Asian Accent?

Question

I'm not trying to open up stereotype or attack. I really really want to lose Asian accent, and want to sound more American.

I'd like to what kind of issues native English speakers encounter someone with Asian accent. I'd like to know both positive and negative issues.

What should I be AWARE of when speaking English to sound more American and conform to General American?

As you know, people tend to judge you based on how you speak more than anything else, and based on my experience, I've encountered a lot of people who think Asian accented speakers are unintelligent and stupid. I hope I am mistaken on this.

Please be constructively critical if you opt it.

Answer 1

I grew up in the U.S but my parents immigrated from Asia, and most of my coworkers are Asian so I have a lot of experience with various Asian accents.

As far as actual letter sounds, Asians do tend to have the most trouble with "r" and "l", as previously mentioned, so work on those consonants. Also, Asians tend to pronounce "th" more like "z" or "ts". Finally, American English does not have very pure vowel sounds the way most other languages (even European languages) do, so pay special attention to those.

Accent is about more than sound; to speak natively you also need to make sure you choose the correct words. A characteristic of Asian speakers of English is that they omit little words like "a" and "the", since Asian languages (at least Mandarin and Taiwanese, the only ones I know) don't have such articles. For example: "I went to store yesterday" (incorrect) instead of "I went to THE store yesterday".

Finally, make sure your verb tenses are correct. In Chinese, at least, the tense of a verb is not explicit because you get it from context, but in English you have to make sure you change the verb appropriately. Some Asians will say, "I go to store yesterday" instead of "I went to the store yesterday."

I commend you for your efforts! Good luck.

Answer 2

As a "native" English speaker, I would suggest that you concentrate on how you handle the sounds made by the letters "r" and "l." I think that there is no differentiation in the Japanese language, but I'm not sure about other Asian languages.

Most of the rude jokes about Asian accents I have heard center around this r/l swapping, and that's what tends to contribute to the unfair belief that Asians are stupid.

Wait until you have lost a considerable amount of your accent before trying to use any contemporary slang. You may know exactly how to use the slang correctly, but quite a lot of slang, especially the hip-hop slang, comes with it's own regional accent. When you mix two accents, it just sounds weird.

Finally...if people around you are giving you a hard time over your accent.....find some new friends. Not everyone is that shallow and mean. And some girls (myself included) think Asian accents are hot!

Answer 3

Wow, this is a huge issue.

It is true that people tend to judge you on the way that you speak. Unfortunately, they don't only judge you on your speech. Some Americans are prejudiced against Asians, and I'm not sure that changing your accent will do much to help you seem better to them, I'm afraid. In addition, I'm not sure that it's your responsibility to accomodate them. This is one thing that bothers me as an ESL teacher: I teach ESL pronunciation to make my students more understandable to Americans, but I never get to teach a class where I teach Americans how to understand accents better. It seems quite unfair.

Nevertheless, I am aware of a self-study pronunciation course that I think is very good. It's called "Pronunciation for Success". You can buy it at eslvideos.com.

Your grammar is phenomenal, by the way. I would not have know you were a non-native speaker if you hadn't mentioned it. And I'm an ESL teacher.

Answer 4

My mother was Japanese so I was accustomed to hearing her speak with an accent. I feel it was a blessing to be raised with a mother who spoke with an accent, because it is so much easier for me to understand others that speak with strong accents. There are a lot of idiots out there that make fun of people with accents or constantly say "I can't understand you". Most people just don't want to take the time to really focus on what someone who speaks with an accent is trying to say.
I remember she said English is the most difficult language to learn, mainly because in the Japanese language, there are no words with the "L" sound or the "TH-" sound.
All I can say is just practice, take your time and practice. My mom picked up quite a bit from listening to the radio and watching television.

Answer 5

It really depends on which asian country you come from. Some asians have harder accents than others that make them sound unAmerican.
Your written english is well written.
Do note that Americans have different accents too depending on which state you are.
Ask your American friends if you have hard accents, they can tell you more on how to improve. The more you converse with americans, the more likely you'll end up sounding like them.

Answer 6

Dear Bresec,
As you know and Americans say : practice makes perfect.
I am an Iranian but most of the people that know me had confirmed that my accent is American Even my Canadian friends.How did I do?
It's very important to listen as listening is very important to learn any language.As you know an infant first just listen,then speak but with a lots of mistakes and the next steps are reading and writing.Try to find some American pals.Watch CNN and Hollywood movies.That's all that I can remember now.
Best regards.........Iranian Bobby

Answer 7

I like Asian accent

Answer 8

first plz who think that Asian ppl are not intelligent, ppl who this this way are stupid....coz i think Asians are VERY smart.....they are m not kiddin.......
then as for the accent thing.....u know its unique.....its reflects ur culture ur background......and no big deal....when u look, feel confident.....and if u dont deal with stereotypical ppl then ppl tend to look past ur accent ....they look at who u are....and what u can do and how good of a person u are......accent thing just becomes secondary......it all boil downs to ur confidence and how u carry urself.........but if u still think u need to make ur accent more American then i believe u can take accent reduction classes....dont know where and how they offer it but i have heard of them......try searching on net......anyhow.....hope that helps......=)

Answer 9

I'm Filipino, I understand your dilemma. Read out loud, repeat American TV shows as you watch, DON'T WATCH TOO MUCH :), these things will improve your accent record yourself while practicing the work with it to see your improvement.

Answer 10

try and get a neutral accent. accents that pertain to any region do have disadvantages, no matter what.