Discussions
Back to Discussions

Can you tell I’m from Hong Kong?

Icy-Lack-8201
I grew up in Hong Kong. Although English is not my native language, I’ve always considered my accent to be somewhat native-passing. However, I recently took an accent detector test (BoldVoice), and it guessed my ethnicity correctly. I took the test a few more times and I could never seem to fool it. I even got “100% Chinese” on some attempts. Now I’m wondering: is my accent that obvious? Would you have guessed that I’m from Hong Kong, or at least Asia, if I didn’t tell you? https://voca.ro/111nE2q8RS4B

11 comments

rbusch34
Your accent isn’t strong, but I can tell that you’re native tongue is from somewhere in east Asia. Definitely an American influence on your accent. But the biggest tell, is how you pronounce your “A’s” and “U’s”. However your English is great and is very American sounding so please don’t take this as something bad. I myself prefer hearing an underlying accent when others speak English.
Boring_Ad449
Your pronunciation is clear and I have no trouble understanding you You do have a distinctive East Asian accent, but I wouldn't be able to guess where exactly you are from such as Hong Kong
Dismal_Animator_5414
like the other comments, i’d also not have been sure to figure out if you’re from hong kong. you sound perfectly fluent and clear tho there’s that ever so little perceptible east asian accent one could hear. ig living in the states could make you sound closer to a native.
RespectfulDog
Idk man everyone here is saying they can tell you’re East Asian but as someone who has lived in East Asia for an extended period of time, I’m not hearing an accent except for a couple words. I swear you sound just like a kid I went to high school with - even your rhythm and flow are the exact same. I’d say 90% American accent, 8% British and 2% Chinese.
Aibouman
I can hear a hint of Filipino accent.
holooocene
The “about” and also yeah your english is really good despite a noticeable accent (it’s not too strong but i can tell). 
SpanishLearnerUSA
Look up how to pronounce "have". That was the biggest thing I noticed. Otherwise, you sound like every Asian kid in my neighborhood. I live right outside New York City and about the third of my students and neighbors are Asian. You sound like a teenage kid who grew up speaking their parents' native language as well as English. I assume they have a slight accent in both languages but overall, aside from a few subtle hints that you aren't native, you sound great. Personally, I don't think there is such thing as an American accent. First of all, there's a different accent no matter where you go in the country. Even where I live right outside New York City, I can drive about 10 miles away and hear a completely different accent. Especially since there are so many immigrants, you have MANY first-generation Americans who lived here their entire life whose accents are influenced by whatever language their parents spoke. In other words, everyone would believe you in my town if you told them that you were born in America, but also spoke another language in your house.
Inside-Hall7129
You never sound American. People around you probably assume your accent is American as long as it doesn’t resemble theirs.
cjyx
Your English is pretty good overall, but I do catch a few accents here and there. For instance, when you say "on," it sounds a bit off to my ears I've also picked up on how you tend to overdo the american accent, which just ends up sounding a bit forced and gives away that you're not a native speaker. Personally, I think you'd do even better if you just relax and be yourself instead of trying to sound American As for your Chinese accent, it might be due to the ways your tongue and mouth move, which may seem stereotypical of Asian languages. But seriously, it's not a big issue at all
cjyx
I just tried that BoldVoice Accent Oracle myself, it's unexpectedly accurate. https://imgur.com/a/Tr790nJ it says i have 7% Spanish and 6% Chinese. It does check out since i do have very close friends that speak Spanish and Chinese and we hang a lot irl. guess they colored my accent, lol
dfdfdfxxx
Your English is really impressive! You have a unique style that I find charming. I imagined you might be Asian American, but I couldn't quite guess where you're from.