I grew up moving around the States and so I think my accent can't be traced back to any particular region.
I was wondering what do you think of my accent?
Thanks.
Ray
I was wondering what do you think of my accent?
Thanks.
Ray
My American Accent
Interesting accent. To me it sounds like a mild Southern accent, like they have in Virginia.
Do you pronounce the words "cot" and "caught" the same, or differently?
The accent's nice, but the voice quality has room for improvement--somewhat nasal.
it's not Californian (nor Canadian)
it's a difficult accent to trace, you have [Q] in ''on, long, wash, office, strong'', but [A] in ''calling, dog'' and [E] in ''happy''. Its an old-fashioned accent and a bit too formal (not relaxed).
It's a Back East to South accent,
it could be St. Louis, Baltimore or Kentucky.
You have [a] in ''time'' (instead of [aI]).
Definitely Southern.
The accent is cot/caught transitionally/partially merged [at least in terms of production], here and there, since you unround the vowels that are rounded in traditional G.A (for example, the word ''dog''). On the other hand, you round vowels that are unrounded in traditional G.A. (''on, wash'').
Conclusion: St. Louis, EastCoast (MidAtlantic) or South.
it's a difficult accent to trace, you have [Q] in ''on, long, wash, office, strong'', but [A] in ''calling, dog'' and [E] in ''happy''. Its an old-fashioned accent and a bit too formal (not relaxed).
It's a Back East to South accent,
it could be St. Louis, Baltimore or Kentucky.
You have [a] in ''time'' (instead of [aI]).
Definitely Southern.
The accent is cot/caught transitionally/partially merged [at least in terms of production], here and there, since you unround the vowels that are rounded in traditional G.A (for example, the word ''dog''). On the other hand, you round vowels that are unrounded in traditional G.A. (''on, wash'').
Conclusion: St. Louis, EastCoast (MidAtlantic) or South.
Wow, thank you for the outstanding analysis.
However, I think it would be appropriate to confess one little detail at this point.
I'm not an American. Heck, my native tongue isn't even English.
I'm Finnish, but I fooled you, didn't I?
However, I think it would be appropriate to confess one little detail at this point.
I'm not an American. Heck, my native tongue isn't even English.
I'm Finnish, but I fooled you, didn't I?
>> On the other hand, you round vowels that are unrounded in traditional G.A. (''on, wash''). <<
I disagree that the General American vowel in "on" is /A/. Labov says that the dialects that are closest to General American are the Midlands, the West, and Canada. All of those can have a rounded [Q].
I disagree that the General American vowel in "on" is /A/. Labov says that the dialects that are closest to General American are the Midlands, the West, and Canada. All of those can have a rounded [Q].