Phonetics Course: Do Ya Wanna Sound 'merican?

My accent is a bit of a muddle. I was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Milwaukee accent is quite distinct. I'm not quite sure how to describe it but it is rather sing-song-y in nature and sounds a bit nasal. It reminds me of a Minnesotan accent but not as strong. The city of Milwaukee was settled primarily by German immigrants so that might explain some of its distinct pronunciation patterns. Some say that the accent sounds a bit Canadian. When I visited Toronto, all of the Canadians I met were convinced that I was 'one of them'. They were quite 'horrified' to learn that I was actually a 'Statesider'.  I jest and so did the bartender who said that I was too cool to be an American! ;)

However, my accent has changed through the years because I have lived in many other places including London, Hamburg, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Bozeman. (Bozeman? Where's that you say? It is today's homework assignment to find out where in the heck Bozeman is located. But do that after this lesson of course. That is why it's called homework!)

As a matter of fact, my accent has changed so much that it is now accentless American English. I was speaking with a Liguistics professor about five years ago and right in the middle of our conversation he suddenly said, "Oh, I've got it! You are from Wisconsin originally aren't you?" It had taken him over 15 minutes to place where I was from. He was utterly impressed and said that I was the exception to his 'placing game'  as usually he could place someone within a minute or so of speaking. (Or so he said...)

While it is a bit sad that I have lost some of the accent of my youth, the benefit is that I am able to instruct in a 'Broadcast English' accent for my students. After studying with me, my students don't leave my classroom sounding like they have lived in any particular area of the States. I think this is great because I think English language learners should use their own native language accent and put their own spin on their English pronunciation.

If you desire an American sounding accent or are just curious as to how an American Accent is produced (You geeky linguist you!) check out this wonderful flash animation from the University of Iowa that shows you how to sound 'merican.

For example in this screen capture from my computer, you can see the instructions for the formation of the American English sound /p/. You have the option of watching the animation with sound or playing it with step-by-step instructions for the formation of the sound. Also, to the right you can watch a video of a real person making the sound and you can listen to the pronunciation of specific words.

Note: The University of Iowa also has similar flash animations for the phonetics of Spanish and German languages.

Final Note: Let me say at this point I am not a proponent of accent reducation courses. I think it is beautiful how each English language learner adds their own personal native language accent to their spoken English. Yes, it is essential to master pronunciation so that you can be understood clearly. However, someone from China should sound like someone from China and someone from Kenya should sound like someone from Kenya. English is simply a tool to global understanding and communication and I think that it should reflect the personal speaker's culture and heritage. Your accent is who you are and you should be very proud of it!