OT And we call all of this English?

[Gayle]

Here is a link to a website that documents various accents.

Speech accents by region


English speakers from all over the world read the same paragraph. I grew up in Arkansas and just about fell on the floor listening to that one.

Arkansas accent

BigKris and Greg--do you guys sound like this?

[SC David]

Amazing how the Perth, Australia accent is much more subtle.

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_languag...&speakerid=143


Like the California accent of down under, while the Sydney one is like the Texas accent.

[Alexlind123]

You are californian, so californian accents sound "normal" to you

[Gayle]

Amazing how the Perth, Australia accent is much more subtle.

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_languag...&speakerid=143


Like the California accent of down under, while the Sydney one is like the Texas accent.

We noticed the same thing. The other Aussie accents sounded pretty similar to American English, while Sydney sounds to us like some accents we heard in London.

Aussies--enlighten us. What's the deal with your regional speech patterns?

[Alexlind123]

Keep in mind that even within a very small geographical area, accents can differ drastically. These sound recordings only show one small sample, which may or may not be an accurate representation of the actual "normal" accent for the area.

[shogun]

Aiyah, cannot wait any more, must go oreddy. (Oh dear, I cannot wait any longer. I must leave immediately.)
I eat liao. (I ate or I have eaten.)


I like Singlish:


Can. "It can be done."
Solidarity Can lah. "Rest assured, it can be done."
Seeking attention / support (implicit) Can hor / huh. "It can be done I guess."
Characteristic Can one / de. "This can be done, really."
(Vividness?) Very nice lidat. "This really appeared to be very nice."
Acceptance /
Resignation Can lor. "It can be done, for goodness sake."
Assertion (implies that listener should already know) Can wat. "It can be done... shouldn't you know this?"
Assertion (strong) Can mah. "See?! It can be done!"
Assertion (softened) Can leh. "Can't you see that it can be done?"
Yes / No question Can or not? "Can it be done?"
Yes / No question
(confirmation) Can is it? "It can be done, right?"
Yes / No question
(scepticism) Can meh? "Um... are you sure it can be done?"
Confirmation Can ar (low). "So... it can really be done?"
Rhetorical Can ar (rising). "Alright then, don't come asking for help if problems arise."
Change of state Can already / liao. "It's done!"
(Indifference?) Can huh (low tone). "It can be done..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singlish#Hah

[Gayle]

I have heard that the upper midwest, and Ohio in particular, is the speech pattern that broadcasters strive for as it has the least amount of accent associated with it.

And in SoCal there are huge numbers of people who have moved here from the upper midwest. I lived in Ohio prior to moving here (lost most of my southern accent while living in Ohio) and my husband moved here from Michigan. I think the upper midwestern influence is why CA tends to have minimal accent (unless you count "Valley Girl" as an accent or the speech patterns of the large numbers of non-native speakers here).

As you pointed out there are certainly wide variations in a region. As this was a project of the linguistics department of George Mason University and was compiled for the use of linguists, I would expect they selected samples they considered to be most representative of an area, but the site does not explain their methodology in any significant detail.

[rob101]

for starters gayle that "sydney" person that you linked to sounds like the australian equilavent of a red neck.

where as the chick from brisbane sounds normal
as does this dude from sydney http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_languag...&speakerid=525
or this guy from melbourne
http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_languag...&speakerid=140


please don't assume we talk like that other dude from sydney, and please if one day i do sound like that guy someone please feel free to kill me so i can't have children who will butcher the language like that yokel

[emw525E34]

Yeah Shogun,

You captured the gist of the Singlish that I missed (as in missed not hearing often enough). It does convey subtle clues based on Chinese intonations which I think reflects well within the Singapore culture.

I am Malaysian by birth and strive to speak the "pure" english taugh by our British rulers of ancient times. In Malaysia, the twist in english words are not as radical as Singapore. I guess it was "peer-pressure" or social etiquette (see it can't spell the darn word). For a Malaysian to speak English in a "modified" way, is deemed pariah. Teachers in school ensures proper language or else we have disciplinary repercussions!.

In Singapore, its the opposite. They reckon its cool to twist english into Singlish. In all, when I visit singapore or call Singapore friends from work, I could "tune-in" those messages. At times finding myself reciprocating which I though was rather hilarious. cos I got some wrong!.

[BigKriss]

I can't get it working - sorry.

BigKris and Greg--do you guys sound like this?