pianoguy Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Just curious about what our British friends here on ena think of the American accent. I know that I find the English accent very hot, and a lot of Americans would probably agree with me. Do you feel the same way about our accent, or do we sound like yokels? Link to comment
littlestar Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I'm Australian and i love the sound of the American accent, especially the very think accents some parts of the US have. I also love the British accent, very sexy!! Link to comment
tennismenace Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I have an English accent and to be honest, I'm not all that fond of the American accent. Just a personal preference, I guess. Link to comment
Night Pumpkin Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Having an American accent is a liability, and not an asset. My sister just came back from 6 months of world travelling, and she said that people around the world don't like Americans. She said that people were harsh when they thought she was American, but when she told them she was Canadian suddenly thier attitude changed. She also said that American travellers she travelled with pretended to not be American, for the purpose of not being harassed by those with anti-American feelings. So accent hot ?? I don't think so......... Link to comment
Rising Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Night Pumpkin, be careful about making generalizations about your sister's experience. Americans don't have the best reputation in the world now because of our last decade of horrible foreign relations and the ridiculous and stupid things American travelers do in other countries. Whenever I travel to other countries I do my best to stay away from 'tourist' types as they typically are loud, annoying and "American, God **** it!" (super ego for no apparent reason) People have preconceived notions about others from far away places and it's hard to counteract when a lot of the tourists reaffirm them. As far as accent goes... American English is deemed 'the cool English' by many, whereas British English is thought to be more refined and scholarly sounding. (I'd take a sassy Aussie girl over any of those... too cute...) Link to comment
duppy_conqueror Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 naw thanks rising. i like having an aussie accent, its FREAKING AWESOME MAN. haha. accents in general are hot...but i guess it all comes down to personal preference. personally, i'd dig british over american any day. Link to comment
big greg Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 That's true about americans traveling. My buddy mike has done alot of overseas traveling and he says the same thing. He left one time and was in Germany and he wore a shirt with a picture of bush and below it said "not my president". He actually got applause from a bunch of people, and said everyone in Germany liked his shirt.. lol Link to comment
D_Lish Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Night Pumpkin, be careful about making generalizations about your sister's experience. Americans don't have the best reputation in the world now because of our last decade of horrible foreign relations and the ridiculous and stupid things American travelers do in other countries. Join the club....we don't exactly have a great reputation abroad either. Everyone hates us too As far as accent goes... American English is deemed 'the cool English' by many, whereas British English is thought to be more refined and scholarly sounding. Yeah, those who speak 'upper class' English maybe....Hugh Grant as a prime example. Not all of us have the same accent as him and they vary from region to region. Northern English speak and sound totally different to the Southern English. Still English though I guess....and you wouldn't mistake us for being any other than English, no matter where we are in England. I prefer American accents to Australian ones.... Link to comment
ColdHands... Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Hmm I think its very variable...some American accents can be really annoying especially if they're high pitched and squeaky. Having said that, I find posh English accents quite annoying as well, especially if the person is a snob. Its difficult to generalise. It depends on the person I guess... Link to comment
John Streo Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I wish I had a Scottish accent. I've noticed that Scots have an easier time in saying words from other languages correctly over other English speaking accents. I'm not too concerned about how "attractive" it is, but I just like to be able to have a more fluid manner of speaking. I have an American accent, and I kind of feel it takes liberties with the correct way of pronouncing things (Americanized English). I would also say that I'm Canadian if I were to travel abroad... Link to comment
tina-rocks Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I am British and love the American Accents..... Keep talking! Just curious about what our British friends here on ena think of the American accent. I know that I find the English accent very hot, and a lot of Americans would probably agree with me. Do you feel the same way about our accent, or do we sound like yokels? Link to comment
Cognitive_Canine Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I enjoy accents of all sorts. Not too picky. Link to comment
Mutley Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Plus there are different dialects. Some American (and British) accents sound totaly different from each other. Link to comment
Cognitive_Canine Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Plus there are different dialects. Some American (and British) accents sound totaly different from each other. Yeah, you really can't compare long island to texan to escanaba. Link to comment
steamboat Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Depends which accent it is. But generally yes! American is pretty hot Link to comment
Infin1ty Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 First off I am an American, this is just my opinion on accents. I think it's hard to generalize an American accent. Though be it when I think of an American talking, I think of someone from the North-Eastern states. There are so many different accents just in America that to say you like an American accent can entail a lot. Like with me, I personally dig a hot southern girl accent, but a Minnesota or Wisconsin accent drives me insane. Link to comment
D_Lish Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 First off I am an American, this is just my opinion on accents. I think it's hard to generalize an American accent. You can't a British one either. For a start, Britain is England, Wales and Scotland....3 different countries that make up the British population. Accents and dialects in England, Scotland and Wales vary from region to region. A man from Glasgow, Scotland, is a lot harder to understand, than a man from Edinburgh, Scotland. A man from North East England, sounds a lot different to a man from London, England... Link to comment
fastball2113 Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 When I think of American accents there are a few that come to mind New York, Boston, Southern, and then the Midwest has there own too. I think the New York accent is the best, but I'm biased Link to comment
thelonelydoll Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Having been engaged to two (English) Brits and traveled everywhere in the UK from Derry (NI) to Edinburgh to Cardiff to Newquay, I've always gotten loads of compliments on my accent. But I don't have one, though I grew up between New York and Boston - two very distinct regional accents. Accents in the UK are sometimes not even understood within its own borders, they are so varied. But it needs be said that with all the subtle differences, say, between Manchester and York, the US is simply so much larger and there are variations within very small areas. Sometimes people from Providence and Boston need translators. Give me some deep Balkan accent any day of the week, though. Link to comment
jcrisph Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 From CT to boston and from CT to NYC thee accents change so much. in NY the accents change a lot from BX to BK. My roomates in college were from maryland,ohio,oklahoma and texas and we all had different accents. I asked them if i had an accent and they said yeah because I never knew what an accent from connecticut sounded like. some many different accents in America. Link to comment
thelonelydoll Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Precisely. I've also lived for several years in California, and have been to all but 7 states. I knew someone from Austin who claimed not to understand his relatives in Corpus Christi. We've gone completely OT, but I guess it's just strange to me to think that there's one all-purpose "American" accent. I suppose since this is meant to be for the Brits, that would simply mean a non-British accent. In other parts of Europe I have been asked if I were Irish, or even Swedish. Oddly, nobody has ever guessed that I might be Canadian - for reasons I suspect have nothing to do with the way I speak. Link to comment
Hope_Springs_Eternal Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I'm English and I love American accents, love Australian ones too Link to comment
LBP Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 I'm an American recently moved to England and have received positive feedback 100% of the time... I think the 'California' accent is what most people associate with 'American.' As an aside, I have no idea what people are talking about when they say that Americans don't get respect abroad. This has never been my experience. Link to comment
D_Lish Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 I'm an American recently moved to England and have received positive feedback 100% of the time... I think the 'California' accent is what most people associate with 'American.' As an aside, I have no idea what people are talking about when they say that Americans don't get respect abroad. This has never been my experience. Maybe it depends upon which country you are in... In England it is highly doubtful that you will get any 'hostility'... In Middle Eastern countries however....well I will say no more. We Brits get it wherever we go....Germany, France, Spain and all over...lolss Link to comment
gomango Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 I could listen to a southern girl or aussie girl talk all day! I'm From the South and the Southern accents definitely vary throughout the South. Link to comment
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