Pronunciation characteristics of a certain individual, location, or nation. Generally does NOT include learning to speak with various accents or identifying accents.
18
votes
2answers
4k views
Where do accents and dialects come from?
Why do people in different areas speak differently? Where do accents come from, how do they change and/or survive over time and why do we have them?
Reading recommendations on this topic would be ...
7
votes
2answers
500 views
When does realisation of velar nasal /ŋ/ as alveolar nasal [n] happen along with tensing of the preceding vowel (/ɪ/ to [i])?
I have observed some English speakers in North America who seem to produce this assimilation in words like "running" /ˈrʌnɪŋ/ (as /ˈrʌnin/) or "winning" /ˈwɪnɪŋ/ (as /ˈwɪnin/). I'm specifically ...
4
votes
2answers
559 views
Website giving pronunciations of English words recorded in different dialects?
I'm aware that there are certain websites around that provide recorded examples of English words pronounced in different accents/dialects. Could anybody list some of them?
14
votes
4answers
7k views
What are the important differences between Canadian and American (USA) English?
English is not my first language; the little English I know is mostly from the USA.
I know some of the differences between British English (or just English?) and American English, and the same with ...
12
votes
2answers
515 views
What are the 'distances' among the major English dialects?
Yes, I admit, as an AmE speaker, that all non-North American accents sound the same: BrE, Irish, Scottish, Australian and South African. Or rather, I can tell they are different if placed side by side ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
Accents of characters in Downton Abbey
To continue the question started in identifying accents of British actors, there is one popular current cultural artifact with an excess of non-standard British accents, and that is The BBC series ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
How do American dialects differ?
I grew up in a very homogenous suburb, and was quite shocked when I moved to Philadelphia for college and started hearing how many different dialects exist even within one city. My untrained ear could ...
17
votes
4answers
1k views
How to explain accent variations to students
I am an ESL teacher working in China. During lessons, I am occasional interrupted by students or parents who point out that my pronunciation of some words is incorrect. They then produce a dictionary ...
11
votes
4answers
448 views
In what contexts is it important to maintain your accent or dialect?
I'm an American who lives in Germany and hear many kinds of English spoken by many nationalities.
Just as "one can either write organization or organisation but the main point is to be consistent" I ...
9
votes
3answers
4k views
Did regular Americans speak the way actors in the 30s and 1940s did?
I watch a lot of old movies and I've noticed that the American actors of the and 1930s and 1940s unusually spoke in a quasi-generic-posh-British accent. It seems exaggerated and I imagine it was not ...
4
votes
3answers
632 views
Pronunciation of 'aunt' in the US
I was under the impression that all Americans pronounced aunt like the insect, ant (/ænt/), or relatively similar sounding variants such as the southern aint (/eɪnt/). According to both Webster and ...
3
votes
1answer
434 views
In which accent does Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) speak?
I don't know if Stack Exchange is the right place to ask this question but I am very keen to find out:
Which accent has Brad Pitt adopted in the movie Inglourious Basterds for the role of Lieutenant ...
2
votes
1answer
129 views
Waiteen for waiting
While it's reasonably common for people to drop the g in words such as waiting, hating, and dating, I seem to be stumbling upon a number of Americans additionally drawing out the final syllable of ...
1
vote
2answers
969 views
American English without an accent
I have heard that in the Midwest region of the United States (Nebraska, etc.), people do not have an accent when speaking compared to people from the south or either coast. Is this true? Why? Please ...
10
votes
4answers
2k views
Has the Tangier island accent truly remained unchanged since the Elizabethan period?
I'm not sure how well known Tangier Island is outside the Chesapeake region. To make a long story short, Tangier Island is an isolated fishing community in the Chesapeake bay. It has been mostly ...
