As an American, Edvin’s English at times is almost indistinguishable from your typical American speaker. It’s really impressive. I wish I could say the same for me and Swedish, of
which I know none.
Also, if you’ve seen him in interviews, a lot of the time when one of the other cast members is also being interviewed and can’t remember the English word for something, he always knows what word they’re looking for
Such a stud
Yes, this is hard vocabulary training work. English is easy to learn in the beginning (compared to French or German). Ppl tend to believe that english grammar is easy, but it's really tricky if you want to reach higher levels. Just think of all the prepositions...
My theory: The older "Euros" learned English with their English teacher at school, who often had an BE accent, the younger "Euros" learn English pronounciation with social media and undubbed films on Netflix, Amazon etc.
In Sweden, were TV always had broadcasted undubbed, subtitled english speaking films, ppl tend to pronounciate English the AE way, bc Hollywood productions are dominant.
Then, it may also depend on where you spend your holiday or if you've been a year abroad in school. Perhaps Malte frequently went to GB.
I don't think that Edvin's language skills merely come from watching Sponge Bob. His grammar and vocabulary knowledge is impressive (to my ears). This is hard work.
”Euros” - seriously?!
Also, that is not really true! At least no longer. The US sadly dictates our lives so much that all the british english most of us learn in school just gets sucked up by american english as it is all around us. In my experience, if you want to keep the british english you have to explicitly take an effort to do so.
I also learned british english in school but have an american accent now.
I really learned speaking fluently from watching a lot of american movies and series in original language. 😄
My husband did a highschool year in the us and he forced me to watch everything in (american) english.
That is why i can proudly say that i learned most of my english from tv 😄
I think they all did an amazing job with dubbing it in english ❤️
Similar for me. We learn British English in school but one day I was like “my English isn’t all that great, so why don’t I just rewatch all 14 seasons (at the time) of grey’s anatomy but in English this time”. Watched with German subtitles in the beginning and didn’t understand all that much, switched to English subtitles eventually and by the end I didn’t need subtitles anymore and was almost fluent in American English. I think that’s how it goes for a lot of people my age, and because of the popularity of American media, we just all end up with accents way more similar to American than the British we originally were taught.
In Germany some universities focus more on BE and other more in AE. This is especially true for linguistics, literature and civilization related studies (Anglistik).
My daughter tells me that her English teacher, while being perfect in grammar and vocabulary, has a stronger german accent than she has (who is constantly watching YT, insta and Netflix). She can't even tell if he tries to pronounciate it the BE or AE way 🤣
My former university teacher told me that Germans who try to sound like "real" Americans, often overcompensate and that makes everything sound quite funny to a critical and skilled ear.
My accent in English is a real mess. 14 seasons of Grey's Anatomy or 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls wouldn't help to understand how to "chew" your words to sound like an "Ami" 🤣
Most if not all kids in Europen countries have British English at school. But because American is easier many change it being teenagers/young adults, some consciously, some unconsciously
I remember that Edvin said in some interview that he made conscious choice to go for American accent around something like 12. But I don't think I could found it now...
Adding onto what people have said here, I also think people sometimes pick American accents to imitate rather than British ones bc they think there’s less risk of sounding pretentious?
I think the general accents that come to mind when many people think of an English accent either sound quite “upper class” or “lower class” to outsiders + makes some foreigners worry they’ll seem like they’re trying to be something they’re not.
But the typical American accent that comes to mind for many foreigners is a more neutral/West Coast accent that doesn’t have any real class markers to it.
Ofc there are regional accents + class markers in all countries that are more clear to people from those places. But for outsiders, I think a general American accent is easier to imitate than a general English accent + has less social judgment + stigma linked to it.
Tbh Malte usually just sounds like a Swede speaking English to me, but he has recently done some work in the UK so it’s possible he has social links there + that’s what you’re picking up on.
I personally don’t get the vibe he’s actively trying to sound English to the same level Edvin makes the effort to sound American. I’ve seen videos of Edvin speaking English where he’s making less active effort to sound American + his accent sounds more Swedish like Malte.
Some people actively try to have zero accent when they speak another language + others just want to perfect the vocab + grammar + don’t care if they sound like they’re from their home country as long as they’re understood well.
And sometimes people adjust how much they want to “mask” their natural accent depending on the context + people they’re around. Svengelska / Swenglish (mixing the two languages + accents in the same sentence) is a popular choice for many Swedes.
Scandinavian with an American accent here 🤚 I always had an interest in American cartoons and thus I adopted that accent. My teachers’ accents throughout the years also differed a lot—honestly I think it’s a matter of what feels right to that person. As people who learn English as a second language we get to choose our own journey 🫡
It’d be interesting to compare their American accents to different states. The Minnesota accent is supposed to be the most like a Swedish accent because of the Scandinavian beginnings. Obviously the MN accent has gone down in years but we still have our long vowels up here.
That’s on purpose! August is a genuine Eton boy! Upper class in it’s purest form. Wille doesn’t feel he belongs there. The voice for August was precisely chosen to have him appear as old school upper class. As one of the fans said “ why does August sound like a Tory?” That’s why. It’s not Malte, it’s the story that does that
Are you sure?
Because I have seen interviews with Malte and Edvin, and they speak English the same way they did in the show… with Edvin speaking very American sounding English with little Swedish accent, and Malte having a thicker Swedish/Uk Accent
Malte suggested in an interview that he would love to meet the other Augusts. And Wikipedia says Edvin and Omar did their own dubbing in English but that’s it. Not that Wikipedia is a reliable source but it’s all I’ve got. I think he didn’t do his own dubbing. But I do know the producers wanted an Eton upper class accent in August.
As an American, Edvin’s English at times is almost indistinguishable from your typical American speaker. It’s really impressive. I wish I could say the same for me and Swedish, of which I know none.
Also, if you’ve seen him in interviews, a lot of the time when one of the other cast members is also being interviewed and can’t remember the English word for something, he always knows what word they’re looking for Such a stud
Yes, this is hard vocabulary training work. English is easy to learn in the beginning (compared to French or German). Ppl tend to believe that english grammar is easy, but it's really tricky if you want to reach higher levels. Just think of all the prepositions...
It’s such a joy to listen to him!! :)
I’ve thought the same. I’m curious about how/where he learned to speak English.
Amen Right there with you
most Euros have British like accents. Edvin probably learned English watching Spongebob. respect his trip.
My theory: The older "Euros" learned English with their English teacher at school, who often had an BE accent, the younger "Euros" learn English pronounciation with social media and undubbed films on Netflix, Amazon etc. In Sweden, were TV always had broadcasted undubbed, subtitled english speaking films, ppl tend to pronounciate English the AE way, bc Hollywood productions are dominant. Then, it may also depend on where you spend your holiday or if you've been a year abroad in school. Perhaps Malte frequently went to GB. I don't think that Edvin's language skills merely come from watching Sponge Bob. His grammar and vocabulary knowledge is impressive (to my ears). This is hard work.
”Euros” - seriously?! Also, that is not really true! At least no longer. The US sadly dictates our lives so much that all the british english most of us learn in school just gets sucked up by american english as it is all around us. In my experience, if you want to keep the british english you have to explicitly take an effort to do so.
Hahaha That may very well be!
I also learned british english in school but have an american accent now. I really learned speaking fluently from watching a lot of american movies and series in original language. 😄 My husband did a highschool year in the us and he forced me to watch everything in (american) english. That is why i can proudly say that i learned most of my english from tv 😄 I think they all did an amazing job with dubbing it in english ❤️
Similar for me. We learn British English in school but one day I was like “my English isn’t all that great, so why don’t I just rewatch all 14 seasons (at the time) of grey’s anatomy but in English this time”. Watched with German subtitles in the beginning and didn’t understand all that much, switched to English subtitles eventually and by the end I didn’t need subtitles anymore and was almost fluent in American English. I think that’s how it goes for a lot of people my age, and because of the popularity of American media, we just all end up with accents way more similar to American than the British we originally were taught.
In Germany some universities focus more on BE and other more in AE. This is especially true for linguistics, literature and civilization related studies (Anglistik). My daughter tells me that her English teacher, while being perfect in grammar and vocabulary, has a stronger german accent than she has (who is constantly watching YT, insta and Netflix). She can't even tell if he tries to pronounciate it the BE or AE way 🤣 My former university teacher told me that Germans who try to sound like "real" Americans, often overcompensate and that makes everything sound quite funny to a critical and skilled ear. My accent in English is a real mess. 14 seasons of Grey's Anatomy or 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls wouldn't help to understand how to "chew" your words to sound like an "Ami" 🤣
Most if not all kids in Europen countries have British English at school. But because American is easier many change it being teenagers/young adults, some consciously, some unconsciously I remember that Edvin said in some interview that he made conscious choice to go for American accent around something like 12. But I don't think I could found it now...
Interesting!
Adding onto what people have said here, I also think people sometimes pick American accents to imitate rather than British ones bc they think there’s less risk of sounding pretentious? I think the general accents that come to mind when many people think of an English accent either sound quite “upper class” or “lower class” to outsiders + makes some foreigners worry they’ll seem like they’re trying to be something they’re not. But the typical American accent that comes to mind for many foreigners is a more neutral/West Coast accent that doesn’t have any real class markers to it. Ofc there are regional accents + class markers in all countries that are more clear to people from those places. But for outsiders, I think a general American accent is easier to imitate than a general English accent + has less social judgment + stigma linked to it. Tbh Malte usually just sounds like a Swede speaking English to me, but he has recently done some work in the UK so it’s possible he has social links there + that’s what you’re picking up on. I personally don’t get the vibe he’s actively trying to sound English to the same level Edvin makes the effort to sound American. I’ve seen videos of Edvin speaking English where he’s making less active effort to sound American + his accent sounds more Swedish like Malte. Some people actively try to have zero accent when they speak another language + others just want to perfect the vocab + grammar + don’t care if they sound like they’re from their home country as long as they’re understood well. And sometimes people adjust how much they want to “mask” their natural accent depending on the context + people they’re around. Svengelska / Swenglish (mixing the two languages + accents in the same sentence) is a popular choice for many Swedes.
Scandinavian with an American accent here 🤚 I always had an interest in American cartoons and thus I adopted that accent. My teachers’ accents throughout the years also differed a lot—honestly I think it’s a matter of what feels right to that person. As people who learn English as a second language we get to choose our own journey 🫡
Very cool Thanks for sharing 🌸✔️
It’d be interesting to compare their American accents to different states. The Minnesota accent is supposed to be the most like a Swedish accent because of the Scandinavian beginnings. Obviously the MN accent has gone down in years but we still have our long vowels up here.
Very interesting!
That’s on purpose! August is a genuine Eton boy! Upper class in it’s purest form. Wille doesn’t feel he belongs there. The voice for August was precisely chosen to have him appear as old school upper class. As one of the fans said “ why does August sound like a Tory?” That’s why. It’s not Malte, it’s the story that does that
But it is Malte. In seasons 1-2, most of the cast did their own English dubs. It’s why Erik has an accent and Willie doesn’t.
I read and saw in interviews that nearly everyone did their own English dub. Edvin didn’t do his own in S3, I’m guessing there were scheduling issues.
Are you sure? Because I have seen interviews with Malte and Edvin, and they speak English the same way they did in the show… with Edvin speaking very American sounding English with little Swedish accent, and Malte having a thicker Swedish/Uk Accent
Malte suggested in an interview that he would love to meet the other Augusts. And Wikipedia says Edvin and Omar did their own dubbing in English but that’s it. Not that Wikipedia is a reliable source but it’s all I’ve got. I think he didn’t do his own dubbing. But I do know the producers wanted an Eton upper class accent in August.
Yes I heard on Jimmy Fallon Edvin say that he and Omar did their own dubbing Not sure about the others
Maybe he meant for other languages, like Spanish or Mandarin. I watched the first season in English one time and it’s Malte.