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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,047,835 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lovely95
So even that typical American accent is pretty noticeable down there? They'll hear me and say "Oh she is definitely American"? It's so strange since I'm used to this accent by hearing people speak it everyday and to have someone else think it's one of the weirdest, standoutish ones out there.
I was talking to some friends yesterday also and I mentioned that if me(with a general American accent), someone with a southern accent, a person with an Australian accent and a British speaker were having a conversation, to someone who doesn't speak English, we probably sound the same!
Definitely, the other day I heard a group of Americans talking and I knew after two words they were American (they could've been Canadian I guess). Just the way they said 'yeah' stuck out a lot.
I suppose just like the way we can't tell apart French dialects.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,047,835 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drover
Well, which American accent are you talking about? The Northern Midwest accent which is very rhotic and often nasal? Or a southern accent which is slower and more drawn out? Or a New England accent which can be harsh like a Midwest accent but is non-rhotic? Or the west coast "surfer" accent? Or a Southwest accent influenced by the Spanish common to the region? There's lots of different American accents.
Most of the ones I hear sound like the ones I hear on TV - General American. At school there was a kid from Texas and at my church a young woman from Tennessee but both don't really sound Southern at all. I don't think I've heard a proper Southern accent before, actually (aside from on TV). The few occasions I meet Americans I generally ask them where they're from, and I notice quite a few from the Midwest, especially elderly folk. My interest in accents means I can pick up subtle variations; like how Westerners tend to say 'sure' as 'sher', or horrible as '*****-a-ble' as well as the obvious ones like the NY accent.
I don't think I have ever heard a proper Southern accent on television in a tv show or movie. Most of the time people try to speak southern when required by a role but most southerners cringe when they hear it.
I have a Great Lakes accent (Michigan) and I live in Scotland. I've had people tell me my accent was really strong, that it was cool, that it was weird, and I've even been asked if I was Irish. Huh? I had a Scottish lady on a plane ask me if I was from the Great Lakes or Canada. When I lived in TN I had people tell me I had a Michigan accent.
I've had to change how I pronounce certain things in order to be understood. The biggies are twunnie, wadder, and sticking 'd's' in where it is supposed to be a 't'.
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