# What Accent of English Do You Have? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 14, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394 "2011-06-14T03:44:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/121 "2011-06-17T08:08:06Z")
Southern; specifically Tennessean, but that’s\* city\* Tennessean, not country. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2011, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/122 "2011-06-17T10:09:11Z")
[http://web.ku.edu/~idea/europe/england/england.htm](http://web.ku.edu/~idea/europe/england/england.htm) Approximately England 4 (Male, 20s, Warwickshire) on that page, but I pronounce certain words the “northern” way (short, hard vowels in path, bath, grass etc) due to having a Dad from Yorkshire and a Mum from Scotland. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/123 "2011-06-18T07:51:59Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > 😕 Is this the right link? I can’t even tell if that is English, it sounds like German? It is English, but the audio quality sucks compared to the other one. (And it’s not great either.) The phrase is “She thinks all short men sit on their laurels all day.” I could have sworn I had one that had a better phrase, but I couldn’t find it. Alas, all my microphones are down right now (including the one on my new laptop), so I can’t rerecord another one. I do have a [recording of the same sentence](http://www.box.net/shared/258lyyxxr5) that is a little less natural, but perhaps easier to hear. I also have some of me saying “pin, pen, pan, pat” to demonstrate the different vowels in each. Many people think either the first two or the seconds sound the same, and the fact that I pronounce the last two differently baffles some people until they hear it. [ul][li][Conversational](http://www.box.net/shared/u5z64saug2) (i.e. “lazy”)[/li][li][Code switching](http://www.box.net/shared/imt8ecvtjh) (“proper”)[/li][li][Sung](http://www.box.net/shared/5yvk2hgihp) (elongates the vowels.)[/li][/ul] Also, [here](http://www.box.net/shared/ckrgo24ym5)’s a laurels one I did for fun, mimicking the accent of another poster at a lame attempt at a joke. I have no idea if I sound real or like the Lucky Charms guy. If I can get that other website to work without having to install Quicktime, I’ll see if I can find my accent on that site everyone keeps mentioning. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/124 "2011-06-18T07:55:41Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It is English, but the audio quality sucks compared to the other one. (And it’s not great either.) The phrase is “She thinks all short men sit on their laurels all day.” I could have sworn I had one that had a better phrase, but I couldn’t find it. > > Alas, all my microphones are down right now (including the one on my new laptop), so I can’t rerecord another one. I do have a [recording of the same sentence](http://www.box.net/shared/258lyyxxr5) that is a little less natural, but perhaps easier to hear. > > I also have some of me saying “pin, pen, pan, pat” to demonstrate the different vowels in each. Many people think either the first two or the seconds sound the same, and the fact that I pronounce the last two differently baffles some people until they hear it. > > [ul][li][Conversational](http://www.box.net/shared/u5z64saug2) (i.e. “lazy”)[/li][li][Code switching](http://www.box.net/shared/imt8ecvtjh) (“proper”)[/li][li][Sung](http://www.box.net/shared/5yvk2hgihp) (elongates the vowels.)[/li][/ul] > > Also, [here](http://www.box.net/shared/ckrgo24ym5)’s a laurels one I did for fun, mimicking the accent of another poster at a lame attempt at a joke. I have no idea if I sound real or like the Lucky Charms guy. > > If I can get that other website to work without having to install Quicktime, I’ll see if I can find my accent on that site everyone keeps mentioning. I had a giggle. Also, I constantly correct my son’s ‘pin’ and ‘pen’. Hmmph. Calling a _pen_ a _pin_ is the mark of the uneducated! _flounces hair_ ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/125 "2011-06-18T17:45:52Z")
Wait, did you mean a _ink_ pen or a _sewin_ pin? ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/126 "2011-06-18T19:24:45Z")
Mid-Atlantic here. ---
**Author:** ![Cornish\_Magpie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cornish\_Magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cornish_Magpie)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/127 "2011-06-19T16:37:03Z")
Cornish. (which gets thicker when mixed with alcohol) ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/128 "2011-06-19T19:55:38Z")
Pike County, Illinois. Although I grew up in neighboring Brown, I worked for 10 years in Pike, where I picked up the accent. It’s very distinctive- think a St. Louis accent, only more nasally and twangy, with terrible grammar. It’s the strongest when I’m working. When I’m just sitting somewhere having a pleasant conversation, it fades and my grammar improves immensely. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/129 "2011-06-19T20:10:58Z")
Dutch accent. Not as bad as[this Dutch MTV VJ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djD0UMD7SQ8) speaking Dutch-English, but… not that much better, actually. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/130 "2011-06-20T03:59:41Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > I speak American English like someone who is totally over-educated but also, you know, kind of drunk. So like someone from Cambridge, MA over a holiday weekend? ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/131 "2011-06-20T16:27:13Z")
I have a very neutral “Midwestern” accent, although my voice is not stron enough to be broadcaster quality. Very rarely some southernisms will come out. I also tend to adapt slightly to my audience’s accent. ---
**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 20, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/132 "2011-06-20T16:31:02Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > So no one bothered to click on my link, or were y’all all just being too polite? > > Here’s the [corrected link](http://www.box.net/shared/c2mcx9npbl). And [here’s one](http://www.box.net/shared/258lyyxxr5) with one of those unique phrases. There’s a little bit of hissing, but you can still see if you agree with my assertion about my accent. Here’s [me](http://www.box.net/shared/98kc6ra046). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/133 "2011-06-20T16:49:47Z")
An undoubtedly unique mix of UK Received Pronunciation, West Country (“Oi be drinking cidarrrr”), West Midlands (“louk at t’ foony babby”), Southern US (“Ah shaw do lack Miss’sippah”) and Indian Received Pronunciation. ETA: Most of the time I sound like a typical Central Floridian, which means somewhere between a southern drawl and Mid-Atlantic (newscaster talk). ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/134 "2011-06-20T16:58:15Z")
I grew up north of Minneapolis in rural Minnesota. I used to have a quite strong Minnesota accent, but after living in Chicago for about 8 years it has faded. Now I’m not quite sure what accent I have. I definitely don’t sound like a native Chicagoan. The MN accent comes back if I spend some time back home or when I’ve had a few drinks. Others mentioned their original accents coming back when they’ve been drinking. Why is that? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/135 "2011-06-20T17:01:55Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > …I worked very hard to lose my SoCal accent (not so much “valley girl” as "surfer girl, but still obnoxious). You know that the “valley girl” accent came from surfers? Girls in the valley would (and still do) drive over the hills to Malibu and hang out with the surfers. They wanted to flaunt this association of “prestige,” and that eventually infused their speech. That’s why at first it seemed like mostly a female thing, though it originally started with male surfers. ---
**Author:** ![Lor213](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e4f/32.png) [@Lor213](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lor213)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394/136 "2011-06-20T17:05:50Z")
Like a lot of Americans I never thought I had an accent until i started dating an Irishman. We both laughed at how the other said things. I’m from Cleveland so I guess you’d say i have a northern accent based on that quiz about what accent you have. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-accent-of-english-do-you-have/585394.md?page=6)