Your favorite & least favorite American accent(s)?

Oh yes. There is a French woman at work who does the online security stuff - a shiver runs down my spine when she talks about secure email.

Anyway, American accents - which one is Loyd Grossman? That’s the best and the worst.

 

There are probably about 5-7 large categories with many regional variances. The site below is really fascinating and detailed explanation of regional american dialects and has a large US map of American dialects. The map is a little confusing at first, but I think it's fairly accurate at least based on my experience.

https://aschmann.net/AmEng/

 

I think there are seven in the state of Ohio alone. I have a slug of family in Southern Ohier/ Northern Kentuck area. I love listening to them talk . It’s different than anything else in the country.

 

I used to find women's southern accents fetching.


not anymore

 

IMO, there's way more than "5-7 large categories" across the US, at least to my ears. Might be 5 or so in the New Orleans area alone, for example.

I used to call a former colleague, a lady from Metairie ("Metry" a suburb with it's own distinct accent) just to listen to her. Then there's the straight up native New Orleans version, which is anything but southern; then's there's folks from the ninth ward "da nint wahd"; then you go through the towns down river, like Chalmette or Violet or Harvey, something else again, and then across Lake Pontchartrain, somethin' else again.

In someways, not entirely different than varying locations in England, where small areas develop their own accents over time.

I tend to like most accents that develop naturally, as in this is the way I grew up.

I've worked with more than a few Brits, and the one accent I've had the most trouble understanding is the Geordie accent from Newcastle.

 

I just thought I'd weigh in on women's accents that I find appealing- I love Asian, Indian, and black women with a British accent. Actually, any attractive woman with a British accent.

 

Favorite is probably South West. Least favorite is whatever Tom Hanks is trying to imitate at any given time.

 

There are at least three accents in PA, Where I grew up. Philly, Pittsburgh and pa Dutch. A philly accent is not a New York accent and not a Baltimore accent, though they are kind of in the same family.

 

Maine and Vermont are pretty unique.

 

Oh man, a pretty gal with a Tennessee accent just WRECKS me. FAVE!

 

I like Appalachian. Don't know what the hell they're saying but it looks like they're having fun saying it.

 

Juliette Binoche!!

 

In NZ the "i" in "six" comes out as an E, with all the associated hilarity.

 

An if youse fink proppa Cockerny iz ard to get yer ed raand, youse wanna try Scaaase.

 

I love southern accents especially women. New York ,New Jersey accents annoy me.

 

I grew up in a small Northern California valley, where the timber industry had attracted a substantial population of people from Arkansas, I think during the dustbowl/depression years. I'm told I have a little twang in my speaking voice; I guess that's where it comes from.

I generally like southern accents. I think it's more than just pronunciation, too. Southern writers have a distinct cadence, syntax, and diction. The drawl comes through even without speech.

 

Staten Island is like nails on a chalkboard, especially from a woman. Aside from that, I’ll take whatever.
Of course, mine is a generic West Coast, so it’s the most boring of all North American accents.

 

minnesota accent is terrible, everyone else is fine

 

Hey I understood some of that. Fir some reason I have a fascination with Brittish, and Scottish TV programs and movies. I guess its partly because that's where my ancestors came from. I Always think to myself 2 people's separated by a common language.

Used to watch some of the harder to understand ones (for us Americans) wit the closed captioning on. One day after a few weeks, I didnt need the captioning anymore. Picked up some of the slang too.

Parallel to this... I always get a kick out of when they put subtitles over a thick Southeastern US accent. As a native, I didn't need them.

Distinct languages with common root, so to speak.