Why do people treat me better when I use a British accent? [more inside]
posted on Dec 23, 2007 - 54 answers

My boss would like me to drop my accent by developing a Southern one. Is this a bad idea? [more inside]
posted on Nov 14, 2007 - 65 answers

What is the shortest sentence that would highlight differences in dialects and accents in the English language? [more inside]
posted on Jul 21, 2007 - 26 answers

Which British dialect pronounces R's like a W? [more inside]
posted on Jul 15, 2007 - 35 answers

Why doesn't Canada have more regional English-language accents? [more inside]
posted on Dec 16, 2006 - 43 answers

Easy Spanish-language typing with a U.S. computer keyboard? [more inside]
posted on Sep 24, 2006 - 9 answers

I'm looking for movies featuring evil/bad psychiatrists. I'm also looking for movies that feature good (West) Texas accents. An example of the first would be Michael Caine in "Quills,"an example of the second would be Sissy Spacek in "Badlands." Bonus points for contemporary time frame and female actors, but not necessary. Comedies are fine too.
posted on Aug 22, 2006 - 34 answers

Why do many German speakers pronounce the v sound in English as a w? [more inside]
posted on Aug 8, 2006 - 24 answers

Why does Windows think I want to permanently type in "accent character" mode? [more inside]
posted on May 17, 2006 - 7 answers

I am looking for word processing software that will do very specific accented-character-related tasks. [more inside]
posted on May 9, 2006 - 5 answers

LinguisticsFilter: There are a lot of resources explaining how to transcribe a language into IPA, but I don't have any that get into the nitty gritty of how one language pronounces a given consonant compared to another. Are there good resources on this front? Are there resources on how to speak in various foreign accents? [more inside]
posted on Apr 27, 2006 - 8 answers

French speakers: can anyone characterize the Breton (Brittany, not Cape Breton) accent for me? [more inside]
posted on Mar 12, 2006 - 10 answers

How do I do a convincing New Zealander accent? And how do I do a convincing Australian accent? And how do I manage to not make them sound the same?
posted on Jan 27, 2006 - 22 answers

My wife wants to be able to put Spanish Accents in on our PC Laptop however we have not found a solution. Is there one for a PC Laptop Keyboard without using that Function method?
posted on Jul 27, 2005 - 4 answers

In the US, the first syllable of "privacy" rhymes with "eye." In the UK, it rhymes with "give." So why, when listening to an audiobook, did I hear a British reader (with a standard British dialect) pronounce it the American way? Was the reader just being weird, or is the pronunciation of "privacy" becoming Americanized? Are there any other common Brit-pronunciations that are migrating across the pond? [more inside]
posted on May 8, 2005 - 22 answers

This is an easy one (I hope). Had some UK'ers over for a wedding recently, they were talking about a vacation region that I'd like to know more about, but I don't know remotely how to spell it or where it is. They pronounced it Mee-ork-ah. Once I know the spelling, I suspect Google will be able to tell me all I need to know, but if you've got information or stories, please share.
posted on Mar 8, 2005 - 13 answers

"I'd suggest ...the UK... You'll get a job doing whatever you want easily, because you've got an American accent" Mefi-Brits & Expats, have you found this to be true? To what extent is an American accent an asset in the UK, if at all?
posted on Jan 21, 2005 - 48 answers

When I hear English spoken with, say, a Spanish or a Persian accent, I find it interesting and intriguing. However, whenever I hear Spanish or Farsi spoken with an (American) English accent, I find it irritating and unattractive.
Why doesn't it work both ways? (+)
posted on Jan 11, 2005 - 21 answers

Is it more difficult to learn two or more foreign languages at once than it is to learn one? Can the experience gained learning one foreign language be used to benefit the learning of the other? And on the subject of accents, those of you who can turn accents on and off at will, how did you achieve this talent?
posted on Nov 24, 2004 - 15 answers

Is Gary Oldman's american accent better than Rene Zellwegger's british one?
posted on Nov 9, 2004 - 27 answers

What are the stereotypes of the native English speaker's accent as perceived by non-English-speakers? (More inside-->)
posted on Oct 7, 2004 - 17 answers

I was listening to sound recordings of Theodore Roosevelt's voice, circa 1912, and was struck by TR's accent. It's nasal and aristocratic, and there are hints of both modern British and American dialects. I couldn't quite pin down TR's accent to a stereotypical New York, New England, or Long Island dialect. Which got me wondering:

At what point did the vocal style of American and Canadian English become distinct from British and Scottish English? I know that regional dialects are shaped by the immigrant communities that populated that region. But there is a fundamental difference between accents on either side of the Atlantic.

Put another way, what did Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin "sound" like? And how did the generic Midwest voice that we call "American" - Mr. Game Show Host and Ms. Voicemail - develop from the milieu of voices of Puritans, German/Irish immigrants, and slaves?
posted on Jun 8, 2004 - 14 answers

So, I want to type in Spanish [More]
posted on Feb 4, 2004 - 5 answers