Do american accents sound weird to non americans?

[juliett_lima]

Think about it man. When someone from another country moves to the Americas they are bound to sound odd to some people. It's only logical to say that when we move over there we will sound kind of weird to some.

Yes you all sound like Yanks.

and there's nothing wrong with that.

Well. No its kind of expected, Yanks live in America therfore America is full of Yanks

Limeys live in the UK therefore the UK is full of limeys. Got it.

Also followed on from a conversation I had last night, can people tell the TF2 sniper is Australian or do you think he's British. Its the most confused mix of stereotypes I've ever seen in a character.

He has always struck me as Australian, but that is due to the sound of his voice. What stereotypes go into his character that make him confusing?

Well the God save the Queen quote is pretty strange

Well the "God save the Queen" thing he does when he taunts is odd, and his whole accent sounds like an English guy faking an Australian accent. Though apparently this is deliberate according to Valve http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2193.

I took the God save the Queen taunt as just that, a taunt. Of course the link kind of outlines the fact that Valve wants to keep their fake accents fake and therefore a big joke. Presumably so no one takes offense.

Australia is still part of the British Commonwealth is it not? Then the Queen is still save-worthy ^___^

and yes. American accents sound bizzare if you're not american. mostly because of the association for me with brash, large, inconsiderate American tourists... i work in a very touristy place

there's a large variation though. i quite like the Texas and Kentucky accents. and Chicago is pleasant enough.

 

[Same River New Water]

do american accents sound foreign to non americans?

...of course. How could it be otherwise?

 

[ska_tastic425]

I suppose so, since I'm American and they sound weird to even me. I'm from NJ and there's some disparity between South Jersey (me) and North Jersey accents.

 

[jboking]

Australia is still part of the British Commonwealth is it not? Then the Queen is still save-worthy ^___^

I knew it was a former colony, but I was not under the impression that it is still part of the British Commonwealth.

 

[BBQ Platypus]

Yeah american accents get on my tits a bit. especially when you pronounce words wrong and even more so when you correct me on my pronunciation when it was our country who founded the basis for your tangential language. ITS NOT PRONOUNCED SKEDULE THERES A C WHICH MAKES IT A 'SHH' SOUND. Also irks me when in writing people go out of the way to show that brits pronounce the word lieutenant 'lef'tenant for example in CoD4. For christ sake we modified the french word to our liking before you had the chance to steal it back and let the french have their little linguistic victory. Also i have no idea how u came to say aluminum. Aluminum cans, aluminum foil. Everyone knows its pronounced 'tin'

Yeah, the reason we have a different dialect is because we're STUPID.


Fucking asshole.

 

[The Black Adder]

I'm from Long Island and I hate the accents people have here. Haawk, tawk wuhter bAAttle. I think the best sounding American accents where from 1940s-1950s American movies, especially since most of them sound half-English or were English anyway.

 

[jonny bhoy]

i also dont get how americans can confuse an english accent for australian....

Have you ever met an American? You know the the stereotypical ones?

 

[Zosephine]

I've found that the region of the US I live in (mid-east, near the capital)is the least accented region (except for Baltimore). Even so, I guess my family still sounds like a bunch of Yanks.

I notice accents not only from other US regions (Bostonian, Southern), but from other English-speaking countries. I rarely find accents annoying, just a quirk of how someone speaks.

Also, it's only hard for me to distinguish British accents from Australian accents because I've heard very few people speak with Australian accents. I hear British accents more often, so I accidentally lump an Australian accent in as a British accent. If I listen closely I can figure it out.

 

[Travdelosmuertos]

Depends what type of American accent, the mild ones are pretty cool.

The typical American TV News reporter accent seems to be the worse for me though.

That's because they study a non-regional American dialect (in the same way actors do) so their own accents don't get in the way. I'm sure to Brits and Aussies, though, it sounds weird. Really, I love English accents except for real thick ones, East End London accent would be a good example. But they're on the same side of the spectrum as Brooklyn accents, an extreme example of how people can fuck up their own language!

I personally live in an infamous region of the US for accent/dialect. Pittsburgh. People know I'm from Pittsburgh within seconds of meeting me, even though my accent isn't nearly as thick as my family and friends.

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

No, you've forced your films and telly down our throats until they sound normal. Damn you.

Although proper redneck accents sound hilarious.

 

[Abedeus]

No, you've forced your films and telly down our throats until they sound normal. Damn you.

Although proper redneck accents sound hilarious.

They took our jobs!! Dook our joobs!! Dooka doo!

 

[Chris^^]

not weird, they just remind we British of our superior status and the fantastic degree of foresight we displayed in letting go of the colonies =D

j.k. btw - i like America

 

[Chris^^]

Yeah american accents get on my tits a bit. especially when you pronounce words wrong and even more so when you correct me on my pronunciation when it was our country who founded the basis for your tangential language. ITS NOT PRONOUNCED SKEDULE THERES A C WHICH MAKES IT A 'SHH' SOUND. Also irks me when in writing people go out of the way to show that brits pronounce the word lieutenant 'lef'tenant for example in CoD4. For christ sake we modified the french word to our liking before you had the chance to steal it back and let the french have their little linguistic victory. Also i have no idea how u came to say aluminum. Aluminum cans, aluminum foil. Everyone knows its pronounced 'tin'

Yeah, the reason we have a different dialect is because we're STUPID.


Fucking asshole.

I must agree with BBQ platypus, you are being a bit of an asshole. its pronounced 'aluminium' by the way, evertone knows its pronounced aluminium because thats how its correctly spelt.

It is rather irksome that Americans try and spell words differently to English people in an attempt at their own dialect. And that this is imposed upon everyone by virtue of the spellchecker, which ONLY accepts American, not English.

btw, the little leftenant sequence in CoD4 is kinda gay,but at least they do acknowledge that British troops pronounce it correctly..

ahh well

gotta accept America view themselves as their own country

 

[Ripshot]

Have you guys seen this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UgpfSp2t6k 21 accents in 2.5 minutes.

lol, I had the volume down a little when she did the Scottish one, and I thought she was speaking Japanese

also, this is an interesting thread for an American (such as myself)
although, you non-Americans are only talking about the south, New York, and California; being from Maryland, (at least I'd like to think) my accent is as polarized as the north or south

but still, interesting thread, and I had this one Scottish immigrant in one of my classes, we kind of had to repeat a few phrases, but we generally understood each other (it wasn't very thick Scottish, kind of a halfway accent between Scottish and American English(s?))

 

[Kajt]

No, not really (Especially not the Alabama accent!).
What do people think about the Swedish accent, then?

 

[Nargleblarg]

...american accents sound weird to other americans.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

It can range from soothing ear candy (Ron Pearlman, Tori Amos) to chalk on blackboard horrible (anything from My Sweet 16 or those shows).

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Yeah american accents get on my tits a bit. especially when you pronounce words wrong and even more so when you correct me on my pronunciation when it was our country who founded the basis for your tangential language. ITS NOT PRONOUNCED SKEDULE THERES A C WHICH MAKES IT A 'SHH' SOUND. Also irks me when in writing people go out of the way to show that brits pronounce the word lieutenant 'lef'tenant for example in CoD4. For christ sake we modified the french word to our liking before you had the chance to steal it back and let the french have their little linguistic victory. Also i have no idea how u came to say aluminum. Aluminum cans, aluminum foil. Everyone knows its pronounced 'tin'

Yeah, the reason we have a different dialect is because we're STUPID.


Fucking asshole.

Yes, it would seem like a little of the old British Imperial arrogance remains in some people.

Yeah american accents get on my tits a bit. especially when you pronounce words wrong and even more so when you correct me on my pronunciation when it was our country who founded the basis for your tangential language. ITS NOT PRONOUNCED SKEDULE THERES A C WHICH MAKES IT A 'SHH' SOUND. Also irks me when in writing people go out of the way to show that brits pronounce the word lieutenant 'lef'tenant for example in CoD4. For christ sake we modified the french word to our liking before you had the chance to steal it back and let the french have their little linguistic victory. Also i have no idea how u came to say aluminum. Aluminum cans, aluminum foil. Everyone knows its pronounced 'tin'

As an Irishman I can confidently say that when you colonise a country and impose your own culture upon it forcefully for hundreds of years it is not surprising that they will try to reclaim some if thier own linguistic idividuality once they gain thier independance.

And it is no longer your concern when they do. If you're so concerned about America being an overly dominant cultural force in the world maybe you should go to the library and look up some of your own country's colourful history.

 

[Dr_Baron_von_Evilsatan]

I'm from Iowa and...correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not sure we have an accent (in a US regional sense). I guess the only thing you could label us as is plain spoken. We're not that elaborate of speakers (especially with strangers).

As for other accents I don't find any of them annoying, just fun to listen to. Except the "valley girl" one, but that's less of an 'accent' and more of 'brain damage'.

 

[IxionIndustries]

Yes, but there's nothing wrong with it

Question to the americans: Do British accents sound odd to you?

You can certainly pick them out in a crowd, but I think British accents are awesome.

Yeah american accents get on my tits a bit. especially when you pronounce words wrong and even more so when you correct me on my pronunciation when it was our country who founded the basis for your tangential language. ITS NOT PRONOUNCED SKEDULE THERES A C WHICH MAKES IT A 'SHH' SOUND. Also irks me when in writing people go out of the way to show that brits pronounce the word lieutenant 'lef'tenant for example in CoD4. For christ sake we modified the french word to our liking before you had the chance to steal it back and let the french have their little linguistic victory. Also i have no idea how u came to say aluminum. Aluminum cans, aluminum foil. Everyone knows its pronounced 'tin'

Hey, teacher, if your going to give people a grammar lesson, at least check your own..
That is all.