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Privateer
Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Location: Easy Street.
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 Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| Which particular American accent are people refering to? The Down East New England accent? The Brooklyn accent? The soft upper South accent or the deep Southern dripping with honey accent? The Midwestern or possibly the MinneSOta accent? The Valley Girl disaster? |
What? You mean there's a difference? 
I think we're talking about Standard American here - so the West Coast, Mid-West and most of the North, i.e. most of the country? |
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Lekker
Joined: 09 Feb 2008
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Justin Hale wrote: |
| Whether a North American accent is the easiest understood depends on the social class, upbringing and aptitude for speech of the speaker. |
Couldn't agree more.
I knew a guy from Northern England. When he spoke, I could only understand half of what he said. Only when he was really stoned, I could understand him then. |
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IMF crisis
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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| blaseblasphemener wrote: |
Peter Jennings had a Canadian accent. It was also not a "common" Canadian accent, but a well-educated/high-class kind, like Christopher Plummer, Alex Trebek, or William Shatner.
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In other words, educated Canadians sound like Americans. |
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PeteJB
Joined: 06 Jul 2007
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A2Steve
Joined: 10 Nov 2007
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| Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:16 pm Post subject: |
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| sojourner1 wrote: |
It shouldn't matter what accent a speaker has, because if you know English you can understand and communicate with anyone who speaks. ...
The American accent does seem plain and less articulated than the English accent heard in many parts of the world. Koreans do fine it harder to understand an American vs. a British accent as so much is slurred, abbreviated, and not clearly spoken. |
Try talking to a kiwi after seven or eight pints and tell me that's English.
as for American vs. brit English, I had a number of Korean teachers tell me it was far easier to understand me than the Brit tool who was butchering the king's English.
Maybe that's cuz I take pride in my Jack Blackness. |
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R-Seoul
Joined: 23 Aug 2006
Location: your place
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| Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:11 pm Post subject: |
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Does anybody watch 'House'? Guess where Hugh Laurie comes from? As a big fan of Blackadder, I really couldn't believe how good his accent sounded in that.
Oh and an American accent? Easy, just hold your nose and talk normally... |
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sojourner1
Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Location: Where meggi swim and 2 wheeled tractors go sput put chug alugg pug pug
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| Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Justin Hale wrote: |
| Whether a North American accent is the easiest understood depends on the social class, upbringing and aptitude for speech of the speaker. |
Yes, this is true. I'm referring to average Midwestestern speakers, not New York or California. Last year, I worked with 3 other Americans from the Midwest, a New Zealander and an Australian and the New Zealander and Australian were better understood by both the Korean hagwon staff and students. This might be a micro situation due to the hagwon having employed mostly non-American staff for the prior 10 years to my understanding. I'm sure up in Seoul, Americans are better understood than any other speaker due to the American Army and US government having the most influence on those Koreans. I can see how Seoulite teachers would disagree with my statement that Americans are less understood in their speech. It's all in where you go... |
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blade
Joined: 30 Jun 2007
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| Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:30 pm Post subject: |
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I know people will probably disagree with me on this but personally I found that most Americans that I've met are for the most part just not able to understand any accent other accent than their own version of American English. I suspect that this is due to the fact that Americans aren't exposed to other accents as regularly as in other English speaking countries. Foreign movies are rarely shown in US cinemas or on TV or even when they are shown their usually accompanied with subtitles which makes it less likely that the listener will try and figure out what is being said for himself.
As to why Koreans understand American English over say British or Hiberno-English for example is most likely due to the cultural influence the US has had on over Korea these past sixty plus years. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:28 am Post subject: |
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I agree with blade, except for the part about movies shown with subtitles. I've never seen that happen, but would appreciate it if it did. Only an expert would be able to identify a difference in pronunciation among people born and living within 200 miles of me. More than that north or south, and a difference begins to show.
I knew someone once who moved to England for two years and came home with an accent. She said she wasn't aware of it. I thought that was odd till I spent 3 weeks in NZ and came home with one. I guess I unconsciously picked up some of it. Has anyone else noticed it? On the other hand, a war bride moved up to Iowa from Alabama or Arkansas and never lost her accent. I have no control over it. I couldn't deliberately change mine for any amount of money or a death threat. Other people seem able to switch their accents at will. I think it would be cool to be able to do that. |
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JustJohn
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Location: Your computer screen
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| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:26 am Post subject: |
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New york video the guy was not talking fast at all...
Scottish one I couldn't understand. I'm from the states. Midwest accent. |
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zpeanut
Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Location: Pohang, Korea
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| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:42 am Post subject: |
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Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!
What an interesting vid... Sometimes students can't undertand me unless I put on an American accent.
for words like.. pass and past. |
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shifty
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 5:03 am Post subject: |
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I want to address the OP's question as it is put. What of Charlize Theron's American accent?? Born in South Africa, her formative years and more spent there. Moreover, her home language is Afrikaans and English her second. Therefore it must be possible.
Though I'll admit that I myself can't get it remotely right despite a certain penchant for crossing borders.
I think an overly American "jangle" can divert from clarity to Korean ears.
To me Canadian and neutral American accents are the most effective. |
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Draz
Joined: 27 Jun 2007
Location: Land of Morning Clam
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| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 6:03 am Post subject: |
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| I have the neutral American accent. But I'm from Canada. |
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Frankly Mr Shankly
Joined: 13 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 6:07 am Post subject: |
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| zpeanut wrote: |
Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!
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If you did this in a bar, I would throw something at you. Something large and heavy. Again, it all depends where you are from. Urban accents, whilst still a bit pronounced, are nowhere near as thick or slang-ridden as those from say rural Queensland or the NT. I still consider myself to have a fairly obvious 'strine twang, but whenever I run into another Aussie abroad they question my origins. Five years here, four in Europe and several in SE Asia have contributed to this, I guess. |
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Dome Vans
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 6:20 am Post subject: |
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What I've found is that if you're fairly well travelled or you've had anumber of customer relations based jobs you actually think about who you are speaking to before you open your mouth. Then there tends to be less confusion.
When it comes to listening then you tend to pick out certain words. Question? Order? You never listen and translate the whole sentence. It's a little like a reading skill, you skim to get the gist of what is being said, this is why people can read whole books in one sitting because they are not deciphering every single word.
I've not come across people I've not understood, and I've worked in a Scottish Bank before. If you have an ear for it then you've no trouble, training the brain to fill in the blanks pays dividends. Which actually comes from being fluent in a few languages because it teaches you to fill in the blanks even in a completely foreign language with odd rules and bits. |
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