I just moved from Brooklyn to Seattle and I get made fun of because of the way I talk. People will give me weird looks when I'm talkin to my mother or father. My accent is really thick anyway, but when I'm explainin somethin I get to talkin really fast and people say they can't understand me. One person in class even told me that I should go back to New York where they could understand me. I just wanted to know has anyone had this same problem and what did they do or if anyone has any idea of how to get rid of an accent. I've lived in New York my whole life and my mother wants me to take speech classes so I can get better. I try to talk slow sometimes so it wont show as bad, but that doesn't help either. Could someone help???
2007-06-27 11:54:49 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Travel ➔ United States ➔ New York City
embrace yourself..................your dialect is part of who you are and do not try to change it. the only thing you should ever try to improve is your grammar. accents make us colorful. they will have to get used to you. i've been to seattle and there are many russians and japanese there. i'm sure folks are used to hearing those accents and they will get used to yours. be a proud new yorker!
2007-06-27 12:01:55 · answer #1 · answered by slkrchck 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Welcome to the club We all have the same issue with our accents. Part of the problem is that not only do New Yorker's speak with an accent but they do so at 100mph which to the untrained ear makes it sound like so much gibberish.
Your goal is to be able to communicate with those around you not to change your accent.
The sole criteria for judging how well you communicated is this : Did the person that I was communicating with understand what I said and if so then they will respond in a manner that would indicate that they understood ? That's it.
I have discovered that the secret to talking in a slower and more deliberate manner is thinking in a slower and more deliberate manner. It's sort of like deliberately leaving a 1/2 beat between syllables as compared to the NYC standard of 1/16 beats.
As far as the idiots that don't like NYC go ignore them as long as you can . If need be show them why growing up in Brooklyn is a little different than growing up in Seattle.
Good Luck
2007-06-27 19:50:29 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I used to teach at an upstate university that a lot of NYC kids came to. First thing...slow down...a lot. The pace you lived at downstate was mega fast. The rest of the country moves, speaks and listens much more slowly. Start there and people will find it easier to understand what you're saying even with your accent.
Secondly, listen to how others in Seattle pronounce words and try to copy them. Also, if your accent also involves more nasal tones (which happens a lot in Brooklyn), learn to drop your voice out of your head and at least into your throat. If you have trouble doing that, find a voice coach or singing instructor who could work with you.
You might even want to take a couple of drama classes just to work on some of the accent issues.
2007-06-27 19:05:27 · answer #3 · answered by sonofstar 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I grew up with a heavy Bronx accent. When folks made an annoying comment about it, I thickened my accent. Yet I learned how to pronounce each syllable and word clearly so others outside of the Bronx will understand.
2007-06-27 20:38:01 · answer #4 · answered by mac 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Let's face it gang...we all have an accent. It is not noticed if you never go anywhere because all of your neighbors talk the same way. It is when we venture out that we find that even if we stay in our own country, we may not be understood because of the way we pronounce our words. Talk fast and you are really hard to understand. Texans may not understand New Yorkers. La. populace may not understand ND people. But yet they are all trying to talk English. Welcome to North America.
2007-06-27 19:05:50 · answer #5 · answered by wahoo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't worry about it. You are an American, be proud. I hear so many bad accents everyday, that doesn't come close to any other American accents!!! Everyday I hear Chinese, Indians, Mexican speak English with THICK THICK accent, and they don't even care if no one else likes it or not!
Just be proud of who you are. There are lots of busy bodies in every city.
2007-06-27 22:08:08 · answer #6 · answered by ParisParis 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
the same thing happened to me kinda. I would swear up and down I had no accent until i went upstate for a for months and people would have no idea what I was saying half the time...
2007-06-27 19:55:59 · answer #7 · answered by Laura 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't worry about your accent... the vast majority of people in Seattle are from California and have their own accent. As time goes by your accent will lessen... until then... don't worry about it.
2007-06-27 19:00:16 · answer #8 · answered by mmuscs 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
People always make fun of my accent when I travel. They always know I'm from Jersey. Don't worry about a thing. It builds character!
2007-06-27 20:31:17 · answer #9 · answered by Jerseychick 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Many people have this problem just try speakin slower eventouly it will work and i talk real fast when im in from of an audience
2007-06-27 18:59:07 · answer #10 · answered by Jewls 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋