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I have noticed that throughout the United States, many Asians that have lived in this country their whole lives, have perfect American accents. Many other groups still have a little something you can pick up on when they talk, but not Japenese, Koreans, Chinese, etc. The ones that have lived and grown up in the US have nice, just about perfect speaking voices when compared to other groups. Why?
There are issues with your statements. First, what the heck is a "perfect American accent?" I have a heavy NYC accent and last I checked, that location is in America. Your statements might have been better received had you said that they speak unaccented American (as opposed to British) English.
You can't generalize and say "many" have perfect accents. Some do, some don't.
Also, to a certain degree, I understand and agree with what smokingGun said (edited):
Quote:
well i'm white, but having grown up in California with lots of Azn friends & classmates (including at UCLA), it's undeniable that many Asian-Americans have a distinct inflection in their tone & cadence to their speaking that stands apart from their Caucasian or Hispanic or Black peers. To say they don't is being naive & unappreciative of the differences in our various cultures.
There can be some very subtle differences in tone, not just from Asian Americans, but Hispanic Americans and African Americans as well. Clearly, this is not always true and it would be silly to suggest otherwise.
I have a subtle weird accent but I think it's because I'm unable to distinguish certain sounds (don't enunciate some letters like "g" at end of words), not cuz I'm Chino. I also pick up stray accents from Latinos and the deep south for no reason at all. But most of the time I can manage to sound pretty "neutral newscaster" Americanized. It's easy because the English language is just easy to pronounce. Whereas the Chinese language is very difficult for English speakers to pronounce correctly because it has so many different nuances. I never understand why a lot of native Vietnamese speakers cannot pronounce English sounds without attaching all sorts of extra grunts. I can basically hear any language and have no problem reproducing it and I attribute it to my Chinese language background. Part of it is also developing the ear to appreciate all the nuances, not just in using your mouth to form the sounds.
I have noticed that throughout the United States, many Asians that have lived in this country their whole lives, have perfect American accents. Many other groups still have a little something you can pick up on when they talk, but not Japenese, Koreans, Chinese, etc. The ones that have lived and grown up in the US have nice, just about perfect speaking voices when compared to other groups. Why?
This of course, is an assumption. I highly doubt that you've managed to collect data on this. Without any source other than what you say, this can hardly be a substantial theory.
Quote:
Originally Posted by facts101
Are you kidding me? There are several accents in the US depending on where you are and for some reason Asians that have grown up in the US seem to speak the kind American accent that can not be pinpointed to a certain region.
Examples, please.
Quote:
Originally Posted by facts101
Asians, for the most part, just speak with an American English accent, that sounds better than most people from these places. I don't know exactly why this is so, but it's the way it is. It probably has something to do with the fact that they have higher iq's on average. People may not like this stat but it's just the way it is.
Examples, please.
Quote:
Originally Posted by facts101
I am just talking about the facts. Please leave emotions out.
You haven't been able to prove that what you assumed is a fact yet, let alone a valid theory; I'm inclined to protest for sources.
Haha! This cat's name is Henry Cho. He was born and raised in Tennessee. His accent is 100% real, y'all. Check out his stand up act. He's one funny cat.
I know this thread is dated - but I've known quite a few Asian immigrants and I find that if they move to the US by a certain age, they lose their Asian accent - but after a certain age, it stays with them. I'm gonna say it's something like 6 or 7 years old. Also, it makes a difference what they speak at home.
RE: those who are born here - It don't matter what your ethnicity is, you end up speaking like those you hang around.
Yeah right. When you decide what that is please call the Linguistics Department at your local university because they've got people sitting in language labs with headphones clamped over their ears listening to people say the word "collar" and they can't define it.
While there are many Asian Americans, first or second generation, whose accents are both distinctive and quite standard American, I know that many children, especially those whose parents are Indian, often speak with heavy accents despite being American born because their parents both came from India, and also because ofttimes they move back and forth between USA and India every year.
Haha! This cat's name is Henry Cho. He was born and raised in Tennessee. His accent is 100% real, y'all. Check out his stand up act. He's one funny cat.
I know this thread is dated - but I've known quite a few Asian immigrants and I find that if they move to the US by a certain age, they lose their Asian accent - but after a certain age, it stays with them. I'm gonna say it's something like 6 or 7 years old. Also, it makes a difference what they speak at home.
RE: those who are born here - It don't matter what your ethnicity is, you end up speaking like those you hang around.
Oh yeah. Henry Cho is absolutely hilarious. I've seen his standup act a few times.
Along the same lines, have y'all noticed that even if there isn't an obvious accent, you can almost always guess the ethnicity of the person (all born here) just by hearing their voice?
There is something about the sound of the voice...over the phone or when my back is turned from the tv...it signals...bing bing bing bing in my ear and I can tell what race they are.
Along the same lines, have y'all noticed that even if there isn't an obvious accent, you can almost always guess the ethnicity of the person (all born here) just by hearing their voice?
There is something about the sound of the voice...over the phone or when my back is turned from the tv...it signals...bing bing bing bing in my ear and I can tell what race they are.
If true, then you are definitely blessed with a special bing bing bing bing. I find it's much easier to tell someone's ethnicity by looking them in the face.
As to the OP and his assertion, that was just plain, old-fashioned nonsense. Mainly because there's no such thing as a 'perfect American accent.' (An observation brought to you by Your Friendly Local Brooklynite. Fuhgeddaboudit!)
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