Ask a Question
or
Create a Poll
  1. Home /
  2. Questions /
  3. Places
  4. / North America
  5. / United States

by Littlemisswallflower on September 10th, 2006

Littlemisswallflower

Question

Help answer this question below.

Why is it that people say that Americans have accents yet when a lot of foreign people sing, they lose their accent and sound American? Doesn't that mean that we really don't have an accent?

  • Like
  • Report
Share:
Other

Answers. Showing one answer.

  • by Nulinvoid on September 24th, 2006

    Nulinvoid

    Only mutes do not have accents. Everyone on earth has an accent. In general most people think of an accent as speech that sounds different from their own or what they are accustomed to hearing. This isn't really correct. The truth is we just don't notice or think about accent untill we hear one different from our own. It is very common for singers to emulate various accents when singing, but it is not always so. I find Lady Fushia's comment about the Beatles fascinating. It's interesting because she is British (no?) and she feels that the Beatles sang with American accents. I'm American, and I have always felt the beatles had a British accent even when singing. I never thought they were even trying to sing with American accents. It goes to show that perspective plays a big role in determining whether someone thinks someone else has an accent. I remember during the early seventies it became very popular for rockers to emmulate accents from the southern states. Southern rock was extremely popular at the time.

    An interesting thing about singers is that many of them speak with heavy accents and yet seem to sing with none. Of course all they are really doing is singing with a different accent than the one they speak with. Jim Neighbors comes to mind. He played Gomer Pyle on the Andy Griffith show. He had a thick southern accent, yet when he sang, it was undetectable.

    So, in short, when you hear someone from another country singing and "sounding American", it most certainly does NOT mean that "we" do not have an accent. It only means they are using our accent when they sing.

    Comments

    • Exactly

      LynfromNM

      by LynfromNM on September 24th, 2006

    • Yes, of course, but how do you pronounce that?

      Nulinvoid

      by Nulinvoid on September 24th, 2006

    • Interesting. I actually considered myself as someone with no accent, until I moved to the south of England and people started commenting on my "northern" vowels.

      Anonymous

      by Anonymous on September 27th, 2006

    • fantastic answer.

      WilAtHart is DONE

      by WilAtHart is DONE on November 15th, 2009

    • Like
    • Report

    4 comments | Post one | Permalink

Want to attach an image to your answer? Click here.

Did this answer your question? If not, then ask a new question or create a poll.

More Questions. Additional questions in this category.

You're reading Why is it that people say that Americans have accents yet when a lot of foreign people sing, they lose their accent and sound American? Doesn't that mean that we really don't have an accent?

Follow us on Facebook!

Related Ads

Related Questions

Professionally Researched

Answerbag

a Demand Media company