# Absolute Best Accent **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 2, 2000, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606 "2000-03-02T23:41:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Glenoled](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Glenoled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glenoled)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/41 "2000-03-03T23:35:00Z")
MadPoet: you’re in the SCA?? (as in the Society for Creative Anachronism?) cool!! I’ve been involved (to the best of my ability, given my free time) for just over a year… as for accents, I think Sean Connery’s is my favorite, but I like listening to my Aunt’s Boston accent… especially getting her and her friends to say ‘quarter’… they’re a blast… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ultress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7c8e57/32.png) [@ultress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultress)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/42 "2000-03-04T02:01:00Z")
Scottish Irish New Zealand Australian * * * _I’ve learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it._ ---
**Author:** ![MadPoet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8c91f0/32.png) [@MadPoet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadPoet)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/43 "2000-03-04T02:50:00Z")
Glenoled: Yah, I’ve been a fringie SCA player for about 6 years. Boston accents are funny… I lived there 8 years and never picked it up. Boston is the only place where autistic people go to museams and you need a quota for the arcade. * * * [http://www.madpoet.com](http://www.madpoet.com) Clerks - Just because they serve you doesn’t mean they like you. ---
**Author:** ![Jeannie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@Jeannie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeannie)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/44 "2000-03-04T03:34:00Z")
A little off-topic, but what the heck… I just love Chicagoan accents (I have one myself). I never realized how pronounced ours was until seeing the “Superfans” on SNL. Ever since then, I really notice the way we all talk around here. There’s even a noticeable difference between North-siders, and us South-siders. My husband says my accent gets thicker when I’m sleepy or sometimes when I’m angry. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/45 "2000-03-04T03:53:00Z")
I wonder why no one’s mentioned “German”…? * * * _SanibelMan_ - [My Homepage](http://members.macconnect.com/~jonkleinow/) “All right. Have it your own way. Road to hell paved with unbought stuffed dogs. Not my fault.” ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/46 "2000-03-04T04:28:00Z")
I mentioned German, Sanibel. I think I was the only one though. There seem to be a LOT of people around here who like Irish accents. ---
**Author:** ![Powers106](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@Powers106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers106)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/47 "2000-03-04T04:45:00Z")
The French absolutely love hearing an American speak French - at least when it is spoken relatively fluently. I lost count years ago of the number of times I was told I had a charming accent - of course, it could just have been that nutty French sense of humor… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/48 "2000-03-04T05:28:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Fillet: > **For some reason, most people thought I was Canadian.** Did they **think** you were Canadian or did they just **ask** if you were Canadian? In my own experience, people abroad will often hear a North American accent and ask if it’s Canadian because they figure (correctly, I’m sure) that a Canuck is more likely than a Yank to be offended if they guess wrong. * * * “Shut up! I’m having a rhetorical conversation!” ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/49 "2000-03-04T11:33:00Z")
spoke-: > [@](#): > > 1. The serious twang. This one is for hillbillies. Very nasal and twangy. In some sections folks substitute “you 'uns” or “yins” for the more typical “y’all”. Found in east Tennessee. And in an area of about 8 or so counties in north central and northwest Arkansas, as well as a similar sized area of south central and southwestern Missouri. Not to mention western North Carolina. The terrain of north Arkansas is very similar to the Smokies, so when things got too crowded to suit the hillbillies there, they picked up and headed west until they found something very similar and settle in there. As for other accents, I’m also very partial to Irish, but since no one else has, I’ll put in a good word here for the rhythm and idioms of Yiddish. * * * * * * “Ain’t no man can avoid being born average, but there ain’t no man got to be common.” _–Satchel Paige_ ---
**Author:** ![PurpleCrackwhore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc348/32.png) [@PurpleCrackwhore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleCrackwhore)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/50 "2000-03-04T16:37:00Z")
Wow this one is tough… I think French would be top on my list, followed by English, then Italian. * * * I really try to be good but it just isn’t in my nature! ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/51 "2000-03-05T06:00:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I’d have to say a nice Tennessee accent is … oh dammit even I can’t keep a straight face long enough to complete that sentence! UGH! > [@](#): > > The serious twang. This one is for hillbillies. Very nasal and twangy. In some sections folks substitute “you 'uns” or “yins” for the more typical “y’all”. Found in east Tennessee. Y’all can bite me! 😉 (Was that too twangy for ya?) * * * I have a hobby. I have the world’s largest collection of seashells. I keep it scattered on beaches all over the world. Maybe you’ve seen some of it. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/52 "2000-03-05T07:52:00Z")
As far as accents that caress the ear, I’d go with Irish (don’t know enough to distinguish beyond the general), various lilting Caribbean accents–Jamaican and Barbadian come to mind–and American Southern of most types. FWIW, I purely love accents of all sorts, even though I have a tin ear for languages overall. New Yawk/Bronx, hillbilly twang, Yiddish, German, musical English-of-India, the huge variation in Brit-English, Japanese, you name it. They’re the spice in an increasingly bland “in media retch” blahness. Give me a twang or a drawl or a burr or a real _whatever_ over the polished blankness of generic human-speak. Veb ---
**Author:** ![Fillet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/2acd7d/32.png) [@Fillet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fillet)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/53 "2000-03-05T16:35:00Z")
**ruadh** said: > [@](#): > > Did they think you were Canadian or did they just ask if you were Canadian? > > In my own experience, people abroad will often hear a North American accent and ask if it’s Canadian because they figure (correctly, I’m sure) that a Canuck is more likely than a Yank to be offended if they guess wrong. It was probably a bit of both. There _were_ a few people who asked me specifically what part of Canada I was from. I thought they might be making that assumption because of the British Commonwealth link, although you make a good point about not wanting to insult a Canuck by calling them a Yank. 🙂 Come to think of it, the only area where people viewed me as a Yank from the get-go was around the military base at Woomera (no surprise, since the U.S. Air Force has people stationed there). ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/54 "2000-03-05T16:47:00Z")
I’m curious - for those of you have mentioned a Canadian accent - how does it sound to you? what are the differences from the American accent? * * * and the stars o’erhead were dancing heel to toe ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/55 "2000-03-05T17:14:00Z")
JTI: How do I tell a Canadian accent? Well, there’s the obvious way they (Or you?) pronounce the word “about.” Or anything that ends in “out.” Or words that end in an “o” sound, like “go.” I might say it with a straight “o” sound, but a Canadian would pronounce it with a faint “u” at the end, so it would be “go-u.” Those are what I pick up on the most. I’m sure there are other examples that I’m just forgetting right now. I hope all that made sense. The accent is not very obvious many times, but the difference is noticable. * * * “Life is hard…but God is good” ---
**Author:** ![Konrad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f475e1/32.png) [@Konrad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Konrad)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/56 "2000-03-05T22:34:00Z")
> [@](#): > > How do I tell a Canadian accent? Well, there’s the obvious way they (Or you?) pronounce the word “about.” Only people who live in the boonies actually pronounce it like that. Maybe it’s not as obvious for me because I live in Canada but I think that the easiest things to notice about the accent are the way the ending -er is pronounced and the enuciation of T’s. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/57 "2000-03-05T23:07:00Z")
I must be the only person on earth who loves a good solid Pittsburgh accent–I watch the Pittsburgh “Cops” just to hear it. ---
**Author:** ![melanietarrant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@melanietarrant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melanietarrant)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2000, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/58 "2000-03-06T00:47:00Z")
i’ve always liked the mid-west accent. it’s so musical… i wonder if it’s influenced by irish i’m not sure, but i think japanese women have a different accent than the men, the women i’ve heard all sound so…polite, civilized. the men somehow are different(not to suggest they aren’t polite and civilized) ---
**Author:** ![OtherMother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9c0ed/32.png) [@OtherMother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtherMother)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2000, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/59 "2000-03-06T00:52:00Z")
I always, always smile when a hear a New York accent; it reminds me of Joe Pesci in “My Cousin Vinnie”. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2000, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606/60 "2000-03-06T15:12:00Z")
**evilbeth** wrote: > [@](#): > > Y’all can bite me! Could be worse… At least you didn’t say “You 'uns can bite me!” 😛 Hey, **evilbeth** , I’m a hillbilly myself, so I have a licence to poke fun! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/absolute-best-accent/14606.md?page=4)