Wherein we ask each other dialect questions we don't quite understand

[tomBitonti]

Lots more distinct accents: Chicago, Boston, The Bronx (New York) can be pretty strong. But there are a lot.

Odd to not remember them clearly (I have this problem myself), but, I suspect that's a memory retrieval problem. I'm not often trying remember accents out-of-context. The accents are quite easy to discern while actively hearing them.

Ah ... here is a nice map:

http://www.pbs.org/pov/americantongues/photo_gallery_map.php#.VXh9NWMf3Wh

Thx!

TomB

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Nice map, but I'm not sure I follow all of it. And there's parts that make little sense to me. For example, there's a callout in the SF area that splits " 'on' rhymes with 'Dawn' " and " 'on' rhymes with 'Don'" -- my answer is "But wait, 'Dawn' rhymes with 'Don'!"

 

[Umbran]

Nice map, but I'm not sure I follow all of it. And there's parts that make little sense to me. For example, there's a callout in the SF area that splits " 'on' rhymes with 'Dawn' " and " 'on' rhymes with 'Don'" -- my answer is "But wait, 'Dawn' rhymes with 'Don'!"

Consider that many might say that "Don" leans a bit toward 'Dahn'.

 

[Bullgrit]

I saw an interview one time with the speech coach who taught Julia Roberts how to lose her Southern accent. He described her thick/pronounced accent when he started working with her and how he trained it out of her. Then the journalist doing the interview went to Julia's old high school and spoke with a teacher and asked him about her accent. The teacher said she didn't have a thick accent, and generally contradicted what the speech coach said about her original accent. I got the impression from the whole report was that the teacher was surprised anyone would describe Julia's Southern accent as thick, and the speech coach was really just padding his work to sound much more impressive than it was.

In fact, everything the speech coach said about the Southern accent in general, (not just Julia, specifically), sounded like he got his knowledge of it from too much Foghorn Leghorn.

Bullgrit

 

[Morrus]

I saw an interview one time with the speech coach who taught Julia Roberts how to lose her Southern accent. He described her thick/pronounced accent when he started working with her and how he trained it out of her. Then the journalist doing the interview went to Julia's old high school and spoke with a teacher and asked him about her accent. The teacher said she didn't have a thick accent, and generally contradicted what the speech coach said about her original accent. I got the impression from the whole report was that the teacher was surprised anyone would describe Julia's Southern accent as thick, and the speech coach was really just padding his work to sound much more impressive than it was.

In fact, everything the speech coach said about the Southern accent in general, (not just Julia, specifically), sounded like he got his knowledge of it from too much Foghorn Leghorn.

Bullgrit

Presumably the high school teacher can't hear her own (and Julia Roberts') accent. People often think their own accent is no accent.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Who owns English?

The Queen.

Keep calm and rock on.

 

[Janx]

Something to keep in mind about the American accent(s): "General American" is what most people hear in American media. And many/most celebrities hide their natural accent, or at least try to sound more "general", unless they are specifically portraying someone with a particular accent. So as a result, in most American media, where most Americans and non-Americans hear American English, (outside their own local dialect), American English sounds sort of "accent neutral" to Americans.

And since I've used the word "American" so many times in this post, I feel I should post this:

Bullgrit

I'd quibble about the term "General American" accent. In the media, it's called MidWestern. So Tom Brokaw, etc and pretty much everybody on American TV not playing a stereotype of somebody from a specific region all speak (or try to) with a MidWestern accent.

As such, anybody trained in theatre, or broadcast news (aka Julia Roberts) knows this, and is likely aware of their own accent lest it interfere with their career.

I don't know why it became the "standard", presumably because it doesn't accentuate exaggerations noted in the other regional dialects.

 

[Janx]

Presumably the high school teacher can't hear her own (and Julia Roberts') accent. People often think their own accent is no accent.

very likely a little bit of both. I speak MidWestern pretty well, but there's a few Minnesotanisms in how I speak, but I'm far more MidWestern than my friends from the home state.

Same here in TX. Most the people I meet in the 4th largest city in the US don't talk like cowboys with a wad of chaw in their cheek. But they have a few bits that hint at Texas still.

Probably need a bit a practice to get out of, but not likely to be described as "thick/pronounced accent" to any but the pickiest (say a speech coach)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It is understandable to most Americans without difficulty. It is "Vanilla* American-English".








* Vanilla is, FWIW, my favorite flavor of ice cream, so don't read that as an insult, just a flavorful *ahem* description of its ubiquity.

 

[Morrus]

Plus I'd find it thick and pronounced, even if you wouldn't!