How is my accent?

bkiersted   Sun Oct 26, 2008 9:53 pm GMT
Please evaluate my accent and give honest comments.
I've been living in the US since I was 11 and I'm 21 now.
As a bonus, can you guess what my native language is?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI_n7wpTLQE


"The Rainbow Passage"

When the sunlight strikes raindrops in the air, they act as a prism and form a rainbow. The rainbow is a division of white light into many beautiful colors. These take the shape of a long round arch, with its path high above, and its two ends apparently beyond the horizon. There is , according to legend, a boiling pot of gold at one end. People look, but no one ever finds it. When a man looks for something beyond his reach, his friends say he is looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Throughout the centuries people have explained the rainbow in various ways. Some have accepted it as a miracle without physical explanation. To the Hebrews it was a token that there would be no more universal floods. The Greeks used to imagine that it was a sign from the gods to foretell war or heavy rain. The Norsemen considered the rainbow as a bridge over which the gods passed from earth to their home in the sky. Others have tried to explain the phenomenon physically. Aristotle thought that the rainbow was caused by reflection of the sun's rays by the rain. Since then physicists have found that it is not reflection, but refraction by the raindrops which causes the rainbows.
Estel   Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:02 pm GMT
your accent is still noticeable. some vowels are not accurately pronounced. it sounds very clear, though. so overall, your accent is an understandable one.

your native language is unclear. i suppose it could be one of the following: chinese, korean or japanese.
Super Korean   Mon Oct 27, 2008 5:32 pm GMT
Are you sure you have lived in the US since you were 11?

My Korean American friends, who moved to the States at the age of 10~12, sound completely(or nearly) native-like but your foreign accent is quite easily noticeable.

I bet your native language is either Chinese or Korean but I don't believe you moved to the US at the age of 11 and have lived there for 10 years.

I entirely grew up in Korea and lived in the US only for a year but my accent is no less native-like than yours.
My accent sample can be found below:
http://media.putfile.com/moojigae
bkiersted   Mon Oct 27, 2008 8:30 pm GMT
Thanks for your replies.
As some of you already guessed, I'm Korean.

Estel, what specifically is it that makes me sound nonnative?

zarda, :S?

Super Korean, I really lived here for 10 years since I was 11 years old. Yes, almost all who come here at the age of 10~12 can sound perfectly or almost native-like. In fact, everyone I met or heard of who came to an English-speaking country at 10~12 could speak like a native person. What made me an exception might be that I primarily hung out with Koreans in elementary and middle school and only spoke Korean at home, not to mention watching Korean televisions consistently. My shy personality and lack of courage played a role as well. I'd be better off had I taken advantage of my early teenage years here, but there's nothing I can do now about the past.
Estel   Tue Oct 28, 2008 3:18 am GMT
Your vowels and intonation give you away, mostly. consonants arent much of a problem. im not an expert so i cant give detailed explanation.
Super Korean   Wed Oct 29, 2008 3:49 pm GMT
Estel, can you make a comment on my accent sample please?
http://media.putfile.com/moojigae