Can you distinguish a white from a black speaker by accent?

Guest   Thu Oct 09, 2008 10:20 am GMT
Can you distinguish a white English-speaker from a black English-speaker by accent?
Guest   Thu Oct 09, 2008 10:31 am GMT
Is the white speaker from Rumania, for example, and speaking English?
Robin Michael   Fri Oct 10, 2008 1:20 am GMT
British people as you know, are extremely aware of 'who someone is' by their accent. So naturally, most British people will be able to guess correctly whether the person on the phone is 'black' or 'white'.

The exception is 'Lord Taylor of Warwick'.

www.lordtaylor.org/

In many ways Lord Tayor is very commendable, however my Polish partner comments on his unusual accent. He sounds like a 'white man', and not just any white man either.
What a original name   Fri Oct 10, 2008 1:22 am GMT
Maybe Brits are different.
Skippy   Fri Oct 10, 2008 1:53 am GMT
In the US it is usually easy to determine a person as white or black based on their accent (naturally, this is not always the case).
Guest   Fri Oct 10, 2008 5:24 am GMT
Obama sounds like a whiteman.
Bill Clinton and George W Bush sound like a blackman.


(Any Southern accent sounds black,
northern and western accents sound white)


Tyra Banks' accent sounds white:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ5unYaNd3c
Jasper   Fri Oct 10, 2008 5:57 am GMT
[In the US it is usually easy to determine a person as white or black based on their accent (naturally, this is not always the case).]

I agree.

[(Any Southern accent sounds black,
northern and western accents sound white) ]

That is absolutely untrue. In Southern States, it is very easy to tell the difference between AAVE and Southern English.
Milli   Fri Oct 10, 2008 3:01 pm GMT
Black people typically have a different texture to their voices than white people. I grew up in the US and am bilingual in English/German and can pick out back people (native speakers) in both languages over the phone. One can hear that Barak Obama is black no matter how "clear" he speaks. It's just a property of the person's voice that gives it away. Of course there are exceptions but in general a person who is used to it can tell.
Milli   Fri Oct 10, 2008 3:03 pm GMT
I meant to say that I can "an pick out *black* people" (not "back") in both languages.

It's not necessarily an accent that gives it away.
Xie   Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:28 am GMT
>>Black people typically have a different texture to their voices than white people.

I often think that westerners often have a different voice from the rest of us in East Asia. Perhaps owing to linguistic differences, almost all westerners I've met/observed on TV, etc, tend to have a deeper voice, and regardless of sex.

This is particular obvious in men; and the deepest female accent I've heard so far is General American (and probably RP, in more formal contexts). Again, this is my observation only based on these languages.

Dashan, for example, doesn't really have a particular deep voice. All that I can say about him is, though given his native-like fluency, he just can't speak like an average Tianjin counterpart. But I think it's alright. It's unfair to say his accent isn't perfect just because of being Canadian.

==

Indeed, linguistic differences do count, I guess. English has far more voiced consonants and nasalized vowels... and the prosody tends to encourage using a deeper voice (even if you were female).
Me   Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:04 am GMT
If you can, or even think you can, then that makes you racist,
Guest   Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:18 am GMT
So naturally, most British people will be able to guess correctly whether the person on the phone is 'black' or 'white'.

I can see that there's a lot of people here who don't know what is happening in modern Britain, for example. There are many, many black British people who have accents that are exactly the same as their white counterparts. Many!
Guest   Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:20 am GMT
<<I often think that westerners often have a different voice from the rest of us in East Asia.>>

Would "westeners" there include the many British-born black people?
Another Me   Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:27 am GMT
An accent is something acquired by living in an area, however being able to tell if a person is black, white or "other" by properties of their voices would be more biological. Just as people of different racial backgrounds look differently, there should be no reason why certain qualities of their voices couldn't give them away as well.
Don   Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:51 am GMT
x Just as people of different racial backgrounds look differently, there should be no reason why certain qualities of their voices couldn't give them away as well. x

Listen to all the black British-born adults in Britain and then tell me if racial background affects all of them regarding accent.

I'm not even sure what value the thread question has anyway? Can anyone tell me what value such a question has?