American Accent

Yes, thats very true Americans do have so many accents
southern-new york-boston-west coast and like a million in between,

can someone who is indian not have an american name? and what qualifies as an american name? my name is arielia and I'm 100% scottish and when people hear that name without seeing me they always think i'm spanish

I'm a southerner and also slurred my words, but I have to work abroad and need to be clear, so I got speech coaching from a Canadian woman who teaches actors how to acquire accents. It was easier than I thought, but the technique is not commonly available.

I have a question. My Scottish colleague believes English as spoken in Inverness is the clearest form, whereas I maintain that so-called Standard American, that preferred by the media, which stems from a mid-west accent, is clearest. Does anyone have the answer?

There won't be a single answer for everybody, Frank; it will depend entirely on what accents you are most used to hearing. One close to your own will sound "clearer" to you; but that won't necessarily hold true for a Scot or an Australian.

>>I have a question. My Scottish colleague believes English as spoken in Inverness is the clearest form, whereas I maintain that so-called Standard American, that preferred by the media, which stems from a mid-west accent, is clearest. Does anyone have the answer?<<

When you speak of a Midwestern accent here, you obviously do not mean present-day Upper Midwestern ones, I would assume. It should be mentioned that when people refer to General American as being "Midwestern" in origin, they really mean originating from early-mid 20th century Midwestern dialects which are:

1) Lacking any substratum influences (such as influence from Germanic languages other than English)
2) Lacking the Northern Cities Vowel Shift (as it has not happened yet or had not spread to them yet)
3) Lacking any "Canadian"-type features (as they had not spread to them yet)
4) Lacking other features characteristic of dialects in the Upper Midwest proper in particular

Today, aside from the cot-caught merger, I would have to say that many Western NAE dialects are closer to General American than many Midwestern, and most specifically Upper Midwestern, dialects.

Unfortunately my internet router has a vendetta against me and seems to be very good at making my life a living hell. So I am constantly on the phone with them trying to fix my endless internet issues. Every single person I've spoken to is Asian. While some have thicker accents than others, I have found myself being able to communicate just fine. Sure, they have to repeat themselves a couple of times and it can get frustrating for the both of us but...that's the way the wind blows. I wouldn't worry too much about it. You have a job to do and if they want help they'll have to dig deep and find some patience.

First of all Iwant to say that I'm from UAE where the american accent is mostly used and this is of course because people here are addict to the american programmes which I think they're learning that accent from... so maybe if you watch some programmes daily and try to imatiate their accent , you will improve yours in a short time ........

"I think people shouldn't judge about you based on your accent. If you provide good services, you are good at your job, your English is correct, then what's the big deal about your accent? It can be only one reason: That they don't like foreigners."

Sanja-
It doesn't matter if their English is perfect or not--if they have so thick of an accent that you cannot understand them, to the natives it's the same as barely speaking English.


"I think people shouldn't judge about you based on your accent."

Never, EVER in my life have I judged someone based on their accent. I have met people with accents that are straight-up shitheads, but I treat them the same as a shithead WITHOUT an accent. To me, people are what they are--accent or not.


"Well, I still think that they should give jobs to foreigners as well, and not only Americans (of course, if those foreigners can speak good English, which has nothing to do with the accent)."

They DO give jobs to English-speaking foreigners in America. What we're trying to say is that the calling centers should stay INSIDE AMERICA. It just doesn't seem right that they should be anywhere else in the world--whether its an English-speaking country or not. After all, where are the customers? IN AMERICA. Should the service not be from there, then?

Americans do not like to do dirty work, Jessica, you know, hence the services of foreigners.

That was a stupid statement.

Are you George W Bush's secretary for passing such a statement?
Tell me then why call center services were tranferred to Indians abroad not in America?

If I am, I'm wondering where my government paycheck is being sent to, because it hasn't hit my mailbox yet.

I consider it a stupid statement on many levels, actually.

It's a stupid statement because obviously there are plenty of Americans who do dirty work. Garbage collection, construction work, meat processing -- these trades are filled with Americans, and always have been.

And it's a stupid statement because compared to those jobs, sitting on your ass talking into a phone is hardly "dirty work".

It's also a stupid statement because it presupposes that Americans don't want to work in call centers, when in fact there are plenty of call centers in the US, so obviously, some do. I used to work in one.

As for why some of that work is outsourced to other countries; it's usually because wages are lower elsewhere, and companies find it expedient to use foreign labor rather than domestic. It's not that Americans are simply deserting the phones in droves and don't want the work. They do, but the cost of living in the US does not allow them to compete for the low wages that other countries can get away with.

Any other items I can clear up for you?

It's a stupid statement because obviously there are plenty of Americans who do dirty work. Garbage collection, construction work, meat processing -- these trades are filled with Americans, and always have been.


Poor these guys. If they had been educated enough, they would not have done this work at all. They would look for other better paying jobs but not everyone is into education because lack of financial resources or simply has no interest in studies whatsoever. Everywhere people related to these fields earn low income. I was not taking such people into consideration when I made such a statement. I was taking about the upper echelon, the educated ones. In general, Americans come up with ideas for developing things and the foreigners do the donkey work and the Americans manage things only. It has been my experience so to speak. Imagine an example of a relationship between an artitechture and his labors.


In American society, it is not like one is earning and six members are eating with that money. Each member is earning on their own, and contributing together. In India or other poor countries, the anology is opposite. They need more lucrative jobs than lower wage jobs, but they are working in call centers because an American dollar is expensive, when they convert Americans dollars into Indian Rupees, they are slightly earning netter than they would anticipate if they worked for a local company/employer. So I don't buy the idea that Americans can not live without having lucrative jobs.

<<Any other items I can clear up for you? >>

Yeah. One more. Why are you so intelligent? ;)

<<So I don't buy the idea that Americans can not live without having lucrative jobs. >>

No one said that they can't live without them; many of them do. We have plenty of people in living in poverty. But poverty rates are relative and depend on the local cost of living. Five dollars an hour might be slave wages in the US and barely allow you a roof over your head and food on your table, but might be a fortune that buys all kinds of goods in another country that has a lower cost of living. It is this discrepancy that companies exploit when they outsource some of their jobs -- they can pay less (by their own standards) for more.

<<I was taking about the upper echelon, the educated ones. In general, Americans come up with ideas for developing things and the foreigners do the donkey work and the Americans manage things only. It has been my experience so to speak. Imagine an example of a relationship between an artitechture and his labors.>>

Some times that is the case. But America is not only composed of "upper echelons" -- we have middle and lower echelons as well, and I don't think you can really discount them or their experiences. I think it's very common for other people to only see our rich and powerful and then assume that we must all be like that, but it's a wrong assumption, and gives a very inaccurate picture of what the country is really like. Plenty of Americans are doing lots of the "donkey work" as you call it -- as laborers, mechanics, etc. We are not the UAE, where the majority of the workforce IS imported.

A-thich-accent-foreigner--
"Americans do not like to do dirty work, Jessica, you know, hence the services of foreigners."

As Uriel stated, sitting around all day at a calling center is FAR from dirty work. If you find that work dirty, then what do you call the work of garbagemen, butchers, etc.? You must be a prissy yuppie living in a mansion if you find talking on the phone such hard, laborous work. My own stepfather is a laborer, and 100% American.



P.S.--
....Not "Jessica!!" It's "Jessyca!" With a 'Y'...a Y...a Y...
heheh...sorry...that just kills me >.<

''I'm a southerner and also slurred my words, but I have to work abroad and need to be clear, so I got speech coaching from a Canadian woman who teaches actors how to acquire accents. ''

That's nice to hear ;)
I love Canadian accents ;)
[when you watch http://cbc.ca/video, you can see/hear
that some newscasters sound more British (especially
those in Ottawa) while many sound WesternAmerican (especially
those in Maritimes and Alberta :) )