The "English" accent is a tricky beast. It changes not only from country to country, but from person to person, with characteristics as unique as the voice it carries.Any traveler will know that there is something very comforting about hearing the accent of your home country after being away for a long time. Accents seem to have an endless supply of emotional power, political power, and physical power (if you find it).specialsexy).
This guide doesn't attempt to explain why accents are so powerful, butwhy and how they are different. Let's get started - org’arn,as the broad Australian accent would say.
The (general) American accent
Let's start with one of the most iconic and undoubtedly influential accents: the American one. The American accent is often divided into two classifications:the general accent(yes, that's really what it's called) and the regional accents.
The common American accent is known for howrhoticit is– that is, how strongly the R sound occurs in spoken words. Think of an American friend or celebrity, and then think of how they pronounce words likeperle,wasofret.(You may not notice it if you're American, but people from other countries definitely notice your strong R pronunciation). Americans with the general accent will also often pronounce the letter T in the middle of a word more like a D.For example,wateris becomingmaturity,flattersounds likeflutter,and so forth.
What most distinguishes the American accent from other English accents is how the short A vowel (as inkat) is pronounced. This unusual sound is called an "ash" and is characteristic of their accent.
The (regional) American accents
The United States is the largest (indigenous)English speaking countryin the world, so it should come as no surprise that there area lot ofAmerican regional accents with a lot of variation in between. For example,Americans outEnglandofNew Yorkgenerally speak with a less pronounced R than the rest of America. Sometimes they drop the R completely, which is why 'New York' is often heardOf Joach,or 'car' soundsca.
Likewise, people who grew up in the South will also often drop the R, so "here" sounds likeHallo. Gentlementhat is obviousSouth Americans are most famous for their "Southern Drawl”— a way of speaking that sounds slower and with longer vowels.For example, words like "crying" or "loud" sound more likecrahInha.
Another famous American accent isCalifornisch accent, which differs from other accents by its characteristic vowel shift. This shift, most pronounced in young people, causes words to sound like "back."bock, and "on" liketo leave. For a deeper dive into the full spectrum of American accents, keep readingher.
The Canadian accent
The Canadian accent,uh? It's a bit of a mystery,uh? Not so much.OfCanadian accentis most closely related to General American Englishwith similar rules for pronunciation and accent.
The main difference is the way Canadians will speak some diphthongs (a sound formed by the combination of two vowels in one syllable) higher than their American neighbors. The phenomenon is known as"Canadian Raising" and that is why the famous pronunciation of "out" and "om" sounds.OetIna bootfor foreign ears.
And the Canadian "eh"? Linguists aren't 100% sure where it came from, but it likely has its roots in immigrantsBritish Isles. Interestingly, Americans have oneNorthern Midwestern accentoften also uses "eh".
The British accent (received pronunciation)
If American English is on one end of the English accent spectrum, British English would be on the other end. ButContrary to what foreigners may think, there is no one type of British accentThe two main emphases are Received Pronunciation and General, but there is actually onethe whole family of British regional accents. What most of the world thinks of as a 'British accent' is actually Received Pronunciation, or as it is colloquially known, the Queen's English, and it is generally considered a term for the upper classes.
Unlike standard American English,Received Pronunciation is strongnon-rhotic, so an R is generally not pronounced unless it precedes a vowel.For example, a receiving speaker would not pronounce R in words like 'hart"of "courtyard"but would pronounce it in the case of "brick" and "scratch". In the meantimeT sounds with this accent are almost always pronounced clearly and A sounds are elongated, so that they sound like 'water'wattah.
The (general) British accent
The common British accent is just as recognizable as its Queen cousin, but for different reasons. Instead of the sharp pronounced sounds of the received pronunciation, the general accent is much more forgiving.
Characteristics of this accent include dropping the -none at the end of words and replacing it with -en. For example, 'fish' and 'food' become.visInate. The general British accent is also commonreplaces Tsfor glottal stop, these are small voiceless pauses in words, like the small pause in 'uh-oh'. Generally seen as a low-end accent feature, this becomes morepopular among the younger generations.
The Irish accent
Like the American accent, thatIrish accentis surprisingly rhotic (you may have noticed this is a recurring dispute in English), so 'there' persistsofand so forth.Another important feature is how the th sound is often pronounced more like a T or a D, probably because there isn't onee sound in Irish Gaelic.
Another important characteristic of an Irish accent is how often a ch sound is added to words starting with T.For example, the phrase "pick me Tuesday" sounds more like "pick me next."Select day' - which can be very confusing (and sweet) for someone who doesn't speak Irish.
The Scottish accent
The Scottish accent is one that is notoriously difficult for non-Scots to understand. For a,there is some debateabout whether Scotsman is aaccent, a dialect or a languageon it's own. Looking past any vocabulary differences, the pronunciation itself can cause headaches for foreigners.
To start withScottish accentis even more rhotic than the common American accent - the Scots R is often rolled or rolled! And moreEven more confusingly, Scots often change the O sound to an "ae" sound, so "can not"sounds more likereed
You may have noticed that the T sound of 'can't' is missing. That's because the T in the Scottish accent often glottalizes, meaning words like 'glottal"sounds likeglobal.Finally,there is often little distinction between long and short vowels, so”drag"sounds likeswimming pool, In "stores"sounds likestores.
The Australian accent
Crikey, we've finally achieved the best accent in the world (and it's definitely not because I'm Aussie!).OfAustralian accent, like American and British accents, vary quite a bit. This depends more on who you talk to (and their upbringing) than on where they come from.
The Australian accent is known for pronouncing -none at the end of words with an -en, just as the general British accent means words like 'resources"can sound moremean. Like British English, the Australian accent is non-rhotic, so the R at the end of words is rarely pronounced.
The lastCharacteristic of the Australian accent are its unique vowel pronunciations, especially diphthongs. (Diphthongs are sounds in words with two vowels in one syllable.) Words like "mountain" can sound more likemabjerg, or "city" likedoor.Apart from the pronunciation differences, foreigners often find it difficult to deal with thisfun Australian vocabulary.
New Zealand accent
The New Zealand accent - orKiwi-accent, as it is affectionately called - issimilar to the Australian accent, but with a fewmain differences.The first recognizable difference is the way New Zealanders sometimes pronounce words with a 'short I' - that is, they pronounce an I as if it were a U.For example, 'fish and chips' sounds more like 'fish and chips'DOMAINInchupsi New Zealand accent.
Another nice feature is how this accent places a "short E".sounds in words like "pen"In "death"making them sound louderpinIndeed.Probably the best feature of this accent is that New Zealanders, like people with a general British accent, have a rising tone at the end of their sentences. This means that foreigners often interpret statements as questions.
The South African accent
In a country known for its...Biltongand wildlife, the South African accent is as distinctive as the landscape that surrounds it. This accent is non-rhotic and grammatically similar to British English due to long periods of colonialism, but the accent itself is noticeably different.
This is probably because of howThe A sound often sounds closer to an "eh",means that 'South Africa' soundsSouth Africawhen you talk to the locals. Additionally, like New Zealanders, South Africans will also shorten the I in words like "sit" to sound more likeset!
