# What accent is this, and why do Euros think it sounds American? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 19, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927 "2011-04-19T03:24:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/41 "2011-04-19T16:15:01Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > I can’t tell the difference between an American and a Canadian accent. apart from any specific regional accents, I’d say that the “Canadian” accents I’ve encountered are quite similar to the “General American” accent (basically what you’d hear from most anchors on newscasts,) with a couple exceptions. 1) the usage of “eh?” instead of “huh?” and the tendency to “lengthen” short vowels, most notably “o”. e.g. “doe-lar” for “dollar,” “hoase” for “house,” etc. at least that’s how I’ve heard things from living in the Detroit area and venturing into Canada from time to time (mostly Oakville/Mississauga.) oh, and thanks to the OP for reminding me why I refuse to play any online multiplayer games. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/42 "2011-04-19T16:57:31Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > The guy is Irish, pretending to be an American, to purposefully piss off the other players. :rolleyes: I don’t think so, because he constantly denies being American… ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/43 "2011-04-19T17:07:28Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > I don’t think so, because he constantly denies being American… Perhaps that’s part of the purposeful pissing-off. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/44 "2011-04-19T17:15:36Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > I don’t think so, because he constantly denies being American… After listening to it again, I’m LOLing. He isn’t just going for a generic American accent, he’s going for a stereotypically white milquetoast accent. When I’m trying to sound extra white bread and nerdy, I also pronounce “c’mon guys” just like that. It’s not surprising people guess Canadistanian. That northern midwestern/Canadian accent is what you go for when you’re trying to sound as nerdy and white as possible. If it weren’t for the “haich” and a couple other things here and there, he does a pretty good job of it, IMHO. I’d be laughing my ass off playing with the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/45 "2011-04-19T17:22:00Z")
He sort of puts me in mind of the Swedish chef (whose accent probably doesn’t actually resemble a real Swedish accent at all). If I had to guess, I would have probably said “American trying to affect some other accent”, but a mixed accent is also plausible. ---
**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 19, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/46 "2011-04-19T17:53:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > He sort of puts me in mind of the Swedish chef (whose accent probably doesn’t actually resemble a real Swedish accent at all). A Swedish foreign exchange student in high school said he sounded Norwegian. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/47 "2011-04-19T18:30:48Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > There’s no other Irish people speaking in that video! The first guy is from Scotland, the next from southern Greater Manchester, etc. :smack: In my defense, it was early morning when I posted that. I have to work hard sometimes to tell Irish from Scots. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/48 "2011-04-19T19:16:20Z")
He sounds American to me at the start, then briefly definitely Irish, then American again. It’s not just the vowel sounds and such - his voice also has that slightly nasal quality that I associate with NA accents. He probably is affecting the accent for the pointless role he’s playing, but I have known Irish people who’ve ended up sounding rather American after years spent working abroad - sometimes not even through working in the US. It’s definitely not a normal Irish accent. TBH my default assumption online is that someone’s American unless they state otherwise or it’s obvious from context that they’re not, because there are so damn many of you. So people would be going in there with an expectation of hearing American accents and that would affect their perception of what they hear. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/49 "2011-04-19T19:34:21Z")
Sounds Canadian to me. Or maybe someone trying to fake a Canadian accent. (He specifically denies being American.) ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/50 "2011-04-19T19:40:14Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > Sounds Canadian to me. Or maybe someone trying to fake a Canadian accent. (He specifically denies being American.) and we all know nobody would lie on the internet 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/51 "2011-04-19T19:42:24Z")
Actually, to my ears it sounds a lot like comedian **Jon Lajoie** , who is Canadian. [Video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC03hmS1Brk&feature=related). [More video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVcyNANK5cY&feature=relmfu). ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/52 "2011-04-19T21:34:10Z")
[Listening](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG6LCoIF0kE) to his other videos (where he isn’t pissing people off), he’s clearly got an unambiguously Irish accent. So, yeah, he was putting an American accent on. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/53 "2011-04-19T22:12:40Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > [Listening](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG6LCoIF0kE) to his other videos (where he isn’t pissing people off), he’s clearly got an unambiguously Irish accent. So, yeah, he was putting an American accent on. Yeah, that does sound Irish. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/54 "2011-04-19T22:19:19Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > It’s not Canadian, unless perhaps the male speaker is from Newfoundland. I’d guess Irish, with Newfoundland as a second choice. I’m in Newfoundland now, and am from the US, so I hear and notice the accent every day. That’s not a Newfoundland accent. Far too nasal, for one thing. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/55 "2011-04-19T22:19:25Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > [Listening](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG6LCoIF0kE) to his other videos (where he isn’t pissing people off), he’s clearly got an unambiguously Irish accent. So, yeah, he was putting an American accent on. Yeah, you can hear the Irish there, but he still sounds to me like a dual citizen who spent more time in the states than in Ireland. Either that, or I’m amazed how American-sounding the Irish are. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/56 "2011-04-19T22:41:07Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Yeah, you can hear the Irish there, but he still sounds to me like a dual citizen who spent more time in the states than in Ireland. > > Either that, or I’m amazed how American-sounding the Irish are. Sounds like one of those somewhat Americanised Irish (usually Dublin) accents I was thinking of. It happens a lot to Irish people working in London (not all, obviously) - they ‘soften’ their accent and end up sounding quite American. But it’s definitely Irish. Also, a terribly boring topic to make a video of. Why am I watching this, why? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/57 "2011-04-21T07:17:57Z")
I agree, he sounds like Bono from U2, Irish but trying to lessen it and sound American. Personally, I think the other two sound too much like Groundskeeper Willy! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/58 "2011-04-21T09:01:41Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I’m amazed how American-sounding the Irish are. Never, ever say that to an exchange student. She talked to me for like five minutes after I said that, and to this day I have no idea what she said. Good kisser, though. ---
**Author:** ![medicated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@medicated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medicated)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/59 "2011-04-21T10:16:44Z")
That’s not a Canadian accent. Not at all. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s something Scandinavian with a lot of North American influence. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927/60 "2011-04-21T15:02:58Z")
Speaking as a Canadina… I hear subtle Irish accent in there. It sounds like someone who was raised with an Irish accent then tried to blend in in North America. It’s certainly no normal Canadian accent. Newfoundlanders, and to some extent other east coast Canadians, have a distinct accent - that sounds nothing like it. (Newfie sounds somewhat like cockney more so than Irish see - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-greE4w1LgY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-greE4w1LgY) ). Toward the end, yes, he sounds more distinctively Irish. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-is-this-and-why-do-euros-think-it-sounds-american/578927.md?page=4)