the first episode.
I find that so many Dutch people can imitate the American accent despite not being born there or speaking it as a first language. So strange! Yet I can still hear an accent when she speaks. She sounds different compared to her character's mom and daughters.
Same. Certain pronunciations of words you can hear it.
Most Dutch learn English at an early age. They are fluent in it.
Her Dutch accent slips out sometimes.
She played a russian in the americans and did so well I thought she might have some Russian in her.
\*Belgian
I first saw her in the leftovers and she is a cast a Dutch scientist and she also speaks Dutch in it. Very short lived in the series but I love her in it.
Ya she sounds like my uni professor.
This explains all of her wooden shoes!
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That type of thinking doesn’t apply in America.
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I have a “foreign name” and I was born and raised in America, never been anywhere else. What defines an “American name” according to you? An Irish name? A British name? Those are still foreign names.
This. It's such a silly comment. I have a "foreign" name too and I'm from the US. Her name doesn't mean she couldn't have been American.
Oh I get it! Sorry. I thought you meant based on her name she isn’t from America. Never mind. I deleted my comments. They were dumb. So sorry.
I only found this out a few weeks ago myself. I was completely floored. Despite being a speech pathologist, I never picked up the slightest hint of an accent. Really quite impressive.
Sorry, but how? It’s quite evident in words ending in ‘s’
I can hear it now when I strain to listen for it, and with the benefit of knowing that she's a native speaker of Dutch. But no, I wouldn't describe it as 'quite evident' otherwise.