Accents

Kadee

Kadee

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Location
Australia
I have been in Queensland for 10 days and I have been asked a total of five times if I'm from New Zealand !
No I'm not from New Zealand and never been there :shrug: ( I never get asked at home) I don't think I sound like a person from New Zealand ,Have you ever been asked if you come from a entirely different country?

I do believe people who grew up in Broken Hill as I did ,tend to have a different accent, ( BH is only 45 km over the SA border, however it is a very isolated city) you can normally pick a person out in a crowd if you hear them speaking..Another strange thing we say in BH is if we intend to go to the north part of the city we say we are going "Down the North" OR "Out the south" I have no idea Why?
When we traveled for two years in 2004 , with the caravan,we stopped off at a place in NSW called Coonabarabran, ( a long way from BH) I walked into a gem shop and said hello to the attendant ,she said in return Oh your from BH I can tell by your accent :)
 

We all have accents. I had a woman half way around the world nail me as being from California. She told me I had that monotonous California accent.
 
Here in the U.S. we have significant geographical differences in accents. The upper Midwest... Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota... has a very recognizable accent. Boston, New Jersey... the New England brogue can't even say "coffee" correctly! :>) Our daughter-in-law was born and raised in rural North Carolina. That North/South Carolina, Georgia "drawl" is sometimes even difficult to understand. Some of the most troublesome to follow is the Cajun/Louisiana accent. We also have some quite strong racial accents.

I think it's so great to visit with people who have slightly different accents. My wife has lots of relatives in Minnesota. Every time we visit them, she comes away having picked up some of that accent. Takes her a week or so to lose it and get back to "normal". I also believe I've seen a lessening/softening of accents over the past few years. I attribute this to television, movies, etc. If the family watches hours and hours of "normal" talk on tv, they will begin to lose the local accent. Used to be that local news anchors, weather reporters, etc. had strong local accents. Today, in our mobile society, local television stations employ folks who have grown up in all parts of the Country.
 

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We both have trouble understanding some of the actors in older TV movies, made in U.S. usually shown as midday movies .
 
Grumpy Ol' Man said:
Here in the U.S. we have significant geographical differences in accents. The upper Midwest... Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota... has a very recognizable accent. Boston, New Jersey... the New England brogue can't even say "coffee" correctly! :>) Our daughter-in-law was born and raised in rural North Carolina. That North/South Carolina, Georgia "drawl" is sometimes even difficult to understand. Some of the most troublesome to follow is the Cajun/Louisiana accent. We also have some quite strong racial accents.

I think it's so great to visit with people who have slightly different accents. My wife has lots of relatives in Minnesota. Every time we visit them, she comes away having picked up some of that accent. Takes her a week or so to lose it and get back to "normal". I also believe I've seen a lessening/softening of accents over the past few years. I attribute this to television, movies, etc. If the family watches hours and hours of "normal" talk on tv, they will begin to lose the local accent. Used to be that local news anchors, weather reporters, etc. had strong local accents. Today, in our mobile society, local television stations employ folks who have grown up in all parts of the Country.
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I understand what you’re saying. However, I have to disagree with some of it. Also, keep in mind there are people of various races participating in this forum, and this is a public message board – thousands are reading it everyday. (This is a touchy subject for some people, but here goes…)

I don’t think there is really a “racial accent”. I think it’s more what (some/many) perceive as being the way (most) people of a certain race speak. TV/movies had added to that perception, although they have improved.

If you and I were to speak on the phone you would not be able to tell that I am black. I have extremely good diction, but I don’t try to sound like I’m upper-crust. Some might be able to conclude that I’m from the midwest/Ohio in the US, but that’s geographic. I rarely, if ever, modify my way of speaking and that applies to most of the black people I’m related to and associate with. I was raised to use proper speech and not to talk ghetto “street” slang. Sometimes I might do it if I’m clowning but that’s a temporary thing.

However, and I hate saying this, sometimes I can identify that someone is black just by hearing their voice. Sometimes. But that’s not just racial. I think upbringing, education, environment, and lifestyle come into play.
 
I'm from Mississippi. You know I have an accent. ;) When I was a working stiff, I once had to make a business call to a person in NY. The lady that answered the phone let out a good laugh when she heard me. oh well........
 
When we were in a restaurant in Seattle recently, our waitperson said, "You're from North Carolina, aren't you?" He not only knew I was from the south but that I was from NC. So I guess I do have an accent.

AC, if I'm talking to a black person on the phone, I can sometimes tell they are black. Their voice has a deeper, rich tone.
 
Apple Cruncher said: I don’t think there is really a “racial accent”. Stop worrying about being Politically Correct . Of course there are Racial Accents. Although Japanese speak with a different accent than Chinese we might conclude that their is such a thing as a Oriental Accent. Indians (from India) have widely different accents depending on where they are from in India. My ex wife was a New Zealander and was often mistaken for being Brittish or Australian by Americans despite their being distinguishable differences.
 
When I left the Chicago area, born & raised there, 30 years old, and moved out West, the folks claimed I must be from Wisconsin, because of my "accent"! In fact, Chicagoans speak much differently than Wisconsinites. I think in my case, it must have been due to a European-born mother, Chicago-born father of European descent, and a smattering of growing-up dialects picked up from the kids in our neighborhood: Italians, Polish, Czechs, primarily. imp
 
My ex son in law was born in Vietnam, his family immigrated to Aus when he was 2 years old and to talk to him on the phone he sounds no different to most Aussies.
 
Lon said:
Apple Cruncher said: I don’t think there is really a “racial accent”. Stop worrying about being Politically Correct . Of course there are Racial Accents. Although Japanese speak with a different accent than Chinese we might conclude that their is such a thing as a Oriental Accent. Indians (from India) have widely different accents depending on where they are from in India. My ex wife was a New Zealander and was often mistaken for being Brittish or Australian by Americans despite their being distinguishable differences.
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Lon, I’m not “worrying”. You are a long-time member (over a year) and therefore you should know that I’m not much of a “worrier”. Sure, there are a few things in life I worry about but being PC on this message board isn't one of them.

That aside, I still say there is no racial accent, per se. What you are talking about in your quoted post is geography.

For example, if I had been born in London, England and grew up there I would have a British accent, regardless of my race. I’ve worked with black professional people from London and they sounded like everyone else who lives in London.
 
Shirley said:
When we were in a restaurant in Seattle recently, our waitperson said, "You're from North Carolina, aren't you?" He not only knew I was from the south but that I was from NC. So I guess I do have an accent.

AC, if I'm talking to a black person on the phone, I can sometimes tell they are black. Their voice has a deeper, rich tone.
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Sometimes, certainly not always. I would even go so far as to say that does not apply to most black people. And you would not be able to identify me racially via a phone conversation, I guarantee.

When I visited a relative in North Carolina about 10 yrs ago, as soon as I opened my mouth people (white and black) said "You're not from around here, are you?" or they would frown and ask "Where are you from?"
 
Always, though usually people ask if I am German or Swedish. It is rather humorous when people speak to me loudly and very slowly. If they think I do not understand English....how could that possibly help understand it. LOL. Though now, as I am getting hard of hearing...it can be helpful.
American accents can differ in various areas of the same city. In Boston you can usually tell what part of the city or suburbs a person is from. In fact a cd was made a few years ago....addressing this great difference.
 
I'm usually pegged as Michigan/Great Lakes or Canada. Although my dh and others say my accent is a bit different since moving to Scotland. Usually they say I'm less nasal/whiny. :rolleyes:. I've been asked quite a few times if I'm Irish which totally baffles me.
 
There was quite a controversy here a year or so ago when some Peterhead fishermen appeared in a BBC documentary, and they showed it with sub-titles!

Some accents can be a bit thick!
 
applecruncher said:
For example, if I had been born in London, England and grew up there I would have a British accent, regardless of my race. I’ve worked with black professional people from London and they sounded like everyone else who lives in London.
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Applecruncher, I would have to tell you that you are a bit wrong here,
professional people, yes they will speak with a normal English/London
accent, but in general among the West Indian communities, their
children and grand children all speak with an accent that might have
come straight from Jamaica.
This is also crossing over to other immigrants children who are learning
English naturally in school, just by mingling with other children, I have
an East European family next to me, A mother and three daughters, the
oldest is around 12 - 15 years old and hearing her yesterday, I would
have thought that she was black because of the accent, except that I
could see her face as she was speaking.

I will say however that black people in other parts of England don't speak
with a ghetto accent, they do sound English, it is only in London where I
come across this.

Mike.
 
Not true Mike that they only speak in ghetto language in London, it happens very much so in the cities of Yorkshire, Leeds Dewsbury etc, also in Manchester, in Birmingham..all over the country where there's a large diverse community..
 
Mike said:
Applecruncher, I would have to tell you that you are a bit wrong here,
professional people, yes they will speak with a normal English/London
accent, but in general among the West Indian communities, their
children and grand children all speak with an accent that might have
come straight from Jamaica.
This is also crossing over to other immigrants children who are learning
English naturally in school, just by mingling with other children, I have
an East European family next to me, A mother and three daughters, the
oldest is around 12 - 15 years old and hearing her yesterday, I would
have thought that she was black because of the accent, except that I
could see her face as she was speaking.

I will say however that black people in other parts of England don't speak
with a ghetto accent, they do sound English, it is only in London where I
come across this.

Mike.
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Let's not complicate things. West India and Jamaica have nothing to do with what I'm talking about. Like Lon you are confusing geography with race.
 
Shirley said:
When we were in a restaurant in Seattle recently, our waitperson said, "You're from North Carolina, aren't you?" He not only knew I was from the south but that I was from NC. So I guess I do have an accent.

AC, if I'm talking to a black person on the phone, I can sometimes tell they are black. Their voice has a deeper, rich tone.
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I have speculated that racially black persons may have voices, actually voice boxes that resonate somewhat differently than people who are not racially black. What I am suggesting has nothing to with accents and if this speculation is correct it would mean that you could detect this difference even if the person speaking had no detectable accent. I base this speculation on the fact that in my own experience I have almost never heard but not seen a black person and not correctly ascertained their race purely from the sound of their voice. As I say this is purely a speculation on my part and I would be interested what other members think.
 
Josiah said:
I have speculated that racially black persons may have voices, actually voice boxes that resonate somewhat differently than people who are not racially black. What I am suggesting has nothing to with accents and if this speculation is correct it would mean that you could detect this difference even if the person speaking had no detectable accent. I base this speculation on the fact that in my own experience I have almost never heard but not seen a black person and not correctly ascertained their race purely from the sound of their voice. As I say this is purely a speculation on my part and I would be interested what other members think.
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You are dead wrong. I also know you are not being deliberately offensive because that is not your nature. But I'm going to let it go at that.
 
You are correct Josiah, genetic differences in native African voice boxes do exist, not common in European. This allows their speakers to incorporate as what is known in linguistics as a "guttural click". It makes the Sousa music from the coast so great. Check out a Mariam Makeeba album if you get a chance.

the differences in language that point to social status, location and origins of migration are called dialects, while those that pertain to sounds are accents.

my favorite accent is the Mormon O, (born instead of Barn) characteristic of the Pacific Northwest
and favortie dialect is recent one compared to the traditionals. Valley girl.
 
When family and I went to Maine everyone seemed to comment on our accent. I have always though I didn't have one. But I heard someone call a cat a cot so I guess I do.
 
Where London is concerned, it depends what part of London a person is born because accents vary even in London, for instance a person born in the East End of London would have a different accent to someone born in North London.
 

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