I'm sure this is going to sound a bit ignorant, and I confess I'm hardly an expert on regional accents, but does anyone know why her accent sounds a lot closer to Irish than Scottish? I mean, she doesn't even have the Scottish rolled 'r' (like they all have on Taggart, for instance).
====
"Never finish what you can't start!" ;)
She's a highland Scot as opposed to a lowland Scot.
In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.
Right, I don't quite know the difference but I guess that settles it, so thanks for that :)
====
"Never finish what you can't start!" ;)
Not all Scots do that "rolled r" thing as you call it. I don't.
The Highland Scot vs. Lowland Scot thing doesn't apply. You'll find "rolled r's" in either area.
Karen Gillan just has a mild, more middle class accent....which is a lot nicer than a broad one IMO.
--------------------------------
Hitler was a dog person.
Karen comes from Inverness, in North East(ish) Scotland. Her accent is very definitely Scottish, not Irish. (Many people - including those in UK, seem to have probs telling difference between Scots and Irish, for some reason).
The reason that used to be given for the clear, slightly refined Inverness accent - which may or may not be apocryphal - is that at the end of the 18th Century, following a nearly successful uprising by mainly Gaelic speaking Highlanders (and some other Scots)in support of Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stewart, the Stewart claimant to the Britain crown), the British government set in motion a whole range of policies to prevent any such future uprisings in the North, and to suppress Highland culture. One of these was the suppression of the Gaelic language, and a policy of teaching English (enforced?) to the Highlanders. Inverness, one of the more populated areas in the north, is supposed to have 'benefited' from graduates of Oxford and Cambridge being sent north as English teachers. Hence, the more refined, educated tone of the Inverness accent, which it retains to this day.
Anyway, that's the story I heard when I was young. Absolutely no idea if there is any truth in it - but it was often said that the 'best' English in the British Isles could be heard on the streets of Inverness.
Having lived in Scotland I can say the further north you go the more difficult it is to understand the accent. Edinburgh is easier to understand
shareIf by "North" you mean "towards working class"...
--------------------------------
Hitler was a dog person.
She is very Scottish, doesn't sound Irish at all.
You should listen to the accents of the Irish and Scottish close together, you'll see the difference then.
I agree she sounds more Irish than Scottish. Of the many times she has visited the Craig Ferguson show ("The Late Late Show"), the difference between Craig's distinctly Scottish accent (although more Americanized now than in previous years) and Karen's supposedly Scottish accent (also possibly with American influences) is clear.
Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!Spoilers!