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Is an American Accent Sexy? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| SPQR Etruria Diglot Newbie Italy Joined 5308 days ago 14 posts - 18 votes Speaks: Italian*, English | Message 49 of 64 16 May 2010 at 3:04pm | IP Logged | ||
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I find the American accents sexier than those of the British Isles.
It's more wowel open, more enfatic and exagerated..i love the USA accents.. they are more vibrant and lively too. And more over it seems to me that they speak clearly, for esample if i watch the CNN i find its pronounce more clear than that of the BBC, I understand more of what they are saying. Edited by SPQR Etruria on 16 May 2010 at 3:08pm 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| mrhenrik Triglot Moderator Norway Joined 6080 days ago 482 posts - 658 votes  Speaks: Norwegian*, English, French Personal Language Map | Message 50 of 64 16 May 2010 at 6:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'm not a big fan of the American accents. I used to be when I was younger, but not so
much anymore. I like the southern American accent though, but I wouldn't call it sexy. I love Irish, Scottish and Welsh, but the sexiest has to be Geordie. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Lucky Charms Diglot Senior Member Japan lapacifica.net Joined 6950 days ago 752 posts - 1711 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: German, Spanish | Message 51 of 64 17 May 2010 at 4:09am | IP Logged | ||
Lasciel, I would never make fun of someone who has a non-native accent. I quite obviously have one in every language that I speak besides English. I also happen to think that achieving 100% perfectly native pronunciation in a second language is probably impossible, and not even a desirable thing anyway. I have all the respect in the world for language learners, including those who are learning the same languages I am but are still at the beginning of their journey. In fact, I'm an English and Japanese teacher by profession, so I'd be a fraud if I felt any differently. However, let me reiterate what I said in my original post; perhaps I wasn't clear enough. I'm NOT talking about people who are serious enough about languages to come to this forum. I'm NOT talking about people like you who are sensitive about their pronunciation because they are honestly trying as hard as they can. I'm NOT talking about new learners who will get there someday, slowly but surely. People who are not even trying, who have no respect for the language and are just doing the bare minimum to impress people and show off, who are satisfied to never get past beginner or intermediate level because it's just a cheap parlor trick to them, but are VERY VERY vocal about their 'amazing skill' so that these kind of people are representing your country much more than the humble, hardworking, sane people like you, are the ones I'm talking about. Maybe you're familiar with the stereotype of the American who goes to Mexico or Europe for Spring Break with a group of friends, being drunk and obnoxious the whole time, and speaking like 'una mas cerveza, por favor!' in 100% American pronunciation so that it sounds insulting. In Japan, we have these same guys (they come because they were told in their home country that Japanese girls worship white guys) , but the difference is that every time they open their mouth with 'konnichiwa' praise is heaped upon them, which totally goes to their head so that they start to think they're the most amazing Caucasian to ever hit Japan, and that it's their sacred duty to share their amazing Japanese skills LOUDLY with everyone they meet. (but improve it? - Never! They're already amazing enough). To others, sorry for the somewhat OT post. In conclusion, I think that American English is very 'cool' in other languages, though not necessarily 'sexy', whereas American English PRONUNCIATION in ANOTHER language sounds horrible/comical/irritating. Also, many Americans' lack of experience and/or terrible attitudes about language learning only exacerbates the pronunciation problem as well as the way our pronunciation is percieved by others. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| robsolete Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5386 days ago 191 posts - 428 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Arabic (Written), Mandarin | Message 52 of 64 17 May 2010 at 5:11am | IP Logged | ||
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Of course, the great question for me is "Which American accent?"
My native Bostonian is one of the most widely despised--I subconsciously trained myself out of it as a child. My parents speak with it, but (unless I've been drinking) I rarely slip into it myself. And no, dere ain't no place tah pahk ya cah in Hahvahd Yahd--ya gotta drive to Watahtown ta pahk it dese days. Noo Yawkuhs, our great enemies, also contend for the dubious honor of most hated accent. Although both in my city and theirs, the influx of outsiders in the last 20 years has made the "native" accents something of an endangered species (though you can still hear them in the suburbs). Chicago pronunciation is usually the "standard," I suppose. Very clean, very nice, very boring. Then you have the plethora of Southern accents, from sweeter-n'-a-mint-julep Dixie to rough-an'-tumble Texan. And then there's th' Appalachia folks. . . And donchaknow about Minnesooooohta and the Upper Midwest? Sarah Palin being the most popular example (her family is part of a Minnesota "expat" lineage that transplanted to Alaska) in the news today. Further west, I guess California may be what we think of when we think of the "cool" Standard American? Very relaxed, easygoing, and hella chill. I mean, like, it's totally what you hear, like, ALL DAY LONG on MTV, right? In the interests of not starting a flamewar, I regard Black English Vernacular as its own thing, since its classification as an accent, dialect, or separate language seems to create a lot of arguments. Nonetheless, there's of course a handful of geographic breakdowns of BEV as well, some gorgeous to listen to and some not. Of them all, I think Dixie can be sexy. California can be cool. New York, Texan, and Bostonian can be aggressive, though all are beloved by many. The Midwest accents are just homey and inviting. And there's a dozen more. So it's a hard question really. Edited by robsolete on 17 May 2010 at 5:15am 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Raчraч Ŋuɲa Triglot Senior Member New Zealand Joined 5819 days ago 154 posts - 233 votes Speaks: Bikol languages*, Tagalog, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, Russian, Japanese | Message 53 of 64 18 May 2010 at 12:35pm | IP Logged | ||
American accent is sexy on a hot girl. American accent is stupid on a stupid girl. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Deji Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5441 days ago 116 posts - 182 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Hindi, Bengali | Message 54 of 64 26 January 2011 at 11:33pm | IP Logged | ||
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This is all so subjective and has much to do with how much you/I/he, she/it LIKES the group whose accent is in
question. If it's the group you come from, you probably don't like it. A little exotic is good. A people you have absolutely NOTHING in common with is not good. Also, a small accent but correct intonation is charming. A heavy accent and heavy nonnative intonation becomes very hard to understand. I used to hear some REALLY wild English on the loudspeakers on Parisian tour boats. I enjoy Indian English, and actually treasure the turns of phrase that come straight from 17th and 18th century British usage. Wadera-sahib, where are you now? I also have a lot of fondness for the Boston accent. My favorite speech ever was a commencement address in Harvard by a Latin graduate who told the audience what a thrill it was to first park her car in Harvard yard--in Latin! (Of course, that was NOT with a Boston accent) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| hrhenry Octoglot Senior Member United States languagehopper.blogs Joined 5131 days ago 1871 posts - 3642 votes Speaks: English*, SpanishC2, ItalianC2, Norwegian, Catalan, Galician, Turkish, Portuguese Studies: Polish, Indonesian, Ojibwe | Message 55 of 64 27 January 2011 at 12:43am | IP Logged | ||
If you think a Chicago accent is standard, I'm guessing you haven't spent much time here. When I first moved to Chicago (after decades of living in California), I resisted adopting the Chicago accent pretty hard. Now I find it sort of charming. But it's in no way standard. R. == 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| CheeseInsider Bilingual Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5123 days ago 193 posts - 238 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin* Studies: French, German | Message 56 of 64 27 January 2011 at 6:56am | IP Logged | ||
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I like hearing American accents in other languages, it's kind of cute. Like saying "ni hao wo shi mei guo ren" with all the pronunciation totally off, and the tones really bad, it's kind of endearing.
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