Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,060,466 times
Reputation: 11862
Advertisements
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcatp
I guess I should have better explained myself. Typing crick is just an easier way to write how they say creek.
That is just a word that helps identify where they are from thus them having an accent.
I get what you mean, there are words which depending on how they are pronounced reveal where a speaker is from. I think what confused me is you said it wasn't to do with accent when it actually is still an aspect of accent rather than dialect. Some accents vary only by a few words, such as a short 'room' vs long 'room', but if you are perceptive enough you can pick alot more differences.
too much emphasis on letters R and G in american english. It definitely sounds gay or nerdy or whatever for most of the people. IMO, it is still better than british
Why can't Australian's say er's? Ladder becomes laddah and so on. The rising inflex at the end of every sentence is quite annoying. They sound like there holding there nose when they talk.
Why can't Australian's say er's? Ladder becomes laddah and so on. The rising inflex at the end of every sentence is quite annoying. They sound like there holding there nose when they talk.
Most English-speaking regions in the world don't stress the "er" or "or" or "ar" sound at the end of a word or at the end of a syllable followed by a hard consonant. The notable exceptions are Scotland, Ireland, the Bristol area of the UK, Canada and the U.S. And even in the coastal region of the U.S. many people don't stress the "er" sound -- the New England accent ("Here in Boston we pahk the cah in the cahpahk"), the New York accent ("I'm from New Yawk" or "I'm from New Joisey"), and certain regions of the coastal south ("I'm from Savannah, Jaw-juh").
There are certain Irish accents that sound quite American or vice versa. Scots English, of course, also has the rhotic R, which is a strong feature of North American English (both US and Canadian). However, I notice that Americans tend often to emphasise the final syllable of a word when it ends in -er -- almost the opposite to most regional speech patterns in England (esp South of England). I am under the impression that this American tendency to emphasise the final syllable of words both ending in -er and not (e.g. "government") may be spreading in the US. I would have thought it a more Southern thing in the past, but now I hear it increasingly amongst persons from all over the country. Contrariwise I may simply have become more sensitive to it after living in the UK for a period of time. The OP is interesting because it suggests a lack of sensitivity for regional American accents, just as Americans tend to speak of an "English accent" when, of course, there is no single English accent. However, most Americans who haven't spent a lot of time in England won't be able to differentiate regional and class-related speech features, much less be able to identify a Welsh accent. They may even be confused by some of the milder Irish and Scots accents, though usually not by the more pronounced, "classic" examples of these. All Americans tend to draw out the vowel sounds and turn even short vowels into diphthongs; often, vowel sounds become multi-syllabic. You hear this pattern a little less in Canada and much less I'd say in the rest of the English speaking world. I would say that those living in the south of England have an antithetical speech pattern in this regard and do not draw out the vowel sounds much at all. Americans who have studied languages such as Spanish, Italian or Lithuanian may be aware of how much more concisely these languages pronounce their vowels. Of course, in the US it is Southerners who are most apt to draw out vowels into multi-syllabic diphthongs, but all Americans do it to some extent.
I definitely prefer a general British (England) accent to a general American one. It can we rather annoying hearing loud Americans, especially tourists abroad.
I definitely prefer a general British (England) accent to a general American one. It can we rather annoying hearing loud Americans, especially tourists abroad.
Just what is a general British or general American accent?
There are certain Irish accents that sound quite American or vice versa. Scots English, of course, also has the rhotic R, which is a strong feature of North American English (both US and Canadian). However, I notice that Americans tend often to emphasise the final syllable of a word when it ends in -er -- almost the opposite to most regional speech patterns in England (esp South of England). I am under the impression that this American tendency to emphasise the final syllable of words both ending in -er and not (e.g. "government") may be spreading in the US. I would have thought it a more Southern thing in the past, but now I hear it increasingly amongst persons from all over the country. Contrariwise I may simply have become more sensitive to it after living in the UK for a period of time. The OP is interesting because it suggests a lack of sensitivity for regional American accents, just as Americans tend to speak of an "English accent" when, of course, there is no single English accent. However, most Americans who haven't spent a lot of time in England won't be able to differentiate regional and class-related speech features, much less be able to identify a Welsh accent. They may even be confused by some of the milder Irish and Scots accents, though usually not by the more pronounced, "classic" examples of these. All Americans tend to draw out the vowel sounds and turn even short vowels into diphthongs; often, vowel sounds become multi-syllabic. You hear this pattern a little less in Canada and much less I'd say in the rest of the English speaking world. I would say that those living in the south of England have an antithetical speech pattern in this regard and do not draw out the vowel sounds much at all. Americans who have studied languages such as Spanish, Italian or Lithuanian may be aware of how much more concisely these languages pronounce their vowels. Of course, in the US it is Southerners who are most apt to draw out vowels into multi-syllabic diphthongs, but all Americans do it to some extent.
I have a solid, though somewhat softened, Michigan accent (a bit different from midwest). I have been asked if I was Irish by Scottish and English people. Huh??
I have learned to put the accent on the final syllables of words while living in Scotland. The ones that come to mind are Argyll. I would have put the accent on the first syllable, but in Scotland the accent is on the -gyll. The same with other placenames such as Kilmun. The accent is not on the Kil but on the -mun. As for anything with a -ch, such as loch, forget it. My voice is not trained to say a gutteral -ch.
Just what is a general British or general American accent?
The general American accent is the accent you hear the people on CNN speak with or the narrorator of the at&t commercial. The general British accent is the one you hear in harry potter or in the "charley bit my finger" video.
The general American accent is the accent you hear the people on CNN speak with or the narrorator of the at&t commercial. The general British accent is the one you hear in harry potter or in the "charley bit my finger" video.
^lol
Well, I have a southern accent and find that most northerners just love to make fun of the way I talk . However, most people from other countries just seem very amused by our accent. And usually when other people immitate an "American" accent it sounds like a really bad cross between nasal/southern/hick and is no where near how we really talk. But you do have some southerners that really dont have a thick accent. Many people from the Birmingham & Huntsville AL areas are that way. The more rural a town is, the thicker the accent tends to be. We tend to be sorta lazy when we talk...we drop letters, draw out vowels, or just run everything together in one word.."youonto" = "do you want to". It is usually our "slang" that really throws people off more so than our accent.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. However, most people from other countries just seem very amused by our accent. And usually when other people immitate an "American" accent it sounds like a really bad cross between nasal/southern/hick and is no where near how we really talk. But you do have some southerners that really dont have a thick accent. Many people from the Birmingham & Huntsville AL areas are that way. The more rural a town is, the thicker the accent tends to be. We tend to be sorta lazy when we talk...we drop letters, draw out vowels, or just run everything together in one word.."youonto" = "do you want to". It is usually our "slang" that really throws people off more so than our accent.
