Is there such a thing as an American accent?

Is there such a thing?

  • Yes
  • No
  • I’m not sure

0 voters

Is there?

Some accents in the US are very clear, such as a Maine accent, a Boston accent, a New York accent, a Southern accent, a Texas accent, a southern Cal, valley-girl accent, etc.

But is there an American accent? If so, how is that possible? America’s so huge, with so many people, is it possible to generalize in that way?

What’s necessary to make it an American accent? Do a majority of the people have to share some of the characteristics in their speech?

Are there commonalities between a NY accent and Texas accent that make both of them American accents, as opposed to being a British accent?

If there is such a thing as an American accent, what are some of its characteristics?

[quote=“Mother Theresa”]Is there?

Some accents in the US are very clear, such as a Maine accent, a Boston accent, a New York accent, a Southern accent, a Texas accent, a southern Cal, valley-girl accent, etc.

But is there an American accent? If so, how is that possible? America’s so huge, with so many people, is it possible to generalize in that way?

What’s necessary to make it an American accent? Do a majority of the people have to share some of the characteristics in their speech?

Are there commonalities between a NY accent and Texas accent that make both of them American accents, as opposed to being a British accent?

If there is such a thing as an American accent, what are some of its characteristics?[/quote]

MT, as you allude to the existence of a British accent, then the answer would have to be yes.
The UK probably has at least as many accent variations as the US in a country significantly smaller in terms of size. The accent that most people put as being British is used by a very small percentage of the population.

Then why should that be considered a British accent? Who says that’s a British accent? And if it’s only spoken by a small % of the people, are they wrong to say so? (Same for US of course.)

Then why should that be considered a British accent? Who says that’s a British accent? And if it’s only spoken by a small % of the people, are they wrong to say so? (Same for US of course.)[/quote]
No-one says its a British accent except for non-Brits. Most Brits would just call it a posh accent or received English – what they used to make the newsreaders speak.
And of course they’re not wrong to say it’s a British accent. It is. Just not a very common one.

Then why should that be considered a British accent? Who says that’s a British accent? And if it’s only spoken by a small % of the people, are they wrong to say so? (Same for US of course.)[/quote]

As Sandman correctly surmises, the perceived British accent is that which is heard most from outside of the UK, so newsreaders, reporters, radio dj’s etc. The same applies to the US accent, most people would accept that the accent used by CNN reports etc would be regarded as the US accent.

Brits and i imagine US citizens living inside their respective countries would not suggest that there is any such tihng as a Brit or US accent.

DJs actually speak in something called a transatlantic accent, or used to, at least. Best described as someone trying to speak in what used to be considered a “hip” American accent. Except the poor bugger was born and bred in Burnley or Arbroath or someplace like that, so you KNOW its going to sound pretty strange.

Is there a definitive ‘THE American accent?’ No.
Is there a definitive ‘THE British accent?’ No.

Can one be said to have AN American or British accent? Yes, obviously.

[quote=“TomHill”]Is there a definitive ‘THE American accent?’ No.
Is there a definitive ‘THE British accent?’ No.

Can one be said to have AN American or British accent? Yes, obviously.[/quote]
Got a fucking plum in yer mooth son? I cannae make oot whit ye’re sayin’.

As has been said, there are numerous accents in the US (Gullah, Cajun, New England, Minnesota, Valley-Girl, Noo Yawk, Pittsburgh, Boston, Hawaiian Pidgin, the list goes on…); however, there are certain accents that are considered more “standard” or “accent-free” than others, the kind that national TV news announcers strive for. From my observations and a little haphazard Googling, it seems to be spoken within a (roughly) triangular area whose apexes are (roughly) Chicago, Seattle and San Diego; still, even within this region there are distinctive local accents.

Features of this standard dialect include rhoticism, “t” replaced by a flap before an unstressed syllable, and nasalization of the vowel before nasal consonants.

I’d say the most standard American English of all is spoken in the SF Bay Area, but then I’m biased as I’m from there!

Speak English, dammit! :laughing:

Yeah, I’d say the average ‘midwestern’ pronunciation is the average American accent (which happens to be what I have – my usage of “y’all” aside :stuck_out_tongue: ). When you hear someone speaking, and you can tell from their pronunciation that they are American, but you can’t pick up any specific regional accent such as Texan or Jersey, then they’re speaking in the mainstream American accent. The rough area Chris outlines covers most of it.

Then that would actually be the absence of an accent, no? :wink:

Then that would actually be the absence of an accent, no? :wink:[/quote]

No. That would be the presence of an accent. An accent is the distinctive manner of oral expression.
A Texan is an American. A Jersian (!!) is an American. An Idahovian (!!!) is an American. They all have different American accents.

What’s the difficulty?

Then that would actually be the absence of an accent, no? :wink:[/quote]

Absolutely not. If you can tell from their pronunciation that they are American, they have an American accent, silly! :stuck_out_tongue:

Can we just clarify this simply? Anyone north of Mexico (including Canadia) on the American sub continent will be deemed to have an American accent regardless of whether they are speaking English (not British) or Spanish or even Polish. They will tend to be loud and nasal and irritating to anyone from Europe where we are more cultured.

There is no such thing as a British accent. There are Irish, Scottish and Welsh accents. There are also regional dialects within England but the neutral accent remains the same, whilst word usage differs a little. The language is called ENGLISH it comes from England and that is the way it is supposed to be spoken

:laughing:

Deal with it.

Your accent is the allophonic variation of your language’s phonemes. You can’t not have one.

Then that would actually be the absence of an accent, no? :wink:[/quote]

No. That would be the presence of an accent. An accent is the distinctive manner of oral expression.
A Texan is an American. A Jersian (!!) is an American. An Idahovian (!!!) is an American. They all have different American accents.

What’s the difficulty?[/quote]

The difficulty is I’m not referring to people from New Joysy, Bawstawn or Saaath Caarlina, who do have distintive accents, I’m referring to people from the golden triangle referred to above, who don’t have disctinctive regional accents.

I understand that a New Joysy accent is AN american accent. But I’m asking if there is THE american accent, as you put it. At lunch today I was talking with a smelly irish guy and he mentioned someone with an American accent and I wondered what he was talking about.

I’ve been curious about this in the past, too, when people have commented on my “accent”, even though I’ve lived in numerous locations on the East and West coasts of the US, so I always figured I didn’t have a distinctive accent.

What about my other questions:

What makes an American accent an American accent – spoken by most americans? spoken on CNN, etc. so most recognizable to furriners?

Are there commonalities between different regional accents in the US (Tex, NY, South Carolina, etc) that give them a shared status and set them apart from other English language accents from other countries?

Edit: this just in:

Thanks, b-cup. That clarifies everything.

No, not THE as in the only one, but yes, the as in the typical and average one. I.e., there is a regional (midwestern to Pacific coast, if you will) accent which is most broadly representative of American pronunciation, and which can be referred to as the typical or average American accent – an “undifferentiated American accent”, or “American accent” for short.

Thank you. Brevity is important, I think. Use a dictionary if you don’t understand ‘allophonic’.

Buttercup (MA Linguistics)

I like the term my linguistics professor in college used – she called it the “I-90 accent”. If I recall correctly, she wanted to make a point of how an accent/language spreads through urban development. (For our non-American friends, I-90 is the longest interstate highway in the US, stretching from Boston to Seattle.)

[quote=“Mother Theresa”]But I’m asking if there is THE american accent, as you put it. At lunch today I was talking with a smelly irish guy and he mentioned someone with an American accent and I wondered what he was talking about.

I’ve been curious about this in the past, too, when people have commented on my “accent”, even though I’ve lived in numerous locations on the East and West coasts of the US, so I always figured I didn’t have a distinctive accent.[/quote]

Get your fucking stories straight, counsel.
The Irish fella referred to, as you note, an American accent, not the American accent.
Nobody is saying there’s a single one.
Of course, it’s a little hard to discern exactly what it is you’re contending.
Do you have an American accent?
I’ve heard you speak, and yes, you do.
Does everyone from the US have an American accent (when speaking in their natural manner)?
Yes, they do.