Just curious - there are so many people here from all over that I sometimes wonder what it would sound like if we all got together. So what is your accent? Is there someone we all know you can compare yourself to to give us an idea?
I don't mean "Who do you sound like?" - someone with an accent very similar to mine would perhaps be Helen Mirren - but obviously I don't sound like her.
I'm from near the estuary from which (in the UK) we get the term "Estuary English". Do you have any local names by which we might get a flavour of what you'd sound like?
(This is a consquence of being faceblind - I get very hung up on the sound of people's voices...)
2007-08-16 11:12:49 · 44 answers · asked by Bad Liberal 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Fortunately I am *very* good at US regional accents - these descriptions are really good. A lot of Southerners though! Not a bad thing!
2007-08-16 11:22:27 · update #1
When I was in choir, our choir director always commented on how us Michiganians spoke with the Michigan R. So, we can do really great Pirate Impressions!! Arrrrrrrgh!
I have a voice that can stop electronic recorders dead! I have something in my voice tone that on an electronic message when I talk in my lower range of Alto, I will trigger a stop recording signal. Arrrrrrrgh it drives me nuts!!! And it leaves the listener thinking I cannot give out my entire phone number for them to return my phone call! Arrrrrgh!
2007-08-16 12:36:10 · answer #1 · answered by Searcher 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I don't have an accent eyah. Everybody says I have a New England accent, but I'm from New England, so how could that be. New England is, from top to bottom, the states of Main, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, as in "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." I'm glad I don't have an accent because I live in the South now. I don't have a Southern accent either, yawl (a dragged out y'all, you all, The attempt to create a you plural that the English forgot to make).
And Linz from West Virginia says she does wear shoes, but she doesn't. The tooth brush was invented in West Virgiania, that's why it's not called a teeth brush.
2007-08-16 21:34:45 · answer #2 · answered by hb12 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I have a northern/Midwest accent, and yes there is such a thing. In the linguistic history of the English language, the "Northern Vowel Shift" is a shift of the way we pronounce certain vowels in certain northern American cities, mainly Chicago and Michigan. For example, we say "Bagel" with a very hard "a."
I've been told multiple times that I have a strong northern accent. I had an internship in California a couple years ago and I was mocked all the time for the way I say certain vowels.
2007-08-17 04:03:34 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, my accent is like a Massachusetts - Worcester or Boston area accent due to the fact I grew up on the CT/MA border in northeastern CT. However, I've corrupted it by living four years in the Midwest so my accent has some of those tones also.
My husband is British and from the greater Norwich area.
2007-08-16 11:27:30 · answer #4 · answered by genaddt 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Like the first lady, you ever seen Fargo? It's like that, but not as bad. But that's aside the point, I don't have an accent. You all just hear weird.
Oh, and for the record, since I'm sure a lot of you probably don't realize this, Fargo is NOT, I repeat NOT in Minnesota. It's in North Dakota. Prepare to win your next geography bee.
2007-08-16 11:22:13 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Ever seen the movie "Fargo"? The central Canadian accent is a bit like that, with a British twist.
And when I was doing cartoon voiceover work, I was told that I sound a lot like Jane Fonda in terms of overall voice quality. I know that I sing as a contralto, if that helps.
2007-08-16 11:16:00 · answer #6 · answered by prairiecrow 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
i live in new zealand, but i sound like a canadian (according to the locals anyway).
new zealand/kiwi accent is ultra cool...cant think of any famous person with a strong kiwi accent (i dont think peter jackson has a strong accent), but here's a idea of how kiwis with a strong accent pronounce some words
"yes, i know it's always like that eh? the fish and chips are so good, please pass the water thank you. harry youre the man, havent you seen the sheep yet? it's cool as. bring back my head set okay. peace."
"yis, oi noy it's oo-wise loike thet I? the fush un chups a soy gud, place pes the wura thank youy. harray yuwa the men. hevant you sane the shape yit? it's coal es. bring beck mooiye hid sit oykay. pace."
here's another example:
"Inextricably linked is the pre-requisite of visibility."
Unixtrucably lunked uz the pri-riquusut of vusubuluty"
2007-08-16 16:08:32 · answer #7 · answered by jose 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm from Texas but I never liked it so I tried not to develop a Texan twang. Which wasn't too hard. My mom's from California, my dad was the son of a pilot wo was transfered a lot but, the girl I spent the most time with was from England (around Oxford). She tried and tried to get me to speak with a 'British' accent but the best I could do was Cockney-Since we were children and children can be cruel, she would laugh at me so I wasn't really motivated to keep trying. Now, not so sure. I even moved to Oregon for a few years and they couldn't hear a particular one. I'm just grateful, I don't twang. :-)
2007-08-16 11:24:48 · answer #8 · answered by strpenta 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Most people can't figure mine out. I hear Canada, California, Northern Virginia, and various parts of the Northeastern US alot. If you could imagine the stereotypical US college student, you'd have it.
Of course, my accent changes according to who I'm talking to. I'm also capable of a Southern or Southern Black accent if I concentrate :)
2007-08-16 11:26:40 · answer #9 · answered by Cathy 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
OK, I have an undercurrent of British parents, Las Vegas (Which is a lot like Southern California), and a bit of Front Range accent thrown in...
Kinda neutral, really...
2007-08-16 11:18:56 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋