Is it possible to get rid of an accent completely?

Khodro

what is your native language if not English?

Khodro

MaxxSpider wrote:

what is your native language if not English?

Swedish

yukongirl123

Actors do this all the time...

ianmia

Khodro wrote:

I've always wanted to have an American accent. I plan on moving there permanently some day and I want people there to think that I've lived in America all my life, so that I can feel more American.

I've been trying for years to practice. I've watched a ton of tv shows and movies and usually I try and repeat their lines and I will say this... my American accent has definitely improved, however I frequently get told that It's easy to tell I'm not actually American because I can't pronounce every word perfectly.

Is it even possible at this point? I think that once you're in your 20's it's sort of too late and whatever accent you currently have just gets more "rooted" in your brain as time goes by, if that makes sense?

And which of our american accents would you pickup instead cause there are plenty of accents here already and i wouldn't be worried about it.

Khodro

yukongirl123 wrote:

Actors do this all the time...

But it's still just acting. I want to talk with an American accent without having to try, if that makes sense.

nicholasd30

Yes you can if you can train yourself to speak the accent or language you want. It takes time.

MaxxSpider

Khodro wrote:

MaxxSpider wrote:

what is your native language if not English?

Swedish

well you cant say american accent because there are very many different dialects across the USA.
i think you can if you try hard but really who cares.
just be yourself and don't waste too much effort tying to be like everyone else

Khodro

ianmia wrote:

Khodro wrote:

I've always wanted to have an American accent. I plan on moving there permanently some day and I want people there to think that I've lived in America all my life, so that I can feel more American.

I've been trying for years to practice. I've watched a ton of tv shows and movies and usually I try and repeat their lines and I will say this... my American accent has definitely improved, however I frequently get told that It's easy to tell I'm not actually American because I can't pronounce every word perfectly.

Is it even possible at this point? I think that once you're in your 20's it's sort of too late and whatever accent you currently have just gets more "rooted" in your brain as time goes by, if that makes sense?

And which of our american accents would you pickup instead cause there are plenty of accents here already and i wouldn't be worried about it.

Personally, I'd love a Brooklyn accent but I feel that might be a bit too advanced. I guess I'm just aiming for a kind of general east coast-ish accent if that makes sense?

I have to be honest, I can't tell the difference between a California accent and a New York accent.

Khodro

MaxxSpider wrote:

Khodro wrote:

MaxxSpider wrote:

what is your native language if not English?

Swedish

well you cant say american accent because there are very many different dialects across the USA.
i think you can if you try hard but really who cares.
just be yourself and don't waste too much effort tying to be like everyone else

I guess that's true, but on a personal level I feel I'd be happiest knowing I have an accent similar to the rest when living there.

ianmia

well that all depends on how far south in california you go. You'd be able to tell the difference.

MaxxSpider

Khodro wrote:

ianmia wrote:

Khodro wrote:

I've always wanted to have an American accent. I plan on moving there permanently some day and I want people there to think that I've lived in America all my life, so that I can feel more American.

I've been trying for years to practice. I've watched a ton of tv shows and movies and usually I try and repeat their lines and I will say this... my American accent has definitely improved, however I frequently get told that It's easy to tell I'm not actually American because I can't pronounce every word perfectly.

Is it even possible at this point? I think that once you're in your 20's it's sort of too late and whatever accent you currently have just gets more "rooted" in your brain as time goes by, if that makes sense?

And which of our american accents would you pickup instead cause there are plenty of accents here already and i wouldn't be worried about it.

Personally, I'd love a Brooklyn accent but I feel that might be a bit too advanced. I guess I'm just aiming for a kind of general east coast-ish accent if that makes sense?

I have to be honest, I can't tell the difference between a California accent and a New York accent.

there is no such thing as a Brooklyn accent
it is called a dialect.

when people speak a different language for example sweedish in your case and then peak a different language like engligh they have what is called a sweedish accent.

when people speak the same language for example English like Canadians or Americans or Brits or Aussies and they sound different it is called a dialect not an accent.

maximbarne126

I doubt it. Whether it's some dialect word or something else you don't recognise (a word), you'll always get caught out and so it'll be obvious.

Edit : That wasn't even the question! I suppose you could get rid of your accent a bit but if it was a strong accent, I doubt it.

annettemarc

Which American accent? Massachusetts? South Texas? Louisiana? Vermont? We got lots and lots of accents and since many of our families originated in different states, and melted together, I don't think there's such a thing as an American accent.

MaxxSpider

annettemarc wrote:

Which American accent? Massachusetts? South Texas? Louisiana? Vermont? We got lots and lots of accents and since many of our families originated in different states, and melted together, I don't think there's such a thing as an American accent.

Again those are called Dialects not Accents

Jblue8298

you want to sound like you're from Brooklyn?

that's not something I've heard before

nicholasd30

As maxxspider said just be yourself. As long as your happy then no one would care if you talked different or not. You can pick up phrases and their slang but really as I said it all don't matter

MaxxSpider

nicholasd30 wrote:

As maxxspider said just be yourself. As long as your happy then no one would care if you talked different or not. You can pick up phrases and their slang but really as I said it all don't matter

I am Canadian and my wife is from Russia and she has an accent will always but over the years she picks up some slang terms and dialects.
I have never seen anyone treat her differently because she has an accent. well could be because we have 2 official languages here and some people mistake her accent as being french.

SirLance_Elot

I say you go with a good ol Southerner Accent, nice long Southern draw would do you good. The ladies like it too.

nicholasd30

MaxxSpider wrote:

nicholasd30 wrote:

As maxxspider said just be yourself. As long as your happy then no one would care if you talked different or not. You can pick up phrases and their slang but really as I said it all don't matter

I am Canadian and my wife is from Russia and she has an accent will always but over the years she picks up some slang terms and dialects.
I have never seen anyone treat her differently because she has an accent. well could be because we have 2 official languages here and some people mistake her accent as being french.

I have heard people mistaking other languages for others.
Like I said as long as people get treated the same then that's all that matters.

RMVancleav710

i say, get an audio of an American you want to sound like and keep practicing til it is natural and you lose your accent...

RMVancleav710

we get a surprising amount of sweedish in our area, mainly tourists, and its very interesting hearing their accents actually, I kinda like it!!!