What do you sound like? Do you have an accent?

I suppose you're right, I have an American accent - as opposed to a British accent - but as far as regionally in America, I have none!

i had an aussie boss who worked around asia so he has learned to speak slowly and clearly, which i was grateful for since we're used to american english/american accent. when he and another aussie who also worked around asia went home to sydney for a vacation, they were mistaken for americans. i did love his choice of words, like appalling and, uhm, poofters, and when he'd say, i saw rit (instead of i saw it).

I figured out you probably lived in Jamaica ! I was looking forward to seeing what got posted here because it can be challenging to write phonetically. I failed 'hukd on fonix' (hooked on phonics) because the first time I saw it written that way, I immediately had to ask someone else what that nonsense said! I like Irish accents too, I enjoy a lot of international accents - as long as they are not so thick that I cannot understand. Some that are hard for me to understand are Asian accents, sometimes Indian, and some Spanish. It just depends how well the person speaks English. If they speak English poorly AND have a really strong accent, sometimes I have to find an interpreter or just not have a conversation. hereandthere: when I worked at McDonalds in high school, I worked with a guy who was an import from the UK. There were some words he couldn't say, I still remember repeating 'Hyundai' (a type of car) and we all burst out laughing because he couldn't figure out how to say it. It's basically pronounced HUN-DAY but he seemed to have trouble with it based on how it was spelled lol.

I haven't heard the word poofters in many years. Thanks for reminding me

Yes, I have an American accent. I considered that to be a non-accent though, since it has no regional American accent attached to it. I hope I explained that correctly lol. I told someone else more or less I say all the letters I should and none of the ones that aren't there. A lot of regional accents add or drop letters in words, which is what makes some of them sound so harsh to me.

RI. um..i really haven't heard enough californians speak in person to know. most unique i've probably heard is virginian.it's like a "journalistic" accent,most likely due to so many "elsewhere" people moving to norfolk.all of them mix in. they used to laugh at my pronounciation of norfolk.appearently,i should be saying "nawwwwwfick"..

NY, NJ, MA? Do you think Californians have an accent, or a lack of one? LOL

LOL, I hear you. I too can sound younger than I am; except in the morning, when I'm down in my bass range. I love your comeback, though. I'd bet someone has gotten a shock out of it. As far as being in an unfamiliar area, I'm right there with you. I lived in CA my whole life until two years ago, when I moved to MO to be near family. I also use the GPS a lot. Of course, I'm not going anywhere right now; we got half a foot of snow yesterday, the second day of spring! And while I am okay in the snow, they always advise us to stay off the road as much as possible, because a lot of people do NOT know how to drive in the snow. And not to sound like a partisan, but they do say that the red states are far more dangerous than blue states to drive in (not suggesting that Democrats are better drivers than Republicans, although I have noticed that drivers of cars with Obama stickers use their blinkers more than those with Romney or McCain stickers). Thank goodness I work from home!

I don't talk like a 'Valley Girl' or anything, probably because I didn't grow up here lol. I think I sound the same as I did when I lived in WA, people don't typically ask me where I used to live based on how I talk, sometimes it's because I seem not very familiar with the area. I've lived here for 10 years but I rely on GPS to get around anything that isn't close and familiar. It took me a long time to branch out and go too far from the town I live in, getting lost is a nightmare and getting lost with kids (who can't help you) is even worse lol. Apparently I sound very young on the phone, as at least once or twice since I've been an adult, someone on the phone has asked me if my mom was there. I hope it was embarrassing for the caller when they heard 'I AM the mom, what did you have to say to me? MY mother lives in another state, thanks.'

Sample word...BIRTHDAY bert-dey..... SPECIAL is-pes-yal Hope you liked it...lol

What does that sound like? Can you type it phonetically, so I can read how it would sound? LOL!

I bet you sound like you're from the UK though, as opposed to a 'mutt' American, like me lol. I can probably make a good attempt at a British accent but it won't sound like someone who grew up speaking that way. Everyone can tell a tourist lol. Have you ever traveled abroad?

Well, see above, the comment I made to scarlet. I am wondering if people from the northeast consider people from the west coast (WA, OR, CA) to HAVE an accent (because we don't sound like New Yorkers, for instance) or to have a LACK of one. I was just in AZ recently and I don't recall noticing that anybody had an accent, not in general. People sound just like Californians in AZ - unless of course they were imported from New Jersey, Georgia, etc LOL. I've actually traveled to, been in, or been through a lot of different states, but the majority of them before I was 5, which may be why I never picked up anything regional. I also lived in Germany for awhile but I was I think three or under.

lol! It was just different from yours!

How long do you think it took to change your accent? NY and southern are VERY different lol. I'd call them almost opposite!

Hehe! I more or less meant for people to try and type phonetically so I could 'read' what they sound like when they speak. I have some friends that I only know online, from forums, although we've been friends for almost 10 years. I have found it really interesting to note that most of the time they look like I expect them to, when I see photos, but from time to time they have SOUNDED completely different than I thought they would! I have one friend from MA and I guess I didn't expect her to have an accent - well, she does! She sounds cute but totally nothing like me!

I will sometimes ask someone where their home is if they have a different 'strong' accent, like southern, or something that sounds international. I have to laugh about the pie and pop thing - when I lived in WA I used to call soda 'pop'. I have not called it pop since I moved down here, and I giggle whenever I hear someone call it 'pop'. Then you have the group of people who actually call it 'soda pop', both words. I'm guessing that's a regional thing maybe. My daughter calls it Coke or Pepsi lol.

Not sure! Generally I would think people with no accent come from or live in a region that has no discernable accent - meaning they properly pronounce each word, saying the letters that are there and not adding or dropping any. Also, in general (not always) people who speak perfect English with no accent usually have learned English as their FIRST language or at the same time as they learned another or multiple languages, as children. I hear a lot of accents when English is someone's second or third or fourth language, most heavily influenced by whichever language was their first. Where do you live? I'm just curious.

How many different languages do you speak? Which is your primary/first? I don't know where you live, but your written English is great! I can tell when someone may be learning English and posting here because there are a lot of awkward phrasing of sentences or misspelled words in their posts.

oh um.. here http://vocaroo.com/i/s19DRu73TjyF Please disregard the odd noise. No clue where its coming from.

I really enjoy international accents - British, Australian, etc. I chuckle a lot at regional American accents though. I know that makes me sound terrible! I probably would not find them as funny if I HAD one. I have just never lived long enough in a place that has one. I primarily grew up in WA state, which has no accent, you actually pronounce ALL of your letters. I think that's why so many different accents sound funny to me, in many of them, people either say letters that aren't there, or they leave out or drop letters that ARE there. It sounds harsh and 'off' to my ears because I'm used to speaking (and hearing) everything the way it really is, if that makes sense. I live in CA now and except for people who are imports to this state, people do not seem to have accents here either. For the most part, unless they are lazy, people pronounce as well as they did up north. I only notice different sounds of letters when you hit midwest, and southern accents as you head into Texas, Georgia, etc. My niece learned how to talk when my brother was stationed in GA, so she sounded super cute when she was a toddler. They moved back to WA eventually and she lost her accent pretty quickly.