Do you have an accent?

[N.W. 3,619]

Nah, at least I don't think.

Think I'd sound better if I did, I kinda sound a bit nerdy, annoys the hell out of me, I hate it.

[marshmallowminish 183]

I have a slight Korean accent sometimes; which is odd, because my mom and I normally don't speak Korean at home. But, it's still there, and whenever I let it show, I giggle a bit- I enjoy myself sounding like so cx 

I'm a Californian dude so I'm like part of the only group on Earth that doesn't have an accent bro

Whaaaat? Isn't California where the Valley Girl accent originate from, though?  

[Aleh 481]

I have a slight Korean accent sometimes; which is odd, because my mom and I normally don't speak Korean at home. But, it's still there, and whenever I let it show, I giggle a bit- I enjoy myself sounding like so cx 

Whaaaat? Isn't California where the Valley Girl accent originate from, though?

I thought that was a joke xD

Californian accents pretty easy to spot

[From a UK perspective, no idea about Americans]

 

[edit

Realized I may or may not be talking about just surfer dudes rather than  californians. Same difference xD]

Edited March 27, 2015 by Aleh

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,298]

Despite having been surrounded by accents all my life, I never developed one.

[PROJECT: Simon 3,953]

Mine is Korean accent.. but when I speak english it doesn't sound like it. 

[sweetolebob18 724]

There were 4 American accents New York, Midwest, Western, & Southern + subvarients in each group.  If you've ever watched an episode of the old The Beverly Hillbillies show, the Clampetts (main characters) were all supposedly from the same small town in Tennessee.  They each had a different (wrong) accent.  It was just this attention to detail that made the show a legend

 

These days, Midwest is pretty much considered standard because most TV actors use it.  I understand it is much the same in other countries -TV is standardizing the language to a national uniformity.

 

Accents can be hard for foreigners to tell apart.  Most of us Yanks have trouble telling some British accents from some Australian ones, for instance.  (They tend to find this either funny or infuriating)

Edited March 27, 2015 by sweetolebob18

[Poetic Stone 1,040]

I don't have one unless you count a southern accent, I live in Mississippi. Which is in the USA for those ponies not familiar with the states. So I guess I do have a southern accent so there you go.

[Koukatsu 5,898]

I suppose my answer depends on another question;

Where is the OP from?

If the OP is from the Mid-West United States, no, I don't.

If they're from anywhere else in the world, I could be viewed as having an "American" or "Canadian" accent, based on the region I'm from, and my articulation.

[CaptainDoubloon 856]

I didn't think I did until I moved to Texas from California. People started to ask me if I was from the west coast. It took me awhile to get used to the texas accents.

Edited March 27, 2015 by Seeker Dragonheart

[long gone 8,929]

I have a bit of a Boston accent. Tend to drop my r's, say uh instead of oo or turn the hard "th" sound into d in some words (like tuh instead of to, duh instead of the, yuh instead of you, etc etc) and use a wicked lotta slang. I also speak fast, evidently too fast for people outside the northeast sometimes.

 

It's pretty wicked pissah, yuh get wat I'm sayin'?

[Silver Letter 1,830]

 

 

Realized I may or may not be talking about just surfer dudes rather than californians. Same difference xD

It's not the same. I am not a "Californian" but I've lived here for almost ten years. I've never heard that accent, if it even exists. Same with "valley girl". I've lived in all the pacific states and I don't recognize any accent hailing from that region. People's voices there are typically neutral....if they were born there and aren't from another land with accents like Mexico....and aren't really flavored by what should be called an "Accent" by any reasonable meaning of the word.

 

I would also add to my earlier statement that I think those that pronounce words differently are doing it wrong. A neutral way of talking is the correct way. English is spelt the way it is spelt for a reason. Not so people can pronounce "er" as "ah" and so on and so forth.

[Guest]

I never really considered myself to have a particularly distinctive one, I always thought I was rather neutral British at most. However, I constantly get comments about my odd/strange/confusing accent which people have a tough time trying to identify. Even my compatriots regularly ask me where I am from. 

[Magic Note 2,738]

I guess I don't really have an accent. If anything, it'd be considered a normal American accent.

[Aleh 481]

It's not the same. I am not a "Californian" but I've lived here for almost ten years. I've never heard that accent, if it even exists. Same with "valley girl". I've lived in all the pacific states and I don't recognize any accent hailing from that region. People's voices there are typically neutral....if they were born there and aren't from another land with accents like Mexico....and aren't really flavored by what should be called an "Accent" by any reasonable meaning of the word.

 

I would also add to my earlier statement that I think those that pronounce words differently are doing it wrong. A neutral way of talking is the correct way. English is spelt the way it is spelt for a reason. Not so people can pronounce "er" as "ah" and so on and so forth.

Eh, pretty sure it'd be noticeable to a lot of people outside the US.

I mean I never noticed that I had a recognisableaccent until I joined a game and half the people started shouting about how posh I sound >.<

A

 

[it's not even that posh by UK standards Dx]

Also eh, every language has dialects ( you guys constantly messing up the word mum.)

Edited March 27, 2015 by Aleh

[Silver Letter 1,830]

 

 

Also eh, every language has dialects ( you guys constantly messing up the word mum.)

People use "mum" correctly from what I can tell. "to keep mum" comes to mind.

[Aleh 481]

People use "mum" correctly from what I can tell. "to keep mum" comes to mind.

Eh, more the spelling than anything (Majority of you use mom instead of mum. Color instead of colour etc). 

Honestly so long as the pronunciation is understandable its not really a problem, there's no 'true' way of pronouncing things (What is the correct way of doing things? British English or American English?). From other peoples perspective you might be pronouncing what they say incorrectly : P

[Silver Letter 1,830]

 

 

Eh, more the spelling than anything (Majority of you use mom instead of mum. Color instead of colour etc).

You're talking about that? Well, I pronounce words the way they are spelt so there is no ambiguity provided that I conform to pronunciation rules for all things spelt. If something has an "o" then it likely has an "o" sound in some fashion. Not a "u". I still think that those which fail to do so are doing it wrong. Furthermore, the "u" in some words like "colour" are likely superfluous and don't need to be spelt in such a way. It is probably an incorrect spelling as to how it is sounded. I believe it is one of the few times where even the English has it wrong.

 

"mum" is a bit more complicated though. I don't know the history of that particular word and why it is pronounced like that but Americans that borrow English should respect how it is supposed to be spelt. I don't think Americans or anyone else for that matter have any kind of "right" to change the English language to suit their own ends. It's disrespectful since it's not even their own language to trifle with. Would that then make "mom" a completely different word? Of all the arrogant things to do, would adding a word to a foreign language be close to the top of the list?

[ThunderSaddle 56]

I have no accent in French and I manage to speak English with quite a convincing and fluid American accent. Unless when I'm stressed, then I fuck everything up.

[Aleh 481]

"mum" is a bit more complicated though. I don't know the history of that particular word and why it is pronounced like that but Americans that borrow English should respect how it is supposed to be spelt. I don't think Americans or anyone else for that matter have any kind of "right" to change the English language to suit their own ends. It's disrespectful since it's not even their own language to trifle with. Would that then make "mom" a completely different word? Of all the arrogant things to do, would adding a word to a foreign language be close to the top of the list?

I've got to be honest but I disagree quite a bit here. The spelling of words and the meaning of words changes all the time. New words are being created left right and center, and that's not a bad thing.

And why is English not their language? Reason Americans speak English is because a large sum of them came from Britain. Not really a foreign language at all xD

[nami438 90]

I don't have an accent but I wish I did

Don't worry, you have an accent, unless you don't speak.

 

I have a Western USA accent.

[Light Diamond 950]

I have a British accent, i don't know if i have a posh accent, someone told me that i do have a posh accent.

[Silver Letter 1,830]

I've got to be honest but I disagree quite a bit here. The spelling of words and the meaning of words changes all the time. New words are being created left right and center, and that's not a bad thing.

And why is English not their language? Reason Americans speak English is because a large sum of them came from Britain. Not really a foreign language at all xD

But doing so in a chaotic manner can only muddle things normally. Expanding and altering English as needed is important and good which is why the English should stop spelling "color" as "colour". It would be fine if various groups or organizations petitioned some kind of worldwide body of English linguistics like the Spanish has to add words to the language to be used by all English speakers. There is no reason to have one group of people speak a language one way and another group speak it another way. Then you end up having people mess up words like "car". Might as well make up their own language if they want to dictate the rules, no? :okiedokielokie:

 

..Then there is the whole business with "accents" too. It just makes things even more complex. They might even feel like they own English or something. If my way was done then there might even be just one accent and one language. No dialects at all.

 

Yes, some Americans did come from Britain a long time ago but that is no longer relevant to today's America. The only reason why it is the majority language today is because it is insisted on being taught as such. 

 

 

Don't worry, you have an accent, unless you don't speak.

 

I have a Western USA accent.

I don't believe there is such a thing as a western US accent.

[Aleh 481]

But doing so in a chaotic manner can only muddle things normally. Expanding and altering English as needed is important and good which is why the English should stop spelling "color" as "colour". It would be fine if various groups or organizations petitioned some kind of worldwide body of English linguistics like the Spanish has to add words to the language to be used by all English speakers. There is no reason to have one group of people speak a language one way and another group speak it another way. Then you end up having people mess up words like "car". Might as well make up their own language if they want to dictate the rules, no? :okiedokielokie:

 

..Then there is the whole business with "accents" too. It just makes things even more complex. They might even feel like they own English or something. If my way was done then there might even be just one accent and one language. No dialects at all.

 

Yes, some Americans did come from Britain a long time ago but that is no longer relevant to today's America. The only reason why it is the majority language today is because it is insisted on being taught as such. 

 

 

I don't believe there is such a thing as a western US accent. 

Accents and dialects don't make conversation that hard though, only major difference is regional slang (Unless ofc the user has a really strong accent). And thats how its always been. Would be impossible to get rid of accents overall. 

Also don't like the idea anyway, having one universal accent is boring as hell :/ Accents are cool/cute/funny sometimes, would be a shame to lose that over wanting everything to be slightly easier >.<

[nami438 90]

But doing so in a chaotic manner can only muddle things normally. Expanding and altering English as needed is important and good which is why the English should stop spelling "color" as "colour". It would be fine if various groups or organizations petitioned some kind of worldwide body of English linguistics like the Spanish has to add words to the language to be used by all English speakers. There is no reason to have one group of people speak a language one way and another group speak it another way. Then you end up having people mess up words like "car". Might as well make up their own language if they want to dictate the rules, no? :okiedokielokie:

 

..Then there is the whole business with "accents" too. It just makes things even more complex. They might even feel like they own English or something. If my way was done then there might even be just one accent and one language. No dialects at all.

 

Yes, some Americans did come from Britain a long time ago but that is no longer relevant to today's America. The only reason why it is the majority language today is because it is insisted on being taught as such. 

 

 

I don't believe there is such a thing as a western US accent.

Well one of them. Southern California.

[PE Brony 1,712]

I myself grew up in the Bay Area of California, but I moved before high school and was never one to pick up trendy vernacular. We moved to Utah and my accent has been dampened, but most people can tell that I'm not from Utah when they first meet me (it stood out a lot more while I was living in England and most of the other American's they were meeting were from Utah). 

 

With all that said, I'm not really sure what to categorize my accent under...I articulate more than most of my friends in both Utah and California, and I'm not quite as prone to the stereotypes over either area. I like to think that I'm very understandable and can communicate with most people I've met, even those who don't speak very much English.

 

 

 

(One time in England, I approached a pair of Filipino girls to ask them a question and they started to say, "We don't speak good English." Then they realized that I had an American accent and they opened right up to me saying, "Oh my goodness, you're American! We can understand you! We can't understand the English!" It was really funny to me!  )