What Kind of Accent Do You Have?

hopehacker

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I guess I'd be one of those people with no real accent. I have what I call the broad American Accent. You know I basically talk like the news people or the TV announcers. I don't have a Southern, Midwestern, or Northeastern accent, just a typical California accent, I guess, which is basically no accent.
 

tari

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I don't have an accent unless I'm really tired or have had a few too many drinks...then my southern Illinois accent (kind of a cross-breed between a midwest accent and a southern accent) comes creeping back. I grew up in southern Illinois, and had a thick accent when I moved to the Chicago area at age 13. They sent me to a speech therapist to get rid of the accent, but it's apparently always lurking in the shadows somewhere.
 

hopehacker

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Originally Posted by Tari

I don't have an accent unless I'm really tired or have had a few too many drinks...then my southern Illinois accent (kind of a cross-breed between a midwest accent and a southern accent) comes creeping back. I grew up in southern Illinois, and had a thick accent when I moved to the Chicago area at age 13. They sent me to a speech therapist to get rid of the accent, but it's apparently always lurking in the shadows somewhere.
If you talk like the people from Chicago talk, then you do indeed have an accent. The people in Chicago have a strong accent, similar but not exactly like the people from Michigan.
 

cheeseface

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I have a Canadian accent. However, it's not like people from Ontario or further east. I'm not sure how it compares to the west coast. It's a generally sober accent though; more like North American news broadcasts.
 

arlyn

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I don't think I have one, I'm a Northwesterner, born and raised.
Though I did live 8 years in Mississippi, and I will occasionally lapse into a slow, deep south drawl, usually if I'm really angry or I've had too much to drink.
 

redhairedgirl

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I have a very slight Texan accent. It gets stronger when I'm home or when I've been drinking.
My husband's from Arkansas and I even morph into talking like his family when I'm there. I didn't think I had one at all until I moved to California, where ANY accent at all stands out!
 

jcat

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Philly accent here (Philadelphia, PA). Think Will Smith, Kevin Bacon, and Richard Gere. I'll be speaking English here, and somebody, usually a fellow American from the Northeast, will ask, "Are you from Philly?" It must be the "wudder" I drank growing up! It's similar to the NJ accent, which I recognize, too, but not quite the same.
 

rapunzel47

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Canadian, eh.
I'd guess you probably wouldn't hear a lot of difference in accent between Ryan and me, from his description, and from my experience of Winnipeg accents. I think in general there's less difference in accents from Manitoba west, than there is going east.
 

cheeseface

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Originally Posted by rapunzel47

Canadian, eh.
I'd guess you probably wouldn't hear a lot of difference in accent between Ryan and me, from his description, and from my experience of Winnipeg accents. I think in general there's less difference in accents from Manitoba west, than there is going east.
Thanks for clarifying that Fran. When I thought about the people I know or knew from the west coast I couldn't really recall any noticeable accent, but east of Manitoba is where it begins to take a more noticeable change.
 

royalenchntrss

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Haha good thread! I dont think i have an accent but I was told I have a northern accent by my friend in Cali.. He used to call all of the time because he liked listening to my accent and i'd say i dont have one!!! lol Since my dad is from florida when we're down there visiting family I have a southern accent for awhile when i get home...
 

tari

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Originally Posted by HopeHacker

If you talk like the people from Chicago talk, then you do indeed have an accent. The people in Chicago have a strong accent, similar but not exactly like the people from Michigan.
You're right...they do have a really strong Chicaaaago accent. I don't talk like a Chicagoan (for which I'm periodically teased). I usually sound much like you probably do...more broad American sounding, like a newscaster, with no real regional accent at all. I used to get a lot of voiceover work because of it.
 

slitty_kittay

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When I speak english its Australian/British english - with a slight swedish rounding to it.

There can be so much variety within the way people talk in the same country...

We have a guy that does the apartment maintenance and I always cringe when I can see it is him ringing the doorbell. I cant undertsand a word the guy says - he has such a thick northern sweden accent. I'm sure he thinks I'm a idiot or something because I can never answer what he says, I usually end up nodding and saying yeah, fine - and then hope he wasnt asking to drill a crater in our floor
 

fwan

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Originally Posted by slitty_kittay

When I speak english its Australian/British english - with a slight swedish rounding to it.

There can be so much variety within the way people talk in the same country...

We have a guy that does the apartment maintenance and I always cringe when I can see it is him ringing the doorbell. I cant undertsand a word the guy says - he has such a thick northern sweden accent. I'm sure he thinks I'm a idiot or something because I can never answer what he says, I usually end up nodding and saying yeah, fine - and then hope he wasnt asking to drill a crater in our floor
do you have the australian accent from watching home and away and neighbours?
(i heard that you get english channels up there?)
 

MoochNNoodles

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I have an 'upstate New York' accent. But the only person who's ever told me that is my friend from another part of the country where I live now who has family there. Apparently when I say 'Ma' it sounds like 'mAAA' Doesn't seem so to me though! hehehe. I guess I've just got your regular ol American accent!
 
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