Can you guess where I am from?

Hi guys. I know some of you are really good at locating dialects on the map. Can you please try and guess where I am from. Thanks!

Here is my reading of the Rainbow Passage:

http://www2.zippyshare.com/v/92455594/file.html

I'm curious if anybody can pinpoint my whereabouts :)

A Slavonic country.

Spot on, Mr. French! Thanks! Actually, my first language is Russian.

While reading the passage, I was aiming at a general sounding, non-descript American accent. I guess I failed at that :) Can you tell me what makes it so easy to guess my location?

I can hear that I devoice some of my final consonants (for example, [d]'s become [t]'s) and sometimes turn alveolar [t]'s into dental [D]'s. But it's much harder for me to evaluate the quality of my vowel sounds: most of the time they seem alright to me but I think I can sometimes hear that some of them are off.

Can you please help me with improving my speech. Thanks a lot!

"While reading the passage, I was aiming at a general sounding, non-descript American accent. I guess I failed at that :) Can you tell me what makes it so easy to guess my location? "

Your Russian accent sticks out like shit in mashed potatoes. You do not have an "American" accent but rather a Russian one and a rather blatant one at that. Your aim is way off.

It sounds way more British than American.

To me it just sounds Russian. I don't understand why all these foreigners think that they are going to emulate a given native English accent without first getting rid of their own.

Lol! It's that guy again! The one who doesn't believe in learning a specific type of English. Get a life!

I actually prefer this accent to one of the recordings a native speaker made awhile back here. This one was easy on the ears, easy to understand.

The "h" sound reminds me of the "x" or kh sound in Russian. It's probably what struck me the most. You don't want to sound like a wolf trying to blow down a house when you make this sound in English because someone will tease you about it eventually. Think about making the "h" sound in a more gentle way.

I noticed the devoicing as well, but it didn't bother me.

That said, I think you made a good effort. You sound a heck of a lot better than many physicians who come to the US to practice.

It's mostly the pitch changes that give the Russian accent away. Also, the way you pronounce your o's. If you're going for an American accent, try for [oU] or [o]. Also, your t's and d's sound a little different. Try striking the tongue against the roof of your mouth. Make sure that you flap d/t in the middle of a word and make it sound like [r].

Thanks very much everyone! That's exactly what I was looking for: a list of sounds that I should focus on.

Mr. French: Can you please tell me a little bit more about the pitch changes. Thank you!

P.S. To Guest: No, I'm not that guy (whoever he is). It's my first thread on the forum. But thanks for your concern anyway :)

You sound pretty good to me. What methods did you use to improve your English accent?