The Straight Dope: Why don’t British singers sound British when they sing?

[View this message as a web page]( [The Straight Dope]( 05/12/2017 Dear Cecil: Why do English singers seem to lose their accent when they sing? — Bruce Koch Cecil replies: You’re not the only one wondering, Bruce. The phenomenon of British singers adopting what’s perceived as American-style pronunciation has attracted inquiry at linguistics departments around the world. Generally the experts agree that what we’re hearing is in part a stylistic choice by the singer (as one might assume), but the mechanics of singing appear to play a role too. It may be that some effort is required to sing with any kind of identifiable accent, including one’s own. For more, see: [( STRAIGHT DOPE STAFF REPORT — 03/25/2009 Dear Straight Dope: Please help me with a question that’s been bothering me for years: Who was the Flying Dutchman? What strange mythic figure is he, and does this have anything to do with the Wandering Jew? Are there any other Mysterious Traveling Figures? — Catherine Guest contributor Matt Craver replies: The Flying Dutchman is usually thought of as a what, not a who. Specifically, it's a ghost ship doomed to wander the seven seas for all eternity. It should be understood, though, that here we're dealing with a story born of oral tradition, so there's no official consensus on the details. For example … For more, see: [( STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC — 03/24/2000 Dear Cecil: I agree with you that homeopathy is bunk, but what about acupuncture? Most of the commentary I've seen so far has been of the "maybe it works, maybe it doesn't, more research is needed" variety. Come on, I've been reading about acupuncture for years — surely medical science has been able to form some tentative conclusions by now. — Carol Fanchamps, Sturtavant, Wisconsin Cecil replies: I'm tired of always pouring cold water on these things, so I'm not going to say acupuncture is silly. Who am I to make light of a therapy just because it uses the same technology as the voodoo doll? Getting miracle drugs from bread mold looked pretty stupid once, too. So I'll just say this: 1. People really, really want to believe acupuncture works. 2. There's pretty sparse evidence that it does. For more, see: [( YOUR AD HERE! Your direct line to thousands of the smartest, hippest people on the planet, plus a few total dipsticks. For rates and details contact Rich at [rhummel@suntimes.com](. Copyright © 2017 Sun-Times Media, LLC. This email was sent by The Straight Dope, Sun-Times Media, LLC., 350 N. Orleans, 10th Floor, Chicago, IL 60654 [Unsubscribe/update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. To change or update your newsletter subscription preferences, or to unsubscribe from all Chicago Reader and Straight Dope newsletters and promotional communications, [click here](. Please allow 72 hours for this change to take effect.