What accent do I have?

[letslookatitthisway]

What accent do I have? How do I improve it to make it sound better, or native, for that matter?
Would really appreciate your comments



Thanks

 

[Tdol]

You need to work on your vowel sounds- I couldn't get the beginning. Reading aloud is a bad way to record your speech; it would be better if you just spoke naturally. After the beginning, I could follow it, but some of the vowel sounds are over-emphasised.

 

[Milania]

I don't think it sounds that bad but like someone else suggested, some words are over emphasized. Practice makes perfect. Keep going on.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

You have a Hindi accent, of course. Folks above have said to work on vowels. Again: of course. Most consonants are easy, many vowels are hard.

Put time into listening and mimicking. When you hear an English phrase, repeat it a few times and try to capture the sound.

Mimicking accents isn't the same as learning grammar or vocabulary. It exercises a different part of your brain. So you have to focus on it to develop the skill.

Here's an old American comedian who spouted meaningless jibberish in different accents: Danny Kaye

And here's another American comedian speaking real English using different accents: Robin Williams

So if you get into it, you can have fun mimicking English.

The good news is that your English isn't bad at all. As Milania says, just keep going!

 

[letslookatitthisway]

You have a Hindi accent, of course. Folks above have said to work on vowels. Again: of course. Most consonants are easy, many vowels are hard.

Put time into listening and mimicking. When you hear an English phrase, repeat it a few times and try to capture the sound.

Mimicking accents isn't the same as learning grammar or vocabulary. It exercises a different part of your brain. So you have to focus on it to develop the skill.

Here's an old American comedian who spouted meaningless jibberish in different accents: Danny Kaye

And here's another American comedian speaking real English using different accents: Robin Williams

So if you get into it, you can have fun mimicking English.

The good news is that your English isn't bad at all. As Milania says, just keep going!

Hi Charlie, Thanks for the response. Given that there are only 5 vowels, I suppose it shouldn't be that hard to practice them. Also, do you guys think changing an accent is do-able? I have an insecurity about the way I speak, just a few things I wanna know: Do I sound bad like other indians? That is, if you think Indian accents are bad in the first place, which I personally abhor. I used to make fun of Indian accents when I was growing up in another country, little did I know that I had one too, and a really thick one for that matter.

 

[letslookatitthisway]

You need to work on your vowel sounds- I couldn't get the beginning. Reading aloud is a bad way to record your speech; it would be better if you just spoke naturally. After the beginning, I could follow it, but some of the vowel sounds are over-emphasised.

Hi Tdol,
Yeah I figured, I should've tried to just record a daily conversation. Now that you've mentioned the over-emphasis part, I kinda hear it too. Thanks for the tip!
Also, what do you think is the best way to keep practicing? Reading along with an audiobook or trying to mimic YouTube videos?

I don't think it sounds that bad but like someone else suggested, some words are over emphasized. Practice makes perfect. Keep going on.

Thanks Milania. Will keep doing so.

 

[Roman55]

Given that there are only 5 vowels, I suppose it shouldn't be that hard to practice them.

It's not the number of written vowels that matters, it's the number of vowel sounds, and there are far more than 5 of those. Also avoid using things like wanna and kinda on this forum; they're not real English words.

 

[letslookatitthisway]

It's not the number of written vowels that matters, it's the number of vowel sounds, and there are far more than 5 of those. Also avoid using things like wanna and kinda on this forum; they're not real English words.

I see. Thanks Roman. And my bad.

 

[jutfrank]

To me, you sound Northern Irish!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Hi Charlie, Thanks for the response. Given that there are only 5 vowels, I suppose it shouldn't be that hard to practice them. Also, do you guys think changing an accent is do-able? I have an insecurity about the way I speak, just a few things I wanna know: Do I sound bad like other indians? That is, if you think Indian accents are bad in the first place, which I personally abhor. I used to make fun of Indian accents when I was growing up in another country, little did I know that I had one too, and a really thick one for that matter.

1. I like Indian accents. And there's nothing wrong with speaking English with another accent. It says who you are, which is usually good.

2. Some people are better at mimicking accents than others. Just do your best.

3. Where I live (the state of Maine, USA), natives make fun of their own accents all the time. It's sort of a Maine pasttime. So it sounds like you'd be a great Mainer!

 

[Tdol]

Given that there are only 5 vowels, I suppose it shouldn't be that hard to practice them.

Forget the letters and think of how many sounds there are, including things like the schwas, which does not have a letter, and diphthongs. Vowel sounds are more complex than the letters.