Maya Rudolph Quotes

A voice and an accent are two very different things. The voice of a man is how he speaks from his heart, right in the middle of him... And then you stick an accent on top of that.

As you know, there are certain languages that lend themselves very easily to vocal use.

Personally, just as an actor, I love accents; they're fun.

I'm not a xenophobe - I think immigration is a good thing for most countries - but they transmute the foibles of their native tongues into English in a way that's difficult to figure out.

I never really had a strong accent.

A different language is a different vision of life.

Are you trying to give me a hint that I should drop it? I can lose the accent; I just have to really focus on what I'm saying. And I have to talk slowly.

It has to be said that one of the most impressive aspects of the parliament are the brilliant unsung translators, who ensure that whatever language you speak, you are understood.

My music was about travelling a lot and connecting with other people, and English is the voice of travelling.

Speaking in broken Telugu is one thing, and dubbing is another.

My accent really comes out when I'm speaking in public or when I'm passionate about something.

Her accent's funny, different from mine, different from anyone in Prentisstown's. Her lips make different kinds of outlines for the letters, like they're swooping down on them from above, pushing them into shape, telling them what to say. In Prentisstown, everyone talks like they're sneaking up on their words, ready to club them from behind.

I'm a bit nerdy about accents. I love it.

When I learned Japanese, they say that I sounded like a Chinese with diarrhea!

Back in the States, they actually liked hearing my Filipino accent. People I meet there found it very endearing.

I think if you work with different kinds of codes, attitudes, in the end you have a language. It's like within a person. You are not always the same.

Even when I speak English to my parents, I'll say an English word differently to my Chinese parents and friends than I do to my English-speaking friends - you know, I'll pronounce 'McDonald's' differently, because it feels right, and that's what I'm used to.

When I went to school, I didn't know a lick of English, but it was okay because there were so many immigrants in the area, a lot of the kids didn't speak a lick of English, either. It was normal to have a wicked accent.

No one can understand my accent!

I speak to the Spanish players that we have in Spanish.

When you don't know how to pronounce words, when you don't know the meaning of the words, how will you imbibe a song with feeling?

I think it's really hard for me... to sing in English, because it's not my mother tongue.

If you met me in London, you might be appalled at how English I sounded.

It's part of my challenge as an actor, not only speaking English but speaking Spanish with a Mexican accent.

I'm not supposed to be phonetically correct or enunciate perfectly.