http://www.englishforums.com/English/EnglishAudioSpeechPronunciation/Forum22.htmBritish, American, Scottish accent or using super-fantastic-high-tech software, we'll help you with pronunciation.enXMOD (Build: 3598.39794)http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/2/dwpj/Post.htm#495463Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:58:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:495463Anonymous0http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/2/dwpj/Post.htm#495463http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments22-495463.xmlHowdy, I'm from Georgia and I say ya'll are just plain jealous. We speak Queen's English and that's it. We have incorporated a lot of Native American words into our speech but we pronounce those words just like Queen Victoria would. Listen close now, To be o er not to be tha at iz tha question.http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/2/dwpj/Post.htm#305598Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:58:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:305598Marvin A.1http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/2/dwpj/Post.htm#305598http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments22-305598.xmlChameleon wrote: I would group the major english American accents thusly: SOUTHWESTERN: Texas, Arizona, New Mexico Hmm. Texas has several distinct accents: the Southern dialect; a cot-caught merged dialect with the Southern vowel shift; the Northern accent found in the large cities, and the Western portion has a Western accent. Arizona and New Mexico are considered part of the Western dialect, and have accents that are virtually identical to a California accent, so I don't see why they are being classifed with Texas. Only the Southeastern portion of NM has a transitional accent. SPANISH: everywhere! Ok WEST COAST: California, Oregon. Probably closest to "standard" American accent, although Californians have several...http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/2/dwpj/Post.htm#172100Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:58:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:172100Anonymous2http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/2/dwpj/Post.htm#172100http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments22-172100.xmlFirst of all, President Bush was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He attended the famous college of his home town, Yale University. Secondly his accent is pretty Texan, probably from living there for a major part of his life. As for Spanish being spoken "everywhere", this is true. In NJ we have an enormous ammount of hispanics, many legal, and many immigrants (illegal workers who don't pay taxes, living communally sometimes sending their money to their families overseas) never learn English. Because they are not intending to stay the immigrants don't even bother learning english. Now businesses cater to those who would prefer to only speak Spanish. For some reason many Americans are opposed to an official language. I can only...http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/2/dwpj/Post.htm#72837Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:58:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:72837kumambachi3http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/2/dwpj/Post.htm#72837http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments22-72837.xmlIf you want to hear an accent that is fairly representative of the contemporary Southern U.S. accent, then you should try to listen to an interview with the American pop singer Britney Spears. She is from Louisiana. The way she speaks is fairly widespread in the South.http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#72704Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:58:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:72704kumambachi4http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#72704http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments22-72704.xmlIn some ways the American Southern accent might be easier to understand because people who use it tend to speak slower. U.S. President Bush speaks pretty slow. The accent used to portray people from the South in movies is not one that accounts for all the varieties of the Southern accent though. There are both rhotic and non-rhotic Southern accents. It varies from state to state. The one used in movies is usually the non-rhotic one, like the one used in the movie "Gone with the Wind". Most people from the South do not speak this way. I consider it the "Hollywood Southern accent". The stereotypical Northern American accent is usually considered nasally and loud. However, even in the Northern U.S. there are a variety of accents. In...http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#72409Fri, 08 May 2009 13:58:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:72409stargazer13025http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#72409http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments22-72409.xmlI always have to laugh when I hear references to George W. Bush as if he were really a "Texan". George W. Bush was born in New Haven, Connecticut to parents who were from wealthy Connecticut and New York families. The family didn't establish any residency in Texas until George was two years old. Like most billionaires, they have always had several residences, including the family's "summer home" in Kennebunkport, Maine (of Kennedy fame) a center of family life for the Bush's for at least 3 generations. Like most scions of super wealthy families, George attended posh boarding schools. One of these was Andover in Massachusetts, to be followed by Yale and Harvard, also in Massachusetts, following in his father's and grandfather's...http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#34946Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:58:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:34946Novalee6http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#34946http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments22-34946.xmlWell, latha, generally speaking, the rule says that between two vowels the sound must be pronounced /z/, as well as when you write and and sometimes . If it is next to consonants or it is written as a sibilant, then it must be pronounced /s/. For instance, has an /s/ sound. However, , or have a /z/ sound. But there are exceptions and such other factors as the surrounding sounds, that make this rule not too trustful. But there are some smaller rules applied to certain cases. The third person singular -s pronunciation varies according to which sound is found at the end of the verb. If it is a voiceless sound /p/ /t/ /k/ /f/ /sh/ /th/(strong) or /ch/ then the sound is /s/. If it finishes in a voiced sound, it is /z/. And, finally, if it's...http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#34222Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:58:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:34222latha7http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#34222http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments22-34222.xmlI have a question that constantly troubles me. I hope that you will be able to answer it. How does one find out how to pronounce the letter "s" in the middle of words? For example in the word "listen" it is a /s/ and in the word "music" it is a /z/ - are there any rules one can follow? Thank you if you can answer my query. Lathahttp://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#23412Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:58:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:23412Elena8http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#23412http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments22-23412.xmlChamaleon, please: "Spanish" from where? Spanish from Spain, from Argentina, from Mexico, from Chile, from...? And , if from Spain, from where? from Castilla-León, from Andalucía, from Extremadura, Asturias, Canary Islands........? And if from Argentina, from Buemos Aires, Mendoza, Corrientes, Salta...? Well, I think you were refering to mexican accent or others, probably from Central America. Spanish is so varied and spoken by so many people in so many countries!http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#23311Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:58:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:23311Chameleon9http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#23311http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments22-23311.xmlSouthern American english varies widely in difficulty to comprehend. The deep south accents (Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi) are more difficult for me to understand when people speak. Then again, I live in Texas, so I am exposed to horrible drawling all the time (though my accent is not very obvious, as verified by third parties ). The nature of the southern accent is difficult to explain. It is characterized by slow speech which distorts some syllables and avoidance of sharp pronunciation. Sounds normally pronounced on the tip of the tongue in standard American english are usually avoided unless they begin a word. Examples: gowyn => going pardner => partner (the "t" sound has been softened by replacement with "d") Vowels...http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#19013Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:58:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:19013Raul10http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#19013http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments22-19013.xmlSomething similar happens in UK, for instance. If you watch the news on TV, you will hear a "neutral" pronunciation. This neutral, and sometimes arguably called "educated", accent is called "General American" in AmE and "Received Pronounciation" in BrE. It is the kind of English most of people will understand even if they do not speak like that. Hope this helps!http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#19003Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:58:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:19003the light of the moon11http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htm#19003http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments22-19003.xml^*^ the_mystic_dude ^*^ Thankx alot for your subject but !!! i don't now what's the diffrent :S anyway i hope to found ur answer Thankx again RegardZzZhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htmSun, 08 Mar 2009 14:58:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:17315the_mystic_dude12http://www.englishforums.com/English/NorthernSouthernEnglish/dwpj/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments22-17315.xmlHi! I often hear on TV or from friends that people from the South of the U.S. are very hard to understand. But when I watch an English movie on TV I don't notice anybody coming from the South. Also, when George Bush is talking I can understand nearly every word. So what is the difference between those two variants of English? Everybody knows the difference between the U.K. and the U.S. but what about the two major dialects in the U.S.? Are people on TV taking pains to speak "Universial" english?