My American Accent

Question

Hi folks, I'd like for you to post your thoughts on what do you think of my accent. link: Any critisism is welcome!

Rafaelinrio · Accepted Answer

it sounds ok...I think it sounds like average american accent.

BarbaraPA · Answer

It's very good. If you're not a native speaker, you are to be commended.

Many of your S end up as SH - SHara instead of Sara.

It has a few Southern influences - waitin' and a few things that seems to be drawled out.

It reminded me radio announcers in older times, like Paul Harvey.

CalifJim · Answer

Grammar GeekMany of your S end up as SH - SHara instead of Sara.

Yes, but could that be an artifact of the microphone placement or recording process?

I definitely got the Paul Harvey connection! Good observation!

Good accent!

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you for the quick and honest feedback! I must say I was positively surprised by the reference made to the legendary radio commentator.
>>Many of your S end up as SH - SHara instead of Sara.<<
It is most likely due to the recording equipment, which is an old digital camera with a busted lense.

Karissa · Answer

That sounds pretty normal, very believable.

Old Man Gordon · Answer

One thing I caught was a faint 'r' in washed, so I would place your accent near Virginia,maybe Ohio.  Other than that, it's what we would call announcer English, the typical midwestern accent used by most TV announcers.  People mentioned Paul Harvey, but I'd liken it to Cronkite.  Nice deep tone.  Have you thought of voice over work?

Raymondd · Answer

I have never seriously thought of voice over work, but I do recall several people commenting that I have a voice for radio.

Kooyeen · Answer

You sound like a newscaster or a radio host. You have a good voice for talking about politics all day long, you know.

Seriously, I heard some "features" that sounded a bit strange to me (your voice sometimes sounds kind of southern to me... is it just me?), but generally speaking, I would not be willing to bet you are not a native speaker if I didn't know it. I am not a native speaker myself, and I find your speech amazing. I believe far less than 1% of all speakers of English as a second language have an accent as good as yours. You must both be talented and have spent a lot of time working on your English. How long have you been learning English?

Raymondd · Answer

Again, thank you for the compliments on my voice.

Kooyeen, you did hear correctly, there are some certain features in my accent which may make me sound a little Southern.
You are also right on me not being a native speaker. If I may ask, how did you find out?
Indeed, I have been spending a lot of my energy working on my English skills and on my accent in particular. I have been studying English since I was about 6 years old, which was 20 years ago.

Kooyeen · Answer

RaymonddYou are also right on me not being a native speaker. If I may ask, how did you find out?

I cheated.

I didn't hear it, I read it. Anyway, as I said, if I hadn't known that, I would not have thought you were a non-native speaker of English, even though every time someone posts a clip and says something like "Criticism is welcome", as you said, people get biased and suspicious, and often over-analyze everything thinking there must be something peculiar. I don't know what that's called... observer bias? If you re-posted it along with some other clips of native speakers reading a random text, and then asked, like "What do you think of these accents and voices?", I guess most listeners would pay much less attention to any syllable you might say, and wouldn't try to convince themselves you are not a native speaker before they play your clip.

RaymonddIndeed, I have been spending a lot of my energy working on my English skills and on my accent in particular. I have been studying English since I was about 6 years old, which was 20 years ago.

Well, no wonder you can speak that way then! I also like to learn about pronunciation, but I stopped obsessing about it when I realize there are so many way of speaking that it would make no sense to say "this must be pronounced this way and not that way". Also, I wouldn't know what to focus on in particular, since I don't live in an English speaking country. I might never move, but if I do, will I end up in Texas, in California, in London, or in Glasgow? That's why I realized getting too obsessed over a particular accent is useless for most people. I am still obsessing over pronunciation, but much less than I used to.

I have been focusing on American English, but I have recently discovered that British accents are good too, and I think I would love to be able to use two kinds of accents, an American one and a British one. Too difficult for me, LOL, I will see.

My American Accent

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