美国人爱上了英国腔？

Downton Abbey's Lady Mary is now the most in-demand British voice in America, new research has revealed.

有新研究指出，《唐顿庄园》里大小姐玛丽的声音已经成为在美国最受欢迎的英国声音。

Actress Michelle Dockery's cut glass English tones beat the likes of quintessential English actor Hugh Grant and current James Bond Daniel Craig, to become the most requested UK accent for the US voiceover industry.

女演员米歇尔•道克瑞那精致的英音击败标杆人物英国演员休•格兰特和新晋邦德演员丹尼尔•克雷格，成为美国配音行业最受欢迎的英国口音。

Voiceovers are big business in America covering everything from TV ads to recorded birthday greetings and at the moment famous British - and Irish - voices are particularly popular.

配音在美国是一个非常庞大的行业，包括电视广告到生日祝福录音等领域。现在英国和爱尔兰名人的口音尤其受欢迎。

From Nigella Lawson's sultry tones to Liam Neeson's Ulster brogue and even Gordon Ramsay's angry rants, demand has more than doubled in the past year.

去年，妮格拉•罗森性感的声音和连姆•尼森的爱尔兰口音，甚至是戈登•拉姆齐的愤怒咆哮，这些声音的需求量都成倍增长。

Copycat versions of these, and others from Hugh Grant to Keith Lemon, are used for all kinds of things including online guides, training videos and even automated voicemails.

这些声音的模仿版本，以及模仿休•格兰特，基思•柠檬的声音被用于多个方面，包括在线指引，训练视频和自动语音邮箱。

And Lady Mary's cut-glass upper-class accent is the most popular of the lot, according to PPH's analysis of 5,000 job adverts requesting British-sounding voices in the USA.

根据全球自由职业者市场网站PeoplePerHour(PPH)在美国对5000份英音招聘启事的分析报告显示，玛丽精致高贵的口音在众多声音中最受欢迎。

It does not even mean using the real voice of Ms Dockery who plays the aristocrat in the successful series, said PPH boss Xenios Thrasyvoulou.

这并不意味着要使用大小姐玛丽扮演者道克瑞女士的真实声音，PPH的老板Xenios Thrasyvoulou如是说。

Instead, a good impression will do as it will for others on the top 20 list including Daniel Craig and Helen Mirren - familiar to Americans for playing James Bond and The Queen.

相反，一个好的印象非常重要，比如其他位列前20名的人，包括丹尼尔•克雷格和海伦•米伦，这两位因扮演詹姆斯•邦德和女王而被美国观众所熟知。

All the Americans want is an English-speaking voice that sounds like the star or, sometimes, more generically they will ask for a 'BBC News' or a 'Downton Abbey' accent, according to research by global freelance marketplace PeoplePerHour (PPH).

PPH研究发现，美国人想要的是一个听起来像玛丽说英语的声音，或者，有时是想要一种“BBC资讯或者“唐顿庄园那样的口音。

Colin Farrell, the Irish actor who is a Hollywood A-lister is high in the list alongside Scot James McAvoy, who has also had success in American movies.

好莱坞一线演员、来自爱尔兰的科林•法瑞尔与在电影方面有极大成就的苏格兰演员詹姆斯•麦卡沃伊都在英国腔热门榜上名列前茅。

Surprisingly, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini's Geordie accent is often requested, even though her failure as a US X-Factor judge was attributed to US audiences unable to understand her.

出乎预料的是，谢丽尔•费尔南德兹-维西尼的口音需求也很旺盛，虽然她在美国X音素(X-Factor)中担任评审的失败被归咎于美国观众听不懂她说话。

Americans request British and Irish voiceovers more often than that of any other nation, said Xenios Thrasyvoulou and it is fast becoming a major UK export across the Atlantic.

美国人对英音和爱尔兰口音的配音需求比对其他国家的都要大，Xenios Thrasyvoulou说。这也迅速成为英国跨越大西洋的主要出口业务。

Often they will request a 'Downton accent' or a 'Hugh Grant' or even a 'BBC News accent' when advertising for the service, said PeoplePerHour's research.

PeoplePerHour研究报告显示，在需求广告中，他们通常会提出想要一种“唐顿庄园、“休•格兰特或者一种“BBC资讯的口音。

It may be for promotional or training videos made by private companies or even for novelty purposes like a 'celebrity' voicemail on a mobile or landline telephone.

这些声音可以被私人公司用于推广或者训练视频，甚至可以由一些新奇的用途，比如给手机或固定电话的语音信箱加一段“名人语音。

Around 10.4 million Americans regularly tuned in to watch the last series of Downton Abbey shown over there and similar numbers enjoy Sherlock and Doctor Who.

大概有1040万美国人会定期追看《唐顿庄园》，以及《神探夏洛克》和《神秘博士》。

But it is not just America. PPH found requests for British voices from countries as far afield as Australia and India to Mexico, Egypt and even Germany.

这个现象不仅仅发生在美国。PPH发现对英音的需求还来自澳大利亚，印度，墨西哥，埃及甚至德国等国家。

Xenios Thrasyvoulou said: 'The original British export was manufacturing then it was financial services now it seems to be the British accent.

Xenios Thrasyvoulou说：“英国起初的出口是制造业，随后是金融业，现在是英式口音。

'With more companies than ever across the world utilising videos for promotional purposes, voiceover artists from the UK are cashing in on the popularity of their accents.

“随着世界各国各个公司更多地使用视频资料来做宣传推广，英国配音演员也因他们的口音而获益颇丰。

'It's not just companies either, it seems that people from America, Australia and the UAE are also hiring voiceovers for novelty projects like birthday messages.

“而且不仅仅是公司方面的需求，美国，澳大利亚和阿拉伯联合国酋长国的人们都在用新奇的方式使用英国腔，例如录制生日祝福语等。

'The is potentially driven by a new wave of British programmes that are becoming hugely popular in the US and other countries across the world.'

“英国的电视节目在美国和其他各国都越来越受欢迎，而这种对英音的需求正是其内在驱动的结果。

TOP TWENTY MOST IN DEMAND BRITISH ACCENTS IN AMERICA

美国最受欢迎的英音前20位

1. Lady Mary (Downton Abbey)

2. Hugh Grant

3. Daniel Craig

4. Colin Farrell

5. James McAvoy

6. Helen Mirren

7. Cheryl Fernandez-Versini

8. Hugh Laurie

9. Idris Elba

10. Sean Connery

1.大小姐玛丽(唐顿庄园)

2.休•格兰特

3.丹尼尔•克雷格

4.科林•法瑞尔

5.詹姆斯•麦卡沃伊

6.海伦•米伦

7.谢丽尔•费尔南德兹-维西尼

8.休•劳瑞

9.伊德瑞斯•艾尔巴

10.肖恩•康纳利

11. Liam Neeson

12. Simon Cowell

13. Keira Knightley

14. Gordon Ramsay

15. Benedict Cumberbatch

16. Matt Smith

17. David Beckham

18. Nigella Lawson

19. Jason Statham

20. Keith Lemon.

11.连姆•尼森

12.西蒙•考威尔

13.凯拉•奈特莉

14.戈登•拉姆齐

15.本尼迪克特•康伯巴奇

16.马特•史密斯

17.大卫•贝克汉姆

18.妮格拉•罗森

19.杰森•斯坦森

20.基思•柠檬

Vocabulary

cut glass 精致的

quintessential 典型的

sultry 迷人的

brogue 土音