--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They (Americans) have their national…" description: "\"They (Americans) have their national game, baseball - which is cricket played with a strong American accent - and they have a national language, entire..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/george-mikes-4493_accents_they-americans-have-their-national-game_2259132.png" --- # They (Americans) have their national game, baseball… ![“They (Americans) have their national game, baseball - which is cricket played with a strong American accent - and they have a national language, entirely their own, unlike any other language spoken on the earth.” quote by George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/george-mikes-4493_accents_they-americans-have-their-national-game_2259132.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/george-mikes-4493_accents_they-americans-have-their-national-game_2259132.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/george-mikes-4493_accents_they-americans-have-their-national-game_2259132.png) > “They (Americans) have their national game, baseball - which is cricket played with a strong American accent - and they have a national language, entirely their own, unlike any other language spoken on the earth.” [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He humorously contrasts American baseball and language with cricket and accents, highlighting cultural uniqueness. **In simple terms:** American culture is uniquely distinct. Key Takeaway Appreciate cultural quirks. Themes culture national identity language Mood witty observational Type humorous cultural When to use this quote - travel - education - media analysis - cross‑cultural work Key Concepts sociolinguistics comparative culture Questions to Reflect On - What does this say about national identity? - How do you celebrate cultural differences? A Different Perspective Stereotyping can oversimplify. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accents/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [American accent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-accent/) [Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans/) [Baseball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baseball/) [Cricket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cricket/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Humorous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humorous/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [National language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-language/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [Bad English was the second language of Israel and bad Hebrew, of course, remained the national language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/bad-english-was-the-second-language-of-israel-and-bad-hebrew-of/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [I keep forgetting I'm speaking in an American accent sometimes. The dangerous thing is that you end up forgetting what your real accent is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/i-keep-forgetting-i-m-speaking-in-an-american-accent-sometimes-the/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [I don't want to be an English actor doing the greatest American accent you've ever heard. I want to be an American doing nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-don-t-want-to-be-an-english-actor-doing-the-greatest-american/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I'd love them to have adorable little American accents, but I do want to bring my kids up in Australia; it's such a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-robbie/i-d-love-them-to-have-adorable-little-american-accents-but-i-do-want/) [Margot Robbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-robbie/) > [My grandma said - when I was really young and I'd sing along to the radio - why do you sing in an American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-watson/my-grandma-said-when-i-was-really-young-and-i-d-sing-along-to-the/) [Emma Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-watson/) > [I've done a few American accents. I've maybe passed a test. But I don't know if it makes things easier or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-macdonald/i-ve-done-a-few-american-accents-i-ve-maybe-passed-a-test-but-i-don-t/) [Kelly Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-macdonald/) > [My natural accent is American. I chose to speak with a U.K. accent when I was about to enter the final year at drama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ehle/my-natural-accent-is-american-i-chose-to-speak-with-a-u-k-accent-when/) [Jennifer Ehle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ehle/) > [I think people are really picky about English accents. When a Brit comes over here and kind of does an OK American accent, everyone's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-pace/i-think-people-are-really-picky-about-english-accents-when-a-brit/) [Lee Pace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-pace/) > [I vowed to never use my American accent, and I didn't. Even going to get the paper in the morning to buying milk down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lake-bell/i-vowed-to-never-use-my-american-accent-and-i-didn-t-even-going-to/) [Lake Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lake-bell/) > [I think most British people who say they can do an American accent are so bad at it. I find it excruciating. I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-atkins/i-think-most-british-people-who-say-they-can-do-an-american-accent/) [Eileen Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-atkins/) > [I do one accent - my own. I can make it louder or quieter. That is the sum total of my vocal range. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oliver/i-do-one-accent-my-own-i-can-make-it-louder-or-quieter-that-is-the/) [John Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oliver/) > [I could do an American accent, if I were immersed in the accent, meaning if I were living back in Los Angeles and rehearsing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioan-gruffudd/i-could-do-an-american-accent-if-i-were-immersed-in-the-accent/) [Ioan Gruffudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ioan-gruffudd/) > [I guess I'd always mocked the American accent. I didn't consider it a respectable dialect, but I was told that it was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/callan-mcauliffe/i-guess-i-d-always-mocked-the-american-accent-i-didn-t-consider-it-a/) [Callan McAuliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/callan-mcauliffe/) > [I live in L.A. so I worry my kids aren't that connected to Britain, I suppose I don't want them to become American kids.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mckidd/i-live-in-l-a-so-i-worry-my-kids-aren-t-that-connected-to-britain-i/) [Kevin McKidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mckidd/) > [American accents often sound much more confident than British ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-front/american-accents-often-sound-much-more-confident-than-british-ones/) [Rebecca Front](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-front/) ## More by George Mikes > [THE British are brave people. They can face anything, except reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-british-are-brave-people-they-can-face-anything-except-reality/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [The British suffer from a most unfortunate superiority complex - unjustified even under Victoria and most certainly hopelessly out-of-date today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-british-suffer-from-a-most-unfortunate-superiority-complex/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [Remember that those five hundred words an average Englishman uses are far from being the whole vocabulary of the language. You may learn another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/remember-that-those-five-hundred-words-an-average-englishman-uses-are/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [English humor resembles the Loch Ness Monster in that both are famous but there is a strong suspicion that neither exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/english-humor-resembles-the-loch-ness-monster-in-that-both-are-famous/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [“Before you are admitted to British citizenship you are not even considered a natural human being. I looked up the word natural (na’tural) in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/before-you-are-admitted-to-british-citizenship-you-are-not-even/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [“In the last century, when a wicked and unworthy subject annoyed the Sultan of Turkey or the Czar of Russia, he had his head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/in-the-last-century-when-a-wicked-and-unworthy-subject-annoyed-the/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [“While all this goes on, the English remain staunch believers in equality. Equality is a notion the English have given to humanity. Equality means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/while-all-this-goes-on-the-english-remain-staunch-believers-in/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [I asked many friends if Australian anti-intellectualism was still a living force and they all told me it was. If you are above average…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/i-asked-many-friends-if-australian-anti-intellectualism-was-still-a/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [Once you start buying first aid kits you start having accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/once-you-start-buying-first-aid-kits-you-start-having-accidents/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [“Mr S. got angry. ‘Yes, I do have a son. He’s a good-for-nothing. A dead loss.’ I couldn’t ask which prison he was in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/mr-s-got-angry-yes-i-do-have-a-son-he-s-a-good-for-nothing-a-dead/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [“I have been told that my above-described theory is all wrong and is only due to my Central European conceit, because the English do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/i-have-been-told-that-my-above-described-theory-is-all-wrong-and-is/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [Rich people (in Australia) have swimming pools in their gardens but, at least, they do swim in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/rich-people-in-australia-have-swimming-pools-in-their-gardens-but-at/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [“An average English house combines all the curses of civilisation with the vicissitudes of life in the open. It is all right to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/an-average-english-house-combines-all-the-curses-of-civilisation-with/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [Australia objects to the mini-skirt not on moral but on economic grounds. Australians are no prudes and the lovely, healthy, sporty Australian girls have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/australia-objects-to-the-mini-skirt-not-on-moral-but-on-economic/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [The Art of Conversation could not die in Australia; it never lived. Television did not kill it; there was nothing there to kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-art-of-conversation-could-not-die-in-australia-it-never-lived/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) [Explore all 110 George Mikes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) ## More Accents quotes > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [“It's not my accent, but my brevity makes me stylish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/it-s-not-my-accent-but-my-brevity-makes-me-stylish/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [London, from the architecture to the culture to the fashion to the accents, feels like it's a special place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/london-from-the-architecture-to-the-culture-to-the-fashion-to-the/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [You can't live in a dialect without tremendous work. Like any muscle, accents and voices and languages are all formed out of the muscles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lake-bell/you-can-t-live-in-a-dialect-without-tremendous-work-like-any-muscle/) [Lake Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lake-bell/) > [At first I thought I would have to put on an English accent and try a sort of affected Shakespeare thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/at-first-i-thought-i-would-have-to-put-on-an-english-accent-and-try-a/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I don't think you see a pirate with a parrot on his shoulder, for example. And even with the accents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-stevenson/i-don-t-think-you-see-a-pirate-with-a-parrot-on-his-shoulder-for/) [Ray Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-stevenson/) > [I'm a Yente and I have a terrible accent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-samuels/i-m-a-yente-and-i-have-a-terrible-accent/) [Lynn Samuels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-samuels/) > [In bed watching Family Guy. Love this show.! So hilarious! Stewie is my favorite :) love his accent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paris-hilton/in-bed-watching-family-guy-love-this-show-so-hilarious-stewie-is-my/) [Paris Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paris-hilton/) > [American accents often sound much more confident than British ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-front/american-accents-often-sound-much-more-confident-than-british-ones/) [Rebecca Front](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-front/) > [At this point two elderly security guards in parkas, the guys who normally work the front desk at the plant, asked John to step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/at-this-point-two-elderly-security-guards-in-parkas-the-guys-who/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [Much of my playing is rhythmic and choppy; I use a lot of double stops. The wah just accents all those stops and chops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-hammett/much-of-my-playing-is-rhythmic-and-choppy-i-use-a-lot-of-double-stops/) [Kirk Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-hammett/) > [“The accent of one's birthplace persists in the mind and heart as much as in speech.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/la-rouchefoucauld/the-accent-of-one-s-birthplace-persists-in-the-mind-and-heart-as-much/) La Rouchefoucauld > [Years later, when I was working as a trolley wally in a supermarket, I tackled the boredom by talking to the customers in as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romesh-ranganathan/years-later-when-i-was-working-as-a-trolley-wally-in-a-supermarket-i/) [Romesh Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romesh-ranganathan/) > [I think Americans still can't help but respond to the natural authority of this voice. Deep down they long to be told what to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oliver/i-think-americans-still-can-t-help-but-respond-to-the-natural/) [John Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oliver/) > [I live in L.A. so I worry my kids aren't that connected to Britain, I suppose I don't want them to become American kids.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mckidd/i-live-in-l-a-so-i-worry-my-kids-aren-t-that-connected-to-britain-i/) [Kevin McKidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mckidd/) [Browse all 749 Accents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They (Americans) have their national game, baseball - which is cricket played with a strong American accent - and they have a national language, entirely their own, unlike any other language spoken on the earth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Mikes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/they-americans-have-their-national-game-baseball-which-is-cricket/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accents" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/they-americans-have-their-national-game-baseball-which-is-cricket/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/george-mikes-4493_accents_they-americans-have-their-national-game_2259132.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/george-mikes-4493_accents_they-americans-have-their-national-game_2259132.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/george-mikes-4493_accents_they-americans-have-their-national-game_2259132.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They (Americans) have their national game, baseball - which is cricket played with a strong American accent…” — George Mikes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Mikes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "They (Americans) have their national game,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/they-americans-have-their-national-game-baseball-which-is-cricket/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/they-americans-have-their-national-game-baseball-which-is-cricket/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```