Problems encountered obtaining an accent

Hey everybody,
first off, I live in a region in Asia, and English IS arguably my first language even though Chinese should technically be in place of that. I grew up speaking English and learning English. The following stuff I'm gonna say are probably going to come off as incoherent, but I really don't know how to explain my situation in words, so bear with me ya'll.

The country I live in is populated mainly by Chinese-dialect-come-English speaking guys, and the accent that I have (as do most of the other locals) sounds really weird. It does not sound distinguishably like a Chinese foreign-kinda accent, and simultaneously it doesn't sound like a British/American-kinda english accent either. It's a weird mix of both, that well, sounds really out-of-tune/flat/however you want to put it. There are all these accent programs and recommendations etc that are designed to help a foreign student obtain an American english accent, but technically, if you think about it, I wouldn't fall under THAT definition of a "foreign student" - because I've been speaking English all my life, and I just wanna change my accent to sound more understandable/less out-of-tune (like I believe the local accent is). So there are all those programs, whatever, that cater to changing "foreign students" accents, and speaking in generalities, I would fall under the category of "foreign students" (because I don't live in America/don't have an American accent and stuff), but going by these programs' definitions of "foreign students", I would also be excluded because these programs are specifically designed for people who live in specific regions with common, recognisable speech patterns, while I live in a country where everything is kinda mixed and the entire local accent, in MY opinion, just sounds really, uh, undesirable.

So if you managed to comprehend that whole jumble of text up there (which, hopefully you did), my point is that I want to change my accent so that it sounds more American. But as you would have already implied from that above jumble of text, other than the TV and media I'm not exposed to a lot of American-accent-hearing, because, well, the local guys don't speak like Americans. I have my share of American friends, but I just don't think I'm exposed to their whole way-of-talking deal enough to be influenced by it. So I guess I'll be somewhat going against the rules set in this forum, but yeah - taking into account all these limitations, how could I go about developing a more fluid/more recognisable American accent?

Don't ask why I want an American accent when I'm surrounded with guys who talk funny... it's just something I'd like to strive for/achieve. Plus, weird speech patterns aren't really my thing either.

If any of you understood all that ramble, send me an e-mail, and I'll send you a batch of homemade brownies - you guys are really exceptional.

Other than that, I can't really think of anything else remotely productive to say other than cracking midget jokes so... yeah, thanks for listening.

It might helped to know where you are from. My guess is Singapore, but depending on what the local dialect is, it might be easily to learn in a different way.

I was guessing Singapore, too. Care to share where you're from?

You're trying to hard, and it makes your English sound less authentic. Rather like British actors who try to imitate Americans by swearing like sailors or using "gonna" and "wanna" at every opportunity, or the Dick Van Dykes of the world who speak in tooth-chattering caricatures of British English.

Brownies, homemade brownies? Really, you'll send a batch of homemade brownies? Just post your email, and I'll happily oblige.

Wow, I just read my post and realize I need to use spell check WAY more often. I meant to say:

It might help to know where you are from. My guess is Singapore, but depending on what the local dialect is, it might be easier to learn in a certain way.

*realized

Like I said, spellcheck.

Aight, here're a few replies to the guys above:

Mxsmanic - Maybe I'm thinking too much, but trying, nah. I don't really understand what you mean when you say "trying too hard". Are you referring to the fact that I'm trying to obtain an accent, or the way I type here on the forum? If you're referring to the way I type, I always type like that... there's nothing forced there, if that's what you mean. If you're referring to trying to obtain an accent, well, I was under the impression that anyone can pick up an accent, so if that's the case, could ya suggest how NOT to try too hard and have everything come out fake? I know about the whole avoiding-slang bit, and I never include American slang when I talk - that's serious overkill. Most of my friends (like I mentioned) are American/European... but even taking that into account, most of my time is still spent around local people, so they're not really influencing my speech patterns much. I don't let myself get influenced by local colloquialism (which I hate either).

american nic and Kirk - you got that right, Singapore, although I'm not entirely Singaporean - I just sound like I am, kinda I guess. american nic, "need to use spell check*S* (not spell check) more often" - wow, I really should become one of those super-strict-nitpicking-over-analysing-grammar-forum-moderators in the future ;)

Kazoo - my email is hosted by www.abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijk.com - it's an email site for people who have way too much email and way too much time on their hands. You still up for it? ;)

Thanks by the way for all the replies.

Well, without hearing your speech patterns I don't know how I could specifically give you tips on having more of an American accent. Would it be possible for you to maybe put up a sound clip or two of you speaking? If you feel your contact with Americans isn't significant enough to affect your accent there, could you maybe try hanging out with them more often and specifically trying to imitate their speech, as a more American accent is what you desire? Or, a more drastic step...I don't know your situation or your age or anything but have you ever considered living or studying abroad somewhere in the US? I've had several friends here in San Diego who were either studying abroad here from Singapore or who are permanent students here at UCSD but originally from Singapore.

<<If you're referring to trying to obtain an accent, well, I was under the impression that anyone can pick up an accent>>

But, you already have an accent. If you grew up speaking English, you're a native speaker, and you have an accent already. Your accent is just as good as any, why bother changing it?

And, yes I'm still up for, I love brownies.

If anyone wants to email in order to tap my inexhaustable knowledge on a one-on-one basis they can now email me at my new business email address:

kazoo@abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijk.com

Well, without hearing your speech patterns I don't know how I could specifically give you tips on having more of an American accent. Would it be possible for you to maybe put up a sound clip or two of you speaking? If you feel your contact with Americans isn't significant enough to affect your accent there, could you maybe try hanging out with them more often and specifically trying to imitate their speech, as a more American accent is what you desire? Or, a more drastic step...I don't know your situation or your age or anything but have you ever considered living or studying abroad somewhere in the US? I've had several friends here in San Diego who were either studying abroad here from Singapore or who are permanent students here at UCSD but originally from Singapore

Kirk - I can try but I'm not good at audio-visual-computers-kinda-gizmos. I do hang out with Americans a lot, but I think that the time I spend around local people negates all that in a way. I've tried imitating their speech before, but it sounds really forced, which is why I've turned to this forum. I don't know how to explain it, but basically, with the weird local accent in Singapore, it's actually harder to sound like an American in my opinion, moreso than guys from specific regions with specific, common speech patterns like guys from China, or France, or whatever - even though their standard of english would be weaker, for some really vague reason I feel that they can grasp the whole american kind of liason-intonation-pronunciation deal easier. I know Rome wasn't built in a day, and I need to practice more, so the question I'm posing is how I can practice this more. Seeing that I'm surrounded with local people a lot of the time, the opportunity to practice doesn't come around a lot, because speaking to them in this fake, forced, unauthentic kind of accent (which is how anyone would start out when practicing a new accent) would, for lack of a better term, make you look stupid. I know you're probably going to tell me that if I really want a new accent and so on, I should overlook all this, try to gain as much practice as possible through communication, sacrifice myself on the altar of dignity, etc, but I'm wondering if there's any way around this.

*expects a chorus of "no's" to follow*

I've considered going overseas to study, but not in the US. If I ever go to the US, it'll be for university. You're definitely right about the "drastic" part though ;)

Kazoo - "If you grew up speaking English, you're a native speaker, and you have an accent already. Your accent is just as good as any, why bother changing it?" - here's the condensed version: because I think it sounds like crap ;) Really, I think it does, and communication is a really big part of my lifestyle. I really just don't like my accent, as superficial as it sounds.

I'll try to find out how to get a few audio clips up if I can. Thanks again for all the help!

"I've considered going overseas to study, but not in the US. If I ever go to the US, it'll be for university"

Oh, so you mean you'd prefer doing 4 years in a US university as compared to studying abroad in one for a shorter term? 'Cuz I was kind of including both options when I mentioned studying in the US. Anyway, yeah, it'd be good to hear some audio clips when you get the chance to put 'em up.

No offence, but I picture your accent as the one that you always hear in dubbed martial arts movies.

Paul - it's definitely not something like that. You're going WAY too far east for that ;)

Kirk - what I meant is that I'm still in high school - I've considered going overseas to study, but if I go, it wouldn't be the US... it'd probably be something closer like the UK or down under. If I ever went to the US to study it would probably be after graduation when I apply and go to a university. I don't know if that made sense though. I'll try to put up an audio clip or two, but at the moment, I'm wondering if anyone can vaguely help me out from whatever mass of words I posted up there/whatever information you could obtain about my situation without having to hear my voice yet. Thanks again!