Wanna Sound Sexier............

[Lady Bugg]

Ok...I know this sounds shallow...............but I am tired of my "southern drawl" I am NOT from the "South"..I'm from Florida...........but I have this

annoying (to me) "drawl. I assume I MUST get it from somewhere but I don't know WHERE.

 

Is there ANYthing I can do to change my dialect..........or my "drawl"???

Do acting classes help? Improv classes??? I just think my voice does NOT match my face at ALL....................

[coollady1957]

Has anyone ever said anything negative toward you about your drawl or accent?

 

Maybe it is just something that is annoying only you. IT probably makes no difference to anyone else what you sound like. I am from the south in Alabama and I have many guys tell me that they love the southern drawl/ accent.

 

ON a few occasions though I have had people ask me where I am from because many people say that I have kind of a " generic" accent, and that it would be hard to determine what region I am from just from the accent.

 

If you are very concerned about it I am sure there must be some type of class or voice lessons that you could take if you wanted to change your accent. Personally I wouldn't let it bother me if I were you.

[igoturhey-oh]

if thats how you talk thats how you talk. i personally am female with a monotone, low voice, its not very feminine and i hate it at times, ive tried trying to put some pep in my voice and i find that feel fake, not really who i am. so i suggest that you find something funny or a quip to say anytime someone suggests that ur from the south, cuz ur obviously from florida...two different things.

[Eto]

Can you lose your dialect if you make an attempt while speaking? Aside from moving there's not a whole lot one can do. Generally one needs to be immersed in an environment to change his/her speech. I suppose you could practice. Maybe get a Learn To Speak English CD and listen to that and practice your enunciation. Or you could just get yourself to be comfortable with the way you sound. It'd be boring if we all sounded the same.

[coollady1957]

Wouldn't Florida actually be kind of considered "the south".? After all it is in the southeast and is further south than Alabama , Georgia and Mississippi, some of the typically thought of southern states?

 

I realize though that Florida is somewhat of an area where people from many different regions end up flocking to, especially at retirement age. So there are many different accents going on down there.

 

SO where would you consider yourself from , if not the south if you are from Florida?

[WorkNProgress]

I find it sets you apart from the rest. Why not embrace your originality? If you really want to drop the drawl there are dialect coaches out there. Also you can find dialect coaching cd's online. It will teach you house to pronounce your vowels, the candence of your speech, etc.

 

Why is it that you want to get rid of it?

[Lady Bugg]

Thanks Guys.......

 

It's weird..and it's probably just ME......but I have had a few clients tell me my

accent is REALLY strong...which to me it's not...but it makes me very self conscious I guess. I lived in the Northeast for a long time and during that time had really NO accent. I liked that. I don't like standing out........I guess I prefer NO accent to the one I have. I don;t know why. Maybe I think people consider me a "redneck" with the accent I have..........

 

I'll look into the online tapes...

[coollady1957]

Lady Bugg having a southern accent doesn't make anyone like a

" redneck" . Some people feel there is a certain grace with the southern accent . However if it bothers you very much then I guess you should seek voice therapy.

[Scotcha]

I always thought Flordia WAS in the South.. You can't get much more South than Flordia and still be in the continental states..

 

I have a friend from Flordia.. He has a deep southern accent too.. I always kinda thought accents were sexy..

 

If you were to hear me talk.. You'd think I had an accent. It's all relative and everyone has one.

 

ps.. Don't know if you like her but I'm a fan.. Britney Spears has a southern accent too..

[Lady Bugg]

Nooooo I mean..I don't mean it as insulting..............at all.

As I said...I just prefer NO dialect..I just get sick of the What part of the SOUTH are you from???? questions........ Monotone requires NO explanation

Plus,.............I've always wondered what it would be like to speak in a sexy dialect ...like british or Italian

[annie24]

LOL. I think you should work on a faux british accent, like Madonna!

 

that would be hot....

 

EDIT: I just saw your post! that is so funny! you do want a british accent. go for it!

[WorkNProgress]

I think if you use terrible grammar, yes you could sound like a "red neck." Anyone who has terrible grammar can sound like that be it a NY accent to a Midwest accent.

 

I doubt your grammar is that bad. Although, if you feel set on changing it then look into the dialect coach or cds.

[Lady Bugg]

Hahaha Annie..................I agree.........

[WorkNProgress]

unfortunately your not British or Italian. You are a gator girl! Be proud of your draawwwl.

[annie24]

unfortunately your not British or Italian. You are a gator girl! Be proud of your draawwwl.

 

LOL - that would be hilarious. A florida girl impersonating a british chick. that would be such a funny accent, I would love to hear that!

[Lady Bugg]

OK so for arguments sake............how fast can you LOSE a "dialect" or accent'...Or how fast can you LEARN one???

[RelaxByWater84]

My mom is a speech therapist and she said that some people can lose their accents in a month to two years. A guy I know of from a different country took speech therapy to get rid of his, as he put it. Hope this helps.

[Anna.]

Hey now, I've had many compliments on my Southern accent and alot of people do think it is sexy. I know you meant no offense or negativity.

 

I worked at a mall in Atlanta for a while and I swear not a single day went by that I didn't get asked where I was from. What's crazy is I grew up only about 70 miles from Atlanta out in a VERY rural area, so I always had to explain.

 

One time these British ladies came in and as I was talking to them they just kept staring and finally one of them said, "You have the loveliest accent I've heard here." I thought that was the best compliment!

 

So of course, I think you should be proud of your Southern accent.

 

But I do agree Florida is different from the rest of the South. Don't know why, but I've always thought of it differently, too.

[coollady1957]

I didn't think you meant it as insulting to have a southern accent. My point was that southern doesn't necessarily mean " red neck".

 

I agree with the post that mentioned that if you are using bad grammar then you might sound uneducated and "rednecky". Otherwise , if I were you I wouldn't fret much about the southern accent.

 

As I said before , I have had many people, men especially say that the female southern dialect was quite sexy and appealing.

[Dako]

I love accents, and when I lived in Maine I had a wicked-bad Downeast accent. TV has homogenized our speech into a generic blah.

Southern accents are so fine!

[Dako]

I know there are classes for business folks to reduce regional accents so they can sell to folks with prdjudices. What a world!

[annie24]

when I was in elementary school, I was forced into speech therapy classes. they didn't like my accent. grrrr... I am angry at them now!

[laboheme]

Watch how Henry Higgins makes Eliza work on her cockney accent in "My Fair Lady."

 

And I've found that taking foreign language classes has this interesting effect...It's a fairly well-known fact that learning a new language helps people understand English grammar, but I found that it forces me to focus on the way English sounds, too.

[southerngirl]

Im originally from central Florida. I have allways thought of myself as southern. My grandmother was even born in Florida so family roots go very deep there.

 

I allways thought I had a southern accent too, and I guess compared to those that relocated there, I have allways had! By chance the customers that have made comments are probally not from the south and really dont have a clue what they are talking about! =)

 

I moved north of there though. Now im in North West Georgia and the accents here are so different from mine. I have been told I sound like im from up north! ha! me?!?!

 

Anyways, I go back to visit 'home' frequently and now friends there have said that Im sounding more and more southern everytime they see me... I cant win..

 

Embrace who you are, dont change for anyone.

 

But, uhh... if you really did want to change it, check into acting/modeling schools your original post said you were wondering if that could help. I would say yes it could. Find one that helps people learn for commercial acting. They could probally help you tone it down if you are very concerned.

[jdheinold]

i enjoy listening to all accents except for the horrid bostonian accent...as i am from the area sometime it slips out when i'm drunk, and i hate it.

 

as for your "problem" maybe look up a speach therapist? they can help. otherwise, just listen to a northerner talk, and try to emulate it. it'll take some practice