To the British posters on this board, what does the American accent sound like to you?

[CottonBolus]

To me, the English accent sound very harsh and whenever I hear someone with a British accent, the first thing that comes to mind is Mary Poppins.



This is how I feel whenever I try to imitate the British accent, in other words, exceedingly frustrating.

[JohannBessler]

Cotton, many varieties of the English accent exist. Most Americans have heard only a very few of them.

I confess I don't have a great fondness for Received Pronunciation on a man. On a woman, however, it sounds lovely.

This might interest you:

[loveguys72]

So you're saying Americans sound like we're speaking gibberish?

[HoodedRat]

Americans usually sound like they are shouting ... at least he ones I meet in real life do. They often seem to be at least twice as loud as normal people.

Maybe because it's a big country they have to shout to be heard.

[ChickenGuy]

I remember this YouTube vid was posted last time this topic was discussed.

This guy is amazing at impersonating accents, I wish I had his voice skills.

[loveguys72]

I think his native accent is hot!

[SLOPPYSECONDS]

urr urr urr urr urr
or err err err err err
or lots

thankyou

O O O O O ha

[quasar]

I think the 'Mary Poppins' accent does come across as rather hard, but regional accents are incredibly diverse and many are much softer. Personally, the only thing that I have to re-adjust my mind to, when hearing the American accent, is the different emphasis placed on syllables within words and words within a sentence. Other than that I love an American accent -especially Dan's (GL) Texas tone.

[Beachguyj]

Here is an intelligent British man doing a Jersey accent.

[JohannBessler]

Americans usually sound like they are shouting ... at least he ones I meet in real life do. They often seem to be at least twice as loud as normal people.

:

haha you haven't heard me speak. People constantly ask me to "speak up" or "stop mumbling". lol

My voice sample is here on JUB if you ever want proof.

[Beachguyj]

To me, the English accent sound very harsh and whenever I hear someone with a British accent, the first thing that comes to mind is Mary Poppins.

[

The British accent never sounded harsh to me, maybe Cockney a little bit because I can't understand a word of it. To me the German language sounds very harsh.

[Nishin]

urr urr urr urr urr
or err err err err err
or lots

thankyou

O O O O O ha

I am not a native speaker so not good at picking different accents' specifics but yeah
What Sloppy said
That's actually what US series accent sound like (except for very distinct accents like cajun)
Yet I guess this and RP English are the easiest to understand to foreigners because we are thought rp at schools and hear US on TV...

I remember this YouTube vid was posted last time this topic was discussed.

This guy is amazing at impersonating accents, I wish I had his voice skills.

He's very talented indeed ! (and kinda cute I must say)

French accent wasn't too bad
Italian sounded more Romanian, this aid Italian and Romanian are close
Japanese was quite good
Indian was on point
Wasn't too impressed with the german accent, maybe a German native could confirm

[gsdx]

Here is an intelligent British man doing a Jersey accent.

And here's an intelligent American doing a Cockney accent. He did it so. . . so. . . Well, when he did Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 4 years later, they wouldn't let him do the accent again.

[looseliam]

I've been watching so much BBC over the last couple years that American accents on TV are sounding weird. Oh, and I have the urge to dial 999 instead of 911

Americans usually sound like they are shouting ... at least he ones I meet in real life do. They often seem to be at least twice as loud as normal people.

Maybe because it's a big country they have to shout to be heard.

no it's because we're more important than your silly little island and everyone must listen to us... or something

[vulgar_newcomer]

I don't understand how fast Americans lost the British accent. Not even 50 yrs after becoming independent from Great Briton the southerns were talking like the red necks still do. The Northeastern states all had very distinct accents as well, nothing much like a British, Irish, or Scotch accent.
Yet there are many countries with heritage to Great Britain that still have it. Of course New Zealand and Australia often get confused as English. Plenty of African, Caribbean counties, India, still have a British accent .

What happened to America with the accent before the civil war even started?
Of course I am talking about Americans with direct heritage to the British Isle not other European countries that settled in America.
I wonder if English as a language will ever fade out in favor of Spanish.

[TheLyingGame]

I don't know... i think I've watched to much American TV that I don't even notice the accent anymore.

But if you're going by state's, then i find the New York accent can be a little annoying..

[gsdx]

I don't understand how fast Americans lost the British accent.

Do you think it might have been one more form of rebellion and separation?

Edit: Note that it took longer for the spelling to change.

But if you're going by state's, then i find the New York accent can be a little annoying..

Which one? Each borough seems to have its own.

[JohannBessler]

I don't understand how fast Americans lost the British accent. Not even 50 yrs after becoming independent from Great Briton the southerns were talking like the red necks still do. The Northeastern states all had very distinct accents as well, nothing much like a British, Irish, or Scotch accent.
Y

I've studied linguistics to some extent.

Actually, you have it exactly backwards. When the signers coined the Declaration of Independence, the Americans and Brits sounded very much the same. The British English language evolved from there, while the American English stayed pretty much the same.

I read that the shift occurred first in the British Upper Class, shortly after (in the late 1700s) The Oxfordmen et. al. began to focus on the study of elocution. One part of that endeavor consisted of learning to drop their 'r's and become non-rhotic. From there, non-rhoticism spread to the lower classes to the point to where the UK speaks non-rhotic English in all but a small corner of the UK. The other speech patterns of RP followed suit to a large extent (e.g.the pronunciation of "assume", etc.)

Put a simpler way, the pronunciation changes in the UK were done on purpose.

It might interest you to listen to old recordings of King George (they exist on the Internet). You will marvel on how much more "American" he sounds than modern-day Brits. In fact, he sounded very similar to that Hollywood English that they used to teach actors in 1930s-1940s movies.

- - - Updated - - -

Do you think it might have been one more form of rebellion and separation?

No, because the Canadians stayed loyal to the Crown, and their English sounds much closer to American English than it does to RP.

[TheLyingGame]

Which one? Each borough seems to have its own.

I meant STATES! forget the '

Anyway, I don't think i've ever noticed a difference. That thick New York accent sounds the same to me in all the boroughs.

[Beachguyj]

I wonder if English as a language will ever fade out in favor of Spanish.

I don't think so. English is the language for international air travel, every international pilot needs to know how to speak some English. So if a French pilot wants to land in China they have to communicate in English

[JohannBessler]

I wonder if English as a language will ever fade out in favor of Spanish.

I doubt it very much. History shows us that lingua francas usually follow commerce. Put another way, lingua francas follow either wealth or conquest.

At this point--as cruel as it sounds--Spanish serves as the language of the workers, and I don't see any desire on the part of Spanish-speaking countries to conquer.

Mandarin Chinese may someday replace English. Their influence grows by leaps and bounds every year. Who knows?

[figjam]

Americans usually sound like they are shouting ... at least he ones I meet in real life do. They often seem to be at least twice as loud as normal people.

Maybe because it's a big country they have to shout to be heard.

I agree. This has been my experience as well. The "American" English accent seems harsh and quite crass sometimes. But what gets me most (from watching all these silly US reality shows) is how some Americans rush over the english language without pronounciating or completing their words. Some rush and force it into a totally new language.

[pat grimshaw]

...Mandarin Chinese may someday replace English...

I hope I'll be dead by that time.

[BENDERBOY]

Due to US tv shows, i'm very used to most American accents and find most of them sexy, whole different story with the Canadian accents though.

[johaninsc]

Southern accent from 4:06-4:10 sounds fake

but from 4:11-4:23..accurate for some of the areas around where I live

[twinkerbell]

My partner's got a Manc accent that I just love. Mostly he's worked to sound 'generically British' but when he gets excited or upset or really enthusiastic about something, it comes way out and it's adorable. And his bedroom voice? OMG! I tease him sometimes that all he needs to do is read the phone book and I swear I could come from just that. Yeah, I'm a serious Anglophile and hope that his work will take him back to England and we can live in London full-time.

[G-Lexington]

My British friend, whom I befriended online, was a bit brutal/frank when he told me, "I think I prefer conversing with you via e-mail, because when we talk on the phone or skype, I can hear your American accent, and dear God but you sound bloody ignorant."

Lex

[DeafFoxDemon]

LOL, what about Southern Accent?

[glasvegas]

I hope I'll be dead by that time.

I wish you good health so that you can see the day.

Back on topic, American accent are easier to understand than British accent, but it's harder to speak with an American accent thou. However, I was told I have American at one point, then British and sometimes Aussie. I have Asian accent when I am nervous.

[Lostlover]

I remember this YouTube vid was posted last time this topic was discussed.

This guy is amazing at impersonating accents, I wish I had his voice skills.

He's pretty good.

[mitchymo]

Some american accents come across as 'slow'. It sounds like most of the vowels in most words have double placements.

i.e. I'd here an american say the above sentence like this:

Soome aameeriicaan aacceents coome acroos aas sloow. Iit soounds liike the vooweels iin soome woords aare moore proonoounced.

Most american accents sound like there is greater accentuation of vowels, but, its far more noticeable in the central and southern states.

[cgymike]

Americans sound a bit flat to me but I aint British...gggggggg

[Anders123]

British-born Australian here; love American accents.

I find a southern accent on a well-spoken individual to be particularly charming; bonus points if he is gentle and soft-spoken. Some of the northern accents appeal to me also, namely Minnesotan and Canadian, which both sound very similar despite their subtle differences. I'm relatively desensitised to the 'standard' or 'generic' American accent, but it still appeals to me and adds just that little bit of extra hotness to a guy; especially if his voice has a deeper tone.

In a sea of whiny Australian accents, an American accent is like music to my ears; sweet, sexy music.

[HunterM]

I remember this YouTube vid was posted last time this topic was discussed.

This guy is amazing at impersonating accents, I wish I had his voice skills.

Oh man, this is an AWESOME video! As an American, I only understand Southern British accents. His U.S. southern/redneck accent is hilarious...and spot on!

[star-warrior]

From the tv shows I watch, Americans seem to have a range of accents, but the common thing about them all is the level of nasalization you seem to have. Maybe as other folks have mentioned its to do with making the vowels clearer or more drawn out, but somewhere down the line your preference for vowels and loosing consonants make some speakers sound backward.

So, in conjunction with Hooded Rat's observation, you sound like loud backward hillbilly folks.

[DonQuixote]

The variety of accents in the US is huge. The UK obviously has several even restricting it to just England.

As for "American" accent - I've been told that newscasters and such are sent to our neck of the woods to learn the flattened out, nondescript American accent.

As someone who has worked with people all over the country, and to a lesser extent the world, I chuckle at that, because I know our "dirty little secrets" that non-natives do triple takes at. I've made an avocation of trying to learn different accents/dialects if you will. I've surprised some people along the way by telling them, fairly closely, where they hail from.

Oh, and before I get too far afield - there is no such thing as a New York State Accent.
Long Islanders (beyond Brooklyn & Queens) have at least one accent of their own - if there are more, I apologize, I've never lived there, but I have spoken with many people from there.
Brooklyn and Queens have nuanced accents all their own, too. I think this is where some of the "Italian vs. Irish vs. Jewish" nuancing goes on.
Manhattan
Bronx
Then we get to the fun of the sliding accent - Western/FingerLakes region is fairly flat. As you approach the Leatherstocking Region and the Capital District, you start to pick up more of the effect you hear down state, but it is decidedly different. As you progress down the Hudson River Valley into Duchess and Westchester counties, you hit a shit.

Oh, you also transition from that great identifier of "Coastal Speak" vs. "Central core US Speak" - WE say "pop", THEY say "soda". Rumour has it a fair number of folk down South Georgia and similar surrounds call "all" carbonated soft drinks "Coke", much to the chagrin of that company headquartered in Atlanta, who likes to protect their trademark quite vigorously.

I can't speak to Staten Island - I don't know.
Then there's New "Joisey"
Philadephia - the "mummers" is radically different, yet again.
moving West to Harrisburg you get closer to Western/Upstate NY, but different.
Then there's Pittsburgh

And the beat goes on.

Yes, the accents really ARE that much different.

My son took a Summer course down in Binghamton years ago. At the end of the program, we wound up following his roommate's family to the same fast food restaurant for a bite. When we got there and we started talking, I looked at them and said, OK, you live in the Lower Hudson Valley, North of Yonkers but well South of Albany. I blew their minds away.

Now, as for Rochester, NY and its surrounds, and our dirty little secret? We have some interesting twists on words that I can only attribute to French Canadian influence reaching back to the 18th century.

Charlotte - MOST regions pronounce this name SHAR-lut. Rochestarians, when referring to the burrough of Rochester up by the Lake? shuh-LOTTE

Avon - The home of the Bard, the cosmetic brand, the home away from home of the Bard just across the Niagara River are all pronounced with a long A A-von. The town just South of Rochester? Think short a as in apple - a-von.

Chili - that sometimes spicy food - that Texans will tell you does NOT contain beans? Yeah, we pronounce that like someone who's a bit cold "chilly". But the town near here? Both "i's" are long, like the things you see with. ChEYE - L EYE

LeRoy - just as the French "the King" le Roi, not the more Countrified LEE roy.

Of course, after hearing the kid, above, pronounce his own town - Brighton more like Britton, I'm beginning to wonder - but I believe most people in the US would use the long I pronounciation as we do for "bright" and just add on from there to get "Brightun", since this "o" is not as pronounced as it is in Avon.

Then, there are the "This, That, Them, There, and Those's", which all too many in our region crucify into
"Dis, Dat, Dem, Dair, Doze".

Through in a fair mix of Haudenosaunee (Iroquios) native words, and we can totally baffle people with our bull shit.

Boston has a few of its own, too.

Enjoy!

[bankside]

In a strange way, I think the pervasiveness of US TV has made American accents sound somewhat fake. You know how people adopt a certain way of speaking when they take to the stage? Something they do with their voices to make it project to the back of the theatre that they would never do in real life…. I think I always assumed that people spoke like Americans just because that's what you do to be on television. It was funny meeting my first live American couple in Calgary and both guys almost had me looking for the TV camera.

Anyway, I actually like most accents and the variety. There are some pronunciations that grate on my ears but generally a witty, well-spoken speaker is a pleasure in any accent.

PS - Canadian here so I guess I'm off topic.

[DonQuixote]

I meant to include - when you listen to UK Rock Bands sing - The British invasion of the 60's w/ the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Doors, etc.

Their accents flatten out to a more generic "American" type pronunciation - not completely, but to a significant degree.

[G-Lexington]

The British Invasion bands were usually huge fans of American rock and soul records, and thus tended to ape the accents when sining. It wasn't until punk exploded that British rock bands began to really sound British.

Lex

[AshyPhoenix]

http://theoatmeal.com/pl/minor_differences4/accents

[vvaamim]

I'm American (California) and I have the toughest time understanding UK English. Well, the farther north you get, the more difficult. Southern UK varieties, a piece of cake, but as soon as you start getting close to Ireland I'm just like wtf?!

I love my Californian/Bay Area Accent. And I can immediately tell when someone's not from here.

[lambdaboy]

As an American living in London and originally from New York the British love Americans not there politics not there shoving Jesus up your ass but they think we are nice other than the aforementioned. However when I go to Paris (which I love. 2 hours by train from here) Americans think if they yell things liek "where is the men's room that every one should understand English. One American said to me Man they are stupid yet he spoke not one word of French. In Italy an American couple heard me and my partner speaking English and said than god we found you do you know how to get to the coliseum no one here speaks English to which I answered they speak Italian. Even before out language skills were improved we at least but a phrase book. They cost a couple of bucks. You start with sorry I do not speak your language well (in there language) and if they do not speak it they will find someone who speaks English. The one thing we realize when we meet Americans in Europe is that at least they are part of the 17% that have passports.
One other thing even in London we get is "aren't you scared to live here what with terrorism always good for a laugh.

[bankside]

As an American living in London and originally from New York the British love Americans not there politics not there shoving Jesus up your ass but they think we are nice other than the aforementioned. However when I go to Paris (which I love. 2 hours by train from here) Americans think if they yell things liek "where is the men's room that every one should understand English. One American said to me Man they are stupid yet he spoke not one word of French. In Italy an American couple heard me and my partner speaking English and said than god we found you do you know how to get to the coliseum no one here speaks English to which I answered they speak Italian. Even before out language skills were improved we at least but a phrase book. They cost a couple of bucks. You start with sorry I do not speak your language well (in there language) and if they do not speak it they will find someone who speaks English. The one thing we realize when we meet Americans in Europe is that at least they are part of the 17% that have passports.
One other thing even in London we get is "aren't you scared to live here what with terrorism always good for a laugh.

Not sure what to say other than "I'm so sorry."

And I did once have the same experience when we were in Prague a billion years ago with an American who overheard a few of us start planning the evening's events in English. He breathlessly exclaimed "Oh thank GOD some AMERICANS!" .

Unfortunately, as Canadians we instinctively make stinkface whenever someone mistakes us for Americans, much as the New Zealanders do if someone assumes they are Australian. So with this look of "Eww I just stepped in something unpleasant" we we're just as quick to reply "Absolutely not! We're Canadian!"

And then it was just awkward silence. We felt bad because we knew he didn't mean anything by it. And yet also annoyed because it did mean something: he had confirmed the stereotype about the clueless, self-centred american tourist. Not just clueless but oblivious. After all, none of us were thanking god to escape all these foreign languages, we were having the time of our lives trying to explain things to taxi drivers and order things in restaurants and talk to the locals in whatever language we could get by with.

And not just oblivious but arrogant! He was probably just looking for familiar company, but the way he put it came across like he had confided in us this huge sense of American superiority. And with us in sight he could be relieved of the unpleasant task of having to interact with all these lesser foreigners. Well, surprise! We were foreigners too!

And not just arrogant, but dim. As in "You can't even figure out who IS an American or not, my friend."

Anyway this was 20 years ago. Hopefully your story is also old?

[JohannBessler]

^One prominent blogger suggests that nowadays very few Americans travel abroad, when you compare it to the numbers of other nationals who do.

Put another way, 5% of the world's population is American, but the percentage of tourists who're American is far far less than their numbers.

[DonQuixote]

I'm American (California) and I have the toughest time understanding UK English. Well, the farther north you get, the more difficult. Southern UK varieties, a piece of cake, but as soon as you start getting close to Ireland I'm just like wtf?!

I love my Californian/Bay Area Accent. And I can immediately tell when someone's not from here.

VVaamim:
I think you might want to take a quick look at Google Maps.

1. IRELAND is a separate Island from MOST of the UK - and it's to the WEST of the island housing England, Wales, and at the NORTH end of this island, SCOTLAND!

2. The Island that is Ireland also is split between TWO countries - The Republic of Ireland (the Southern "mostly Catholic" section), and Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom, in the NorthEastern Corner of the "Emerald Isle".)

http://goo.gl/maps/Etza3

PLEASE acquaint yourself with it - you have, unfortunately, perpetuated the stereotype our Continental AND Canadian friends have just been discussing.

[gsdx]

Non-Canadians can't seem to be able to master saying 'eh?' properly. There is a knack to it.

[Benvolio]

Non-Canadians can't seem to be able to master saying 'eh?' properly. There is a knack to it.

Saying oat and aboat for out and about takes practise as well. Very subtle but it is the surest way to tell a Canadian.

[gsdx]

Saying oat and aboat for out and about takes practise as well.

Seriously, nobody in Canada says it like that.

[refujiunderground]

i find it funny how the english hate how we say our words yet the word they say their words and even spell it are awfully weird. i used to crack up everytime i heard bear grylls say glacier. he would say it like glass-shear. the spelling over there ain't all that either. you guys say favourite and stuff like that. weird.

[gsdx]

the spelling over there ain't all that either. you guys say favourite and stuff like that. weird.

You're the ones who changed it.