All Questions
21 questions
16
votes
8
answers
6k
views
Native English speakers: worse understanding of other accents?
In this video, Lily Tomlin (an American) doesn't really understand what Kevin Bridges is saying at all with his Scottish accent. She also says she doesn't fully understand what Chris Hemswoth (an ...
- 300
4
votes
1
answer
746
views
AmE feature related to American multiculturalism?
I speak with a (General) American accent. Native non-American English speakers sometimes tell me that "you pronounce every single syllable in every word." I've also stumbled upon very ...
- 300
2
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Why do people with a British accent make an "r" sound at the end of words ending in an "ah" sound
I'm American so I've seen this in so many movies and just wondering, what's up with that?
Example: We will not need those blankets in Russia-r.
- 137
1
vote
1
answer
251
views
Accents of Sung Language vs. those of Spoken Language
I'm a GenAmE speaker, but I've noticed that many BrE-speaking singers seem to sing in an accent that is almost indistinguishable from my own. I first noticed it with Ed Sheeran, who I didn't even know ...
- 121
1
vote
0
answers
72
views
Is the Irish English accent derived from the phonetics of the Irish language?
Did Hiberno-English originate as native Irish speakers speaking English from Scotland and England with their native accent, or is it derived from Scots phonetics after the Scots were settled in Ulster?...
- 61
4
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Why did Canadian English remain so close to standard U.S English?
TV Stereotypes about exaggerated Canadian accents not withstanding, to me Canadian English sounds identical to standard U.S English. I can't tell English speaking Canadians from Americans with ...
- 523
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Is there a General European English Accent?
I have noticed my former trainer from Estonia, fellow students from Poland and Italy, even Khabib from UFC who comes from Dagestan speak with this accent.
Here is a video of khabib from remote ...
4
votes
1
answer
693
views
Which dialect/accent of English has the most/least sounds?
My accent is from New York City, yet I wonder which area has the most or least sounds in their phonemic inventory. While one may have the most vowels and another the most consonants, I would like to ...
- 189
1
vote
1
answer
463
views
proper terms for tipper and dipper S articulation
I just learned for the first time from a WIRED video about movie accents (at 4:30) that American English has multiple possible places of articulation for the "S" sound. I was able to find terms for ...
- 591
0
votes
1
answer
364
views
Phonetic mapping between English accents
Does anyone know if there is a resource which lists the mappings between phonemes in different English accents? e.g. a given phoneme in RP maps to this phoneme in Liverpool, that phoneme in Newcastle, ...
- 103
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Why do Americans and Canadians pronounce "t" with flap [ɾ] in unstressed syllables in English?
Most Americans and Canadians pronounce "t" with flap [ɾ] in unstressed syllables. Why?
- 121
0
votes
0
answers
2k
views
How to differentiate an East Anglian accent from a West Country accent?
I want to understand the East Anglian accents better (Norfolk, Suffolk etc) but can't seem to differentiate it from a West country accent (Devon Somerset, Cornwall) properly.
What linguistics ...
- 211
4
votes
2
answers
297
views
How is it possible to reconstruct old accents of a language?
I just a video of a guy who delivered the opening lines of Romeo and Juliet in the modern received pronunciation of (British) English and then the same lines in what he claimed was the original accent ...
- 523
3
votes
3
answers
873
views
Minimal Pairs Highlighting the Difference between American and British English
Does anyone have a list of minimal pairs, highlighting the difference between American and British English?
Thanks.
- 31
2
votes
2
answers
406
views
Losing a non-native accent of English [closed]
I realize this question has been done to death in other contexts, but I have already exhausted the possibilities covered in similar threads all across the web. I am a fluent (I hold the Certificate of ...
- 31
1
vote
2
answers
3k
views
What accent (for the English language) is most widely and easily understood?
I am making educational videos (in maths, science, etc.) that I plan to put on YouTube and perhaps elsewhere.
I am hoping to reach as wide a global audience as possible. Obviously then, if there is ...
user3222
0
votes
2
answers
4k
views
The verb BE as function word or content word
I'm reading a book on America accent and there's a page with exercises.
Exercice:
Circle the function words in the following sentences:
The sky is blue.
...
...
The answers are provided at the end ...
- 395
1
vote
2
answers
438
views
IPA for English: British or US standard?
I often see IPA representations of words (e.g in Wikipedia) that render the American accent of English (instead of British). Is there any agreement on which English accent IPA should render or does it ...
- 2,572
2
votes
0
answers
164
views
Different accent for different genders and age groups
Probably due to a desire to sound cute or otherwise I find teens (girls mostly) using an accent wherein they have to pout their lips a bit more in speaking while this may give them a more appealing ...
- 580
4
votes
8
answers
8k
views
Why do people singing in English sound like Americans?
This is just my observation, but it seems like Standard American English lacks any distinct accent when speaking. Listen to almost any person singing with an accent, and they sound like any American ...
- 1,965
18
votes
10
answers
10k
views
What makes a non-native English speaker sound foreign?
I'm not a native speaker. However, I have tried a lot during last 10 years to learn English at a high level of proficiency and to become fluent in conversation.
However, when I talk to some of my ...
- 1,387