Are Americans and English really picky with accents, and why?

Question

In Larry king the show, Larry was talking with Steve Irwin's daughter and immediately he commented on her accent. In my opinion there was nothing wrong with how she spoke, she was a great kid. I don't see the reason why Larry would make a comment on her voice.

Another example, In Loveline the radio show, Dr. Drew received a phone call from a guy and just because he didn't speak like your typical White guy frm america, he askd "are you hispanic?" and he wasn't even latin. He was American with Italian roots.

In American idol, there was this girl from Colombia, and she got a bit criticized just because she didn't sppeak exactly like White americans. But guess what, she had a near perfect White american's accent... but whatever who cares. she spoke great.
And simon said "ohhh... you're gonna have Trouble with song selection because of your accent"

All the people i described above had great voicees, they knew English well.. and still they get criticized.

Again, those people i described had no problem with english and they received unneeded comments. I can just imagine they would criticize me even harder cause i'm hispanic and i have a thick accent. That's mean. i don't get why they do it

Answer 1

IN REALITY I WAS BORN HERE IN CA. BUT I ALSO HAVE AN ACCENT BUT I GUESS IT'S BECAUSE MY FIRST LANGUAGE WAS SPANISH AS I WAS GROWING UP BUT I ALSO DON'T GET IT I SPEAK ENGLISH WELL ANOTHER THING MY BROTHER WAS BORN IN MEXICO AND HE SPEAKS ENGLISH SO WELL JUST LIKE AN AMERICAN EVEN USES BIG WORDS AND ALL $HIT THERES TIMES WHEN IM LIKE UH! BUT YEAH I DON'T GET CRITIZED BUT DO GET COMMENTS ABOUT IT BUT I DON'T CARE THAT'S JUST HOW I'AM BY THE WAY ONLY ON SOME WORDS CAN YOU TELL I HAVE AN ACCENT

Answer 2

Frankly, everyone has an accent of some sort -- be it in America or anywhere else in the world. In UK, accent can denote class. In America, there are several regional dialects as well as accents that non-native speakers have while speaking English. Some people in the US might comment on someone's accent if it's not something they've heard before. I personally don't mind accents (because I know I have one when I speak other languages and hope those native speakers have patience with me), and usually find it interesting because it does reflect the diversity of the US (whether born here or immigrant)...but I do not like having someone with strongly-accented English working a customer service call center since it's hard to understand what they are saying over the phone.

Sometimes people ask about the accent out of curiosity - -I ask every taxi driver I take in NY where he/she is from. I also ask other people if they sound like they may come from a place I've been or want to go.

Finally, I'd say this is reciprocal. I travel a lot and I've found people who appreciated my attempts to speak their language (even if mangled) but I've also found people who didn't like my accented attempt. People are people and you can't generalise about everyone in a particular place by a few.

Answer 3

I agree with you. It seems to be a very big deal for Americans, to the point that they use subtitles on TV when the person is speaking English but with an accent! They don't even try to understand!
In Latin America people are more used to the fact that there are different accents and even a different vocabulary for the same language depending on the place, and it's actually fun.
I have to say in some European countries, like Spain, it's the same than in the US, although they also have different accents and even different languages within the same country. Nevertheless, most people there think theirs is the only right one and they don't even try to understand others.

Answer 4

Well, everyone has accents, even in America there are different accents. People in New York and Boston have different accents, and people in the south have the Southern accent. All the people on the news and in the media have what many people consider the standard sound for the English language, but that may sound weird to a person from England too.

Answer 5

There are more effective than 5 American accents. interior the Northeast on my own there is the Boston accent, the lengthy island accent and the Philadelphia accent. There are others in that area besides yet those are the most well known. Even Southern accents variety by technique of state. to respond to the question, it relies upon who you ask. i have been to uk and diverse human beings have instructed me diverse issues. some locate it grating and others locate it eye-catching (heavily). And that is uncommon that you go back for the era of an American who can pull off a British accent decently. that is something you somewhat ought to coach at. i'll do RP, north London and a universal Scottish accent. My Scouse accent is high-quality yet no longer that giant. no longer yet, besides.

Answer 6

If anyone thinks that Americans are the only ones who judge others by their accent they have never been American in a foreign English-speaking country. I think the Kansas or California non-accent accent is boring. A few American accents are annoying or sound stupid, but I enjoy the stronger ones, like Boston and Brooklyn. The Minnesota-North Dakota accent, like in the movie Fargo, really annoys me and sounds ill-educated, though I do not believe those people in reality to be any more backward than the rest of us. As to Larry King, inane questions abound every night. But maybe he just thought she would have her mother's American accent. I am pretty familiar with the sound of the Australian accent, BTW, and Steve's, may he rest in peace, sounded to me like he was making it stronger on purpose, for the American market. But I don't blame him, we love Australian accents, and it worked well for him.
And Simon? He's mean to everybody isn't he?
But to your point, we can enjoy the conversation that a comment about our accent serves to strike up, but it goes too far, I think, when our intelligence or our skill is judged by our accent. That is discrimination and, as a Southern American, I sympathize with you if you are suffering as a result.

Answer 7

O.K. "Larry King" often says "REALLY STUPID THINGS" every time that I've watched him, (so that that makes 3 times, so I don't watch him).

O.K. the guy on the radio possibly could not hear the man well enough, and also the man may have had accent that sounded "Hispanic", Is it a "Hate Crime" for someone to ask if someone is "Hispanic" ? or a Jew, or Irish ? it may be poor manners but, you shouldn't be offended by it.

American idol judges are too picky, these contestants have put "Everything that they've got" into this "ONE CHANCE" to possibly hit stardom, and this picky person (who is far from perfect, and a "B rated actor or performer themselves, tries to think up something "Clever" and "Funny" to embarrass the person who is struggling on stage, and has just had their world crushed..... I don't get ANY entertainment out of someones dreams being destroyed, so I DO NOT WATCH IT, all of the shows that you mentioned "YOU WATCHED, or "LISTENED" to, you always have to option to NOT LISTEN, and turn them off.

Answer 8

I don't beleive that Americans have an accent. Some have an "hill-billy" accent but not that I can use. English on the other hand, I beleive, has a very heavy accent. I can't understand what they are saying but it is still fun to laugh and if I offended anyone, English or not, people probally laugh at us...

Answer 9

We don't mind comments on our accents at all, unless we are extremely thin-skinned, it is our accents that truly identify us, not just nationally but locally - it is said in England that a man merely needs open his mouth for everyone to know his origins, his class and his culture. That's OK, we should be proud of where we come from, and what we are. BTW - Britain has a very great many dialects and accents, all over the country.

Answer 10

As the migrant that I am to this country I can tell you that having an accent as much as it helps with some girlld is a pain when it comes to find a good job.
If you accent is very heavy the answer is yes, they are very picky, but if they can undestand you for the most part no one cares.

Answer 11

Why do you keep saying "white guy from America" accent. Any person born in the US, regardless from origin, will have the same annoying American accent.