Shadowing Practice: British Accents in Harry Potter - UK Accent Training - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hey everybody, this is Chris and welcome back to another English learning video.
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By the way, just before we start, if you haven't done this already, if you want to improve your accent in English, if you want to learn to speak with a British accent,
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you can sign up and you can take my free mini course to help you correct some of your mistakes.
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All you need to do is click the link in the description to this video, put in your email address and you can sign up there.
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In this video we're going to be looking at different accents in Harry Potter.
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A lot of people when they think of British accents they think of Harry Potter.
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So I thought it'd be really cool to have a look at some scenes from Harry Potter
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and see what we can learn from the different accents in the films.
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And the first scene I've chosen is from the first film.
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It's where Harry is just about to go on the Hogwarts Express train to go to Hogwarts school.
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Okay, if you've seen the film you'll know about this.
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So let's have a look at this scene together.
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I'm only joking.
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I am Fred.
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Excuse me.
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Okay, so notice the way he says excuse me even though excuse it starts with the letter E,
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but it's actually pronounced excuse Excuse me.
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We stress the excuse part Excuse me.
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That's the first thing he says.
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Could you tell me how to...
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How to get onto the platform?
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It's not too well indeed.
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It's Ron's first time to Hogwarts as well.
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Now all you've got to do is walk straight at the wall between platforms 9 and 10.
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Best do it as a bit of a run with you, Alice.
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Notice the way she says Hogwarts.
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This is using the very British sound.
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Oh, hog, Hogwarts.
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If it was American English it would be hog, but here it's hog, Hogwarts.
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Okay, she also says walk into the wall.
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You get this long OR vowel sound.
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Walk into the wall.
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Okay, so let's see how he does that.
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Good luck!
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Excuse me?
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Do you mind?
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Everywhere else is full.
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Not at all.
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Okay, so Ron is coming into the train and he speaks in a different way to Harry.
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Harry speaks in a very clear way.
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He speaks in very proper English, a little bit posh English.
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But Ron speaks in a much more casual way.
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So again, he said, excuse me.
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Then instead of saying, do you mind?
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He said, do you, do you mind?
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So this do is shortened to do you mind?
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Do you mind?
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And then he goes and sits down.
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I'm Ron, by the way.
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Ron Weasley.
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I'm Harry.
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Harry Potter.
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So here you can clearly hear the difference in the way they speak.
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Harry has more of a standard received pronunciation accent and Ron speaks in a more casual way.
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So when he says by the way, he says it sounds like by the why, by the why, by the why.
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and Harry Potter.
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When people think of the British accent, they think of Harry Potter, right?
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So he actually pronounces both of the T's in Harry Potter.
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Harry Potter.
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He doesn't say Harry Potter.
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He says Harry Potter.
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And again, he gets this very British O sound in the middle
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Potter And then it has an U at the end O U Potter
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Harry Potter So he's pronouncing this in a very proper way So, so it's true?
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I mean, do you really have the.. the...
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The what?
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Even when he says the what, he doesn't say the what.
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A lot of people, when they were saying what, they would say what, what.
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Like, what you mean?
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What are you doing?
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But he says what, pronouncing the T again, speaking very properly.
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So there's an example of British slang.
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In the Harry Potter films, you get a lot of very British slang words.
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Wicked means something that's really cool or really good.
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It's not really said so much nowadays, but probably it was back then.
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Anything off the trolley dears?
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No, thanks.
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I'm all set.
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So he says, I'm all set.
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What does all set mean?
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It means I've got everything I need.
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I don't need anything else.
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So that's what he's meaning here.
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We'll take the lot.
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Again he said lot, pronouncing that oh sound again and the t at the end of the word lot, lot.
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Whoa, Bertie Bot's every flavour beans, they mean every flavour.
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There's chocolate and peppermint and there's also spinach, liver and tripe.
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So listen to the way he says tripe here.
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So, tribe is talking about internal organs of animals.
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And he pronounces it like tripe, tripe, tripe, instead of tripe.
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So, it's a slight difference in the accent.
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And the way he says also is also quite interesting.
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He doesn't say also.
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He shortens this to also, also.
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So, some people will do this.
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They will drop sounds in the middle of words when they speak.
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It's not strictly standard British pronunciation, but it's what a lot of people will do.
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George sweared he got a bogey flavoured one month.
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What does bogey mean?
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He's talking about the snot that comes out of your nose.
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The bean is bogey flavoured.
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These aren't real frogs are they?
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It's just a spell.
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Besides, it's the card you want.
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Each pack's got a famous switch to a wizard.
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Again, so he says want.
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Want, he doesn't say want, he drops the T at the end of the word, it changes to a glottal stop.
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Want, want, like that.
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About 500 meself.
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Watch it!
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That's rotten luck.
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I've only got one good jump in them to begin with.
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I've got Dumbledore!
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I got about six of him.
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So.. has anyone seen a toad?
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So notice the way she says toad, she uses this long diphthong sound, oh.
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And if you want to speak in a very native-like British accent, you need to get these diphthong sounds right.
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The long sounds like oh, oi, and other sounds like that.
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These are very important.
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A boy named Neville's lost one.
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No. Oh, are you doing magic?
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Let's see then.
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Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow.
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Turn this stupid fat right yellow.
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Are you sure that's a real spell?
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So notice the way she says sure here.
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Again, this or diphthong sound very characteristic to British English.
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Some people would also pronounce this sure, sure, but she says sure.
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Are you sure?
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Well it's not very good is it? Of course.
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So you'll notice that Hermione also speaks in a very proper way.
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She says all the t's at the end of her words.
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Instead of is it, she says is it, is it, with the t sound at the end of the word.
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I've only tried a few simple ones myself but they will work for me.
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She really emphasizes the word simple ones myself.
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Getting the right emphasis is also very important in English.
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Example!
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Notice the way she says for example this ah sound is a very long vowel sound characteristic of received pronunciation.
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Ah you don't get this in American English.
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Example.
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R. Oculus Repair Room.
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That's better, isn't it?
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Isn't it?
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Again, she pronounces the first T, but not the last T.
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She doesn't say isn't it.
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She says isn't it.
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Bickett, you're Harry Potter.
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I'm Hermione Granger.
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Again, she says Potter.
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Potter.
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and that's that word again Harry Potter and you are?
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um Ron Measley pleasure you two better change into your robes I expect we'll be arriving soon
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and she's got this robes this oh long diphthong sound robes means the magic cape that you wear
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you've got dirt on your nose by the way did you know?
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Just that.
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And listen to the way she says dirt.
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Again, ur.
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This is a very British sound.
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Dirt.
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Dirt on your nose.
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So, this is used a lot in received pronunciation in words like her, shirt, and dirt.
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So, another sound to pay attention to.
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So, we've looked at Harry Potter, Ron, and Hermione.
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But there are actually a lot of different British accents that you'll hear in Harry Potter.
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Because as you know, the British accent, it's not one accent.
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There are loads of different accents in different parts of the UK.
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So let's listen on and see what else we can hear from some different scenes.
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Can you imagine the look on McGonagall's face if we were late?
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Perhaps it would be more useful if I were to transfigure Mr. Potter and yourself into a pocket watch.
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So here you can hear Professor McGonagall.
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She has a very posh, or you could say upper class kind of accent.
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And it sounds like she's almost not opening her mouth fully
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when she speaks because she's trying to speak very precisely just like that.
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Perhaps it would be more useful.
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She speaks a little bit more like that.
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And she uses the word transfigure.
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What does that mean?
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It means to change something into something else by magic.
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I'm a rabbit passing home.
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What's Seamus trying to do to that glass of water?
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Turn it to rum?
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So you can see this boy here.
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What kind of accent did he have?
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He has an Irish accent.
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His name is Seamus in the books.
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And this is another example of a regional accent
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that you can hear in Harry One of the sounds you can hear is the R, R.
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In the Irish accent you get more of an R sound than in a standard receipt pronunciation.
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I do the counter curse.
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You just set my bloody kneecaps on fire.
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I don't appreciate the insinuation alone, but my eyebrows have completely grown back.
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You can hear here he says curse.
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In standard receipt pronunciation this would be curse, but in this Irish accent it's curse.
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Curse it's got more of an er sound in it more of a erotic sound
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And you can also hear that he says eyebrows instead of saying ow in this word eyebrows He says eyebrows
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Brows is more of the Irish pronunciation
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Stop stop stop You're going to take someone's eye out.
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Besides, you're saying it wrong.
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It's leviosa, not leviosa.
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Okay, so these are actually made-up magic words, right?
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But she uses this R sound again.
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I talked about this as a very important sound in the British accent.
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And she's talking about the stress of the word, leviosa.
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So, stress is very important in English.
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You need to put the stress on the right part of the word in order to sound like a native.
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I talk about this in some of my other videos as well.
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Check this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading.
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This is light.
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Then I'll let them to Dumbledore to guard the...
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Yes.
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Shouldn't have said that.
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No more questions.
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Don't ask any more questions.
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What that dog is guarding is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel.
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So Hagrid has a very unique accent in this series of films as well
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because he has a slight west country
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or southwestern accent from the southwest of England
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and this is what's called erotic accent
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so he will pronounce the R's in words so instead of saying guarding he will say guarding,
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garden, garden like that so this is one of the features of this accent.
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Instead of saying that dog, he would say that dog.
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Dog.
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Dog.
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It's more of an ah sound, almost like an American accent, but this is a regional accent in the UK.
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So as I said, you can hear different accents in this film.
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Starting is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel.
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Nicolas Flamel?
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I shouldn't have said that.
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I should not have said that.
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Instead of saying not he said not I should not have said that.
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Okay, so this is his unique accent Well,
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you have to be trained up a bit of course Okay, so I really hope you enjoyed this video
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and you learned something new about British accents
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if you liked it Please do give me a thumbs up
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and hit the subscribe button to get all of my latest videos
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and that's all for now Thanks for watching everybody and see you again very, very soon.
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Who Will Benefit from This Video?
If you’re an English learner eager to master British accents—whether you’re a beginner aiming for clarity or an intermediate speaker wanting to sound more natural—this video is a goldmine. It’s perfect for those who love pop culture and want to practice shadowing technique (repeating speech in real time) using familiar, engaging dialogue. Even advanced learners will pick up nuanced differences in casual vs. formal speech, making it ideal for anyone looking to add depth to their pronunciation.
Words & Idioms Worth Stealing
The Harry Potter dialogue is packed with everyday phrases that sound polished yet natural. Here are a few to add to your toolkit:
- "Excuse me" – Notice how it’s stressed on "ex-CUSE" (not "EX-cuse") in the video, a common British pattern.
- "Do you mind?" – Ron shortens it to "d’you mind?" in casual speech, a trick to sound less formal.
- "Best do it as a bit of a run" – A conversational way to suggest a method, replacing stiff phrases like "I recommend running."
How to Get the Accent Right
To nail the British sounds in the video, focus on two key areas. First, the long "or" vowel in words like "walk" and "wall"—it’s deeper than the American "aw" sound, so round your lips more. Second, the "oh" in "Hogwarts" (pronounced "HOG-warts," not "HAWG-warts")—keep your mouth slightly open to avoid flattening the vowel. For practice, use a shadowing site to replay short clips: pause, repeat, and match the rhythm. Pay attention to how Harry’s "posh" English is clearer, while Ron’s casual speech has shorter, quicker words. This contrast helps you adapt your accent to different situations, a skill that turns shadowspeak into real, confident communication.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if you've seen the film you'll know · If it was American English it would be |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | haven't done · I've chosen · you've seen |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is shortened · are actually made · be trained |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | Shouldn't have · should not have |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.