Do You Have An Accent?

[Brooker]

Not trying to put anyone down here, but I think it's really egoistic to claim that you don't have an accent. Because what you're saying there is, "My way is right (or at least is "the standard") and the way everyone else speaks is a deviation from that. You're not able to put yourself into the perspective of other people. No matter how clear your English is, to a person from Alabama (if you're not from there) YOU'VE GOT AN ACCENT. Because when you're in Alabama, you're the one with the accent, not the people from Alabama.

So, I guess I'd say... I don't have an accent when I'm in Seattle, but I do when I go anywhere else.

 

[sissy]

It depends who you speak to if you have an accent or not. I apparently do. I guess I do. A Canadian living in Australia.Good question by the way!

 

[dreamer]

Lol As for me I've been told that I have a french-chinese accent XD

 

[JustJosh]

I have a very low voice, with a slight West London (Wes' Laaanden) accent.

 

[lexico]

I always thought I had the generic accent of West Coast US, that is not East coast, Southern, or Illinois, but my friends tell me I sound Dutch. I've never been there, strange!

 

[Lacan]

I have a deep french accent, like napoleon's one on MTV celebrity deathmatch

 

[Pox]

I have a native Engrish speaker's accent, which is rather hard for me
to get rid of.
I'm sure I can communicate with all Japanese in Engrish, but
cant do with English speakers.

 

[Suki-Yaki]

ze french accent

Ze boy I love has a pretty french accent ..

I am completely fond of this accent ! I also love the Jammaican English , not sure if we could call it an accent ... ??

German and Italian accents ROCK!

I have a native Engrish speaker's accent, which is rather hard for me
to get rid of.

Ohh how I envy you , I wish I had an Engrish accent !!

Which speaking of , is it just me , or is it that after a while here in Japan , you could start getting some Engrish symptoms ??

It's happening with me !

 

[dreamer]

I have a native Engrish speaker's accent, which is rather hard for me
to get rid of.
I'm sure I can communicate with all Japanese in Engrish, but
cant do with English speakers.

Well I've met countless japaneses here and they all had an engrish accent XD
However it is more easily understandable than the french accent
Weirdly, my french accent do comes up when I use english words in chinese

 

[Suki-Yaki]

hurray for the french accent hurray !!

Go Go Dureemaa !!

 

[Nuala]

No, I lost my irish accent a long time ago.

 

[Davey]

accent in if takl in witch langauge? in dutch i have a accent from amsterdam not sooo much thank god, and in english it would be american ( watch to much movie, so i took over the hollywood accent, bit bad i think.

but last year i was in oz for 9 months, so i picked up that accent to a bit.

i think im kind a mix of everything!

 

[-Rudel-]

I think I picked up some hardcore accents since I've visited Germany and Japan. I always try to sound fluent in what ever language I speak.

I find myself talking english to people and occasionally a Japanese or German accent rolls off my tongue.

I 80% on the time, I roll my R's now. Thank you Germany...haha
I managed to pronoun a lot of vowels in the Japanese speech.

AHHHHH!

Originally, I have a St. Louis, Missouri accent. looong gone

 

[Malaika]

I don't know if I have an accent, but I know that if I were to talk to someone who came from a different place, they'd think I have a accent, I mean its kind of hard to tell for yourself if you have a accent or not, but when you meet someone eles who has a accent, they might say that you have a accent, only because to them you sound weird, but to you they sound weird as well.

*laughs*

 

[Mycernius]

Good question. I think it is something that you don't really notice yourself. I have been told by people that my accent is slightly differnent from the local accent mainly because while I was young my father used to correct me. It is different to my brothers although I can slip in the local.
I did have a good time in America though. Every now and then someone would say 'I love your accent', this was normally followed by meself, or my friend I was travelling with 'I'm not speaking with an accent, you are'. The reply would normally be 'Am I?'
My Canadian cousin tried to wind me up on several occasions, normally on pronunciation. I just tell her it my language and one day the colonials would learn to use it correctly. Should have heard her language after that.

I need a big spoon to stir with.

 

[Sensuikan San]

Excellent question ... and Brooker makes several very good points.

Actually, I was tempted to respond with "Good heavens, no ! I'm British !" - but I think a more serious reply is called for ...

I definitely have an "English" accent (of which there must be several hundred ... !) to English speakers from other English speaking countries - it has "softened" a little since I left the UK for North America 30 years ago, but it's still there. Strangely however, and perhaps because of where I come from (The East Midlands of England),I am often taken for being Australian, once even, by an Australian guy !

I am told that my English accent is quite noticeable when I use French, but apparently when I use German - I have a slight "Black Forest" accent ! This surprised me when I was told, but it's probably because I picked up the language rather than being formally taught and most of the speakers who helped me along came from that region.

God knows what my Japanese sounds like ..... !

 

[jamosaka]

I'm from the East Midlands too, and when I was in the States everyone kept asking me if I was Australian, or sometimes Irish. To me my accent doesn't sound even slightly Australian, but I have some Irish family so it may have a bit of that mixed in.

 

[Sensuikan San]

Hey, Jamosaka ...

Good on yer, blue !

Where'ya from, mate ?

(Apologies to all our Australian friends ... but all of us Poms who seem to sound lke Aussies ... have to stick together .... !)

 

[jamosaka]

I'm from Peterborough, which has, er, many similarities to Australia. I don't have one of those deep fenland accents though. Maybe a generic countryside twang now and then.

 

[Sensuikan San]

Another Petriburgian !!!!!?

I don't believe this !! Wow !

I was born on Walpole Street - now Bourges Boulevard, I believe !

Moved to Dogsthorpe when I was about 5, and lived there till I got married.

Went to school at King's on Park Road.

Then lived in Eye ...... ! Moved to Ipswich, then moved back to live in Deeping, until I left for Canada in '76 ....

Small world, isn't it !

Best Regards

 

[jamosaka]

Amazing, I was at King's too! And I used to live in Northborough, just next to Deeping.
Looks like the Petriburgians are spreading round the globe!

 

[Sensuikan San]

Good Lord ! We went to the same school !

Just been reviewing my posts .... so much for anonymity on the web .... !

Anyhoo - perhaps we should do two things ...

i) Let all these folks see just how the "old school tie" works, over a period of time...., and ....

ii) Just shuddup, before they all want to go to Peterborough; sample its wide vistas; try the abundant and international shopping available on Bridge Street... and .... and .... whatever.

I was intrigued when you implied that Peterborough had similiarities with Australia .... I remember it as being flat, not too interesting, a few not bad characters .... and lots of pubs and bars of diverse types and character .......

Oh !

I see what you mean ..... !

All the very best !

 

[Doc]

Well I'm from Missouri, but I don't have your typical midwest type accent. Sometimes if I've been watching a movie or something with a southern style accent, my country boy side comes out and I talk in a somewhat southern accent. However, I usually catch it, and stop before it gets bad. So most of the time have the the type of accent that people would speak in Hollywood (there's no variation in your speech). However, I notice sometimes I sound more southern British than anything. Werid.

Doc

 

[Lina Inverse]

I think I picked up some hardcore accents since I've visited Germany and Japan. I always try to sound fluent in what ever language I speak.

I find myself talking english to people and occasionally a Japanese or German accent rolls off my tongue.

I 80% on the time, I roll my R's now. Thank you Germany...haha

Just to note it, rolled R's are quite untypical for most parts of Germany...
In most areas (mine included), the R sounds exactly as in French: created deep in the throat and not rolled at all :haihai:

 

[iwao]

@ lina inverse
you're right

I was born in Innsbruck/the Tyrol/Austria: we are said to have a difficult and "hard" accent, because we have the "ch" and "ck", which sounds like somebody catched a cold: e.g. please try to speak this loud: oachkazzlschwoaf, pfozznhobl schpeckknedl or cklampfn (it's written like you have to pronunce it)

I had a girl friend for two years, which had problems to understand my accent, so I changed to "offical" German which sounds very sterile: I lost my "ch" and "ck" ... now I am married to a Bavarian - I am going to learn the local Bavarian accent (sometimes better for buisness)
talking to Amerikan I try to speak with that "movie"-like pronunciation - you know what I mean - some southerner put me to NY (?)
talking to British I try to imitate that great British accent (no specifc, but I love the Cockney English - is that right? - and the North Yorkshire one)
people told me that my pronunciation sounds quite good (not just to be polite, honestly)
so: that's typical German: we try to be perfect (but we aren't, we can't)
let me say, it's a hobby to imitate accents