# How do American's accents sound to British ears? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 22, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833 "2008-06-22T20:28:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/21 "2008-06-23T12:30:17Z")
To me… East-coast/NY accents tend to sound like they’re pushy and demanding attention, or occasionally fast-talking and vaguely untrustworthy (think sleazy Italian-American salesman/loan shark). Californian accents tned to sound either slightly vacuous (surfer/Valley girl - do those still exist?) or false and “Hollywood”. Southern accents I love. I could listen to a southern belle reading the phone book quite happily. Everywhere else, I’d be hard pressed to identify other than “American”. My geographical knowledge of the middle of the US is rather limited - I have to admit I’d struggle to push a pin into a lot of those big square states on an unlabelled map. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/22 "2008-06-23T12:42:51Z")
[QUOTE=trustno\_1] Im a female scotdoper and I love all types of Amercian accent, The general opinion is the same as my own. Im a full time law student and I love listening to the amercian students in my class talking. Likewise when Im at work (I work in Car Rental), when Americans call to book a car I do everything I can to keep them talking a little longer. I cant wait til I move over! [/QUOTE] So… How youse doin’? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/23 "2008-06-23T12:44:38Z")
Sound sorta Canadian just not as ‘abooty’. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/24 "2008-06-23T13:52:29Z")
I believe this episode of Fawlty Towers is the definitive presentation: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcJAcuyVLZI) ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/25 "2008-06-23T13:58:22Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] I’m not a Brit, but hopefully I can play too.. One of the weird things I’ve found is that hearing an American accent in real life has the accent much thicker than hearing it on TV. It’s almost to the point where I say, “Oh come off it! You don’t really speak like that!” but the same accent on TV or in a movie I barely notice. [/QUOTE] I guess it’s all about contrast - when you’re listening to them on TV, they’re generally surrounded by other American voices…but when you hear them in the middle of a bunch of Aussie accents, it really can be quite jarring. One thing I find about American accents is they sound more attractive on the guys than on the women. (I am speaking \*very \*generally here. I mean, sheesh, you guys have like, 20 zillion different accents, it seems.) I think it’s because (again, generalising) the American accents are often quite flat and monotone; it works quite well with deep voices (rawr!) but seems a little odd sometimes with voices pitched at a more feminine level. ---
**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:** [June 23, 2008, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/26 "2008-06-23T15:45:58Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] One of the weird things I’ve found is that hearing an American accent in real life has the accent much thicker than hearing it on TV. It’s almost to the point where I say, “Oh come off it! You don’t really speak like that!” but the same accent on TV or in a movie I barely notice. [/QUOTE] Addressing your first point: To some extent, that may be because most people on TV and in movies are (to my ears) accentless. In other words, they use a sort of all-American accent which does not emphasize any particular regional identity. I can vary my speech to sound more neutral, but my everyday speech definitely betrays my New York Jewish background. (I say “oy oy oy!” a lot) If you heard me ordering a cup of coffee (cuppa cawfee) at a Starbucks in Adelaide, you might well think I was putting it on. Also, on TV, certain speech patterns are often emphasized to make a point about the character (He’s a pushy New Yorker, she’s a laid-back Californian), so you may assume that the accents are exaggerated for effect. But no, a lot of people really do talk like that for real. Maybe you “barely notice” the accent because it’s so much part of the character. Tony Soprano saying “fuhgeddaboutit” seems natural to you. If you met the obviously non-Italian non-gangster me, you might be surprised to hear me say “forget about it” in largely the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/27 "2008-06-23T16:02:26Z")
[QUOTE=Student Driver] Dated a Geordie for a while. She claimed she liked my accent, but also never tired of telling me I sounded like David Letterman. Her comparison, frankly, was both geographically accurate (he was raised perhaps 10 miles north of where I grew up), and really, really depressing. [/QUOTE] Well, at least she didn’t say you \*look \* like David Letterman. \*That \* would be depressing! ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/28 "2008-06-23T18:02:48Z")
Let me ask our BritDopers a question about British pronounciation. On a recent Dr Who ep (Agatha Christie), they had Professor Peach killed with a lead pipe in the library. Now, they pronounced Peach the way I’d expected it to be pronounce - “Pea(long e) - ch”. But I remember an old Tom Baker ep (although the Doctor isn’t the only British TV I watch) and they pronounced the fruit as “pesch” (like Joe Peschi without the i). Am I mis-remembering that old Who ep? StG ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/29 "2008-06-23T20:15:01Z")
[QUOTE=Capt. Ridley’s Shooting Party] They are almost neutral. British TV is saturated with American imports, and I’ve grown up with American TV, so to me American accents sound almost un-notable, in the same way that a fellow Brit speaking is. [/QUOTE] My cousin from Tennessee (southern US for those not as familiar with US geography) always asked why those of us from the Midwest “talked so plain”. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/30 "2008-06-23T20:34:23Z")
[QUOTE=An Gadaí] Sound sorta Canadian just not as ‘abooty’. [/QUOTE] Arrgghh! For the last time… we Central Canadians do _not_ say “aboot” for ‘about’! [sub]I’m not sure about the folks on the East Coast…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/31 "2008-06-23T20:39:21Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Arrgghh! For the last time… we Central Canadians do _not_ say “aboot” for ‘about’! [sub]I’m not sure about the folks on the East Coast…[/sub] [/QUOTE] Well, how aboot that. Learn something new everyday. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![stargazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@stargazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stargazer)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/32 "2008-06-23T20:55:28Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Arrgghh! For the last time… we Central Canadians do _not_ say “aboot” for ‘about’! [sub]I’m not sure about the folks on the East Coast…[/sub] [/QUOTE] To my ear, Western Canadians don’t, either – it sounds more like “aboat.” And it’s gentle – I mainly noticed it because at one point I was interacting with 3 Canadians on a regular basis. Now that I think about it, one of those Canadians was from Nova Scotia, so maybe it isn’t just a Western Canada pronunciation! ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/33 "2008-06-23T21:17:59Z")
[QUOTE=StGermain] Let me ask our BritDopers a question about British pronounciation. On a recent Dr Who ep (Agatha Christie), they had Professor Peach killed with a lead pipe in the library. Now, they pronounced Peach the way I’d expected it to be pronounce - “Pea(long e) - ch”. But I remember an old Tom Baker ep (although the Doctor isn’t the only British TV I watch) and they pronounced the fruit as “pesch” (like Joe Peschi without the i). Am I mis-remembering that old Who ep? StG [/QUOTE] I think you’re misremembering - I’ve never met a Brit who had such a pronunciation. Unless, of course, the fruit in question just looked like a peach and in the Who universe is called a pesh (?). ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/34 "2008-06-23T22:01:20Z")
[QUOTE=StGermain] Let me ask our BritDopers a question about British pronounciation. On a recent Dr Who ep (Agatha Christie), they had Professor Peach killed with a lead pipe in the library. Now, they pronounced Peach the way I’d expected it to be pronounce - “Pea(long e) - ch”. But I remember an old Tom Baker ep (although the Doctor isn’t the only British TV I watch) and they pronounced the fruit as “pesch” (like Joe Peschi without the i). Am I mis-remembering that old Who ep? StG [/QUOTE] Pêche? as in the French word for peach? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/35 "2008-06-23T22:12:31Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Arrgghh! For the last time… we Central Canadians do _not_ say “aboot” for ‘about’! [sub]I’m not sure about the folks on the East Coast…[/sub] [/QUOTE] I’ve always been puzzled by the “aboot” thing. It’s clearly more like “aboat”, to my ears, and I don’t think it’s one of those British vs. American ambiguities because they pronounce “boot” much like we do. Where was Peter Jennings from (ETA: Google says Toronto - does that count as East?) I was quite pleased with myself for realising that he was Canadian, even though he anchored a US show. And it was the “oat” sound that gave it away, for me. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2008, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/36 "2008-06-23T22:28:04Z")
[QUOTE=Green Bean] Addressing your first point: To some extent, that may be because most people on TV and in movies are (to my ears) accentless. In other words, they use a sort of all-American accent which does not emphasize any particular regional identity. I can vary my speech to sound more neutral, but my everyday speech definitely betrays my New York Jewish background. (I say “oy oy oy!” a lot) If you heard me ordering a cup of coffee (cuppa cawfee) at a Starbucks in Adelaide, you might well think I was putting it on. Also, on TV, certain speech patterns are often emphasized to make a point about the character (He’s a pushy New Yorker, she’s a laid-back Californian), so you may assume that the accents are exaggerated for effect. But no, a lot of people really do talk like that for real. Maybe you “barely notice” the accent because it’s so much part of the character. Tony Soprano saying “fuhgeddaboutit” seems natural to you. If you met the obviously non-Italian non-gangster me, you might be surprised to hear me say “forget about it” in largely the same way. [/QUOTE] Thanks for that, **Green Bean**. I think you must be right. Actually, if I heard you say “fuhgeddaboutit”, I’d think it was way cool. I love all that Noo Yoik stuff. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/37 "2008-06-24T01:01:56Z")
**lisacurl** - Exactly like that. StG ---
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/38 "2008-06-24T09:21:56Z")
Generally…louder than most people you hear; there are a lot of American students on campus. American accents tend to stand out from the others (different pronunciations, monotonous and lots of 'uh’s where silence or a breath would suffice) and used to irritate me, some guys still do. My girlfriend (who is from Colorado), however, has the most beautiful voice. Her accents make mundane things sound fun and she brings life to what everything she says (with a few exceptions). I used to think all American girls sounded the same, but the difference between her and her roommate is incredible. Hanging around with her and her friends, I can tell the difference subtleties between the accents and appreciate where someone is from…they could all do with lowering the volume a bit, though! ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/39 "2008-06-24T13:15:25Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Arrgghh! For the last time… we Central Canadians do _not_ say “aboot” for ‘about’! [sub]I’m not sure about the folks on the East Coast…[/sub] [/QUOTE] Maybe we need another of your Sound Sample threads, **Sunspace** –get all the CanaDopers to read something that includes “about,” “boat,” “boot,” and so on; and put this issue to rest for good. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833/40 "2008-06-24T14:04:26Z")
The problem here is trying to write a pronunciation using ordinary letters. The way that “about” is pronounced in certain Canadian accents is neither “aboot” nor “aboat.” It’s not like the usual American way of saying “about” either. The only way to write it that would explain things is to use IPA symbols, but not many people know how to read IPA symbols. Trying to show the difference between dialects using ordinary letters is just an exercise in frustration. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-americans-accents-sound-to-british-ears/453833.md?page=3)