Can people easily guess your accent?

[g2narat]

Here's a question for those with accents: Can people easily guess where you're from based on your accent? I have an accent when speaking in English but people seem to have a hard time pinpointing where I'm from based on my accent alone. When I speak Visayan, people can also guess I'm not from the region but often get where I'm from wrong too. What about you?

[Gelsemium]

I am Portuguese and I think that when we speak English we don't have a strong accent. I mean, in my case some works I say them using the British accent and others the American one, so it's probably a mess lol!

[Rosa]

Of the two languages I speak, queen's English and Jamaican Creole, I think people would have more problem guessing where I'm from if I speak Jamaican Creole. Jamaicans normally sound all their letters perfectly, which is something people are familiar with us doing when we speak English.

[sidney]

I'm not really around foreigners enough to observe if they can guess where I'm from based on my accent, but I guess if they're around Filipinos most of the time, then they would notice that our accent is quite neutral when speaking in English.

[g2narat]

I'm not really around foreigners enough to observe if they can guess where I'm from based on my accent, but I guess if they're around Filipinos most of the time, then they would notice that our accent is quite neutral when speaking in English.

Oh you're right about the neutral accent of some Filipinos. But some of us do have an accent though. There is such a thing as a Filipino accent when talking in English. Rex Navarete is a comedian that makes fun of the Filipino accent a lot. It's all good-natured humor though and he does exaggerate. 

[Dora M]

Generally, people have difficulties with my accent. I speak English with a slight German accent, German with an Australian accent and Spanish with a German accent. When, after a lot of guess work, I tell them that I am Austrian, they always laugh.

[pojokers]

It slips out from time to time. Whenever I speak Spanish sometimes  a friend of mine laughs at the way I say certain things. My french is even worse but I'm working on it.

[whnuien]

Other people can't really guess where I'm from by listening to my accent to be honest but I can easily guess where someone is from based on the way their accent sounds like when they are speaking English.

I used to work in a tourism so I have met so many people from different countries and had the opportunity to get to know them better than before I started working.

[fortunado30]

I think it depends on where you are from. In addition, someone who doesn't focus on correct pronunciation will show their accent. As long as it sound clear and understandable, I don't mind an accent. Sometimes, an accent sounds cute.

[Jrh2]

I don't think people could guess where I come from with my accent, most people that don't live on the island don't even know where I am from when I tell them. I live in Guernsey, I don't think we have much of an accent but we probably do.

[Lasonax]

When speaking english I usually have a somewhat british accent. It's not "as british" as british people, but when I speak in a formal situation my british tones are clearly noticeable.

I'm not from Britain though, so it's a misleading accent... The swedish accent that you sometimes hear when people speak english, is really just an accent that comes from people being bad at english. I have never heard of anyone who is good at english who spoke with a strong swedish accent. People who speak with such an accent usually barely know any english at all, and they tend to speak swenglish (as in, their vocabulary is very limited).

[Hedonologist]

Foreigners often say that I have such a stereotypical British accent, that I must be faking it. I personally don't think my accent is that strong, but I've never met anyone who couldn't immediately guess my accent.

[karean]

In relation to my provincial accent, other Filipinos are surprised that I don't have our strong local accent. I still am yet to receive such a comment from foreigners but that's probably because I've only interacted with a few so far. If I were to guess, although accents aren't supposed to be detected by the speaker himself, I would say that I have the typical Filipino accent.

[2times]

no because in america we have many tyoes of english accents. southern, boston accent (i have one), new york, etc...

you may be able to with quite a few languages but some people would mistake english US accents for a different language.

[Trellum]

Yeah, they do most of the time.  The funniest thing is I used to think that I had no accent in English, since that's the case in Spanish, but I do!  I heard myself speaking in a recording a while ago, to be more exact a few weeks ago and wow... I was surprised!  Kinda shocked since I thought my accent was so good, err it isn't!

I sound like a french person trying to speak English, lol.  Sometimes I sound like a Spaniard.  I've been told I have a very European accent, which to me translates to a heavy accent, thus not good if I want to teach English abroad

[Baburra]

I think so, especially by people in Asia, I presume, but I am guessing most Westerners would have a more general category for my accent which is Asian. I don't expect them to anyway, since I myself would have some trouble distinguishing between many similar European or Scandinavian accents or languages as well.

[GingerSpice]

I don't think people from inside the US would be able to (they wouldnt know exactly what state or area I'm from, probably) but I think people from other countries would definitely be able to tell that I'm American, haha. I'm pretty good at telling other people's accents and identifying where they're from

[joy2111]

Yes, I guess people would directly know that I am not a native English speaker. But accent is OK I guess. The most important thing is that you speak the language with a good grammar. A good grammar shows that you learn it properly.

[Preya_M]

Most people can see that my tongue is from an English speaking country. Many people can guess what my accent is (completely canadian), I'm guessing that its those few key words that we use all the time, the norm of "eh" most likely gives it away. Even though I personally don't see my accent, others seem to pick it up easily.

[angie51]

" Och Aye" Although I am a UK citizen, I stay in Scotland, therefore I have a broad Scottish accent. Which is a variation of the "Queens proper English"  due to the fact that in Scotland  the language consist of many "slang" words and also Gaelic pronunciation.

[wander_n_wonder]

There are particular countries which are known for very neutral accent and I think in that case, it's difficult to tell where you are from.  Also, there are people who have the ability to actually adapt easily to the environment and get the accent around them right away.  In that case, you may not be able to guess where he's from.

[Poki]

I live in New York City and it is common to hear a distinct New York accent. I can only distinguish an accent of someone from Long Island or upstate New York, but I can not go further than that. English in most boroughs sound exactly the same to me. Never in my life has someone come up to me and call out my accent.

[FosterTXT]

I have never been called out on my accent to be quite honest. I assume people would think that I have the standard American accent, if that's even what it's called.

[nashvilleshelby]

When I speak Spanish they often times do not know where I am from . They think that I am from Cuba. When I am actually American. I love when this happens. It makes me feel like I am doing great with the language.

[g2narat]

When I speak Spanish they often times do not know where I am from . They think that I am from Cuba. When I am actually American. I love when this happens. It makes me feel like I am doing great with the language.

Ah yes! It's definitely a good sign! It must mean that you've got the diction and pronunciation perfectly! I also enjoy it when people think I'm a native of the language I'm speaking.  :grin: