What exactly is an American "accent"

Question

I've heard that people from foreign countries (or continents more or less) say that Americans have accents. I live in the midwest USA and I don't think we have any accent to speak of (no pun intended), or is it just that since I speak like this everyday and are always around people who speak like me it doesn't seem like it to me?

Answer 1

i think it's along the same lines as if we was to say he has a british accent or a southern accent. you don't reli your accent because you have spoke it your whole life. i'll go to a different state and people will say i have an accent and ask where i am from.

Answer 2

Its just cause you hear it everyday it doesn't sound like an accent to you. Trust me British people don't think they have an accent either they think every one else the ones with weird accents same goes for all the other countries in the world

Answer 3

We all have accents ... you don't sound like someone from Boston someone from boston doesn't sound like someone from Georgia etc.etc.

    So really there is no one specific American accent ... different regions have different accents.

Answer 4

What I like about America is that there is no one universal "American accent", but rather a great variety of regional dialects depending on what part of the country you are in.  The Great Lakes region and Midwest do tend to have what is considered to be a more stereotypical American accent, the kind you hear on newscasts and soap operas.  However, it is still an accent to people hearing it from other areas.  Of note, if you head into the far northern Midwest, like Wisconsin and Minnesota, the accent becomes quite a bit more heavy.

Answer 5

There is no distinct American accent. For example, New York City, the south, the midwest, the west, and New England all have different accents.

Answer 6

An accent in general is just the sound of how the voice is heard from ppl in different regions of the country that have a similar tone compared to someone of a different region of the world or state.

Answer 7

I guess an American Accent would be, not their accent. If your accent is not from their country or something recognizable, then I guess it is American.

=]

Answer 8

Some people say Americans have a more nasally way of speaking.  

Answer 9

It doesn't sound like an accent to you because you're used to hearing it all the time. People in the UK don't hear an accent when they talk, either... British accents are the norm to them, just like American accents are the norm to us. An "accent" is anything you're not used to hearing on a regular basis.