American accents?

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  • Crowhorse
    Crowhorse Posts: 394 Member
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    Wow! From Michigan and didn't even realize we have any particular accent. I will give you this, I hear a lot of "warsh" for wash (something I've been working on lol). Imagine moving to Michigan having a Texas/ New York accent. Horrible!
    I have been in MI quite a bit and have never heard anyone use "warsh" for wash.

    Wisconsin, MN, and east ND are the closest to Canadian. The only reason Americans say Canadians say "a-boot" is because they can't pronounce it like Canadians do.

    The accent you typically hear on American TV and movies is midwestern. That is what they usually mean when they claim they don't have an accent.

    I also think the perception of intelligence associated with english accents in general is due to media. English characters tend to be people like 007, scientists, doctors, or investigators. Most Americans don't see roles like Mr. Bean (who doesn't really speak, anyway). Commercials like to take advantage of this perception. If the want something to come off as smart or sophisticated, the narrator often has an English accent.

    I personally like a nice soft southern or Texas accent. My least liked is the general east coast, New York, Boston , etc accent.
  • krazyforyou
    krazyforyou Posts: 1,428 Member
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    Hate these double posts
  • krazyforyou
    krazyforyou Posts: 1,428 Member
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    Sorry Millerscd but theres nothing " nornal " bout ya.
  • ImKindOfABigDeal40
    ImKindOfABigDeal40 Posts: 807 Member
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    Sorry Millerscd but theres nothing " nornal " bout ya.
    Normal is boring!
  • Scott613
    Scott613 Posts: 2,317 Member
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    What about a lisp and a stutter followed by a hard pause? Then more lisping and stuttering.
  • thatgirl125
    thatgirl125 Posts: 294 Member
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    I was born and raised in Florida so I have a somewhat southernish accent. Then all of my family on my dads side lives in Texas and I talk to them all the time and have a slight Texan accent... But, main thing now is I live in Michigan. My whole life since living here people tell me I sound weird... And to be honest, I hate Michigan's accent... Nearly all of them sound uneducated and kinda whiny

    I do melt when I hear a nice Texan accent. oh and definitely British. :)
  • igora_soma
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    My undergraduate dissertation was on how British university students feel about accents, I had a selection of a few accents including GA (General American), a Southern accent (from Alabama) and a Canadian accent (very close to GA), I found that most of the students thought that GA and the Canadian accent were the same and didn't like the southern accent. I think every American accent has something unique and charming about it! It just depends on the person and their experiences :)

    I will say that there is nothing quite as charming as a Georgian accent though!
  • acasey0123
    acasey0123 Posts: 640 Member
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    I have a strong Boston accent (but not as bad like the people from Southie) the accents that I cant stand is the southern accents and the mid-west accent where 'roof' is prononunced 'ruff'
  • SimplyShanRunning
    SimplyShanRunning Posts: 885 Member
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    What about a lisp and a stutter followed by a hard pause? Then more lisping and stuttering.

    HOT!!!!
  • maab_connor
    maab_connor Posts: 3,927 Member
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    I'm from Australia, and LOVE the American southern accent, like Bill Compton on True Blood!!! mmm Bill!! Anyhoo... dont you also think its amazing that when people sing, they dont tend to have accents, unless its country music of course! But even then, its a country accent not a particular country. Just saying! Happy New Year to all. x

    singing is acutally a tool that dialect coaches use to give ppl the "mid atlantic" american accent. this is also the accent that most ppl think is NOT an accent. Charlize Theron used that method to train away her South African accent so that she could get more american roles.

    One of the reasons that Philadelphia is the final stop for newscasters before they hit the national news, is to train the mid atlantic dialect into them before a promotion. there are a lot of dialect coaches who will train the mid atlantic accent into news casters and actors as well. that makes it the most-heard accent. and also the one that ppl think of as "not an accent".

    but i adore american accents. and they really CAN change at a county line. I grew up near Lancaster (pronounced: lank-ister) PA and there is a HUGE difference from there to where i now live in MD. and it's only 10 miles away. and then, the Main Line, where my mom grew up, another 30 miles away, is different again.

    i love that ppl think that b/c they sound like everyone they know, then they clearly don't have an accent. we don't hear our own.

    we don't even hear our own accents when we're speaking another language. i remember when my cousin was dating a girl from Mexico City - he's conversational in Spanish - and her mom came up one holiday and my cousin said that he didn't have an accent when he was speaking Spanish. GF and her mom broke into some serious belly laughs over that.

    for an american accent that i love, northern TX/OK panhandle makes me weak. i think this is why i listen to Kane and watch Supernatural. LOL.

    and, here's one i realized a few years ago - an Aussie who speaks with an american accent always sounds sexy to me. i will think someone is really hot, and find out later that they're actually Australian. so, apparently i ALWAYS love an aussie - even when they sound like me. HAHA!
  • mfiggs
    mfiggs Posts: 155 Member
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    Where I work I come in contact with people from all over. I can always recognize someone from South Carolina or from Massachusetts. I grew up in MA and I can recognize the accent anywhere. My grandfather lives in SC and I can pinpoint it also. I love an Australian accent and I think Jersey accents are annoying, sorry.
  • Miss_Chievous_wechange
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    <--- this girl's accent is quite nice. She has a sexy, intelligent southern accent that is southern, but not heavy southern. :wink:
  • ❤B☩❤
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    I am from Maine... we don't have accents.... :wink:

    LOL! Okaaaaay!! Yessah, B'Gawd! :wink:
  • mikeyml
    mikeyml Posts: 568 Member
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    I'm from Maryland and as far as I know, I personally don't have an accent. There are some in this area that do though.
    I'm from Maryland too. We Marylanders do not have accents, unless we are from Balmer hon. Or from Southern Maryland y'all.
    LOL...

    I've lived in MD my entire life and we definitely have accents. :smile: Actually several different accents. Eastern shore, southern MD, Dundalk (Balmer), western MD - all different and very noticeable to a MD native. And since we can hear other people's accents, it makes sense that they can hear our accent, even if we can't.

    For example, where I live we tend to raise our voice at the end of a statement as if it were a question. Almost like everything is a question. It's very subtle, but it's there.
  • SinIsIn
    SinIsIn Posts: 1,865 Member
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    I'm from DEEP South Texas (about 15 minutes from the border) and everyone around here sounds the same to me. Once I head up towards Austin that's when I start to hear the Texas accent. I don't believe I have it, I don't say "ya'll" or anything like that. I may have a bit of a spanish accent to my english? The first time I talked to a friend who I met online, she said I had a spaish type accent.:huh:

    I work with truck drivers so I've heard a lot of different accents. The only ones that bother me are the "Deliverance" sounding ones but only because that movie scared me! :tongue: That and I hate not being able to understand someone.

    My favorite American accent would have to be those from Boston :heart:
    Non American would be Irish and Australian... the Aussie accent makes me swoon.:love:
  • Kelico528
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    This thread was fun! I don't really find an accent hot or annoying so much as the tone of the person. If you have a high, naselly (sp?) voice, even a sexy Aussie accent will be annoying.

    I do have to agree with the person about the asian accent. I do not find it appealling at all. And yes, it's probably because the asians I have encountered have been very rude. Am I assuming they are all like that, probably. (My bad) But it is no different then the posters who don't like the "Joisy" accent because of Snooki. This was a post asking peoples opinion. If you don't want to hear what we have to say, don't read the thread!

    I am from Michigan and I approve this thread! :laugh: (So lets all go get a "pop" & discuss this! LOL)

    HAHAHA!!! You go get your "pop" and I'll go get my "coke"...lol! :laugh: :drinker:

    LOL Ohhh my goodness I love this thread! I am a HUGE accent nerd. I love recognizing them and talking about them. MY TWO CENTS, here we go!

    First of all, I am from Ohio. I say pop and I'll always say pop LOL. As far as an Ohio accent goes, it really is impossible to say there is *an* Ohio accent. Really, there are 2 - those from the north (wooo Cleveland rocks!) and those from the south. This could be why a former poster felt it appropriate to place Ohio and Texas in the same catergory. There is no Ohio SLASH Texas accent. People in southern Ohio will, however, have a little bit of a southern drawl like those is Kentucky, West Virginia, etc. Notherners will say some things differently, like reeeeeally draw out their long O's (Owwhioww, owwpen the door). Really, a lot of notherners have a unique cadance to the way they speak, kind of like a "Valley girl." "Owh my goooowsh, are you seeeeeeriouuuus?"

    Anyway, my point is, not everyone on Ohio has that odd little southernesque drawl, to be compared with places like Texas. Only the bottom half of the state :-)

    I personally find the Canadian/Michigan/Wisconsin accents to be very endearing. Like the mom from Bobby's World! Anyone remember that cartoon!? "Ohhh it's Baaahhbby's world dontcha know?!"

    Aussie accents, I find (no offense) a little annoying. It sounds to me like they have a bouncy ball in their mouch while their trying to talk LOL.

    We currently live in Arkansas, and we find the accent incredibly annoying here too. People says "OLE" (no, not the spanish "olay", more like ol') instead of oil, and "BOLE" instead of boil. THey get all of their tenses mixed up too. Of course, there is "ya'll" and, apparently, the PLURAL of "ya'll" which is "all ya'll" LOL. Uuugh I hate it!
  • chocolateandvodka
    chocolateandvodka Posts: 1,856 Member
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    I am from Dallas and have made a concerted effort to avoid that redneck, deep south, stereotypical Texan accent. However, I do sound decidedly American. Just with clear diction.

    London and Ireland accents - oh my lands they are amazing. New York accent? I could talk to you all day. Louisiana accent - hilarious. Arkansas? excuse me while i get my shotgun and put you out of my misery.
  • pucenavel
    pucenavel Posts: 972 Member
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    I'm from NZ and have not mastered the art of pinpointing where an American is from.
    I frequently mistake Americans for Canadians, and vice versa. Sorry!!!

    How can you tell the difference?

    The Canadian is quite so arrogant.:laugh:
  • Ashalena
    Ashalena Posts: 162
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    What about a lisp and a stutter followed by a hard pause? Then more lisping and stuttering.

    sthuper sthexxyyy
  • Kelico528
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    I tease my Ohioan hubby for the way he says certain words, and I love a light southern accent. I tend to pick up accents where ever I go, so depending on where I am, is how I sound! LOL!

    LOL what words do you think he says funny?

    I do the same exact thing as you, as far as picking up accents - EXCEPT for here in the south. When we lived in Germany & a German was speaking broken english to me, I would speak slightly broken english back. WHY!? I don't know! I would be so embarassed! For some reason I thought they would understand better?? It wasn't really an accent, just the way I arranged my words in a sentence I guess. Either way, as soon as I noticed I was doing it I made every effort to stop LOL.