[General] Is he a native speaker?

[Mango7]

Hello!!! I just found this video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apUrSD1-O2Q
And I think that guy has an accent when he speaks. For example when he pronounces "so the idea is" it sounds strange. Am I right? Please check it and tell if I am wrong. Thanks!

 

[tzfujimino]

I think he is American.

 

[Odessa Dawn]

:-D

I think he is American.

:up: I think the sound of schwa in the words directly and direction in the first syllables gives us a hint that this is an American accent. British accent has the diphthong sound /ai/ here, I think.

 

[Tdol]

He sounds like a native speaker to me with a regional pronunciation. Maybe AmE speakers can confirm this and identify where he's from.

 

[tzfujimino]

:-D

:up: I think the sound of schwa in the words directly and direction in the first syllables gives us a hint that this is an American accent. British accent has the diphthong sound /ai/ here, I think.

I think I understand what you're trying to say, OD.
However, please see here:
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/directly_1
I think the difference (in pronunciation between AmE and BrE) is more noticeable in 'realization' or 'organization', for example:
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/realization
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/organization

It's not a 'rule' but a 'tendency', in my opinion.

 

[probus]

Not the slightest trace of a foreign accent. A native speaker of AmE for sure in my opinion.

 

[Tdol]

Not the slightest trace of a foreign accent. A native speaker of AmE for sure in my opinion.

From where in the US?

 

[probus]

From where in the US?

Here is an ambitious reply to an ambitious question. This may be controversial.

Some regions can be ruled out. Not the south; no drawl. Not the midwest nor upstate New York; no false vowels. Not New England or the New York City area; none of the characteristic accents of those places.

Beyond that, it's hard to say. It could be anywhere in the west coast states, or the mid-Atlantic (i.e. Maryland and eastern Virginia), or Florida which is now cosmopolitan and no longer part of the south. It could also be western states inland from the coast, e.g. Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Texas or New Mexico. It might even be Canada, although as a Canadian I doubt that.

 

[probus]

Oops, I forgot to mention it could also be the inland northwest: Idaho, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, Minnesota or Wisconsin.