Is this a native speaker? If yes, why does her voice sound so strange?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf3T4ZHnuvc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf3T4ZHnuvc
Is this a native speaker?
I would say she is not a native speaker, but rather someone who immigrated to an English (GenAm) speaking region sometime in childhood.
She has a command of the language, but there are still traces of her original native language.
The rest of the weirdness may be attributed solely to her being kinda nerdy.
She has a command of the language, but there are still traces of her original native language.
The rest of the weirdness may be attributed solely to her being kinda nerdy.
Well, here she is on the First Science website:
http://www.firstscience.com/home/perspectives/editorials/new-year-new-beginnings_1772.html
Her actual accent sounds pretty American. Her delivery is a little stilted, with that artificial I'm-reading-this-very-carefully intonation, and she also has a stuffed-up nose quality to her voice that combine to make her sound a little odd.
First Science is a British site with a London address, but she is very obviously not English -- although her spelling has been briticized: note the spelling of "realise" in the article. But it's a British site and she may just be conforming to that norm. She does mention that she crosses the Atlantic quite frequently, and (in another article) that she has only lived in London for a few years. That and her accent suggest that if she isn't American, she's pretty darn close.
So here are my hypotheses:
1. She's American, and just has a bad reading voice. And maybe a cold.
2. She's not American, but she grew up there and might as well be one.
3. She's American, but has some slight influence from living abroad that's making her voice sound ever so slightly off.
http://www.firstscience.com/home/perspectives/editorials/new-year-new-beginnings_1772.html
Her actual accent sounds pretty American. Her delivery is a little stilted, with that artificial I'm-reading-this-very-carefully intonation, and she also has a stuffed-up nose quality to her voice that combine to make her sound a little odd.
First Science is a British site with a London address, but she is very obviously not English -- although her spelling has been briticized: note the spelling of "realise" in the article. But it's a British site and she may just be conforming to that norm. She does mention that she crosses the Atlantic quite frequently, and (in another article) that she has only lived in London for a few years. That and her accent suggest that if she isn't American, she's pretty darn close.
So here are my hypotheses:
1. She's American, and just has a bad reading voice. And maybe a cold.
2. She's not American, but she grew up there and might as well be one.
3. She's American, but has some slight influence from living abroad that's making her voice sound ever so slightly off.
"As I settle into my new environment, my mind is also slowly wondering back to all things science."
This could be intentional as an attempt at a joke, or just a typo, but it also might be evidence of a vowel merger.
This could be intentional as an attempt at a joke, or just a typo, but it also might be evidence of a vowel merger.
She is NOT American, she's European. Probably Swiss. That generator was built in Switzerland, so it's very likely she's from Continental Europe.
I don't think she's ever set foot anywhere in North America. She doesn't even sound British. She's just a foreigner who speaks grammatically correct English, that's all.
I don't think she's ever set foot anywhere in North America. She doesn't even sound British. She's just a foreigner who speaks grammatically correct English, that's all.
It's possible that she has some sort of strange US accent, perhaps one of those ultra-modern California accents that some young people seem to have.
Most definitely, she doesn't have the typical US accent, though.
Most definitely, she doesn't have the typical US accent, though.
<<She is NOT American, she's European. Probably Swiss. That generator was built in Switzerland, so it's very likely she's from Continental Europe. >>
There are loads of Americans and all other nationalities there too, so it's only one possibility. Besides, wouldn't New Scientist get a native speaker to do their video? There are a lot of them there to choose from.
There are loads of Americans and all other nationalities there too, so it's only one possibility. Besides, wouldn't New Scientist get a native speaker to do their video? There are a lot of them there to choose from.
^^ I see your point, but since this is primarily a European project, it's reasonable to assume that a person covering it would be from Europe.
If you google her name, you'll find that she's done a lot of science writing. So I doubt that the location of one project she reported on has anything to do with her origin. But I couldn't find any biographical info on her, so who knows.
I think she's bilingual Fr-Eng Canadian and probably speaks French as her native language.
The way she pronounces the "d"s and "t"s in "detector" made me think she might be a spanish speaker, but it is subtle.
Ya. Her ACCENT is American. But you can always tell when someone's not a native speaker by the way they pronounce their freakin' D's, T's & sometimes S's & R's.
No, her ACCENT is not American. The DIALECT she's AIMING FOR is American. I think that's what you mean. Her speech wouldn't sound strange if her accent was actually American.
<<No, her ACCENT is not American. The DIALECT she's AIMING FOR is American. I think that's what you mean. Her speech wouldn't sound strange if her accent was actually American. >>
Not necessarily. There are plenty of native speakers who naturally have strange sounding speech, or speech impediments. I think she ma just have a speech impediment.
Not necessarily. There are plenty of native speakers who naturally have strange sounding speech, or speech impediments. I think she ma just have a speech impediment.