Jul 25, 2022

Derry Girls is among the top three television shows which American audiences find difficult to follow because of the accent, according to a recent survey. The popular Channel 4 comedy, which ended in May after three series, placed second in the list of hard-to-understand programmes, below Peaky Blinders, which stars Irish actor Cillian Murphy as Birmingham gangster and politician Tommy Shelby. The multi-award-winning HBO fantasy series Game Of Thrones, which was filmed in Northern Ireland, took the third spot in the survey by Preply, via The Wrap. Regency romance drama Bridgerton, starring Derry Girls actor Nicola Coughlan, also made it onto the list, placing sixth. Other shows which viewers in the US struggle with due to accents include Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, Love Island and Squid Game. Read More The survey looked at the celebrities whose accents are hard to understand by Americans and found that Northern Ireland’s own Liam Neeson, who lives in New York, was in the top 20, placing at number 15. English actor Tom Hardy, who stars alongside Cork-born Murphy in Peaky Blinders, topped the list as the actor whose accent Americans found most difficult to follow. Daily Headlines & Evening Telegraph Newsletter Receive today's headlines directly to your inbox every morning and evening, with our free daily newsletter. Enter email address Sign Up A number of other English actors made the list, including Michael Caine and Benedict Cumberbatch, as did three Scots — Sean Connery, James McAvoy and Sam Heughan. Overall, the accent the Americans struggle with the most and which sees them switch on the subtitles is Scottish, with a whopping 50% of those surveyed choosing it. British and Irish accents placed second, with 17% of respondents admitting they had difficulties with the dialects. The South African accent followed with 10%. From the rise of streaming services to an increase in the number of TV screens in the home, the survey was carried out to explore the reasons why so many American viewers use subtitles. At least 89% of those interviewed indicated that they have used subtitles in the past, while 50% said they watched TV with subtitles most of the time, with members of Generation Z much more likely to be frequent users (70%). The survey also found that 62% of Americans use subtitles more on streaming services than regular TV and that 55% say it’s harder to hear dialogue in shows and films than it used to be. When asked what their reasons were for using subtitles, nearly three in four claimed muffled audio, while 61% said accents were hard to follow. A spokesperson for Preply said: “For viewers, using subtitles has clear pros and cons. “Being able to follow along with the dialogue visually helps them understand the plot (74%), hold their attention on the screen (68%), and not rewind as frequently after missing things (55%), which overall enhances the viewing experience. “However, subtitles also come with some cons. Splitting their attention from the visuals of the content makes 40% of viewers worried that they’re missing things. “In fact, over one in five Americans find subtitles more distracting than helpful.” Related topics