American twang

I've seen these two words used together so often in this forum that I've begun to wonder whether people actually know the meaning of the word "twang." Someone suggested that I have an "American twang" even though this person has never heard me speak (and I don't, in fact, speak with a twang).

What do you think a twang is?

<<What do you think a twang is?>>

It conjures up a sort of southern image for me.

Ever since getting on this site and since turning my mind to it, isn't just dipthonging a monopthong vowel ---> eg bad would be said as ba-ed.
Apparently us Aussie have to (according the English), which I found quite surprising when I first read of it on the net, but I have listened to myself and I twang myself!

Sorry should read "Aussies have to" ---> "Aussies have it too"

• twang [twæ&#331;]

n. ringing sound, sound of a string being plucked, sound of a tense string being suddenly released; nasal tone (in the voice)

v. produce a strong vibrating sound as of a plucked string of a musical instrument; produce music by plucking the strings of a musical instrument; pull and/or release the string of an archery bow; speak with a nasal tone; (Slang) masturbate

exaggerated nasality in speech (as in some US regional dialects)

<<(Slang) masturbate>>

That's a new one on me!

<<exaggerated nasality in speech (as in some US regional dialects)>>

Well if it refers to nasality, then it could be applied to some of us New Englanders, who are known for our nasal speech.

It does refer to nasality in speech, but I get the feeling that many people from outside the US seem to equate nasality with an American accent -- or all American accents, I should say.

Most American accents are nasal...

hello? what about dipthonging? Is anyone going to entertain that idea :)

diphthong my dear :)

Here's a topic on the Texas Twang (although I know this topic is more concerned with US twang in general):

http://maillists.uci.edu/mailman/public/vastavox/2003-November/003179.html

I thought this bit was interesting (kind of proves my point):

"One traditional feature of Texas and Southern speech pronouncing the word "pen" like "pin," known as the pen/pin merger is disappearing in the big Texas cities, while remaining common in rural areas, Dr. Tillery said. Texans in the prairie may shell out "tin cints," but not their metropolitan brethren.
Urban Texas is abandoning the "y" sound after "n," "d" and "t," *exchanging dipthongs for monophthongs*. So folks in the cities read a "noospaper" what their rural counterparts call a "nyewspaper." They'll hum a "tyewn" on the range, a "toon" in Houston. *The upgliding dipthong*, too, is an endangered species in the cities, where a country "dawg" is just a dog.
Why city Texans, more than country folk, should disdain to write with a "pin" is not clear, although it seems that some pronunciations carry a stigma of unsophistication while others do not."
(* my emphasis)

Frances, maybe I'm not aware of how linguists use the word "twang," so maybe you know something I don't, and it does include diphthongization. But I've always thought it only referred to nasality.

someone,

"Most?"

Frances, I didn't read your post before I posted mine. Well, maybe linguists do include diphthongization in what they refer to as a twang. I always thought "Texas twang" referred to the nasality that usually accompanies that accent, and not to the diphthongization.

Any linguists out there?

A.Southern accent it's just the "American Scottish" sounds nothing like english to me...

Deborah - I'm not a linguist myself - it could very well be that nasality causes a twang (the general US and Aussie accent, Australians are known to speak through their noses), but I just thought diphthongisation might have something to do with it because I have noticed it in my own speech since listening to it and recording it for this website but have also noticed that the stronger Australian accents have very strong diphthonging.