Comedy with an Accent

It is not uncommon to name boys after the Norse hammer-wielding god in Norway, but it is a bit weird to use Thor as the first name but also "Odin" (Thor's father in mythology) as the middle name. It does not help that the image of Thor is hijacked by Aussie beefcake Chris Hemsworth, when our second guest of the podcast looks more like a member of a tattoo-free 90s boyband.

[The distorted sound has been fixed]

Thor and Kuan-wen talk about how some other comics feel they have the free pass to mimic and mock his accent and why he thinks he should be OK with it (Should he?); how he was heckled with "Ja Ja Ding Dong" and a new layer of Norwegian identity is added to him after he left Norway for the UK.

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Notes for international / non-UK listeners:

A Scouse accent is used to describe how people in Liverpool (Northwest England) speak. Thor did not have much of a Scouse accent, but the way he pronounces "Liverpool" shows the influence of Scouse accent. Thor studied in Liverpool. Drag Race UK season 1 winner, The Vivienne, currently on Drag Race All Stars 7, speaks with a Scouse accent on the programme. As for British comedians, John Bishop and Paul Smith are typical examples of Scouser comedians who are household names..

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Episode timeline:

00:40 Intro

01:00 All about the name - Thor Odin Stenhaug

04:37 Thor's Norwegian accent ("Big Summer Blowout!" from Frozen)

05:47 Other comics mimic and mock Thor's accent

09:11 Where "Scousers" got their name from

09:37 Viking rebranding and Hygge

10:24 A layer of identity as "Norwegian" living in the UK

11:40 Scandinavian vs Nordic countries

12:38 Eurovision movie and Ja Ja Ding Dong

13:36 Movie/TV castings that are not accurate (Crazy Rich Asians, Marvel movies)

16:08 For Norwegian people, Thor sounds British

17:43 Tag questions and the use of "innit!?"

18:37 Thor pretended to be English for American tourists

19:30 Is Thor's accent strong?

20:55 Should a foreign comedian ensure every single word they say is understood?

23:23 Thor not putting on a thicker accent impersonating his dad

26:30 "Your English is a lot better than my Norwegian"

28:16 Authenticity on stage

29:23 Being Norwegian - kind of foreign but not too foreign

32:35 Thor's social media

Thor's Instagram (@Thortellsjokes)

Thor and Freya's 2022 Edinburgh Fringe show

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Follow Kuan-wen on Instagram (@kuanwencomedy) or Twitter (@kuanwen_huang)

Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

https://www.instagram.com/taigenkawabe/

Hailing from Xi-An（西安） , Northwestern China, Chin Wang won the legendary London Comedy Store gong show in March 2021 and has since been on a meteoric rise. Chin and Kuan-wen talked about their occasional 'glitches' switching between English and Mandarin, a veiled constructed criticism on her accent, her move south of Hadrian's Wall from Edinburgh to London and how messing up tones when speaking Mandarin creates confusions.

Leave your comments on the podcast's Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/comedywithanaccent/

(@comedywithanaccent). You can also email your comments, questions to [email protected]

Follow Kuan-wen on

Instagram (@kuanwencomedy)

Twitter

Episode timeline

0:17 Intro

1:46 Different English spellings of Chin/Qin's name

4:03 Kuan-wen's old English name

4:41 The importance of Mandarin's tones

6:21 Foreigners and Xiang Sheng 相聲

6:44 Taiwanese people's accent when they speak Mandarin

8:00 Chin: "I have an accent"

8:49 Standard Mandarin v standard English accent(s)

10:02 Chin noticed her accent when listening to her own recordings

12:04 A feedback implying Chin's accent was too strong

13:29 Understanding the Scottish accent

15:26. Chin's comedy journey and her Comedy Store Gong Show win

19:12. Chin's observational comedy and not relying on Chinese stereotypes

21:43. Kuan-wen's attempts at neutralising his accent

22:43 Difficulties in switching between Mandarin and English

24:08. Kuan-wen's accent in his Comedy Central clip

25:12 Chinese Comedy

26:54 Difference in Asian comedy audience

28:29 Swearing is not the same

28:56 Chin's social media

Follow Chin Wang on

Instagram @chinwangqin

Facebook @chin.wang.comedy