What is the best American accent?

[Mango7]

Hello all! I want to hire a teacher (American) to begin to speak like a native speaker. Which accent is better?
- New york (I wanted to have this accent)
- Southern (I'm trying to avoid it!)
- Midwestern (I don't know)
- Northern (I may want to have this accent)
- Texas (No)
- California (I don't know)
- Boston (I don't know)
- General (I may want to have this accent)
So what do you recommend? (Substantiate please) And please don't say "don't worry about your accent". Thanks!
P.S. I don't have a strong accent!

 

[PHenry1026]

This is totally subjective and a bit tongue-in-cheek: I think the possessors of the best American accent are native English speaking Canadians.

;-) Percy

 

[Barb_D]

It's entirely subjective. Within New York there are four or five accents. At least. Most of California is a "general" accent. Much of New York is a "general" accent. Much of the Midwest is a "general" accent. I'm not sure what "northern" means to you.

I certainly would not strive to have a marked regional accent, like the Bronx or Boston or Minnesota or New Orleans (though you ruled out Southern).

Aim for northern California - it's very "unmarked" and will be understood most easily.

 

[Mango7]

Thank you for the replies! I think I'll go with a general accent. By the way, what does she sound like? Is her accent Southern? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3g51xfopIE

 

[Barb_D]

No

 

[Mango7]

No

But she's from Florida. How so?

 

[Barb_D]

Only parts of Florida have a "southern" accent. Much of Florida had a neutral accent. And many, many people in Florida are not from Florida. She does not have a southern accent.

 

[BobK]

:up: My sister and her husband, for example. ;-)

b

 

[Mango7]

What do you mean? :-D

 

[Mango7]

I also watch cartoons like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfepFpOPGSc (For practice) So I wonder which accent do they have? I don't want to speak with a mixed accent. Thanks!

 

[Mango7]

Some of them speak with a British accent.

 

[PHenry1026]

Watching cartoons is a very bad idea to learn English.

I live in South Florida, where many of the native English speakers are first generation who learned English by watching cartoons. The cartoonish sound of many adult speakers here is kinda funny to me.

By the way, Barb's post above is right on. Many Floridians have a neutral accent; usually a strong Southern accent is noticeable only in Northern Florida starting at around Gainesville.

;-) Percy

P.S. I did not grow up in Florida but like so many people I moved here (no I am not a senior citizen).

 

[Barb_D]

That cartoon does not have American accents.

I wouldn't worry about a mixed accent. Anyone who has lived in more than one place has one. I drink "cawfee" but I think things are "wicked cool" having lived in New York and in New England. I have a latent Southern accent from my father, who grew up in the South. When I speak in public or am drunk, it shows up.

 

[PHenry1026]

Most people who are not faking an accent only have one accent; with fakers their true accent usually comes out under stress or an altered state.

;-) Percy

 

[Barb_D]

I can't say that applies to me. When I'm tipsy, I'm Southern, but I lived in New York from the age of 11 months to 22 years, so my accent is largely New York. I think if you grow up in a household with different accents, you get a blend. I'm sure if I lived in Georgia for a year, I'd be permanently Southern.

 

[sufler]

Why are you trying to avoid southern accents? Frankly, those are my favorites and even though I'm not a native speaker of English, I think my pronunciation and accent are much closer to the southern way of speaking than to the standard American accent.

 

[PHenry1026]

People avoid some accents because there is a negative stigma associated with it (usually the possessor is assumed to be not so smart if he or she has that accent). A Brooklyn accent is the classical example of this stereotype.

;-) Percy

 

[Tdol]

Most people who are not faking an accent only have one accent; with fakers their true accent usually comes out under stress or an altered state.

But many who have moved around a lot show features of different accents all the time.

 

[PHenry1026]

It is a safe bet that Henry Kissinger wished he had this ability.


;-) Percy

 

[trietle]

I think that the "best American accent" is highly subjective.

However, if one considers "best" as most widely studied, widely spoken and positively perceived, I think the "General American accent"

is the best.

As an English learner myself, I find that most people start off learning the "General American" intuitively for some reasons:

1. It's so popular thanks to influence of American media.

2. It's easier to listen and understand.

3. It's easier to learn.

However, if you're interested in finding out more about different kinds of American accent, there is this detailed map of English that you must check out:

http://aschmann.net/AmEng/

I think you could find every single type of American accent there.