Alfredo
I need feedback. Hi, in this video I´m sharing some languague learning ideas but the main reason for making it would be to ask you something trivial . What do you think on my accent?. Does it sounds foreign to the native ear?. What do you think about my accent in general? How does it sounds to you, native speaker?. Does it sounds American. feel free to express, what do you think about my accent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8C0Fi-5TBw&feature=youtu.be
Dec 26, 2014 4:59 PM
Answers · 3
1
First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the level of fluency you have achieved in English. I was very impressed!. I am an American and have lived in Washington (state), Hawaii, California, Massachusetts, and South Carolina. All these states have different accents... In addition, I have visited cities in 25 of the 50 United States, from New York City to Phoenix and Portland to Miami. Having been to so many parts of the U.S., I can say with a great degree of certainty that you pronounce words the American way (rather than the "British" or "Australian" way), but I think most Americans, particularly those living in states such as California, Texas and Florida, would immediately recognize your accent as "Latin American," or at least influenced by Spanish. Some things I have noticed in listening to your video include intervocalic devoicing (saying en-too-SSia zm instead of enthou-ZI-a-Zm), a few instances where your "th" sounds like a "t" and overly nasalized vowels in general. I know that Americans sound very nasal to many other speakers of English, but perhaps dialing the nasality (such as the end- in pretend) back a little may actually give you a more convincing neutral American accent.... How your l's color your vowels (such as generAL, and skiLL) also seems to stand out a little? Some (but not all) of your short i's are pronounced as long i's, and some of your v's sound like b's. At the end of the day, I feel that having a native-sounding accent is not as important as having good diction and grammar - both of which you do have!
December 26, 2014
1
Hello Alfredo, I'm English. You don't sound American. However, you say some words in the American way. Having listened carefully, I would say your accent is 'Latin American' but I'm afraid I cannot be more specific. Never have I had much experience in telling accents apart. Clearly the influences on you are American. I don't think you have had many English English teachers. Nothing wrong with that of course! But you want your accent identifying - and it definitely is not English. So, in summary, Latin/Spanish accent with some American pronunciation. Others will be able to narrow it down, I'm sure.
December 26, 2014
Alfredo, I listened to your video. In some places you speak clearly, in some places you use an American accent, in some parts you swallow the ends of your words, sometimes you were incoherent. Concentrate on the correct "th" pronunciation.
December 26, 2014
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