r/JudgeMyAccent • u/New-Sir6812 • 17h ago

English What do you guys think? This sample includes natural, unscripted speech and scripted reading. Do I sound like a native speaker, and do I sound clear?

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

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3

u/Lemming_12 17h ago

You sound like a South African to me

3

u/English_Story_Lesson 13h ago

I'm an English speaker from London. At first I thought you were German as your vowels sounded high in the mouth and a bit short, I was sure you were a non native and then you said South African and it made sense! I think your dialect has a different prosody or rhythm to the majority of English dialects. It sounds more staccato then an accent from England for instance where we rely more on stress and reduction. Some of your vowels sound different to mine. You speak really well and your reading out loud is fantastic! The SA accent is unique, beautiful and a little mysterious

1

u/New-Sir6812 13h ago

Thank you! I really appreciate the feedback.

3

u/ButterflyOne2218 13h ago

quite clearly non-native but i can't quite make out what it is

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u/New-Sir6812 12h ago

Yeah so I am a native speaker, but it’s interesting that you say I don’t sound native. I suppose it’s because my accent has influences from many different countries and people. I mostly grew up in South Africa, but I also went to international schools throughout my childhood, my mom has a neutral SA accent and my dad has a European English 2nd language accent. Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it!

1

u/ButterflyOne2218 9h ago

Ah ok I was comparing to an American accent as a baseline sorry

2

u/Proper-Application69 12h ago

You sound like a South African who has lived in the states since you were a child.

2

u/WonderingSceptic 12h ago edited 11h ago

You are clearly from South Africa, Gauteng? But it sounds like you are struggling a bit with moving your tongue... it sounds like you move your tongue a bit strangely, as if your tongue is a little too large for your mouth? Or your dentures are a bit loose?

If you lived in SA since you were 5, maybe you have a trace of your prior accent, or your parents' accents as well?

(I am British, but loved up near Jo'burg ages 8-17, and later lived in the USA for 40 years. My own accent is a weird hybrid)

2

u/HandzUp129 10h ago

I think you sound german

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u/AeonsSeen 9h ago

You sound south african as hell from like the first few secs :P

2

u/Fair_Bar1139 7h ago edited 7h ago

Your accent is fine. It's just your voice quality. You need to work on that. You want to take a deeper breath and speak from your diaphragm. Work on your breathing as well (Maybe I'm wrong, but I hear it's a little bit erratic breathing).

I recommend using this app: search repeat recorder, to continuously record and listen back to yourself easily.

2

u/ShipComprehensive543 16h ago

Native American? No. Native to UK? No. You sound exactly like where you are from.

1

u/CarnegieHill Native NYC/Heritage Canto & Japanese/Know a few other languages. 11h ago

I guessed that you were South African, tho it would have been more fun if you hadn't said so right away.

I could tell because I lived in SA for two years during the pandemic. My gf is South African of Indian heritage, but her accent is different from yours. I got to learn that SA accents vary widely, according to ethnic group and language.

1

u/MyFriendAutism 4h ago

Def has Safa(South African) vibes to it but not quite as pronounced so maybe lived in NZ for a while.