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What gives it away?

AFriendlyPal
Hi, Hello, Welcome I come from a non native English speaking country and by those around me I've been told that I speak English well. My whole life I've believed that I had a non discernible English accent, however one go of the **Oracle Accent** and suddenly I'm questioning all of that. Id like to have a non discernible English accent. There isn't much of a deep reason behind that. I think it would be cool. So if you can, help me understand what gives it away, and how I can improve upon my accent so that it doesn't sound discernible. I listened to the audio, and oh boy there's a lot of lip smacking. Sorry about that. [https://voca.ro/1ojeaYFiuAm6](https://voca.ro/1ojeaYFiuAm6) here's a clip of me talking Thanks in advance! **Transcription:** \[Lip smack\] Hi, Hello, Welcome \[Audio strangely decreases\] I'm new around here. I tried accent oracle the other day. Its uh... thing where you *sss*ay a sentence and then an AI guesses where you're from. I was crushed... It guessed first try exactly where I was from **just** from my accent. And I thought I had a pretty good- \[relives pain\] -non discernible English accent. So it crushed me a bit... Uhhmm, I'm hoping that someone... uh (well) to see if... \[Nervous exhale\] anyone can explain to me what it is that's discernible about my accent and if anyone can even guess, where I'm from based of my accent. I hope to learn what **exactly** is giving it away. \[Lip smacks\] Now I'm gonna read some things here! \[Obligatory throat clear before reading\] *A wizard is never late. Nor is he early. He arrives* ***precisely*** *when he means to. - (Gandalf, Fellowship of the ring.)* *Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. - (Gandalf, Also Fellowship of the ring.)* *All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. - (Gandalf, also also Fellowship of the ring.)* \[Pause\] There you go, my mouths a bit dry I hope that doesn't... Impact anything. **End of transcription**

8 comments

SpanishLearnerUSA•
Your accent is extremely non-discernible. I would probably have to talk to you for a minute before I start wondering where you were from, and I wouldn't be able to guess. As someone who lives right outside New York City and interacts with immigrants all day every day, you sound like someone who moved to the United States as a child. You have a non-native accent, but it's subtle.
Stunning_Tea4374•
I would have said somewhere from East Asia but maybe it's just that I associate certain voices with East Asian accents lol
BrackenFernAnja•
One of the most noticeable things in this recording is your pronunciation of the word *accent.* I almost never hear any recordings in this sub in which this word is pronounced like a native speaker says it. Almost everyone does what you have done, which is to say it like “aks-hunt.” In American English, most people say “akk-sent.” There are some other indicators, all very subtle. I can go into them, but it will be much easier to be precise if I can use the International Phonetic Alphabet. Are you familiar with it?
Ok-Success-2122•
East Asian would be my guess. Someone whose original language is Chinese or Korean but has learnt American English.
Admirable-End-8208•
Yes oracle is pretty accurate. I learned rp accent and lived in UK for many years, although I think my accent is a mix of Chinese and rp but oracle just said 100% Chinese. I think it is very strict in picking up accent 🤔
freegumaintfree•
For me, its the vowel space (your vowels are more steady that the average American) and the way you pronounce /t/ in the various positions. I do not think you are East Asian, but more Middle Eastern. But it’s just a guess.
Hungry_Mouse737•
I would say chinese.
Moonraker74•
Most others here are guessing East Asia somewhere - my guess on first listening to your audio was Eastern Europe, but I now suspect that's going to be wrong. That being said, your English is great - grammar and use of idiom and general fluency are all spot-on. You do have a discernible accent, yes, but it's not strong and is in no way a barrier to comprehension. Your accent is good enough that it's clear that you're going for a General American accent than an RP/Standard Southern British accent.