Picard Autobiography Footnote Error

[Mister Spock]

On Page 11 of the hardcover edition, there's a footnote that's mean to explain why Picard has an English accent despite being French, but is instead a footnote about the history of the Kirk family farm, does anyone know what its meant to be or have a transcript?

 

[David cgc]

It was corrected in the softcover, but no one ever told me what it was supposed to say.

 

[Christopher]

I never got why that needed to be explained. Anyone who learns two languages from childhood is generally able to speak both of them without an accent -- like any number of Latin-American actors who speak English with a flawless American accent but can switch into fluent Spanish at the drop of a hat. Or, for that matter, members of minority communities who can effortlessly code-switch from their regional/ethnic dialects at home to the more "standard" dialect at school or work. Since 24th-century Europe is more united than today's Europe, and since the UK is a short transporter or shuttle hop from Labarre, it's only natural that Picard learned both French and British English from childhood and thus spoke both with their proper accents. The only thing that doesn't make sense is why he pronounces his own name with an English accent rather than a French one. (And I'd like to hear from French speakers whether his pronunciation is any good the few times he speaks French.)

 

[Mister Spock]

I'd like it to be explained as its mentioned in the autobiography, the footnote is a misprint, and I'm curious to what it says without having to go out and get a new copy.

 

[JD]

I just checked the e-book and it has the wrong footnote about the Kirk farm.

 

[Avro Arrow]

On Page 11 of the hardcover edition, there's a footnote that's mean to explain why Picard has an English accent despite being French, but is instead a footnote about the history of the Kirk family farm, does anyone know what its meant to be or have a transcript?

Although I generally prefer hardcovers if money was no object, it *is*, so I bought the trade paperback version to save money. I hope this is the footnote you are referring to: it is the second one on page 11, footnoting the sentence: "So, even during this dark period of the world's history, Chateau Picard survived."

Destroying the technological base was not the only legacy of Ericsson's invasion. Though of Nordic descent, Ericsson was raised in the United Kingdom, and sought to remake Europe as a reborn British Empire. One of the remaining monuments to the success of his efforts is the fact that, even in the 24th century, many French people have British accents.

HTH

 

[The Wormhole]

Oh, cool, the joke I made years back turns out to be pretty close to the explanation. The joke I made was that in WWIII Britain conquered France, resulting in the French having English accents.

 

[JD]

Have we ever come across any French characters with French accents on any of the TV series?

 

[Christopher]

Have we ever come across any French characters with French accents on any of the TV series?

Both of Picard's parents as seen in illusions, I think.

Again, though, like I said, lots of bilingual people can speak both languages with their correct accents, especially if they learned both of them from childhood. There's no reason for any convoluted explanation for something that's actually quite common in real life.

 

[David cgc]

Honestly the best explanation I ever heard is that Jean-Luc went to school in England at an impressionable age (it's not just the accent, there's also the Shakespeare and the tea), either as some kind of boarding school, or even commuting to a future-magnet program that catered to one of little Johnny's specific interests or aptitudes, archeology or space travel or horseback riding or something. In the 24th century, with shuttlecraft and transporters and probably a bullet train in the Chunnel, it's probably no more of an imposition for a French kid to go to school in England than it is for a present-day child to go to a school on the other side of town because of some special program they have.

 

[Mister Spock]

Although I generally prefer hardcovers if money was no object, it *is*, so I bought the trade paperback version to save money. I hope this is the footnote you are referring to: it is the second one on page 11, footnoting the sentence: "So, even during this dark period of the world's history, Chateau Picard survived."

Thanks, that's just what I wanted.

 

[Christopher]

Honestly the best explanation I ever heard is that Jean-Luc went to school in England at an impressionable age (it's not just the accent, there's also the Shakespeare and the tea), either as some kind of boarding school, or even commuting to a future-magnet program that catered to one of little Johnny's specific interests or aptitudes, archeology or space travel or horseback riding or something. In the 24th century, with shuttlecraft and transporters and probably a bullet train in the Chunnel, it's probably no more of an imposition for a French kid to go to school in England than it is for a present-day child to go to a school on the other side of town because of some special program they have.

Quite possible, yes, but since English is clearly the primary Federation language, it just seems probable to me that everyone on Earth would learn English as a first or second language from childhood. And it stands to reason that Europeans would learn British English, because it's closer to home.

It just occurred to me, though, that it's strange people only ask this question about Picard. I mean, there are other Trek regulars who come from non-Anglophone countries yet speak English with a perfect American accent -- Hoshi Sato is from Japan, Uhura is from East Africa, Geordi La Forge is apparently a Mogadishu native. Not to mention all the characters who speak flawless American English despite being born on other planets, like T'Pol, Spock, Worf, and Dax.

For that matter, why does Spock have a standard American accent with a Bostonian tinge when his parents have mid-Atlantic accents, and why do Worf and Nikolai Rozhenko have American accents when their parents have Russian accents? Okay, the latter can be accounted for by schooling; there are lots of cases where the kids of immigrants don't have an accent even though their parents do. But it's at least as big an incongruity as the Picard thing, yet it doesn't bother American audiences because we unconsciously assume American accents are the default. We only question it in Picard's case because an English accent sounds exceptional to us and thus demands an explanation. But since Picard is from Europe, it should be the other way around -- it would only be weird if he had a North American accent.

 

[Mister Spock]

The only reason I started this thread is because of a piece of missing text from a book, that I thought was intriguing enough to know. I now know it.

 

[tomswift2002]

Quite possible, yes, but since English is clearly the primary Federation language, it just seems probable to me that everyone on Earth would learn English as a first or second language from childhood. And it stands to reason that Europeans would learn British English, because it's closer to home.

It just occurred to me, though, that it's strange people only ask this question about Picard. I mean, there are other Trek regulars who come from non-Anglophone countries yet speak English with a perfect American accent -- Hoshi Sato is from Japan, Uhura is from East Africa, Geordi La Forge is apparently a Mogadishu native. Not to mention all the characters who speak flawless American English despite being born on other planets, like T'Pol, Spock, Worf, and Dax.

For that matter, why does Spock have a standard American accent with a Bostonian tinge when his parents have mid-Atlantic accents, and why do Worf and Nikolai Rozhenko have American accents when their parents have Russian accents? Okay, the latter can be accounted for by schooling; there are lots of cases where the kids of immigrants don't have an accent even though their parents do. But it's at least as big an incongruity as the Picard thing, yet it doesn't bother American audiences because we unconsciously assume American accents are the default. We only question it in Picard's case because an English accent sounds exceptional to us and thus demands an explanation. But since Picard is from Europe, it should be the other way around -- it would only be weird if he had a North American accent.

I think the biggest one is Deanna Troi. Both Lwaxana and Ian Troi had American accents, and her sister Kestra, but Deanna has a British accent that, apparently, Xelo the butler tried to get rid of.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I think the biggest one is Deanna Troi. Both Lwaxana and Ian Troi had American accents, and her sister Kestra, but Deanna has a British accent that, apparently, Xelo the butler tried to get rid of.

I have twin cousins, now 60. At about age 18, both women lived in London for a time. A year for one, about 18 months for the other. They both returned to Australia with thick English accents. One has retained hers, all these years later, while the other reverted to "ocker Aussie".

 

[JD]

Do we know for a fact all of the humans are actually speaking English? Could they all just be speaking their languages with the universal translators translating for them? If UTs are a regular part of life then people from non-English speaking countries might not even bother learning English. Maybe there's just something about the UT that gives some people certain accents but not others.

 

[Christopher]

Do we know for a fact all of the humans are actually speaking English?

It's been stated in dialogue often enough that the characters are speaking English. And depending entirely on universal translators would be silly. What do you do when they break down, or when you leave yours at home?

It stands to reason that children in the Federation would normally be raised to learn both their native language and the lingua franca of the UFP, which we know to be English. That's the way it already works in most of the world.

Besides, the Federation is supposed to be full of people who celebrate learning and achievement and live for the challenge of bettering themselves. How is that reconcilable with all of them being too damn lazy to learn a second language because they can just let their machines do it?

 

[rahullak]

Maybe it's customizable. You get to pick how you sound to other people through the UT. And the default is American accent English. Picard thought he would be counter-cultural and picked British English.

 

[tomswift2002]

I have twin cousins, now 60. At about age 18, both women lived in London for a time. A year for one, about 18 months for the other. They both returned to Australia with thick English accents. One has retained hers, all these years later, while the other reverted to "ocker Aussie".

Yeah, except that in “Haven” it’s mentioned that Xelo was trying to get rid of Deanna’s accent when she was a child. Would a child be on their own long enough in a foreign land to get an accent? And from what I recall it was never said that Deanna went to a boarding school in the UK during her childhood; she grew up on Betazed.

 

[Christopher]

^Also, Deanna's original accent wasn't British; Sirtis was going for an "alien" sort of accent that was a mix of English and Greek. But other actors they cast as Betazoids just used American accents, hence the anomaly. And over time, Sirtis just dropped the "alien" accent and went for more of an English or mid-Atlantic sound.