Caroline:  I disagree that there is no "neutral"  American accent.  There is one; it's called Standard American English, and it's how most anchorpeople talk.  It's also how you're taught to speak in acting school.  I went to from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and if at the end of the first year, you still sounded like you were "from somewhere," you didn't get to come back for the second year.

Also, to be technical, the term we should be using is "dialect."  That's the term for variances in how a single language is spoken.  "Accent" really refers to the sound of English when spoken by someone whose first language is something other than English.  However, it's a bit like the "envy"/"jealousy" problem:  "Accent" is widely used instead of "dialect."

Ray :-
I did not go to acting school or anything like it.

In Physics (and hence the Sciences) of course tjhere is a tangible difference between speed & velocity and a world of difference between mass & weight
Also, all 'eveeryday' term,s such as "Force", "Work", "Power", "Impulse", "Momentum" etc., etc., have VERY PRECISE definitions and must not be confused in any way - though they frequently **ARE** !!

... and if at the end of the first year, you still sounded like you were "from somewhere", you didn't get to come back the following year."

Hi Ray

Nice to hear from you - we don't normally see you posting nowadays.   I love accents - I think they add a richness to our culture and shouldn't be rubbed out.  Unfortunately some regional varieties carry the stigma of belonging only to the unintelligent or impoverished.  I do understand why a national TV carrier promotes a standard pronunciation despite the fact that very few people 

That said, all Americans are instantly recognisable as being American the minute they speak, regardless of their regional accent, in the same way that all Irish and all Scottish are known - it's all in the vowels.

And yes, I shall continue to use the word accent because growing up in the UK, simple variations in the vowel pronunciation were always referred to as accent.  A more serious variation (ie, rural) possibly requiring a bit of careful listening to, that included words used only by locals, was considered to be a dialect with the Irish and Scottish producing many variations of accent, dialect with the truly unintelligible versions called a 'brogue'. 

But as I fully believe in a word meaning what common usage deems it to mean, I have to tell you, just about everyone I know refers to 'accent' for when the same language is spoken with slight variations of pronunciation regardless of the speaker's birth origin.  Looks like dialect isn't winning this match and no amount of shouting from the sidelines is going to help.   

Ray is right about dialect vs. accent, but they are used interchangeably now.  I once did accent reduction therapy with a man with a Scottish brogue who was working in sales here in the US.  He was having difficulty being understood and was getting frustrated by it.  We mainly worked on slowing his rate of speech and reducing the burr in his "r" sounds a bit.  Since his accent was part of his charm, there was no way I was going to encourage him to get too Americanized.

Ray,

Most anchor-people use Standard Am. except Tom Brokaw.  I always wanted to sign him up for therapy for his "l" sounds.

Caroline,

Just like you're sensitive to Am. dialects, I can usually pick out an Australian one, also because of the vowels.    

When acting, it takes a good ear to be able to do convincing accents.  Two winters ago I saw The End of the Rainbow in London, and the British actress who played Judy Garland had the accent and singing down pat all through the show.  The only place she slipped up was the very last phrase of "Over the Rainbow," when she sang "Why, oh why, cahn't I?"  

Lady K,

It's quite distinctive the way Aussies pronounce the end of 'er' words.   water = war'ah; ever = ev'ah.   I think all these open ah sounds are recognisably an Australian innovation and a habit I had to insist my children didn't pick up when they started school.  Now they have acquired the Australian long a, as in bath = bahth. 

Originally Posted By Lady Kestrel (19 JUL 2012 7:55pm)

Ray is right about dialect vs. accent, but they are used interchangeably now.  I once did accent reduction therapy with a man with a Scottish brogue who was working in sales here in the US.  He was having difficulty being understood and was getting frustrated by it.  We mainly working on slowing his rate of speech and reducing the burr in his "r" sounds a bit.  Since his accent was part of his charm, there was no way I was going to encourage him to get too Americanized.

 

Ray,

Most anchor-people use Standard Am. except Tom Brokaw.  I always wanted to sign him up for therapy for his "l" sounds.

 the Rainbow," when she sang "Why, oh why, cahn't I?"  

Mery Streep is of course phenomenal. Her portrayal of Maggie Thatcher is well nigh perfect.

I remember seeing a well known film (can't remember its name - but I'm sure others can).

It features a Jewish Rabbi in a smal cameo part. Iwas trying to figure out wwhat actor played the part!

Only when I read the credits could I hardly believe my eyes - it was Meryp Streep !!

Renee Zellweger is extremely good also !

Bob Hoskins is another one who gets it right.  His Eddie Valient accent in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was so good that I didn't realize he was British. 

Very many thanks for telling me.
I didn't see that movie and I had no idea that he could emulate  an  American accent (dialect hehehe) so well !

Originally Posted By Caroline (20 JUL 2012 3:39am)

Lady K,

 

It's quite distinctive the way Aussies pronounce the end of 'er' words.   water = war'ah; ever = ev'ah.   I think all these open ah sounds are recognisably an Australian innovation and a habit I had to insist my children didn't pick up when they started school.  Now they have acquired the Australian long a, as in bath = bahth. 

Those with the more extreme Aussie accent seem to make the language more difficult than it needs to be- much like the American extreme southern accent. (Not that they are similar accents- only that they seem to be unnecessarily drawn out.) I find it somewhat distracting when watching golf or tennis which often has Australian commentators.

Thus, you will hear that that 'so-and-so is plying a gid gime'. The word 'home' becomes 'howm' and the ubiquitous 'no' becomes 'now' or sort of 'n-a-o-w' (said somewhat nasally). Particularly with a word like 'play', it seems that to say it as 'ply' requires more gymnastics of the tongue especially if the p-l part is drawn out- almost like p-u-l-l then 'I'.

Lady Kestrel.

                       I just checked & see that I made quite an error !!

"Pennies from Heaven" TV mini-series is much longer than I remembered !

It is apparently SIX EPISODES each approximately 75 minutes long !!!

Incidentally it was THAT series which brought Bob Hoskins out of relative obscurity and into the entertainment limelight  !

Originally Posted By SirDave (21 JUL 2012 5:26pm)

Those with the more extreme Aussie accent seem to make the language more difficult than it needs to be- much like the American extreme southern accent. (Not that they are similar accents- only that they seem to be unnecessarily drawn out.) I find it somewhat distracting when watching golf or tennis which often has Australian commentators.

 

Thus, you will hear that that 'so-and-so is plying a gid gime'. The word 'home' becomes 'howm' and the ubiquitous 'no' becomes 'now' or sort of 'n-a-o-w' (said somewhat nasally). Particularly with a word like 'play', it seems that to say it as 'ply' requires more gymnastics of the tongue especially if the p-l part is drawn out- almost like p-u-l-l then 'I'.

 

For a good laugh read :-

"Let's talk Strine""

Originally Posted By Len Green (21 JUL 2012 6:53pm)

Lady Kestrel.

                     "Pennies from Heaven" is apparently SIX EPISODES each approximately 75 minutes long !!!

   

   

Incidentally it was THAT series which brought Bob Hoskins out of relative obscurity and into the entertainment limelight  !

 

OFF  TOPIC  I  KNOW – but so are some other posts on this thread !!

Amongst his numerous works of all sorts of genres, he wrote 3 wonderful (IMHO) TV mini series dramas which incorporated Golden-Oldie pop numbers – some absolutely hilarious
          Pennies from Heaven (197

100% Northeast - Yeehaw!

The app does a good job of distinuishing between 'Northeast', Eastern New England' and 'Mid-Atlantic'. Geographically the Northeast includes New York, Boston, Providence and New Haven which have much different accents. I scored quite low on Eastern New England [which in vowel pronunciation has an affintity with the south at times] but more closely to Mid-Atlantic, and Northern. I come from New York City.

Originally Posted By Caroline (9 JUL 2012 7:56am)

How on earth can one pronounce ride with a 'aa' vowel sound without making it an entirely different word? 

haha.. that the whole BASIS of the southern drawl..