Accents

[Choft]

How do we get the accents we have? For example, the americans originally came from England right? So woudn't they have english accents then? So how did their accents change to what it is today?

Currently right now I've a British accent. If I were to go to China and live there and speak their lanugage for about 10 years, would my accent change to theirs? And how would it change?

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[zakob]

Currently right now I've a British accent. If I were to go to China and live there and speak their lanugage for about 10 years, would my accent change to theirs? And how would it change?

I guess just speaking the language for a long time changes your accent. Maybe wiki can help...

[Choft]

I would like to know how that would change it.

[Danielle]

When you're around a certain way of speaking long enough, you start to pick it up yourself. It's like if you are around someone who swears alot, eventually, you will start swearing too (unless you make a conscious effort not to)

[Vagrant]

Accents are gained from two things: The people around us, and the language itself. Accents originate from a language itself because they are useful to speaking that language fluently. And obviously, when you are little, you like to imitate what your parent's say, so you mimic how they say it as well.

You may also notice dialects have different accents, despite being the same language.

[LizardRob]

But he wants to know how, right at the beginning, how people got their way of speaking. And why America somehow changed the English (wo)men who went there's accent... was it the Natives who already lived there?

[DarkReality]

No, probably just a matter of comfort. America was flooded by people of various nations who learned english as well, and the American accent was most likely the most convenient for everyone.

[Honeycomb]

I don't really have an accent but some people say I sometimes speak like a east coast guy. Whatever that means.

[Drifterxkringo]

I got my accent from the people around me. I have a slight southern accent, and sometimes it just becomes really heavy.

[The Brown Cow]

No, probably just a matter of comfort. America was flooded by people of various nations who learned english as well, and the American accent was most likely the most convenient for everyone.
Sounds right to me.

I've also heard some interesting theories on where the Southern Accent came from - namely that it came straight from British Royalty. Keep in mind that we don't have any record of how people spoke in England back then. Interesting to think about.

[Whois]

I use to live in California so I guess I have that seafer dude accent.

[Squidude]

Living in an area does not automatically give you an accent, nor is an accent something people can't control. When people speak foreign languages, a large component is getting a/the accent down. I can speak with any accent I want. The only accents I happen to know are north-eastern U.S. english, yiddish, and some french (not sure about the regions on the last two).

People lose their accents all the time. I know someone who used to live in the UK, and now he does a great British accent, even though he seems to not use it by default.

[Scornic]

Being in Hawaii I start to pick up the local accent, and slang. I don't realize it until I visit relatives in other parts of the US, and they comment on my speaking.

[Whois]

I lived there for 5 years I was bound to learn the slang. I think dude was the big thing back then.

[Kravers]

I think I have some sort of British Accent because when I say " Old ", I wind up saying " Owed".

[Whois]

I think I have some sort of British Accent because when I say " Old ", I wind up saying " Owed".
You live where?

[Vagrant]

Living in an area does not automatically give you an accent, nor is an accent something people can't control. When people speak foreign languages, a large component is getting a/the accent down. I can speak with any accent I want. The only accents I happen to know are north-eastern U.S. english, yiddish, and some french (not sure about the regions on the last two).

People lose their accents all the time. I know someone who used to live in the UK, and now he does a great British accent, even though he seems to not use it by default.

It's funny, I have a friend who was born in Taiwan, lived there for about 4 years, and then moved here. He still has the accent, but speaks English mainly. Sometimes it's so hard to understand him. I think I can understand what he's saying about 60-65% of the time.

Having lived in California for all my life, it should be obvious what my accent is.

[Whois]

California was great but expensive.

[Kravers]

You live where?

I live in the U.S.A, but the rest I won't tell because I don't want any of you guys coming to my house, no offence.

[Honeycomb]

I live in the U.S.A, but the rest I won't tell because I don't want any of you guys coming to my house, no offence.

Giving out what city you live in dosent mean people are going to stalk you. And besides, the mods and admins have you IP so with that info, they can find out what city you live in.

[AeroZ]

I have a Wisconsinite accent. I find it interesting, that when your born with an accent, it doesn't seem you can recognize it yourself. It just sounds normal.

[Whois]

Giving out what city you live in dosent mean people are going to stalk you. And besides, the mods and admins have you IP so with that info, they can find out what city you live in.
They can find exactly where you are. What street or road you live on. Your IP is like a GPS system for your house.

[Vagrant]

They can find exactly where you are. What street or road you live on. Your IP is like a GPS system for your house.

Erm... no.

Your IP gives us your subnet and ISP. We know the general area we live, but not your house. The ISP is the only one who can provide the rest of the information.

[Whois]

Not if you do it *coughs saying illegally*. I don't but some people do.

[Desperation]

Well, a majority of the people here believe I'm not really from Kentucky because I don't use "ain't" or "y'all" unless I'm making fun of their dialect.

[Whois]

I live in North Carolina and I don't have that accent.

[Freddy]

*skims through most of the thread*

Keep in mind accents only develope if you learn the language after a certain age. I don't know what the age was exactly (probably ought to look it up) but it's something like ages 5-8 and up. Generally, if you move to another country before that age, you don't have any accent. You just speak normally (or at least how everyone else speaks).

I has to do with how the brain learns new sounds. At later ages you're limited in how you say new sounds if you haven't already leanred them before. It's exactly the reason why I have no Brazilian accent at all and why my parents have horribly thick Brazilian accents. I came here when I was one.

[Whois]

Well, yeah your right.

[Forsaken_13]

I know some people who can turn accents on and off.
When i went on a school trip to Costa Rica there was a school from upstate New York there. I speak http://www.pittsburghese.com/
Its just an accent from Pittsburgh. We say stillers instead of steelers. Yinz which means you all. Crik instead of creek. I noticed that the kids from new york said hat instead of hot. Gawd instead of God. Saccer instead of Soccer. Just little stuff like that.

[Whois]

There's an actor that can do that.

[Vagrant]

I know some people who can turn accents on and off.
When i went on a school trip to Costa Rica there was a school from upstate New York there. I speak http://www.pittsburghese.com/
Its just an accent from Pittsburgh. We say stillers instead of steelers. Yinz which means you all. Crik instead of creek. I noticed that the kids from new york said hat instead of hot. Gawd instead of God. Saccer instead of Soccer. Just little stuff like that.

When you learn a second language, you can develop dual accents. For example, I have a different accent when I'm speaking Spanish. It's sort of a mix of Californian and Hispanic accent.

[Whois]

But if you three then what happens?

[DefendYourAstle]

there are VERY few trilingual people (not to be confused with people who happen to know 3 languages fluently)
are you bilingual vagrant?
and technically I think an accent is part of learning a language, as much of that learning is mimicking someone who speaks that language well, and thus with an accent. with dialects, this means that depending on who you learn a language from, you will have a specific sub-accent.

And I think accents overall slowly change, and back in the 17-1800s there wasn't much travel so communities would be more isolated, and accents would split apart more easily.

EDIT: um, my dad's a linguist. so ya

[Whois]

I know a person who knows eight languages fluently. He got into Harvard and he's the under acheiver in the family.

[lazyguy]

I think I have some sort of British Accent because when I say " Old ", I wind up saying " Owed".
That's not a British accent. That's a Charles accent.

[Whois]

Charles' accent?

[denacioust]

I have an Irish accent. Top that!

[Whois]

I don't really have an accent beat that #####es!!!

[denacioust]

Ask someone outside of where you live. I bet you do.

[theryman]

Most accents just derive from local pronunciation and dialect.

For example, here in the Nati, we do not say 'wash,' we say 'warsh.' As for myself, I talk normally here in Cincinnati, but if I travel any more than an hour in any direction, the accent is radically different. I can converse like a local with people just over the bridge (it's not too hard, just a light southern twang) and with people up in Columbus, since I go there so much for the college parties. However, I have trouble sounding like a local out in the boonies of Indiana and Ohio.

[Vagrant]

there are VERY few trilingual people (not to be confused with people who happen to know 3 languages fluently)
are you bilingual vagrant?

I've been learning Spanish for four years. I can speak the grammar and basic language fairly well, but I don't know that many words.

[lazyguy]

Charles accent as in Prince Charles.

[Whois]

Oh, ok. :)

[LizardRob]

Belgian-Canadians reckon I have a Canadian accent... Hmm.

I'm English and where I live has a different accent to every other town in England.

[denacioust]

I have a 'NORN IRON' accent...

[Whois]

Can you explain that one too?

[denacioust]

My one? I live in Northern Ireland, well north of the republic and that's basicallt how Northern Ireland is said.

[Whois]

Ok, now I know.

[iceshark90]

maybe because you get used to hearing how they talk and follow their example?

[mattz1010]

In all the other languages I've learned (and never bothered to keep), I've been told by all my teachers that I didn't have a Canadian accent. Or any accent at all.

xD you'd think something would get to me, after french, spanish, german and italian.

There is no english 'standard', so every place has an accent. Canadian, American, British, Australian, etc.

Edit:

I've been learning Spanish for four years. I can speak the grammar and basic language fairly well, but I don't know that many words.


That's what I don't like about learning new languages :\ the huge vocabulary list that you'll need if you want to be able to live there for a week.