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.
I've always perceived my speech as accentless or very "general American" sounding but as it turns out I actually have a Canadian accent. I am Canadian but I never EVER perceived myself as sounding like one, I always assumed wholeheartedly I sounded American, or like someone in the west coast U.S.
Good question. Or futhermore, how can some people say "Yes you have an accent" or "no you don't". I've moved from New England to the South (Texas) and I've been told I have an accent and others say I don't.
You only have an accent in comparison to something else.
There has to be a standard for someone to have a variation on it that is considered an accent. England has this standard: It's what you hear on a BBC broadcast, so Cockney English or Scottish English are considered accents, or variations on the norm. There are similar standards (and variations on them) from official bodies in Spain and France.
But the U.S. has no official standard about what speech should sound like, although many people do consider the flat Midwestern way of talking --what many broadcasters use -- as an unofficial standard. I believe that same situation exists in Canada.
So anything in the U.S. or Canada can be considered an accent if it differs greatly from what most people around you sound like. And if you rarely get out of the population where your speech was formed, you won't notice that until you spend time with other people.
My friend and I went to The Bahamas, and this guy trying to sell us stuff on the beach said, "I love hearing you two talk. You have such a great accent." Meanwhile, we're enjoying the Bahamian accent...but down there, WE were the ones who had the accents!
When I was a kid I had friend whose mother was from Germany. I said something about her mother's accent one day, and she said, "My mother doesn't have an accent!" It was weird--she most certainly DID, but her daughter didn't hear it as such.
Listen to your voicemail and you will hear your accent .I have a southern accent and I don't really think much about it until I hear it on my voicemail or someone points it out.
My friend and I went to The Bahamas, and this guy trying to sell us stuff on the beach said, "I love hearing you two talk. You have such a great accent." Meanwhile, we're enjoying the Bahamian accent...but down there, WE were the ones who had the accents!
When I was a kid I had friend whose mother was from Germany. I said something about her mother's accent one day, and she said, "My mother doesn't have an accent!" It was weird--she most certainly DID, but her daughter didn't hear it as such.
That's how I was with my grandma's NW English accent. I never heard it! My neighbor met her when I was 10 years old and exclaimed "I just loooovvveee your accent!" I knew other people had accents, but not her.
It's hard for me to hear my own accent too. I'd get ticked off at people saying I sound foreign, especially German or English. Even my next door neighbor and people in the town where I grew up make those comments. Down in southern Indiana I blew it off because I'm from the north--I believe I sound like an educated white person from Chicago or Milwaukee. Last April I heard my own voice on a recording. Those people weren't exaggerating.
Our ears hear noises from our own mouths much differently from the rest of the noises going on around us. I can't explain why, but there is an explanation.
I've lived in Baltimore all my life. In the fall of 1975 I was at school in Boulder, Colorado, where I made friends with people from all around the country. One night, "Pink Flamingos" was playing at one of the campus theaters. I didn't know much about it other than that it was some weird movie that was made in Baltimore, and went to see it with some of my friends. As the movie went on, I hadn't noticed anything in particular about the dialog, but about 15 minutes into it, the guy sitting next to me (who was from the L.A. area) turned to me and said, "Jesus Christ, P47P47, EVERYBODY in this movie sounds EXACTLY like YOU!"
That's how I was with my grandma's NW English accent. I never heard it! My neighbor met her when I was 10 years old and exclaimed "I just loooovvveee your accent!" I knew other people had accents, but not her.
It's hard for me to hear my own accent too. I'd get ticked off at people saying I sound foreign, especially German or English. Even my next door neighbor and people in the town where I grew up make those comments. Down in southern Indiana I blew it off because I'm from the north--I believe I sound like an educated white person from Chicago or Milwaukee. Last April I heard my own voice on a recording. Those people weren't exaggerating.
Our ears hear noises from our own mouths much differently from the rest of the noises going on around us. I can't explain why, but there is an explanation.
It's because we're also hearing it from inside our own heads/carried by our bones.
The first time I got an answering machine and recorded my voice and played it back, I was shocked. It sounded exactly like my sister.
A girl from Georgia who lived in Arizona for a few years swore she had a "western" accent. Uhhh, no sweetheart.
When I was a girl, I had a lot of hearing problems (as in, I could barely hear). So I learned to talk the way I heard. Everyone would ask me where I was from. When I told them I was born and raised in California, they would ask where my parents were from. When I told them my dad was born and raised in California, and my mom was born and raised in Utah, they would go, "Ohhhh...it must be a Utah thing." Uh. No. I just had a hard time with pronunciation. Once I could hear, I got a lot of speech therapy - now I have sort of a general California accent, but I do say some words in special ways, like kitten will be kidden.
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.
I knew other people had accents, but not her.
Those people weren't exaggerating.
