Voices, accents and dialects.

[TsundereQueenZephi]

For those who actually know me well enough, I'm fascinated in the way people speak. Different voices, accents, dialects and all of the interesting differences that we, as a species, all possess. The way we talk is often perceived differently; we often hear ourselves differently to how others hear us - the voice we hear sounds different to someone else as it does to us.

I love how people speak, it's also an odd quality that I find attractive - if I enjoy your voice and the way you speak I'll instantly find you more attractive, not that I can explain why. Something about dialect, different pronunciations and the variety of accents just seem so interesting and something I love investigating - I want to know how you sound different and how your voice makes you you.

But that's just me.

What's your opinions on voices, accents and dialects?

[Avatar of Grima]

I find accents interesting however I'm so blind to some it's difficult to pick up certain dialects. The hardest ones to discern for me are Kiwi's from Aussies amd South Africans because they all sound very similar. However that just maybe me.

[TRHStatement]

I'm really intrigued by accents. My family is from the south in the U.S and almost 87% have a country accent. Then growing in Texas means most people will try to talk proper but their inner Texan will always come out(Everyone says y'all, EVERYONE). But when I meet someone with a different accent/speaks a different language, I try to learn how they say things so I can try understand their culture just a little bit more. It's the least I can do

[Tomas Elliot]

You know I like paying attention to dialects, speech patterns and stuff like that. It is one of the reasons Japanese (and its insane amount of different patterns, each with its own set of pronouns, suffixes and syntax to boot) fascinates me so much as a language, which in turn is why I make a point of only ever watching subbed anime. Even if I don't understand most of the words, just paying attention to the minor aspects that give away the pattern a character is using (and thus deducing what the writers are trying to tell us about the character's personality) is something I love to do.

[mde2001]

I like accents and I'm pretty good at picking them.

However- the one thing I hate about accents in how no matter where I am in the world if I talk to people about half of them will say "oh you're Australian" then proceed to saying a long list of things like "kangaroos, koalas, wombats" like they are trying to join the I am an Australian club (which doesn't exist). Then you get the ten percent who proceed to try and do an Australian accent (of which only around 1 percent actually get anywhere close) and expect to be congratulated on their mutilation of speech.

Anyway, generally, accents are cool!

[Peepeepoopoo]

Some accents are sexy. Some are guttural and disgusting.

[Bluewolf]

Accents are pretty sweet. I also find it interesting that there are several different accents in the U.S. alone. Relatives on my fathers side have a gullah accent whereas on my mother's there's a distinct south-eastern accent. Then we moved to Texas and it's like learning a whole new language. Overall the difference in cultural of people depending on where they're from is super interesting. n___n

[The Mistress]

I love accents and dialects!

I think they add a lot of character to a person and sometimes, if they're just a passerby, make them very memorable.

[Guest]

I think accents are very cool. A language may sound a bit direct or rough, like German, but that all changes depending on the voice or accent of a person.

As for me, my national language is a bit rough I guess, but my tongue is very soft-spoken so it sounds different when I say it.

Also, people who can fake accents are incredible. I'm really impressed by them.

Especially the ones who can pull off a good British accent and a Russian one.

[BlueMoonIceCream]

What I find interesting about accents is that you always think about people speaking english with an accent but what if there was someone who had a weird combination of accents like a japanese - australian accent I think that would be pretty cool but what would accents sound like in other languages I mean I'm sure other languages have accents right?

[Deleted User]

I have a case of where I'll unknowingly pick up the accent of whoever I'm around after about 5 minutes to some degree. But normally. I'm halfways between Philly and whatever us American's consider to be no accent at all.

[Jelly]

i have a louisiana accent but not a cajun one.

[Sheep]

The hardest ones to discern for me are Kiwi's from Aussies amd South Africans

Australian: Wont some fish and chips? (Particular emphasis on the f's and i's).

Kiwi: Wunt some fush und chups?

South African: Want some feesh and cheeps?

[Etesian]

I'm pretty garbage at picking out accents, because my own accents are garbage. I learned my native language, German and English at the same time, so my accent in all 3 languages is the same, a weird combo of all 3 with a south-Serbian twist. Last I've been told, I sound like I'm almost Scottish.

[Felicity]

changes in accent are dialect are great. It's a key part of comedy, stand up and otherwise, and so I love it.

Plus I love my accent

[dead account]

I hate my accent.

In spite of having lived in Ireland my whole life, I somehow managed to pick up an American accent. Almost everyone assumes I'm American because of this. Some people also asked me if I was Russian for some reason.

[Kiroen]

You people would enjoy Spain then. Because of our history, apart from Spanish, many regions have its own language, some directly born out of another, most as the result of the constant interaction between all of them - and that creates a very wide range of accents and dialects.

There's the Galician, direct father of Portuguese, with a very characteristic pronunciation; the Catalan, born from the isolation of French nobles in a previously Visigothic land previously ruled by Moors, the Valencian and Mallorquin, both children of the Catalan yet they have grown close to be their own languages by right; the Andalusian, which was first a Visigothic dialect of Arabic, but today is an Arabic dialect of Castillian (or Spanish), which has so many variations that it practically changes as you cross some different small villages, or go from one extreme to the another of a bigger city (such as Seville). And of course, the Euskera or Basque, which has evolved independently from all Indoeuropean languages. It is theorized they were there before Visigoths, Romans and maybe even Celtics, and have managed to keep it alive through thousand or years.

If you add all the Latin American variations of Spanish and Portuguese, your head explodes. However, many Latin American call us all Spanish "gallegos" (from Galician) wheter we live in Galicia or not We are so close, yet so far.

[Caz]

As a New Zealander, I think British accents sound awesome. However, it sucks how when we go to the US we're always (ALWAYS!) mistaken to be Australian.

Edited August 4, 2015 by Chivalry

[mde2001]

As a New Zealander, I think British accents sound awesome. However, it sucks how when we go to the US we're always (ALWAYS!) mistaken to be Australian.

Don't worry we don't like people thinking you are Australian either... No, I'm not one of those Australian's who hates New Zealand. Yes, international people seem to lump us together. Funny I swear we sound really different.

[SnowGlaceon]

So I was born and raised in the US. I have what you would call a "normal" American accent I guess. Not southern, not inner city, not posh. However my family is from Ghana, in Africa. I'm first generation and a lot of my family remains there (as well as England amd other areas.)

Needless to say, I'm no stranger to accents, especially African and European. I find them intriguing, and even amusing in the case of my family members (usually when they start yelling/complaining about something.) Accents and Culture are pretty fascinating to me, to learn about and to copy.

[Cyaloom]

With a good knowledge of italian accents, I think you could find out where I live just from my italian accent: almost every region in Italy, in fact, has a different accent or dialect.

I've been told that my english accent sounds like an american accent (more precisely, New Jersey) with a lot of strange influences.

Why do I speak english? English lessons at school, of course!

[Kiroen]

Learning English at school!? That's a myth. It's well known that English is learnt through video games and internet.

On-Topic: Cyaloom, is Venetian just a dialect of Italian or a full language by own right?

[Alaris]

Of course. At least in Spain, the English classes at school and high school are useless. "To be" over and over again...

I also enjoy the dialect thing. In English, I talk with quite a strong British accent. That's the one we're taught here, but that's not entirely the reason; I also love how it sounds (I know, there are many different accents, but as a general thing, I prefer the British over the sound of the American, sorry guys ^^U).

Then in my country I speak two of the co-official languages. One of them is my mother tongue, for which I have quite a different dialect from the 'normal' variety (mine tends to use ancient words and expressions). I learned the other at school, I can use it but my real accent still pops up sometimes...

[Monochrome_Complex]

Some accents can be grating to me, but it depends on the pitch of the voice speaking it too.

i.e I love British accents of all dialects, but if you have the shrill of a banshee i'm not going to want to hear you too much lol.

Personally I try not to judge people by their accent, although vernacular on the other hand...if you can't hold a conversation without swearing like every 3 lines than it's kind of hard of me to want to talk to you.

My accent I would think is pretty Californian.

Edited September 3, 2015 by Monochrome_Complex

[AuthorReborn]

I really enjoy different flairs and tones and accents in people's voices as they add extra flavor to the standard dish of coversation. And just like an extra topping or sauce, it makes the overall whole different through its presence. Sometimes it enhances the dish and othertimes it takes away from it to the point where you can no longer taste anything else because all you sense is the topping. So generally, I adore accents, but it does annoy me when I can no longer understand what someone is saying as a result of them.