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As an American born in the midwest, being raised to speak in the generic American accent, I have always had a fascination with other accents across the country and the world. Mainly because there are so many different accents across the world based on location, it's interesting.
I've always had quite an admiration for the sound of a good and educated British accent, but I appreciate the common British accent as well. I also confess that when I was younger I always thought British people sounded more intelligent when they spoke, their accent accentuated the words more so, making it sound better, similar to how most people perceive southerners as slow because of the way they talk.
So I've wondered, I know myself and a lot of other Americans like a good British accent, but how do the British feel about American accents? How do other countries feel about American accents?
Standard American accent? It's okay, not my favourite, but fine. I speak something similar as an Anglo-Quebecois, but my favourite is the South African accents.
It's pretty easy to "change accent" to some extent. I'm amazed many Americans can't do that even if they want to.
Do you then find it amazing that people from the UK who move to the US will generally retain their accent years after moving?
I think it's an innate ability just like any other... I can click in and out of regional accents that are familiar to me without a second thought and there are many people who at the very least change from one to another gradually after moving, but then you'll meet someone who moved from Brooklyn to Albuquerque at 10 and still has an accent thirty years on.
As an American born in the midwest, being raised to speak in the generic American accent, I have always had a fascination with other accents across the country and the world. Mainly because there are so many different accents across the world based on location, it's interesting.
I've always had quite an admiration for the sound of a good and educated British accent, but I appreciate the common British accent as well. I also confess that when I was younger I always thought British people sounded more intelligent when they spoke, their accent accentuated the words more so, making it sound better, similar to how most people perceive southerners as slow because of the way they talk.
So I've wondered, I know myself and a lot of other Americans like a good British accent, but how do the British feel about American accents? How do other countries feel about American accents?
Since some Canadians accents are close to some U.S. ones I can't say I dislike the generic American accent. I find strong drawls less nice sounding. Of all the english speaking countries, I have to say an Australian accent is one I abhor. It grates me to no end.
Having traveled extensively and lived outside the US, I can state with certainty that anything American is disliked by the educated. As for the uneducated, they have been scammed enough to distrust Americans tremendously. They hear an American accent and they automatically seek retribution. My advice is to leave your accent home and learn at least enough of the language to be polite and to be able to understand, if not speak, the language.
I hate American sport commentators and Hollywood voice-overs.
Me too, especially American football (soccer) commentators, they just get on my nerves for some reason.
I like the generic American accent, it's very easy to speak and understand.
My own accent is a mix of American and British English, I'm sure it sounds terrible to native speakers, lol. It's the result of learning the "correct" British pronunciation at school and learning the American pronunciation through the media. I think a lot of Europeans have that problem
Since some Canadians accents are close to some U.S. ones I can't say I dislike the generic American accent. I find strong drawls less nice sounding. Of all the english speaking countries, I have to say an Australian accent is one I abhor. It grates me to no end.
Oh, I absolutely agree! I thought I was the only one who couldn't stand the Australian accent. I've literally turned documentaries off when I heard the voice-over was Australian. It's the only 'language' in the world I just can't hear for longer than a minute without wanting to punch someone, lol.
The South African accent on the other hand...
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