美國人愛上了英國腔？
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，《唐頓莊園》裏大小姐瑪麗的聲音已經成爲在美國最受歡迎的英國聲音。
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.
女演員米歇爾•道克瑞那精緻的英音擊敗標杆人物英國演員休•格蘭特和新晉邦德演員丹尼爾•克雷格，成爲美國配音行業最受歡迎的英國口音。
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.
配音在美國是一個非常龐大的行業，包括電視廣告到生日祝福錄音等領域。現在英國和愛爾蘭名人的口音尤其受歡迎。
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•羅森性感的聲音和連姆•尼森的愛爾蘭口音，甚至是戈登•拉姆齊的憤怒咆哮，這些聲音的需求量都成倍增長。
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.
這些聲音的模仿版本，以及模仿休•格蘭特，基思•檸檬的聲音被用於多個方面，包括在線指引，訓練視頻和自動語音郵箱。
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.
根據全球自由職業者市場網站PeoplePerHour（PPH）在美國對5000份英音招聘啓事的分析報告顯示，瑪麗精緻高貴的口音在衆多聲音中最受歡迎。
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.
這並不意味着要使用大小姐瑪麗扮演者道克瑞女士的真實聲音，PPH的老闆Xenios Thrasyvoulou如是說。
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，一個好的印象非常重要，比如其他位列前20名的人，包括丹尼爾•克雷格和海倫•米倫，這兩位因扮演詹姆斯•邦德和女王而被美國觀衆所熟知。
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研究發現，美國人想要的是一個聽起來像瑪麗說英語的聲音，或者，有時是想要一種“BBC新聞”或者“唐頓莊園”那樣的口音。
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.
好萊塢一線演員、來自愛爾蘭的科林•法瑞爾與在電影方面有極大成就的蘇格蘭演員詹姆斯•麥卡沃伊都在英國腔熱門榜上名列前茅。
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.
出乎預料的是，謝麗爾•費爾南德茲-維西尼的口音需求也很旺盛，雖然她在美國X音素（X-Factor）中擔任評審的失敗被歸咎於美國觀衆聽不懂她說話。
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.
美國人對英音和愛爾蘭口音的配音需求比對其他國家的都要大，Xenios Thrasyvoulou說。這也迅速成爲英國跨越大西洋的主要出口業務。
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研究報告顯示，在需求廣告中，他們通常會提出想要一種“唐頓莊園”、“休•格蘭特”或者一種“BBC新聞”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.
這些聲音可以被私人公司用於推廣或者訓練視頻，甚至可以由一些新奇的用途，比如給手機或固定電話的語音信箱加一段“名人”語音。
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1040萬美國人會定期追看《唐頓莊園》，以及《神探夏洛克》和《神祕博士》。
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.
這個現象不僅僅發生在美國。PPH發現對英音的需求還來自澳大利亞，印度，墨西哥，埃及甚至德國等國家。
Xenios Thrasyvoulou said: 'The original British export was manufacturing then it was financial services now it seems to be the British accent.
Xenios Thrasyvoulou說：“英國起初的出口是製造業，隨後是金融業，現在是英式口音。”
'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.
“隨着世界各國各個公司更多地使用視頻資料來做宣傳推廣，英國配音演員也因他們的口音而獲益頗豐。”
'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.
“而且不僅僅是公司方面的需求，美國，澳大利亞和阿拉伯聯合國酋長國的人們都在用新奇的方式使用英國腔，例如錄製生日祝福語等。
'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.'
“英國的電視節目在美國和其他各國都越來越受歡迎，而這種對英音的需求正是其內在驅動的結果。”
TOP TWENTY MOST IN DEMAND BRITISH ACCENTS IN AMERICA
美國最受歡迎的英音前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.大小姐瑪麗（唐頓莊園）
2.休•格蘭特
3.丹尼爾•克雷格
4.科林•法瑞爾
5.詹姆斯•麥卡沃伊
6.海倫•米倫
7.謝麗爾•費爾南德茲-維西尼
8.休•勞瑞
9.伊德瑞斯•艾爾巴
10.肖恩•康納利
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.連姆•尼森
12.西蒙•考威爾
13.凱拉•奈特莉
14.戈登•拉姆齊
15.本尼迪克特•康伯巴奇
16.馬特•史密斯
17.大衛•貝克漢姆
18.妮格拉•羅森
19.傑森•斯坦森
20.基思•檸檬
Vocabulary
cut glass 精緻的
quintessential 典型的
sultry 迷人的
brogue 土音
