I want to talk in an American accent but how can I transition into it slowly for people who know me without them noticing a sudden change?

As strange as it may seem, I hate my accent and want to speak like an American because I think it sounds cooler and more like how I want to sound.

I’ve more or less perfected my version of an American accent on my own, I think.

But whenever I’m with other people who know me, I revert back to my old accent instinctively because that’s how they know me to sound like. I’m unsure about how I can subtly transition without them noticing a sudden change, such as through gradual exposure to my accent changing more each time they hear it. That way I could argue that I don’t know how it happened and it was a slow progression if they eventually realise it’s different, rather than something forced that I started doing one day.

The biggest thing I think is changing the pronunciation of certain words with “a”, such as going from “fahst” to “faast” for the word ‘fast’, or “mahsk” to “maask” for ‘mask’. Because it’s really one or the other, there’s no in-between. I feel like for most other sounds, a gradual transition into more American sounds can be possible, but that one’s like, how can I make the plunge and will people notice it straight away and think it’s weird?

orbital,
@orbital@infosec.pub avatar

As an American myself, I encourage you to keep your natural accent. We’re a nation of immigrants built from people who originated all over the world. So there’s not just one recognizable accent here. Nobody’s accent is superior to others. I’ve known people from other countries who are self conscious about their accents. In response, I tell them honestly that I appreciate the way they sound. Variety is the spice of life, as the saying goes.

darmabum,

Aza 'Merican maseff,… um, maybe try for mid-Atlantic.

livus,
livus avatar

OP doesn't actually live in the US themselves, they just want to sound like an American.

LanternEverywhere,

Don't make the same mistake that Ross from Friends did!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BmTUOuXPlnA&t=55s

Fecundpossum,

My sibling in Christ, just relax and be yourself. You’ll pick up the accent more and more over time, that’s how it works. Forcing it is disingenuous. Imagine if my goofy midwestern ass moved to the UK and started to try to speak with Brits forcing their accent.

Deceptichum,
Deceptichum avatar

Mate, I don’t think he’s even moved.

So this is like if you started talking in a British accent in your midwestern location.

How truly fucking bizarre OP is.

idiomaddict,

OP sounds young. Kids are weird, but this is harmless and they’re clearly embarrassed about it.

Fecundpossum,

I think they just wanna fit in, which is a totally relatable feeling. But I promise, this is not the way you want to fit in.

idiomaddict,

No, it’s not how to fit in. I don’t think calling them bizarre is going to help the situation though. They’re not bizarre, they’re just looking for approval the wrong way.

I think it’s probably more to stand out in a cool way, but it’s still not going to happen like this. The problem with “cool” is that it’s nebulous and there’s no formula for it. I would not be able to be cool while obviously faking an accent, but someone who’s really cool might still be able to pull it off. Hell, I have a genuine American accent in another country (a pretty light one) and I can’t embrace it enough for it to be cool.

What’s really hard to learn is that OP’s not going to be cool until OP is cool with themselves, and that’s difficult to do when surrounded by people who don’t think you’re cool. That’s why most people get cooler when they leave high school, and that’s also why people tend to get nicer.

Fecundpossum,

Please accept one Reddit silver I have leftover from when I still used Reddit. Very good insights here.

idiomaddict,

Thank you, that’s really sweet!

LemmyIsFantastic,

Actors do this shit all the time. It’s absolutely doable with practice.

TheWoozy,

Actors usually pay for professional dialect coaching. Before the practice became common place it was amusing to watch British actors play Americans using terrible accents. I know it applies the other way around, but I’d have a harder time noticing it.

Jakdracula,
@Jakdracula@lemmy.world avatar

You would notice if you watched Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins

canihasaccount,

There are still people who have terrible American accents in media. Lucifer’s twin, for example, was so ridiculously bad. The only person without an American accent who I’ve ever seen pull one off in media was Hugh Laurie in later seasons of House. I still find most attempts amusing, even with coaching.

yenahmik,

This reminded me of my first year at uni when a guy decided to speak in a fake British accent, I guess to sound cooler. Unfortunately for him, we could all tell it was fake and that made him decidedly uncool (and the butt of a lot of jokes). I think he gave it up after a couple of weeks.

The fact is, the coolest thing you can do is be confident in yourself (including how you sound when speaking naturally).

EditsHisComments,

I had some friends in Munich who were brothers, just two or three years apart. They both grew up learning British English, but one eventually participated in an exchange program in Canada while the other participated in one in Australia. When they came back, their English accents were completely different from each other - no matter how hard they tried to sound similar to each other. In the end, everyone though it was unique and kind of fun since one brother would sometimes use slang the other didn’t understand.

Point being, OP, is to do what feels natural. Ultimately, it’s your voice, but you’ll pick up certain things here and there that naturally change your way of speaking over time.

guy_threepwood,

Not forcing things is generally pretty good life advice. It’s like a fart: if you have to force it it’s probably shit.

TheHotze,

Two options, just tell them that you want to practice your American accent, or use it when you quote your friends. The second one works best if it’s close friends who enjoy making fun of each other a bit.

Flax_vert,

What country are you from and what’s your original accent?

ThrowawayPermanente,

We sound stupid though…

Chetzemoka,

Singing lessons. I’m honestly not even kidding.

I’m an American who grew up in a part of the country called Appalachia. My native accent is often associated with being uneducated and stupid, so I learned how to change it when I was a young adult.

The thing that helped me most was voice lessons that taught me how to control the muscles in the nasopharynx, throat, tongue. The reason that’s difficult is because you can’t see the way those muscles move when someone else speaks or sings, so you can’t just mimic what they’re doing. It takes a little bit more effort to learn.

Learning how to sing classical western music (opera type stuff) allowed me to learn how to speak in that kind of just generic Midwestern American accent that has less negative social associations.

Now, that being said, I also have Indian friends who grew up in the United States who still speak with a similar Indian accent as their immigrant parents, and it’s really no big deal. So you could just roll with your native accent.

(And also, I still code switch back into my native accent when I’m talking to my family or I visit my home region. Your native accent never goes away even when you learn a different way of speaking.)

BananaTrifleViolin,

Are you in the US? If so it makes a bit of sense if you want to “fit in” socially, but it’s also fine if you just like the accents. If you don’t live in the US then it might seem bizarre to people if you switch up your english accent (whatever it currently is). Bare that in mind.

But it’s your life, you do what you want. Plenty of people have elocution lessons for various reasons. If you feel embarrassed for whatever reason then tell people you’re taking elocution lessons. You could tell them you’ve chosen an American accent as you like the sounds, or it helps you project confidence or even because you feel it will open doors for you when communicating with other English speakers as it will remove bias or prejudice against your current accent.

There are lots of ways of justifying it if you feel the need. But hopefully your friends and family will just understand if you say you just like the way it sounds.

Cinner,

From their description of words they sound Swedish or something, which I think is sexy af and American is just normal and boring, but… I’m an American, living in America.

Chickenstalker,

Step 1: Buy a gun

Corkyskog,

Step 2: If anyone looks at you funny while speaking, just pull your gun out, aim it at the ceiling and go “Yeehaw!” Fire a half a dozen shots, and do a little jig before reholstering your gun

I can almost guarantee know one will press you further about the speech issue.

Algaroth,

Step 3: Wear a cowboy hat and refer to people as pardner.

BallsInTheShredder,

Why are you talking about me

Algaroth,

Howdy pardner. Nice ass

BallsInTheShredder,

Thanks kindly cowpoke but that’s just Eddie Murphy

Algaroth,

Nevermind. I thought it was mister T.

hmancuso, (edited )
@hmancuso@lemmy.world avatar

I won’t go into the reasons why you’re doing that. Instead, I’ll just focus on your plans, because I don’t think a gradual change of accent will go unnoticed. Just do it. Embrace the American accent you love so much and live it to the fullest. And if anyone asks you what happened, just say you’re tired of your own accent and are trying something new. Explain it clearly to others and own up to it. This will make you feel good because you’re being honest by telling others why you have decided to change.

However, you should bear in mind that a language is much more than just an accent. It also includes people’s choice of words and idioms and expresses the way they see the world. It would be strange if I decided to speak Brazilian Portuguese with a Portuguese accent (from Portugal). Those who know me would be confused because this “Portuguese character” in me speaks the local language perfectly with the wrong accent. How come?

Fondots,

So first of all, which American accent? There’s no single accent.

Secondly, if you try to transition slowly, odds are you’re going to get made fun of a whole lot along the way for nearly every single American pronunciation you make, because each individual change will stick out more in context. so we’re talking about months or years of people thinking you’re weird, stupid, or have some kind of speech impediment instead of getting it all out of the way in one go. I have a fairly strong Philadelphian accent, and even here in my home turf I’ve had the odd person try to make fun of my pronunciation of things like “water” (wooder,) generally it’s pretty good-natured fun, but once in a while you get some asshole with a stick up their ass about proper pronunciation. You’re setting yourself up for a long time of that, and it will only get worse up until you’re actually able to pass as an American.

Third, don’t try to be cool, it never works. The coolest thing out there really is just having the right amount of confidence. Trying to change your accent because it sounds cooler kind reeks of trying too hard, like weebs sprinkling way too much Japanese into their conversations for no good reason, or people using big words to sound smarter, or whatever the fuck Elizabeth Holmes does with her voice. It’s basically the verbal of equivalent of a neckbeard wearing a fedora (is that still a thing or am I dating myself?)

If you’re actually dead-set on changing your accent, the best way is to just live in America and immerse yourself in it and come into it naturally, and you’ll pick it up, and then it gives you a solid reason to say how/why you picked it up. You’re going to need to spend some significant time here though, months at a minimum, probably years, otherwise at best people will just think you’re an obnoxious, maybe naive weirdo who’s huffing their own farts about how well-traveled they are, or at worse think you’re some sort of weeaboo type obsessive nutjob about America (Google “Rawhide Kobayashi” and you’d get a pretty good sense of how people might think of you)

Last thoughts on the matter, if there’s American slang you like, go ahead and use it, but do it naturally, don’t force it. I sprinkle all kinds of weird shit into my speech that I’ve picked up from all over the place, things I’ve read, heard others say, movies, tv, the internet, but it’s never been a conscious choice, it just happens naturally, trying to force it never makes it feel natural. “Stop trying to make fetch happen.”

VulKendov,
@VulKendov@reddthat.com avatar

Stop trying to make fetch happen

FU I swear I will make fetch happen, I just need my dog to understand how that they need to bring the ball back.

Jakdracula,
@Jakdracula@lemmy.world avatar

Now explain “jawn” to him.

BeatTakeshi, (edited )
@BeatTakeshi@lemmy.world avatar

Your approach is defeating your purpose. Muricans would be loud and outspoken so everyone around knows

BallsInTheShredder,

>ahm chayngin’ mAh acceent

    • American*
arbitrary_sarcasm,

You don’t really say why you don’t want your close ones to realize that you’re picking up an American accent. Maybe it’s just fear about being ridiculed?

If you’re looking for justification for changing your accent, there’s definitely arguments that can support you. But the important thing is for you to understand that you can do whatever makes you happy. And if your friends are any good, they’ll understand that.

_dev_null,
@_dev_null@lemmy.zxcvn.xyz avatar

Foreign accent syndrome:

a medical condition in which patients develop speech patterns that are perceived as a foreign accent[1] that is different from their native accent, without having acquired it in the perceived accent’s place of origin.

Foreign accent syndrome usually results from a stroke,[1] but can also develop from head trauma,[1] migraines[2] or developmental problems.[3] The condition might occur due to lesions in the speech production network of the brain, or may also be considered a neuropsychiatric condition.[4] The condition was first reported in 1907,[5] and between 1941 and 2009 there were 62 recorded cases.

Here’s to becoming number 63!

theKalash,

There is not a slow enough change for that to unnoticed. People will notice.

Also … just why? Why American? There are so many nice accents to choose.

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