Why does every Abraham Lincoln impersonator sound the same when there are no audio recordings of the man?

Answer 1

I've never heard an Abraham Lincoln impersonator, but take your point. In order to come close to an approximation of the voice of Abraham Lincoln, or anyone else from history before audio recordings, a study of that persons' childhood background is essential. To create a voice close to what Abe would have sounded like requires first, an experienced actor plus a group of people with knowledge and experience of use of the English language from the 1800s through to the 1860s in that part of America where he was born. Important too is a study of his parents, both of whom were Welsh and would possibly have had Welsh accents. A study of the part of Wales from which they had come to America would also add a lot to how Abe's voice might have sounded.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Although the person in this is well recorded and well known, it points in the right direction in some respects. A professor of English here in UK studied the voice characteristics of the late John Wayne and reached the conclusion that he had been born in Cardiff in Wales. The roots of his spoken English [accent] came from there. This is true of all of us. We first learn to speak a language from our parents and those who surround us. We pick up sounds and copy them. This first accent and/or dialect remains with us throughout our lives in spite of any other accent or dialect which we may subsequently learn.

In the case of John Wayne, what we hear of his spoken English is something approximating Texan. However, the background accent/dialect, remains that of Cardiff in Wales.

Talking more of impersonations, and this is not so much the voice as the appearance of the person being impersonated. I think the worst cases of bad impersonation are those of the late Doctor Benjamin Franklin. Most of the 'men' who do such an impersonation seem to have very little knowledge of the great man. Anyone impersonating Ban Franklin needs to have a very large physical appearance. Ben Franklin weighed in at 300 pounds upon his death at aged c92. He was also an 'old man' by c1776. As to the voice, it's almost anyone's guess, but bear in mind this is a 'gentleman' who spent some 16 to 20 years living in London. Therefore a lot of what might be called 'Cockney' would have come into his accent. He would have spoken a very high quality of English with little or no trace of a 'country accent'. In plain English, Ben Franklin was what we here in England would call a 'townie' or 'towny' - someone who lives in a town or city.

Answer 2

For the same reason that all the piccies of Jesus are unlikely to be accurate. Truth is less than image in a desperate world.

The Oak