Do you think you have an accent?

Pinky said:
I don't think I have an accent, though, when I lived in Australia, I was told that I did.

Accents vary across Canada, as they most likely do, across the U.S.
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I have never seen much of a difference in accents in Canadians and a lot of Americans. Of course in some Southern or Southwestern states there are regional accents. That's why I was so surprised when I found out that 2 of the stars of my all time favorite TV show Star Trek, were Canadian. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Captain and Chief Engineer of the USS Enterprise were Canadians.:LOL:
 
oscash said:
My Uncle said that when he came out to Australia and went for a job interview, he was asked," are you Welsh? He said yes, but he actually came here from India and didn't want them to think he was Indian (which he wasn't). The Welsh accent is a little like the sing-Songy way of talking, like the Indian accent. Apologies if I offended anyone from Wales.
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you're right it is.. and its very hard to imitate, most people who try, end up sounding just like a Pakistani..or Indian...
 
hollydolly said:
oh that's interesting, because I've only ever heard Americans pronounce it Rowt... so that's something I've learned today..thank you :D
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I found many people in the central part of NY state say 'rowt.' I'm from Westchester- never picked up language habits when I lived in central NY, and none from my current location (midwest) either.

Seems some people do, some don't.
 
Everyone has an accent. if you think you don't it just means your accent is same as everyone else's where you live.

Sunkist said:
Something I could never understand, maybe someone here has input: how is it quantities of people can spend their entire lives in a specific location yet have no noticeable accent, while others in same situation/location do have noticeable accents?
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one thing I do know is the timing is crucial - if one moves to a place before puberty one usually ends up with no remnants of original accent.

if one moves to place after puberty, even in one's teens. - original accent might soften but nearly always remnants remain - so we get people who have lived in Australia for 50 + years but still have a slight italian/scottish/welsh/whatever accent.

My husband moved here when he was 7 - his accent is entirely Australian. His father, who has lived here for nearly 60 years, still is distinctly not so.
This is typical.
 
I am from the Midwest originally (Indiana to be more specific). I think most Midwesterners have a bland way of speaking with no accent. When I moved to Kentucky, I had a co-worker ask where I was from (in her twangy accent). I told her Indiana and asked her why she asked. She said she was wondering because of my accent. I just laughed to myself when she said that.
 
I'm from Chicago, and I hear the Chicago accent in others, but not in myself. California, PNW, and Midwestern all sound normal to me. I lived in Maine for three years and was surprised by that one. I live in Virginia now, and the southern accent kind of threw me at first, but on local TV and radio, just about anyplace you go, the speakers pretty much use what I consider the normal American accent. And in any state, there are varying sized groups that speak the American accent.

My wife, who was from Maine, speaks the normal American accent, even though her family has a very heavy Down East inflection. I asked her why she doesn't speak like her family. She said she trained herself to speak normal American, because she thought Down East was low class. It surprised me that someone would make such a distinction. It seems like accents are disappearing somewhat, and that's probably because of electronic communications.

Accents and especially languages resulted from isolation. There isn't as much of that as there once was.
 
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Sunkist said:
I found many people in the central part of NY state say 'rowt.' I'm from Westchester- never picked up language habits when I lived in central NY, and none from my current location (midwest) either.

Seems some people do, some don't.
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Oh, that's interesting; I was born and grew up in central New York, and I and everyone I know has always pronounced it "root."

I'm trying to think of how people here in ND pronounce it. . .
 
Having lived in 5 different areas of England before I emigrated to Canada over 50 years ago now I thought I had lost any of my mixed British accent but recently a fellow immigrant from GB whom I had never met before said almost right awayā€œWhat part of England are you from?ā€ Seems those early influences stick with us for life!
 
JustDave said:
I'm from Chicago, and I hear the Chicago accent in others, but not in myself. California, PNW, and Midwestern all sound normal to me. I lived in Maine for three years and was surprised by that one. I live in Virginia now, and the southern accent kind of threw me at first, but on local TV and radio, just about anyplace you go, the speakers pretty much use what I consider the normal American accent. And in any state, there are varying sized groups that speak the American accent.

My wife, who was from Maine, speaks the normal American accent, even though her family has a very heavy Down East inflection. I asked her why she doesn't speak like her family. She said she trained herself to speak normal American, because she thought Down East was low class. It surprised me that someone would make such a distinction. It seems like accents are disappearing somewhat, and that's probably because of electronic communications.

Accents and especially languages resulted from isolation. The isn't as much of that as there once was.
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That's too bad. I've always enjoyed other people's accents. It's a good ice breaker.
 
TeePee said:
That's too bad. I've always enjoyed other people's accents. It's a good ice breaker.
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I visited my cousin in Texas about 20 years ago. He was from Utah. He was introducing me to people and taking me places where we would meet other people, and it wasn't until maybe my 5th day when I heard an actual Southern drawl. I said to the guy, "I've been here for 5 days and you have the first Texas accent, I've heard." He laughed heartily, and then informed me that he was from Tennessee.
 
gruntlabor said:
"Route" is pronounced either as "root" (rhymes with boot) or "rowt" (rhymes with out). In British English, "root" is standard. In American English, both are widely used and accepted ... --Gemini
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I question whether rowt and root are classified as accents. Both sound normal to me. The part of Montana I lived in sounded normal to me, but they pronounced "creek" as "crick." I didn't consider that an accent as much as just different word usage. When they said "crick," it sounded as normal to me as having a crick in my neck. And in response to my use of "creek," a Montanan once replied, "Creek is what a saddle does."

I think accents are something different than that. But then, this is the first time I've even thought about it.
 
JustDave said:
I visited my cousin in Texas about 20 years ago. He was from Utah. He was introducing me to people and taking me places where we would meet other people, and it wasn't until maybe my 5th day when I heard an actual Southern drawl. I said to the guy, "I've been here for 5 days and you have the first Texas accent, I've heard." He laughed heartily, and then informed me that he was from Tennessee.
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That's me. When I first moved to South Central Kentucky, I couldn't get over how so few people had a southern drawl. He said most of the ones that had a southern drawl were in the Appalachia area. I guess we can't always go by stereotypes.
 
TeePee said:
That's me. When I first moved to South Central Kentucky, I couldn't get over how so few people had a southern drawl. He said most of the ones that had a southern drawl were in the Appalachia area. I guess we can't always go by stereotypes.
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Speaking of stereotypes, I have always associated a southern accent with a kind, friendly person. Then I encountered a professor from Georgia who was one of the biggest SOBs I've ever met. Ugh! I had a hard time with the disconnect between his soothing voice and his horrible attitude.
 
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