American accent is many things.
New York, maine, Wisconsin,southern, midwest, Southern California, etc etc are all different
this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2023
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I have a very specific one: 2nd generation asian american westcoast accent. They are neutral with very clear diction that is very easy to understand even to non-native english speakers.
Yes! It's the epitome of clarity. I gotta admit, when I hear the accent, I immediately assume the person is American.
To my ear my favorite accents are Irish and Scottish. Australian is good too. And Kiwi.
It feels a bit like OP thinks all Brits sound like the inbred upper class fox hunters we see on tv. They have so many accents and variants of which many are far from elegant and proper.
There are a lot of different British and American accents, depending on which part of the country they're from. Some sound much better than others. I don't know much about Australian accents. Is there just one, or many different ones depending on their location?
I remember trying to watch Mad Max a long time ago. I didn't make it very far in the movie because I couldn't understand what they were saying most of the time. I find most American and British accents easier to understand, although there are a few that are harder.
All 3 accents span a broad range. You have people who sound posh or idiotic depending what regional accent they have. Even in the south of the US, you have high southern and hillbilly
FWIW, I'm in the PNW in America. The accent here is pretty flat. An Australian guy just got hired at my job and his accent is fun to listen to. Most of the world doesn't like Americans when they hear our accents, but Americans love brit and aussie accents
It's all about context
Most of the world doesn't like Americans when they hear our accents,
Really? Where did you get that idea from?
Traveling? Quebec, France, Germany...
Quebec is a special case.
It's not the accent on your English that is the issue, it's that you werent trying to speak French.
Hahaha, I tried at the border crossing. The guard gave me no end of shit for mispronouncing Montreal and he made me repeat it back to him 3 times.
Apparently the key is to clear your throat there the "T" is supposed to be
In French you just don't pronounce the t. I'm a Montrealer and the idea of a border guard dealing with Americans all day giving anyone shit over language is the height of stupidity. I worked with tourists in Old Montreal for a couple of years and the rare "speak French" weirdo was given the eye roll and ridicule they deserve.
I'm always so curious when this is the answer, because I've traveled a lot, including to those three places, and no one has ever said they hate the American accent in my presence, even those who hadn't heard me speak yet.
Why do you think my experiences are so different from yours? Am I just, in all my years of travel, lucky to only run into nice people, and you rude ones? or is everyone simply lying to me, but being truthful to you, for some reason?
"Most of the world" is a pretty ridiculous claim to make for this statement of yours.
I was a touring musician. In general my bandmates and I weren't always in touristy areas.
Once we were out in the sticks as obvious Americans people were rude in those places. When we were loading out of the van for our first site in Germany on a tour, someone overheard us talking and said "Fuck Americans" in perfect English.
Switzerland, the UK, Italy, all over Asia, people were fine.
I looked to see if there was something similar to RP British or American Mid-Atlantic. Apparently Australians have no such thing, and not many variations in accent. But there are three categories: Broad, General and Cultivated (http://dialectblog.com/2011/07/10/types-of-australian-accents/).
Maybe you could try to achieve one of these? (I mean, you probably have one, so one of the other two). Maybe it will sound more natural than trying to force an accent you won’t frequently hear around you. I don’t know, just a thought. You do you, of course.
Be me with a Singaporean accent. I hate it and I’m thinking of getting a vocal coach to learn proper diction.
American accents are fucking hideous, literally any other accent is better than that.
What do you dislike about them so much?
American accents are like nails on a blackboard, and it doesn't help they are 10x louder than everyone else to the point where if you're in a crowded bar that so loud you can't hear the guy next to you, you can perfectly here the one American on the other side of the room.
And that's not an exaggeration, that's actual experience.
Curious, what makes an American accent sound like nails on a chalkboard to you?
How loud they are and the sort of nasal quality they have to them. Like for American reference, imagine a whole country of people that sound like Janice from Friends.
Hey, as an American I found that quite...ah, accurate.
It does vary by which part of the states you get someone from, but yes, apparently we get quite loud (if only to speak over our abundant amounts of cars and gunfire). And is charming as it can be to some, the variations in accents you find on the south and eastern areas in particular can get old quick.