What does an American accent sound like?

I'd really like to know what impressions an American accent gives, or what it "feels like" to other nationalities/different native language speakers. To me Chinese sounds sharp and quick, British english sounds old world and slightly over-proper, Irish english is pleasant, "rolling" and soft, Australian english is similar to British except somehow rougher and lazier (not that I don't like it!) and Spanish is also sharp but musical.

If you were brought up with anything other than an American English accent, what does it 'sound' like and what does it 'feel' like? (ie, the pure physical sound may be different from your associations with that sound).

And if you are American, you can give your imput on any other languages/accents you are generally UNfamiliar with but have heard in person from multiple people.

ps. Post where you're FROM! I'm PA suburbs, USA. 

I grew up in Germany,  but went to a Canadian school.  I can hear the accent when a German speaks English or a Canadian/American/Englishmen speaks German, but don't notice it on myself.  I would definitely agree that German isn't the sexiest language.  I had a friend that said that everything said in German sounds like it is violent and hateful. I taught him how to say "my dog is cute" and he would say it and it did sound like he was very very angry.  I tried to teach my bf German but he can't get his mouth around the vowels a lot of the time, especially when they have umlautung (the two dots on the vowels).   He also insists that I have an accent, but only sometimes. I say "cute", "shoes", "boots", and "Canada" oddly I guess, because it's only then that my "accent" comes out.

If I speak to someone from northern Germany, I have a very hard time understanding them because of the dialects.  But I can still hear the accent if they are speaking English.  I think that's what Feanor was trying to say.  I can hear a German accent but can't pick up the dialect.  Just as someone from a foreign country would pick up an "American accent" but not necessarily the "dialect".

Original Post by jj2008:

Original Post by cassie_bee:

This may be controversial but Ive always thought accents of American males sound slightly feminine compared with other nationalities....

And I do love the cliched Irish accent! hahaha! And South African weirdly!

I'm from Central Southern England

 That’s funny, because here in the U.S. it’s the other way around a lot of people think that English accents on men sounds rather feminine, you hear it all the time, I’m not saying it’s right, but a lot of Americans think the English accent is kind of gay, no offence, but that’s the impression I usually get around here…we especially make fun of RP accents…you must have been listening to gay guys in the U.S. because I’ve never heard anyone describe an American accent as “feminine” quite the contrary, but I have heard a lot of people call an English accent “gay”…

I'm American and I've NEVER heard anyone say British men sound gay. I think you're full of it. 

Well, after reading the whole thread, here are my thoughts:

1) I'm from the midwest USA (Michigan), and we *definitely* have distinct accents here. Anyone that tells you they don't have an accent is fooling themselves :-). For more information on what US Northerners sound like, check out this site and this site.

Personally, I describe my "o" as being very round, but nothing compared to people who live a bit further north from me. Northern Michigan is strongly affected by the Finns who emigrated there some generations ago IIRC.

I've had someone comment that we have a nasal tone to our speaking.

2) I agree that you can generalize and say there's an "American" accent meaning that people from the United States can generally be recognized by the way they speak.

What the earlier commenter was referring to is a rather silly debate (in my opinion) over whether the word "American" should be used exclusively to describe people from the United States of America when people from both North America and South America often identify themselves as Americans. They offer terms like USian in their place.

First, if it weren't used pejoratively USian might be an option, but second it sounds silly. I am usually in favor of global citizenship terms and behaviors, but this one is akin to asking people from the UK to stop calling themselves British, Welsh, Scottish or Irish simply because it's confusing for the rest of the us and pick up the moniker "UKian". I can see where using "American" to describe my nationality from the USA could be seen as excluding others from using the word, too, but in my opinion, this is something of a cultural heritage that we have grown up with and are entitled to use at least within our own borders.

My official policy for avoiding disputes, however, is to call myself an American only around other people from the USA and to refer to myself as "from the US" in other arenas. However, I heartily reject the term "USian" or anything similar.

lol I knew it would piss you off, just like it pissed me off when you said American accents on men sound feminine, come on, as if all American men had the same accent. Frankly I’ve never heard of anyone saying that American accents on men sound feminine, but for real, I’m not lying, I’ve even heard people on TV make fun of English accents, but not all Americans think some English accents on men sound gay, I’m not making it up…maybe you have been hanging around gay guys for a while, because I don’t see how it can sound feminine. And remember there is not such thing as an American accent; there are many American accents, not just one!

Perhaps you should go back and read again, sunshine. I replied to your comment about Brits sounding gay... not the girl who posted the comment about American men sounding gay. 

I've got a Southern English accent and what I always notice on American TV is the way people  pronounce words like 'mobile' and 'fertile' as 'moble' and fertle', as if the 'i' isn't there.

I'm from Maryland and I do say that I live 35 miles north of Bawdimore, but I don't say "Hun."  We usually refer to the nation's capital as "DC" but we do warsh our clothes.  It drives me nuts when someone pronounces the "s" in Illinois.  NY accents always sound a little harsh to me, but I love the NE way of "pahking the cah in the yahd."  I grew up around Souther accents because a lot of my relatives are from the south and I've always thought that the Westerners talked kind of sexy.  Australian accents are the most sexy to me.  I don't think British men sound gay; I love British men.

And remember there is not such thing as an American accent; there are many American accents, not just one!

There are many types of American accents. However, most people from other countries can tell the person is from the US, no matter what region, by their speech. They are differentiating Americans from other english speaking peoples, i.e., Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, many islands, etc.

So, YES, there is an American accent.

I heard a person from England imitate an American accent and it sounded like an old time cowboy! 

^ I've heard that too. it's funny! 

Although the guy on Bones (? i think it's Bones, or maybe House -- which one stars Hugh Laurie? i don't watch either show) is English, but does a very convincing American accent.

The Taxonomy of American Dialects

As has been pointed out lots of times, it's difficult to make generalisations about accents, but here's my two cents.

British accents tend to flatten their delivery with age - children's speech is very deliberate, tonal and animated, with lots of pitch changes. Adults tend to have a much more regular, flatter and more rapid delivery. Sometimes when I hear Americans speak, their speech sounds very slow and tonal, with frequent pitch changes, a little like a child's delivery.

The range of sounds in some American accents is different - some accents seem to lack the short vowel sounds, which makes words sound strange to us - "stamps" sounds like "stay-amps", "botany" like "baht-any", "Iraq" like "Eye-rack" - deliberate and unfamiliar. This is particularly noticeable when using some other European languages - the Spanish name "Pedro" becomes "Pay-droe". 

Brits tend to deliver the "r" sound without the tongue at the roof of the mouth, although some British accents (like the West Country accent) also pronounce it this way. The West Country accent sounds countrified and unsophisticated to some.

So, to a Brit, Americans can sound like simple children from the unfashionable end of the country. A shame, since that doesn't really do them justice at all.

Original Post by deathsalad:

As has been pointed out lots of times, it's difficult to make generalisations about accents, but here's my two cents.

British accents tend to flatten their delivery with age - children's speech is very deliberate, tonal and animated, with lots of pitch changes. Adults tend to have a much more regular, flatter and more rapid delivery. Sometimes when I hear Americans speak, their speech sounds very slow and tonal, with frequent pitch changes, a little like a child's delivery.

The range of sounds in some American accents is different - some accents seem to lack the short vowel sounds, which makes words sound strange to us - "stamps" sounds like "stay-amps", "botany" like "baht-any", "Iraq" like "Eye-rack" - deliberate and unfamiliar. This is particularly noticeable when using some other European languages - the Spanish name "Pedro" becomes "Pay-droe". 

Brits tend to deliver the "r" sound without the tongue at the roof of the mouth, although some British accents (like the West Country accent) also pronounce it this way. The West Country accent sounds countrified and unsophisticated to some.

So, to a Brit, Americans can sound like simple children from the unfashionable end of the country. A shame, since that doesn't really do them justice at all.

 I vote for you.

I'm from the North of England and speak rather like Daphne in 'Frasier', if anyone remembers that.  When I visit America I'm always asked if I'm Australian! 

What do Americans sound like to me?  Unfortunately, the ones that seem to visit London always sound like they're talking to a deaf or slightly dim-witted person i.e. a little too loud and over-emphasised.  "I NEED TO GET TO ARKS-FARD-SHY-URRR!!!  YOU KNOW??.... ARKS-FARD UNIVERSITY???!!!"  I've wondered if it developed out in the Wild West and was it necessary to make themselves heard over long distances and tornados   BTW.. is there a special factory that churns out portly, middle-aged Americans in baseball caps, voluminous shorts, sunglasses (even in winter) and flat white shoes for export?  They're a race apart.

I'm familiar with the different accents from all over America but I think the common denominator is the 'drawl'... long vowel sounds.  

Original Post by disease_of_ease:

Original Post by alibuch:

disease of ease: I like Russian too. I studied it for a long time and love it... Most people I know find it so ugly.

Yay, I'm not a freak! Everyone always thinks I'm so weird for loving it.

 Love, love, love Russian!  I think it sounds very sensual.  Trying to learn it by listening to CD's in the car, but probably need to get a little more intensive than that.

Original Post by gi-jane:

I'm from the North of England and speak rather like Daphne in 'Frasier', if anyone remembers that.  When I visit America I'm always asked if I'm Australian! 

What do Americans sound like to me?  Unfortunately, the ones that seem to visit London always sound like they're talking to a deaf or slightly dim-witted person i.e. a little too loud and over-emphasised.  "I NEED TO GET TO ARKS-FARD-SHY-URRR!!!  YOU KNOW??.... ARKS-FARD UNIVERSITY???!!!"  I've wondered if it developed out in the Wild West and was it necessary to make themselves heard over long distances and tornados   BTW.. is there a special factory that churns out portly, middle-aged Americans in baseball caps, voluminous shorts, sunglasses (even in winter) and flat white shoes for export?  They're a race apart.

I'm familiar with the different accents from all over America but I think the common denominator is the 'drawl'... long vowel sounds.  

 

 

 Yeah, jane, that's pretty much all of us.  So I guess the factory would be the entire country.

And what's wrong with wearing sunglasses in winter?????  If it's bright, it's bright.  I wear mine on cloudy days sometimes too if there's any glare.  Maybe we have delicate eyeballs??

Original Post by pavlovcat:

Original Post by gi-jane:

I'm from the North of England and speak rather like Daphne in 'Frasier', if anyone remembers that.  When I visit America I'm always asked if I'm Australian! 

What do Americans sound like to me?  Unfortunately, the ones that seem to visit London always sound like they're talking to a deaf or slightly dim-witted person i.e. a little too loud and over-emphasised.  "I NEED TO GET TO ARKS-FARD-SHY-URRR!!!  YOU KNOW??.... ARKS-FARD UNIVERSITY???!!!"  I've wondered if it developed out in the Wild West and was it necessary to make themselves heard over long distances and tornados   BTW.. is there a special factory that churns out portly, middle-aged Americans in baseball caps, voluminous shorts, sunglasses (even in winter) and flat white shoes for export?  They're a race apart.

I'm familiar with the different accents from all over America but I think the common denominator is the 'drawl'... long vowel sounds.  

 

 

 Yeah, jane, that's pretty much all of us.  So I guess the factory would be the entire country.

And what's wrong with wearing sunglasses in winter?????  If it's bright, it's bright.  I wear mine on cloudy days sometimes too if there's any glare.  Maybe we have delicate eyeballs??

 LoL! :-D Oooh my. This whole little exchange is hysterical to me.

 LoL! :-D Oooh my. This whole little exchange is hysterical to me.

Hey now.  There's nothing funny about delicate eyeballs.  

I took honors French in high school and my teacher had been born and raised in Italy.  Right after I graduated, I had the opportunity to travel through France.  While there, I had several people ask me if I had been raised in Italy.  Apparently, my teacher's Italian accent had incorporated itself into the French, so we learned French with an Italian accent. Very bizarre, but kind of funny.

Original Post by spirochete:

My husband is Australian, his opinions crack me up. He HATES southern accents and anything sounding Boston, NY, NJ, etc. He thinks my midwestern-Chicago accent is hilarious but he's starting to pick one up "put dat overdare" (put that over there) or whaddaya for what are you, etc

No one has said this yet BUT HEY YOU PEOPLE FROM THE PACIFIC NW YOU HAVE AN ACCENT. Why do people from that region think they are completely devoid of any accent? I can tell a person from that area a mile away because they have a west coast accent which is very different from the south, NE and midwest. Sorry babies. I have had this argument more than once.

 West coast accent is the most commen American accent therefore not many people believe they have an accent. They believe they are speaking the "right" way. I personaly have a West coast accent and everyone I know does as well. Every other accent in the U.S sounds funny or diffrent to us because here in Northern V.A everyone talks like that. If you go down south you can tell the diffrence though. Even when you step in to Washinton DC. Its like this everywhere, in other contries as well.

Hey now, y'all!  I kin talk proper 'Merican if I wanna....I just dun wanna.

So there!