Do you think you have an accent?
I don’t think anyone thinks they have an accent, right? Like—you know you have an accent, logically, but when you’re surrounded by people who sound the same as you, it feels like everyone else has accents and you don’t.Anyway.I never thought I had an accent, even despite the whole “you never think you’re the one with an accent” thing. I mean, who sits down and talks about the Florida accent? We’re that weird Southern state that isn’t actually completely Southern—a joke I’ve heard is that the farther south you go, the more northern things feel, temperature aside. Very few people in central Florida have a typical Southern drawl.But you hear about northern accents (you know, New Yorker stuff) or southern drawls. Or California valley girls, that kind of thing. Then, of course, British and Scottish accents. The expected accents of any non-native English speaker. I haven’t ever heard anything about a Florida accent.But so, my family was in this southern town in Alabama, right up against the Georgia border. My parents ended up talking to the ladies behind the counter of an information desk, and somehow we ended up discussing accents. The ladies had the typical southern accent, but there was another guy who didn’t have the same, so… talking about where we were from, I guess.So one of the ladies looks at me, and looks at my parents, and asks my parents where we’re from and where everyone grew up. My mom, and then my brother and I, have lived in Florida our entire lives; my dad grew up in Alabama.Oh, that’s weird, the lady says. I don’t hear an Alabama accent from him, and you (talking to my mom) don’t have a Florida accent, but your daughter does.So.According to a pair of Southern ladies in the middle of nowhere, Alabama, my parents don’t have accents, but I have a Florida accent.We still can’t figure out what, exactly, a Florida accent is or why my mom doesn’t have one.I didn’t think I had an accent, but… the strange southern ladies never lie.(We never got an accent diagnosis for my brother because he said maybe two words the entire time.)
What do you think of the "Wisconsin Accent"?
It's fine...What drives me mad is folks not from Wisconsin that think the name of the state has an "e" in it...It is NOT pronounced "Wesconsin", as all you cheddar heads already know... (I lived among you for many years... Like Iowans, you also say "are" for "our", and "pitcher" for "picture"....) On the other hand, local/ regional terms like "bubbler" for "water fountain" are not a matter of accent, but rather one of history... In the old days of one room schools, there actually was a piece of crockery that held drinking water, and had a metal tube that came out of the bottom then curved up into bowl like basin that acted as a fountain, and gravity caused the water to bubble up into a basin, and then back into the crock, thus the term, "bubbler"...(As you might imagine, they were very unsanitary, as they reused water that folks had put their mouths in...) Oddly though, although Iowa (where I grew up) also had one room schools into the late 50s and 60s like Wisconsin, the term "bubbler" didn't catch on like it did in WI... Perhaps the crocks were more common in the Badger state... I deal in antiques, and to tell you the truth, have only ever found a real crock bubbler in your state...
What do you think the worst British accent is?
I am an Aussie and I was married to a Yorkshire "Pom" ans I got used to the accent... I have a really good mate who is also a Yorkshire-man and his accent doesn't annoy me... He was from Leeds and wife was from Hull !!!!!!!!!!!! )O(
What do you think of people mocking your accent?
I used to work part-time as a dish washer at my dormitory’s canteen back when I went on an exchange student program in Japan. All people in the dormitory were freshmen.As you may know, it’s a custom to greet the customer on their way out of the shop, and it was no different at the canteen. I was told to shout arigatougozaimashita to everyone every time they brought the dishes back to be cleaned.I once overheard a group of boys giggling and mimicking, mocking the way I pronounced it. I wasn’t careful or fast enough to ask them what was wrong with it, but anyway, then I knew that the Japanese were not always so courteous as people think.Perhaps it was just due to the boys’ immaturity. I’d rather think that way.
What do you think of the Glaswegian accent?
Accents vary slightly across Glasgow but all are pretty pleasant to my ear. I have to concentrate a little more than I normally would when a Glaswegian is in full flow but I don’t find it particularly hard to follow.
What do you think of the Northern Irish accent?
Hi!, I'm the opposite, I really like the Northern Irish accent and don't like the Dublin accent at all. I am from Co. Mayo in Southern Ireland I quite like like my accent its not as harsh as the dublin one, we call "Jacks". Well look at it this way at least your from the best country on the planet, I know we might not have the best weather, but we have the "Craic!"....what else do you need You are who you are in this life thats what makes us unique! "It could be worse you could speak with a Welsh accent - no offence to the Wesh of course!
What do you think of the typical Chinese accent?
Ok, so I've watched the video. I can tell you that her English is a heck of a lot better than my Chinese!Asking about a typical Chinese accent seems a bit off. It's a bit like asking about a typical American accent- Chicago? Boston? Dallas? Atlanta? Los Angeles? Fargo? Chinese accents are every bit as diverse- Shanghai is way different than Beijing which is totally different than Suzhou. It is apparent that English isn't her first language. But, she is obviously very intelligible, and generally uses words correctly. Again- much better than my Chinese.What is the purpose of this question? I generally don't care about accents when I speak with someone- whether a native english speaker or a second language learner. As long as they communicate and do so in such a manner that the accent (or vocabulary) doesn't create a barrier to understanding, it makes no difference to me. The presenter in this video is quite capable of communication without presenting any barriers.