Do Europeans think that Americans have 'beautiful' accents?

[Blueridge]

Every time I hear a European speaking, I think how beautiful/fascinating their speaking sounds. I wonder how Americans sound to Europeans? Now, of course, Southern accents should seem doubly charming. :D Just curious.

[Nicole M]

Not in my experience, no. I was chatting with a friend on a train in Europe, when I was a teen, and a German fellow was sitting across from us, with a funny little smile on his face. After gentle questioning, he admitted that we sounded like Donald Duck to him, "quack quack quack quack quack!"

[Corraleno]

Not in my experience, no. I was chatting with a friend on a train in Europe, when I was a teen, and a German fellow was sitting across from us, with a funny little smile on his face. After gentle questioning, he admitted that we sounded like Donald Duck to him, "quack quack quack quack quack!"

 

:iagree:

I've heard Brits and other Europeans do exaggerated American accents and cackle with laughter. Lots of Americans mock foreign accents, too, though.

 

Jackie

[hornblower]

I know a lot young Poles who think the American accents are much to be preferred to the British ones. Our English teachers in Poland tended to be British but most young people are watching American films and imitating American accents.

[KidsHappen]

I think not. Mostly they mock many of the regional accents, think the southern drawl, the New York accent, the midwestern (MN & WI especially), Boston, LA and of course, just good ole redneck. You have to admit, even we find it amusing.

[MelanieM]

I think there can be novelty in anything that different from the norm. I remember a few years ago when I had to call Australia to speak to my web host and the guy that answered the phone was all excited to hear a Canadian accent on the other end. Meanwhile, I was swooning over the Aussie-speak. lol!

[Audrey]

Not in my experience, no. I was chatting with a friend on a train in Europe, when I was a teen, and a German fellow was sitting across from us, with a funny little smile on his face. After gentle questioning, he admitted that we sounded like Donald Duck to him, "quack quack quack quack quack!"

 

This has been my experience as well. They find American accents very nasal (this goes true for most Canadian accents, too). Which, if you listen to most Americans speak, is quite true. We just don't notice it much. Even Southern drawls and mid-West twangs are rather nasal-ly. When I've taught English in the past, all of the learners commented on the nasal quality. It was hard for them to imitate without feeling silly.

Edited February 14, 2010 by Audrey

[TammyinTN]

No....my friends here in Germany think I sound funny. I'm from VA/NC and I have a certain drawl. ;)

[abbeyej]

But Americans don't typically think *all* Europeans have lovely accents. We tend to agree on the Irish, for instance, because of the song-like lilt when they speak English. But more guttural accents (like Dutch or many eastern European accents) tend to sound exceedingly harsh to our ears. Some other accents (French, Spanish, and Italian, say) fall sort of in the middle and are more a matter of taste.

 

American accents tend to sound rather flat and nasal to western Europeans -- not a particularly lovely way to come across. ;)

[dangermom]

Danish people apparently say that American talk like their mouths are full of potatoes. (This from a language that takes place almost entirely in the back of the throat, mind you...) :D

[Liz CA]

I think not. Mostly they mock many of the regional accents, think the southern drawl, the New York accent, the midwestern (MN & WI especially), Boston, LA and of course, just good ole redneck. You have to admit, even we find it amusing.

 

Having lived many years on Europe I would say: No.

However, while I was there many young people just naturally adopted a more American sounding English than British because of popular American music and movies. Also, British English was always considered stiff and formal and what teenager wants to speak like that?

[jenL]

Great thread! :D

[WishboneDawn]

This has been my experience as well. They find American accents very nasal (this goes true for most Canadian accents, too). Which, if you listen to most Americans speak, is quite true. We just don't notice it much. Even Southern drawls and mid-West twangs are rather nasal-ly. When I've taught English in the past, all of the learners commented on the nasal quality. It was hard for them to imitate without feeling silly.

 

This is what I've found when listening to Americans. Granted, you're probably right about Canucks being nasal as well but I think it's not to the same degree. However, there's a beautiful accent that I associate with the well-to-do Eastern US that I can't describe except to say that Canuck actors who've had long Stratford careers have it to. Christopher Plummer for instance. I think it comes with sailing yachts and going to Princeton. :D

[WishboneDawn]

I should say that I don't swoon over every foreign accent anymore. There are beautiful french accents and there are clunky, chunky french accents.

 

And I find a Welsh accent disorienting because it can sometimes sound so close to a general North American accent.

[IsabelC]

I'm Autralian, not European, but I *love* accents. American accents are great, because - like in Britain - they are so different from north to south and coast to coast. Here, the difference from one state/region to another is not nearly so great. I would actually love to have this forum in an audio format just so I could hear what y'all's accents sound like :D

 

Oh, and of course 95% of singers sing in an American accent, no matter how broad their ocker accent is in speaking. I heard a singer-songwriter being interviewed on the radio and they spent about 5 minutes discussing the implications of his decision to sing in Strine. It's one of those things that's taken for granted but kinda weird when you think about it. Imagine if the majority of American performers suddenly decided to put on an Icelandic accent when singing :lol:

Edited February 14, 2010 by Hotdrink

[snickelfritz]

I'm Autralian, not European, but I *love* accents. American accents are great, because they are so different from north to south and coast to coast. Here, the difference from one state/region to another is not nearly so great. I would actually love to have this forum in an audio format just so I could hear what y'all's accents sound like

 

 

I'd give you rep points for using y'all, if I could.

 

As a side note....my dd (who likes to watch Bindi on Discovery channel) announced, very proudly, that she can now speak Australian. :lol:

[abbeyej]

...As a side note....my dd (who likes to watch Bindi on Discovery channel) announced, very proudly, that she can now speak Australian. :lol:

 

This reminds me... The other day my kids were talking about what they would name a baby brother, if they ever get one. Dd is strongly in favor of "James Oliver" as a name. One of her reasons is that then he would be English and have a lovely English accent. :lol:

[Rosie_0801]

I know a lot young Poles who think the American accents are much to be preferred to the British ones. Our English teachers in Poland tended to be British but most young people are watching American films and imitating American accents.

 

My cousin is like this! She gave me a heck of a shock when she said "ass." Over here, this is not the sort of word you use with cousins you've just met, who are a good ten years older. Then I remembered she learns American English and pulled my eyebrows back down where they belong. That girl watches waaaay too much telly :)

 

I think there can be novelty in anything that different from the norm. I remember a few years ago when I had to call Australia to speak to my web host and the guy that answered the phone was all excited to hear a Canadian accent on the other end. Meanwhile, I was swooning over the Aussie-speak. lol!

 

You must have the nice Canadian accent then :)

 

I would actually love to have this forum in an audio format just so I could hear what y'all's accents sound like :D

 

 

Bite your tongue, Girl!

 

I'd give you rep points for using y'all, if I could.

 

 

:lol:

 

Rosie

Edited February 15, 2010 by Rosie_0801

[Melissa in Australia]

my husband is Canadian so I don't even notice the Canadian / northern stated accent any more( I know they do sound different I just can't notice the difference ). But the Southern American states accent I can't even understand. Is it really English? I have actually had to get my husband to translate some movies that have a southern states accent.

[Brigitte]

One of my twins has been listening to Secret Garden too much....She would like to learn to speak "Broad Yorkshire." :lol:

[Nicole M]

This reminds me... The other day my kids were talking about what they would name a baby brother, if they ever get one. Dd is strongly in favor of "James Oliver" as a name. One of her reasons is that then he would be English and have a lovely English accent. :lol:

 

Now that is adorable!

 

I remember as a child, but old enough to know better, riding an escalator in Harrods Department Store in London, and hearing a wee child speaking in a wee little voice, with a perfect English accent, and marveling at how sweet he sounded, and that he could do the accent so well! (He must have been named James Oliver.) :D

[Lolly]

my husband is Canadian so I don't even notice the Canadian / northern stated accent any more( I know they do sound different I just can't notice the difference ). But the Southern American states accent I can't even understand. Is it really English? I have actually had to get my husband to translate some movies that have a southern states accent.

 

Just to let you know, the southern accent that most actors tend to use is...not true. Southerners tend to find it exceedingly annoying. It is WAY overdone. :D

[iwka]

When I did not know English Americans sounded to me like their mouths were full of food and the sounds were very nasal. British was a norm. Nevertheless, I liked it.

[Chrystal]

Danish people apparently say that American talk like their mouths are full of potatoes. (This from a language that takes place almost entirely in the back of the throat, mind you...) :D

 

This is how our Spanish exchange student was told to speak in her English class. Apparently even the English spoken in Europe is described this way.

 

My two German exchange students thought is was cute when I spoke German with my American accent. But I am not a nasal speaker. I was born in Germany and had a German babysitter for the first 3 years so I spoke as much German as English until we came home.

[justamouse]

Huh. Quack, quack, quack.

[Parrothead]

my husband is Canadian so I don't even notice the Canadian / northern stated accent any more( I know they do sound different I just can't notice the difference ). But the Southern American states accent I can't even understand. Is it really English? I have actually had to get my husband to translate some movies that have a southern states accent.

Usually I do not hear my dh's accent. He is from Georgia. But I can not understand southerns on the phone any more. If his aunt calls I have to ask her to hold so I can give the phone to dh. When we went back to GA for a visit a few years ago, dh could not understand some of his cousins.

 

The southern accent that actors us on TV and movies is not real. Most often it is very badly done.

[sunshine]

Just to let you know, the southern accent that most actors tend to use is...not true. Southerners tend to find it exceedingly annoying. It is WAY overdone. :D

 

:iagree::iagree: Paula Deene especially annoys me. She lives about 10 miles from me and I knew her 15 years ago. She DID NOT have the sickening accent that she has now. Almost everyone I know thinks she is an embarassment. Rich embarrassment, but one nevertheless!:D

 

My son has a friend in Scotland and she said that the Scots love southern accents. THEY think it sounds great! So I am going with that!:001_smile:

[3littlekeets]

Just to let you know, the southern accent that most actors tend to use is...not true. Southerners tend to find it exceedingly annoying. It is WAY overdone. :D

 

 

I don't know...have you tried to listen to Paula Deen? :D

[Bev in B'ville]

I have a dear friend from London but every time she affects an American accent it is in jest and generally it's an attempt at a southern accent. So I would have to say, no.

 

with my kids I asked a local for directions. He used both "yonder" and "reckon" in the same sentence! I was floored. I live in the South and if I were to use either of those words, ever, I would be thought of as an uneducated redneck, but they sounded lovely with a British accent. Funny.

[Bev in B'ville]

Just to let you know, the southern accent that most actors tend to use is...not true. Southerners tend to find it exceedingly annoying. It is WAY overdone. :D

 

I was born and raised in Georgia (rural, for the most part) and I can tell you that when I travel most people think I'm from the Midwest. Most are floored when I tell them I'm from Atlanta. They usually ask, "Yes, but where were you raised?"

 

Southern accents on TV drive me crazy, not realistic AT ALL! Additionally, most actors portraying a Southerner on TV also act like, because they're Southern, they're also stupid. That is far from the norm.

[Kate in Arabia]

Do you mean English accents or American-accented German, for example? I've heard a lot of compliments here on my American-accented English, but not that it's beautiful per se..

 

I find it interesting the difference in Arabic accents, and some sound more beautiful to my ear than others, but that's a personal preference. I should ask someone if I have an American accent when I speak Arabic -- I don't rightly know, lol.

 

...and I wonder how much cultural perceptions come into these kind of judgments (as to whether an accent sound beautiful/romantic/ignorant, etc.).

[IsabelC]

What I find interesting is that his family members cannot tell the difference between a Brit and an American based on accent. My BIL was watching a news bit (in Germany while we were on vacation) and he asked if the speaker was American. I thought it was glaringly obviously by his accent that he was British. My BIL didn't hear the difference.

Many native English speakers can't tell the difference between Northern and Southern Germans, or Swiss German. Some English speakers can't even tell German from Dutch. It's a natural tendency to be able to discriminate more accurately, the more familiar something is.

[Peela]

I dont adore an American accent the way I do a lovely Irish one, but I think Aussies like to make fun of American accents- you know, take the mickey out of them :) I know an American woman who is visiting at the moment and she is always playfully trying to imitate an Aussie accent- she seems to love ours. I don't adore a German accent though- I have many German friends. I like Scottish, English, Irish- I have Swedish friend and I love her accent.

I do enjoy meeting people from all other cultures, though.

[stripe]

I have never gotten the impression that Europeans find anything about Americans to be astonishingly beautiful, except perhaps the chocolate chip cookie. And to be fair, I am not sure I find American accents to be especially "beautiful," either.

 

That being said, I think Americans are known for their unique (perhaps sloppy) pronunciations, such as the "t" that sounds like a "d." I have had people (non-native speakers, not from the US -- not from Europe either!) suggest that I pronounce certain words in a British style, which I found to be a bit rude. Apparently the way I say "can't" is inferior to the British way. Snort.

[rockermom]

Just to let you know, the southern accent that most actors tend to use is...not true. Southerners tend to find it exceedingly annoying. It is WAY overdone. :D

 

Southern accents on TV drive me crazy' date=' not realistic AT ALL! Additionally, most actors portraying a Southerner on TV also act like, because they're Southern, they're also stupid. That is far from the norm.[/quote']

 

:iagree:

[Bev in B'ville]

I dont adore an American accent the way I do a lovely Irish one, but I think Aussies like to make fun of American accents- you know, take the mickey out of them :) I know an American woman who is visiting at the moment and she is always playfully trying to imitate an Aussie accent- she seems to love ours. I don't adore a German accent though- I have many German friends. I like Scottish, English, Irish- I have Swedish friend and I love her accent.

I do enjoy meeting people from all other cultures, though.

 

(Melbourne specifically) all the Aussies thought I was from Ireland. Go figure.

[abreakfromlife]

I had a friend in high school who was a foreign exchange student from Japan. She couldn't understand why we couldn't tell the difference between someone from China and Japan. She thought it was so obvious. I think she was even insulted by the fact we couldn't tell. LOL

We had that same problem with our foreign exchange students :D What I've noticed and I think is cool :tongue_smilie: is that in my obsession with Hindi movies, is that now I can tell the differences between shads of tan and differences in facial features depending on the part of India they're from; we even noticed when they were speaking Bengali instead of Hindi. They're not just 'Indians' anymore now that I've watched so many. That's kind of fun to see.

[wulfbourne]

I'm Autralian, not European, but I *love* accents. American accents are great, because - like in Britain - they are so different from north to south and coast to coast. Here, the difference from one state/region to another is not nearly so great. I would actually love to have this forum in an audio format just so I could hear what y'all's accents sound like :D

 

 

While it's not hearing each of us speaking this website can let you listen to all sorts of accents.

 

http://accent.gmu.edu/

 

My theater teacher showed it to us while we were going over accents. It has accents from around the world and a LOT of different regions around the US if you want to hear differences in American accents.

[KidsHappen]

This is how our Spanish exchange student was told to speak in her English class. Apparently even the English spoken in Europe is described this way.

 

My two German exchange students thought is was cute when I spoke German with my American accent. But I am not a nasal speaker. I was born in Germany and had a German babysitter for the first 3 years so I spoke as much German as English until we came home.

 

That's funny because I learned to speak German in Germany and our instructor told us to try and recreate the sounds by talking as if our mouth was full of marbles. To our ears that reproduced the closest approximation od sounds. German is a very gutteral language made without much movement of tongue, as if you had a mouth full of marbles and were trying to speak without swallowing them. Of course, when they spoke English they sounded slightly different.

 

And have you ever notived that all English songs are sung as if by an American: the Beatles, Mick Jagger, Bono, Sting. While they all have distinctive voices, their singing voices are way different than their speaking voices. Many actors as well. They automatically affect an American or as close as possible to no accent unless they are told otherwise. Sometimes the difference is shocking when you hear them speak out of character for the first time. To particular examples that come to mind is Lennie James from Jericho and Sayid from LOST. When I heard them in the special features I almost keeled over. While I generally love a Bristish accent, in those cases is just wasn't right.

[K-FL]

Many actors as well. They automatically affect an American or as close as possible to no accent unless they are told otherwise. Sometimes the difference is shocking when you hear them speak out of character for the first time. To particular examples that come to mind is Lennie James from Jericho and Sayid from LOST. When I heard them in the special features I almost keeled over. While I generally love a Bristish accent, in those cases is just wasn't right.

 

When I first heard David Tennant (Dr. Who) speak off camera I was floored at how heavy his Scottish accent is! So it's not just US/UK/Aussie it's within the BBC too. :)

[Jeannie in NJ]

I think it was the actor that played Pippin in LOTR, I watched an interview with him and he had a very pleasing Scottish accent (Scottish accents are my favorite, Sean Connery has a nice accent).

[stripe]

To particular examples that come to mind is Lennie James from Jericho and Sayid from LOST. When I heard them in the special features I almost keeled over. While I generally love a Bristish accent, in those cases is just wasn't right.

! Ha. Funny because Naveen Andrews isn't Iraqi! The first time I saw him was in the English Patient, where he played a Sikh. He was also in Kama Sutra, from around the same time.

 

I was thrown to hear the actresses from the Ladies' No. 1 Detective Agency speak out of character (Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi) in the "making of" specials -- they're both actually American! What a shock that was.

[AngelBee]

I'm Autralian, not European, but I *love* accents. American accents are great, because - like in Britain - they are so different from north to south and coast to coast. Here, the difference from one state/region to another is not nearly so great. I would actually love to have this forum in an audio format just so I could hear what y'all's accents sound like :D

 

Oh, and of course 95% of singers sing in an American accent, no matter how broad their ocker accent is in speaking. I heard a singer-songwriter being interviewed on the radio and they spent about 5 minutes discussing the implications of his decision to sing in Strine. It's one of those things that's taken for granted but kinda weird when you think about it. Imagine if the majority of American performers suddenly decided to put on an Icelandic accent when singing :lol:

 

I would LOVE the link! I am a big lover of all accents. It amazes me.

[AngelBee]

One of my twins has been listening to Secret Garden too much....She would like to learn to speak "Broad Yorkshire." :lol:

 

:lol: Too cute!

[AngelBee]

 

...and I wonder how much cultural perceptions come into these kind of judgments (as to whether an accent sound beautiful/romantic/ignorant, etc.).

 

I too wonder...

[LG Gone Wild]

But Americans don't typically think *all* Europeans have lovely accents. We tend to agree on the Irish, for instance, because of the song-like lilt when they speak English. But more guttural accents (like Dutch or many eastern European accents) tend to sound exceedingly harsh to our ears. Some other accents (French, Spanish, and Italian, say) fall sort of in the middle and are more a matter of taste.

 

American accents tend to sound rather flat and nasal to western Europeans -- not a particularly lovely way to come across. ;)

 

Yep.

 

 

Emma Thompson said that when she was prepping to play an American, she had to practice talking a lot with her whole mouth. I suppose we jaw a lot.

 

The absolutely ugliest language I have ever heard is Afrikaans. OTH, when an Afrikaaner spoke English, it was the nicest, prettiest English I have ever heard.

[wulfbourne]

Sometimes the difference is shocking when you hear them speak out of character for the first time. To particular examples that come to mind is Lennie James from Jericho and Sayid from LOST. When I heard them in the special features I almost keeled over. While I generally love a Bristish accent, in those cases is just wasn't right.

 

Two actors that really got me was seeing an interview with Sascha Baron Cohen right after watching Borat and the first few times I saw Hugh Laurie in interview.

[Laura Corin]

 

And have you ever notived that all English songs are sung as if by an American: the Beatles, Mick Jagger, Bono, Sting. While they all have distinctive voices, their singing voices are way different than their speaking voices. .

 

It's hard to sing with short vowels and clipped consonants.

 

Laura

[Laura Corin]

When I first heard David Tennant (Dr. Who) speak off camera I was floored at how heavy his Scottish accent is! So it's not just US/UK/Aussie it's within the BBC too. :)

 

One of my oldest friends is an actor from Liverpool. He has two completely different accents - the one he uses for most roles is a learned, middle-of-the-road English accent; it's quite different from his native accent.

 

Laura

[PineFarmMom]

I definitely wouldn't think that is their opinion of our accents. But then, quite honestly, I don't find every European or non-American accent to be intriguing or "beautiful". I always like British, French, and Australian even though that's not European.