# Non-Americans, is the American accent "cool"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 5, 2003, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688 "2003-04-05T16:27:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/41 "2003-04-06T11:15:53Z")
The brooklyn accent is. But kiwi and scottish accents are cooler. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/42 "2003-04-06T11:25:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > \*\*None of us have to have excellent grammar (I certainly don’t), but the “I done good” and other abysmal examples of mangled grammar have _got_ to go. \*\* To the extent that this “mangled grammar” is a feature of a particular dialect, I have no problem with it. It’s variations like this that make regional dialects interesting. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/43 "2003-04-06T11:35:37Z")
When I was a kid, I had a full-on Texan accent from spending 3 years in Houston. On my return to England, I was plagued by 8-year-old tough guys and swooning girls asking me to say “grass” and “bath” and so on. My accent made me so popular that I preserved it (in an increasingly strangulated form) until I was ten (I sounded like Loyd Grossman by this time), when I finally realised I had to let it go. So yes, back then at least, it was extremely cool. These days, personally, I don’t think there’s anything cooler-sounding than a Chicago bluesman, so I’d say it’s still cool. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/44 "2003-04-06T11:57:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Already in Use \* > \*\*I guess you have a point, but it’s odd hearing this from a Dutch person. I read a book on Bruegel’s painting _Netherlandish Proverbs_ the other day, and some of them are amazingly cool, like “pissing at the moon” for attempting a futile task. \*\* [hijack] For us Dutch people, proverbs are such a part of normal language that we hardly ever notice the odd imagery. FTR, the ‘pissing at the moon’ is not common anymore (or I’m missing the correct translation). Only rarely is the actual metaphor pointed out, and this may then give rise to some smiles. An English co-worker of mine once ranted about the stupidity of these proverbs, finding them trite: ‘behind the clouds the sun shines’ etc. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/45 "2003-04-06T15:25:10Z")
**TTT** : “Pissing at the moon” and “Behind the clouds the sun shines” have equivalents here. “Pissing in the wind” and “Every cloud has a silver lining” are not often used in everyday spreech (at least, not that I’ve heard), but everyone knows them. **yosemitebabe** : I don’t have a Valley accent at all. Really, I don’t. I have no idea what she was hearing. (I do tend to pick up accents from those who are around me, though. For example, I sometimes find myself saying, “Yo. 'S up?” But I’m pretty sure my accent is neutral.) > [@](#): > > swooning girls asking me to say “grass” How would that sound? “Gray-ass?” I worked in a retail store when A man approached me and asked me for “All”. I asked him if he was looking for the laundry detergent. “No. All fer the car.” Eventually the penny dropped and the gumball rolled out and I realized he was saying _oil_. Since I’ve never believed I had an accent (and I don’t think I have a very good voice anyway) I find it hard to believe that American accents are “cool”. I guess it’s as others have said: The unfamiliar voice is the one that is alluring. (As for me, I love women whose accents – in no particular order – are Australian, English, Irish, Scottish, German, Russian, French, Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese, U.S. Southern… Who am I kidding? I just like women! 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/46 "2003-04-06T17:54:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ruadh \* > To the extent that this “mangled grammar” is a feature of a particular dialect, I have no problem with it. It’s variations like this that make regional dialects interesting.] Oh, I agree, and I see where you are coming from. When an example of “bad grammar” are just a turn of phrase that everyone in the area use, that’s interesting. But I am thinking of some of the people I’ve encountered here in Hooterville. Some of them have a “midwestern” accent, but have relatively decent grammar. They may use a few folksy sayings and turns of phrase, but that’s to be expected, and that’s what makes their accent interesting. It’s the ones that have BAD grammar that sound like hayseed hillbillies. But certainly that’s universal everywhere. A person with a Valley accent but poor grammar also sounds bad, like an airhead or something. (In my opinion, of course.) Johnny L.A.: Oh sure. Like, you just _think_ you don’t have a Valley accent! O’m’gawd! 😉 Actually, I don’t think I have an accent either, but my friend from the South says he hears it. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/47 "2003-04-06T20:28:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > \*\*When an example of “bad grammar” are … \*\* Gaudere’s Law? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Laurasia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@Laurasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laurasia)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/48 "2003-04-06T23:04:43Z")
When I was in Germany I was told that Americans who speak German sound like “a mouth full of chewing gum.” On another note, when I meet Americans abroad, they can tell instantly that I am from California by my accent. I thought this was weird, but they explained that we Californians tend to raise the ends of our sentences for no reason. Is this true? How can you tell I’m from California? I swear, I don’t talk like a full on valley girl all the time! ---
**Author:** ![StanDup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@StanDup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StanDup)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/49 "2003-04-06T23:13:00Z")
I don’t know about the American accent, but I love the Jamaican accent, and the accent from Liverpool (kinda like Wakko from Animaniacs).🙂 ---
**Author:** ![StanDup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@StanDup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StanDup)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/50 "2003-04-06T23:15:13Z")
I also love the Italian accent. ---
**Author:** ![mooka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@mooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mooka)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/51 "2003-04-07T10:41:52Z")
In my opinion, the American accent is definately not “cool”. I don’t think the american accent in general is widely regarded as cool here in the UK. There are people like Samuel L Jackson or whoever who can make the American accent sound “cool”, but thats more about them than it is about the accent. Having said that though i do generally find non english accents (including the US accent) quite attractive in girls… ---
**Author:** ![elfje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/52 "2003-04-07T11:13:43Z")
No, I don’t particularly like the Americn accent. Southern states can sound yummy, sometimes, especially swearwords, but overall I think American accents sounds very very flat (monotonous) and nasal. I prefer the Irish and Scottosh accents. British and Oz/NZ accents don’t do it for me, either… ---
**Author:** ![elfje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/53 "2003-04-07T11:16:02Z")
I meant, Scottish, not scottosh… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kayeby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de0a6/32.png) [@Kayeby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kayeby)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/54 "2003-04-07T11:28:36Z")
I don’t find the accent remarkable when I hear it on TV, but I quite enjoy it when I’m actually speaking to someone. ---
**Author:** ![Honeydew\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e19b73/32.png) [@Honeydew\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honeydew_1)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/55 "2003-04-07T11:35:26Z")
Amazing how many like the Irish accent… whoooo hoooo I could be on to a good thing there 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/56 "2003-04-07T14:48:38Z")
I’m an Australian, and I find that the Caifornia accent is the least noticeable of all the American accents, probably since it is the most ‘showbiz.’ The Midwestern accent sounds most typically American. I think there’s a Detroit accent, but that only comes from having heard both Jack White and Eminem speak and concluding that they share a similar sound that goes beyond the general American accent. The New York accent is really cool, because New York is exciting and interesting. I was once not a big fan of the Southern or Bostonian accents, but I’m finding that they do have a certain charm. They’re growing on me. Uinted Statesians: Do Alaskans talk like Canadians? ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/57 "2003-04-07T18:34:08Z")
I once asked a similar question in another thread – everyone was gushing about the British/Irish/Scottish/South African/etc. accents, and I asked if anyone liked American accents. No one replied. Hmm. Anyway, I’m American, but I don’t find the SWINE (Standard White Inland Northern English) used by newscasters the least bit appealing. It’s grating and whiny. I’m from the South, and I go all gooey when I hear a Cajun accent, though there aren’t many genuine ones left. **Le sigh** .:Nichol:. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/58 "2003-04-07T19:14:15Z")
A good Noo Yawk accent can be hella cool. So can a Texas accent be. A too slow Southern Drawl amuses me for a few minutes (my girlfriend grew up in South Carolina, and even though she speaks pretty much generic American, she’ll still toss in the odd sentence with her “old” accent, which cracks me up), but can get on my nerves just the same: it can come across as plain stupid, for some reason. I was absolutely disgusted with the accents in the movie _Fargo_: would youse guys say those were well immitated Minnesota accents? If so, then GAH! How horrible. 🙂 South Effriken accents get on my nerves too, simply because they remind me of the Dutch accent a lot of my countrymen have when speaking English: fingers on chalkboard! Irish, Kiwi, and Australian all rock. Some British accents I like, some I don’t. Mancunian can get old after a while, while I can listen to Cockney all day. My own accent has shifted so much over time, I don’t even know what to call it anymore. I guess with my American girlfriend, it’s predominantly leaning towards American now. But I assimilate accents easily, possibly because I’m not a native speaker. I spoke pretty much the Queen’s English when I worked for an English boss for nearly three years. The Dublin Dopers can probably attest that I even copy some of the Irish prononciations after a night of pints and fun. 🙂 **Johnny LA** , you don’t sound like a surfer boy at all to me. I’d put you in that “generic American” category I also put my girlfriend in, but then, I suppose “Californian” is too little of an accent to register on my non-native English language meter. So tell me, what the hell do _I_ sound like? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Darkrabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@Darkrabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkrabbit)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/59 "2003-04-07T19:33:33Z")
> [@](#): > > I was absolutely disgusted with the accents in the movie Fargo: would youse guys say those were well immitated Minnesota accents? If so, then GAH! That’s more of a rural, northern Minnesota accent. Minnesotans have the standard midwestern accent. Oh, btw, what the heck is the midwestern accent? I’m told I have it (I’m from Wisconsin) but I don’t hear it … ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688/60 "2003-04-07T20:26:37Z")
> [@](#): > > My own accent has shifted so much over time, I don’t even know what to call it anymore. I have a friend who was born Czech, moved to Montreal at 6, learned english from a teacher who was from India, Moved to Mobile, Alabama at 8 where he stayed with a German family. There are a few accent elements from each and it has blended in a totally undefinable mishmash that is very strongly accented. I love hanging around him just to see the wheels turning in people heads trying to figure out where he is from. I have the generic American accent, and my explanation is that it is the laziest way of speaking English. What I mean by that is if I open my mouth just a little bit and set my tounge against the bottom of my mouth, I can still say all of the common vowel sounds I normaly do without moving either mouth or tounge very much. When I try saying some of the other vowel sounds of other accents, I just can’t do it without moving my tounge and mouth heavily. Also I don’t drop any letters lor particularly ephasise any. I think it really is the least common denominater of ways to speak english, with all of the various accents combined to eliminate any artifacts, or uniquenesses. and I think that’s probably why it sounds so boring, because it is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-americans-is-the-american-accent-cool/166688.md?page=4)