Questions tagged [accent]

An accent is a distinctive way of pronouncing a language, especially one associated with a particular country, area, or social class.

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1 answer
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"Dessert/Desert" is my favorite thing. - Does English word syllable stress change when they are in a sentence or in a paragraph?

Does English word syllable stress change when they are in a sentence or in a larger unit, say, like in a paragraph? I am asking this because I have heard that some languages such as Japanese have ...
5 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why is Christina Perri pronouncing "closer" as "cloSSer"?

In this song at 0:58, Christina Perri pronounced the word "closer" with an S sound: clo[s]er I have always pronounced and heard it with a Z sound. Is the pronunciation of "closer" ...
1 vote
3 answers
1k views

Pronunciation of Either

I notices that some people will pronounce the word, "either" in one of two ways. The first one is accentuiating e and pronouncing the e like one would were they saying the word, "each". The other is ...
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0 answers
27 views

How are /ɪ/ and /ʌ/ realised in the Nottingham (East Midlands) accent?

I've got a sample of a few words pronounced by a Nottingham accent representative: https://youtu.be/2fCSeDEZeVU My ear is far from perfect and this is why I'd like to ask for your help in this ...
2 votes
2 answers
512 views

What type of English uses the words/pronunciations "yer", "ter", "ernly", "der" and "don'"?

The words "yer", "ter", "ernly", "der" and so on, are they Irish? Also the way the contractions are contracted, "don't" to "don'". Hagrid ...
1 vote
1 answer
46 views

How does connected speech work for accents which use the "h" sound?

Consider a British accent which doesn't use the "h" sound, so for example "hair" is pronounced /ɛə/ or /ɛː/. When we say "your hair", do we pronounce the "r"? ...
0 votes
2 answers
156 views

Which British accents feature pronouncing [i] like "eyi"?

Pronouncing [i] like "eyi" has always been in my life, but I don't know who from I heard it so much. I finally found a person who actually speaks like this. It's Matthew Murphy, the vocalist ...
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1 answer
25 views

A question on word stress

Video link:stress It seems that two stresses are put in the following words in the video and all of the main stress are on the second syllable because the pitch is higher and rises on the second one. ...
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1 answer
92 views

Are there more than 44 phonemes in English?

I was using English words to teach Malayalam consonants when I noticed that Malayalam has separate characters for the alveolar and retroflex versions of the same consonant. But I also noticed that ...
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

Language used in "Peaky Blinders"

For a schoolproject, we are working on a research question which is about the language used in the BBC drama show Peaky Blinders. We are not born in an English speaking region so it isn't really easy ...
1 vote
2 answers
26k views

Which region of UK speaks in Posh accent?

I am trying to get admission into a British university. I would like to choose a university in an area where the local people speaks in Posh accent. Which region of UK speaks in Posh accent?
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1 answer
119 views

Can some one help me understand a sentence in this video? [closed]

This wonderful YouTuber has helped me a great deal learning algorithms but the subtitles don't seem to make sense to me, here the subs merged with what I hear: "... I have told you in one video ...
20 votes
9 answers
65k views

What makes an Indian English accent hard to understand?

I have experience communicating with people from different nationalities and several have noted that Indian English accent is difficult to understand. Are there any suggestions on how a person with an ...
-1 votes
1 answer
89 views

Can't understand the sentence written in Scottish accent

-- 'Sae, ye dullyeart horse-punckin, ye'd hae it that the Laird's worrrd is kilted in a tippit?' He waved his Bible at the Lord's creation beyond the window, mostly concealed as it was by broken ...
0 votes
2 answers
61 views

I did injured from the accident

Consider this sentence: I injured from the accident. For emphasizing that I really injured from the accident, which sentence should I use? 1- I did injure from the accident. 2- I did injured from the ...
1 vote
1 answer
100 views

What methods should I use to soften or remove my accent? [closed]

https://voca.ro/1jeSBpuxHA4c I've had a weird journey learning English. Having grown up in Canada, I learned English before I learned my own native language. Once I moved back to the country from ...
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0 answers
87 views

Do I need to change my accent?

Are natives able to understand my accent? Do I need to just tweak my accent or do I need a major shift? What can I do to improve my accent? My goal: I am trying to sound clear enough so that most ...
1 vote
2 answers
2k views

Is it 'an hotel' or 'a hotel' [duplicate]

In a book I saw this statement. Before words beginning with h and not accented on the first syllable, an is often used ; as, An historical , an hotel. I want to know whether h in hotel is ...
-1 votes
1 answer
269 views

Where can I listen to a General American Accent on the Internet so I can learn it? [closed]

Any Youtube Channels, Movies, News, Radio, Audiobooks? Do all of them speak with a General American Accent? How can I be sure It is 100% General American Accent not just 90% of it? I will imitate 100% ...
1 vote
1 answer
328 views

Is General American Accent the only choice If I want learn an accent through the Internet that is understood by everyone?

I am learning English. Please stop telling me accent is not important. If I want to understood by everyone I need to learn an accent. I know no matter how hard I try, I will never sound perfect. But ...
0 votes
0 answers
68 views

Pronouncing 'OR' with an Indian accent

I am familiar with the British as well as American pronunciation of the word or. British people pronounce the r sound very lightly, whereas Americans tend to roll their tongue. But interacting with ...
1 vote
1 answer
194 views

"Law" vs "Lawyer" pronunciation, why is the "law" part sometimes pronounced differently?

So I've recently watched "Crazy Ex Girlfriend" (which is set in SoCal), and I've noticed everyone there pronounced "Law" and "Lawyer" differently, which was really ...
26 votes
2 answers
11k views

What does "ima" mean in "ima sue the s*** out of em"?

Is "ima" an informal spelling of "I must"? MegaCharizardZord Replying to @nytimes about COVID-19 vaccine: i just hope when i take it don't die lol. i trust the government in ...
4 votes
2 answers
873 views

US-American pronunciation of 'e'

Since quite some time I get the impression, that especially in US-American, spoken english the pronunciation of 'e' (as in 'best' — /ɛ/) seems to shift towards 'a' (as in 'flat' — /æ/). Some recent ...
1 vote
2 answers
353 views

At which point does mispronunciation become accent?

A while back, when I was talking to one friend of mine (we are both English language learners), he "mispronounced" a word so I pointed it out. He responses with something like "Well, I ...
1 vote
3 answers
587 views

Pronunciation practice(making 'also' 'all' sound correct)

I'm having a hard time to make 'also' and 'all' sound correct. My native American tutor told me my 'also' sounds like 'arso' and 'all' sounds like "or". He says I have no trouble with making "L" ...
0 votes
1 answer
82 views

Standing in "fries" of me?

In Christina Perri's song A Thousand Years, according to all lyrics websites at 1:46 the lyrics is "standing in front of me". https://youtu.be/rtOvBOTyX00?t=106 But to my ear she clearly ...
0 votes
4 answers
2k views

Attitudes and concerns over Indian-English accent

What are common attitudes and concerns over the Indian-English accent (see video) among those who are teaching or learning in ESL? How do these attitudes make the Indian accent compare with others, ...
3 votes
2 answers
69 views

Accent Reduction Between Native Speakers

Has the accent between native English speakers decreased in recent decades with the advent of TV and now with the internet?
40 votes
16 answers
18k views

How can I get rid of my Indian accent and sound more neutral/native

I have recently moved to Canada and I feel I often end up having to repeat myself because of my typical accent. I am attaching a link to a very short audio and would love to know what can I do to fix ...
1 vote
2 answers
250 views

Is this sentence ambiguous? 'Tom left directions for Sam to follow.'

I know that some sentences can have different meanings when speaking them with different intonations. But in this sentence, 'Tom left directions for Sam to follow', could have different meaning? ...
0 votes
1 answer
294 views

Where in UK do people speak neutral easy to understand accent? [closed]

E.g. I hardly can understand Scottish accent. Need a region where people speak so that I can understand them.
3 votes
1 answer
396 views

Where does "day" sound like "die"?

I've seen that words like "day" sound like "die", "pray" sounds like "pry" and so on. I just googled where does day sound like die but didn't get anything. So, are day and die homephones in some ...
2 votes
1 answer
140 views

How to pronounce unaspirated stop sound properly? Such as the /t/ in " let me", is it just/lɛ/ /mi/?

I'm not a native speaker, and I feel difficult to pronounce unaspirated stop sound properly, such as the /t/ in "let me". I found some learning materials on internet, but they are not sophisticated ...
3 votes
3 answers
1k views

american accent tool or website

I am a non native speaker. I have never talked English with anyone before. so all my accent depends only on how I see the word or if I heard it from a movie. Is there any website or tool FREE that I ...
2 votes
2 answers
408 views

In American English, can we flap the /d/ in the phrases "Where did", "Where do", "Where don't" and "Where does"?

I am 99% sure Americans quite often flap the /d/ sound which comes right after /r/ in the phrases "Where did", "Where do", "Where don't" and "Where does" (I am talking about the initial /d/'s), and I ...
0 votes
1 answer
396 views

Does Jessica Lange's character in "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" accurately portray a Southern US accent?

Jessica Lange was born and brought up in Minnesota. It seems to me that her southern accent in the movie is a bit too exaggerated (read overacted) compared to that of Tommy Lee Jones. Am I mistaken? ...
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

How to pronounce bet, bat, bite and but correctly?

I am a learner from China, and I'm always confused with sounds of /e/, /æ/, /aɪ/ and /ʌ/, no matter when I'm speaking or listening because all of them sound so much alike. I find there are a few ...
0 votes
2 answers
168 views

Improve clarity of speech without losing my foreign accent

I believe that as long as a foreign accent is understandable it can even be used as an asset, instead of liability. Problem is, every time I'm being taught to speak more clearly I'm being taught to ...
3 votes
1 answer
644 views

Palm RP and GA pɑːm pɑm pɑlm

I'm confused with the different pronunciations of "calm". I'm using lexical sets to understand the differences between Received Pronunciation and General American. According to Wikipedia, the ...
0 votes
1 answer
253 views

Does English language ever use acute accent mark to denote word stress?

I do not mean acutes which denote special letter pronunciation, like in "canapé" or "résumé". I mean solely the acute accent mark which is used to indicate stress, or stressed syllable. For example, ...
1 vote
1 answer
251 views

Do "fat" and "that" sound the same in the Cockney Accent?

I have watched a video about the Cockney Accent, and the Cockney Accent, "th" is not pronounced, but it's pronounced "v" or "f". I think that they sound the same. So do "fat" and "that" sound the same ...
1 vote
1 answer
422 views

How to speak fluent in southern accent? [closed]

I want to speak like George W Bush's accent and like cowboys. Example: Y`all and Howdy? I would die for this accent. I sincerely love this accent over cockney one.
1 vote
1 answer
86 views

How can I learn one of the standard English accents? [closed]

A few months ago, I was asked to send a videotape of my self-introduction for a job of a language teacher in China. I was rejected citing the reason that my accent was not satisfactory. I want to ...
2 votes
0 answers
175 views

How to learn to understand the Newfoundland accent? [closed]

Recently I watched a video with Newfoundland accent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXLmCJG9USw Apparently it is English :) However my colleagues and I find it literally impossible to understand ...
0 votes
1 answer
294 views

Pronouncing The American R

I realize this might be more of an accent question, but trying to master that American R sound, I don't quite know if I'm doing it correctly. That is, I sound very similar to the recordings I hear but ...
3 votes
2 answers
118 views

Improving fluency without being able to talk to other people?

I am looking for tips/tricks to improve English fluency without talking to natives. I do speak English on a daily basis, however I speak English to a lot of other non-native speakers. I am Dutch and ...
1 vote
1 answer
134 views

Accent reduction [closed]

How can I correct my prononcitaion of the words and reduce my accent? I am not able to pronounce the english words properly and therefore runinto people not undersatnding me.
1 vote
1 answer
121 views

Does this Japanese accent need subtitles?

In this movie trailer "Paterson", a Japanese actor said "A bus driver in Paterson?" and "This is very poetic" with subtitiles. Is his accent too heavy? What about the accent of a Indian or Pakistan ...
3 votes
1 answer
719 views

How Adele sings "There's a fire" in the song "Rolling In The Deep"

I like Adele and her song "Rolling In The Deep". She sings the first phrase "There's a fire". And I can't hear it but "They they fire". It's different from how a cover singer sings "There's a fire" ...