What does an American accent "sound like" to other English speakers? (island, Australian)

[belmont22]

By "American" I mean like one that's not heavily regionalized to the South, Northeast, California, Minnesota etc but more of a neutral kind of speech.

I notice Americans use the "uh" and "er" sounds a lot, "uh" being like the sound in "uh-huh" and "er" being like the second syllable in "Taylor". Which is why people stereotype us as pronouncing it "Amurica" even though that's an archaic pronunciation.

Also I've noticed, this might be a distinctly western US thing but my name "Michael" in American English is pronounced like "My-coal" while in other dialects it sounds softer and more like "My-kel". This pattern follows for words like "Barrel", "potential", etc. while in UK/Aussie/Canadian English it's said more like bare-rell. There's also the D/t flapping thing, like saying "budder" for "butter" instead of "buh-terr" or "buh-uh". Does US English basically sound like we are saying "uh" and "er" all the time?

[CravingMountains]

Standard American English also stresses Rs more than most other English language accents. Courtesy of massive Irish immigration that occurred for 150 years.

[iNviNciBL3]

It sounds pretty nasal.

[Dawn.Davenport]

I feel like the song "Barbie Girl" by Aqua is a good example of a bad attempt of emulating an American accent, particularity the song's male vocalist.

Aqua - Barbie Girl - YouTube

[steel03]

Originally Posted by belmont22

By "American" I mean like one that's not heavily regionalized to the South, Northeast, California, Minnesota etc but more of a neutral kind of speech.

I notice Americans use the "uh" and "er" sounds a lot, "uh" being like the sound in "uh-huh" and "er" being like the second syllable in "Taylor". Which is why people stereotype us as pronouncing it "Amurica" even though that's an archaic pronunciation.

Also I've noticed, this might be a distinctly western US thing but my name "Michael" in American English is pronounced like "My-coal" while in other dialects it sounds softer and more like "My-kel". This pattern follows for words like "Barrel", "potential", etc. while in UK/Aussie/Canadian English it's said more like bare-rell. There's also the D/t flapping thing, like saying "budder" for "butter" instead of "buh-terr" or "buh-uh". Does US English basically sound like we are saying "uh" and "er" all the time?

The "uh"/"er" sound you are referring to is called a schwa and it exists in every English accent, and every other language on earth (or close to every other language). All it is is an unstressed neutral vowel. I think you are mistaken about not hearing it in British/Australian/Canadian English in words like "barrel" and "potential."

One characteristic of General American English is called "rhoticity." An accent is said to be rhotic if speakers pronounce /r/ before a consonant/new word. This can happen at the end of words (like your suggestions "butter" and "Taylor") or in the middle of words (like "forty" and "cards"). General American is rhotic, whereas the RP accent in the UK is non-rhotic, as are the general Australian, Kiwi, South African, etc. accents.

However, there are many non-US accents of English that display rhoticity - Canadian, Irish, Scottish, many parts of England, Indian, and Pakistani. Additionally, several North American English accents & dialects are non-rhotic, including African-American Vernacular (AAVE), parts of the South and the Northeast, and parts of Atlantic Canada.

There are a surprising number of similarities between General American English and Irish English. Stick an American Southerner or a northern Minnesotan in the middle of Dublin and you might actually have trouble telling her apart from the locals for a moment if you're not paying attention. I've heard it said a few times that Irish English sounds more American to other British Islanders than other European English accents do.

[belmont22]

Originally Posted by CravingMountains

Standard American English also stresses Rs more than most other English language accents. Courtesy of massive Irish immigration that occurred for 150 years.

I don't think it's because of that but rather because when England colonized the US most of England still spoke rhotically. The Irish "r" actually sounds sort of different to me.

[rnc2mbfl]

Regardless of the regional difference in American accents, the thing I always hear in common is that we pronounce our double "t's" like double "d's": butter, matter, letter, etc.

[CravingMountains]

Originally Posted by belmont22

I don't think it's because of that but rather because when England colonized the US most of England still spoke rhotically. The Irish "r" actually sounds sort of different to me.

Oh really?! So you were THERE!? Like, all those hundreds of years ago? And you know how English colonists to America spoke?! Omg please record some mimicry of their speech and put it up on youtube because I would love to listen.

[ABQConvict]

I think American Rhoticism sound more like Westcountry 'R' than Irish 'R' but I'll give you that some Irish accents sound pretty neutral to the American ear.

Southern Americans don't sound like Irish to me; they sound closer to Australian especially with the 'e' to 'i' shift (pronouncing 'pen' or 'ten' like 'pin' or 'tin'.)

[CravingMountains]

Originally Posted by ABQConvict

I think American Rhoticism sound more like Westcountry 'R' than Irish 'R' but I'll give you that some Irish accents sound pretty neutral to the American ear.

Southern Americans don't sound like Irish to me; they sound closer to Australian especially with the 'e' to 'i' shift (pronouncing 'pen' or 'ten' like 'pin' or 'tin'.)

What is "Westcountry 'R'" mean?