Reading some of the comments made me think of this:

People think they know people just by TV and listening to an accent, when they don't know sht.

American t.v. says i speak normal. So there :P

Certain American accents are so different from each other that it's not even funny.

I am from Chicago and my accent has about as much in common with someone from Houston as it does with someone from London.

Slimebeast said: Khuutra said: Slimebeast said: Khuutra said: There is no default United States accent. I know there isn't an official one, but when the OP said "By american accent I mean the Midwestern columbus ohio middle class type" he tried to choose one that represents American accent "best" to a foreigner. Can you name someone who does have what you think of as a typical accent? Maybe Obama? Obama is fairly close, but I dont know how to discribe the sounds, but his "R"'s maybe are a bit too emphasized/intonated, and some other sounds too. Off the top of my head I'd say Keanu Reeves.

keanu reeves has a canadian accent

shinyuhadouken said: as others said, there is no official accent in the US.

This, more or less. About the closest one gets is the one spoken on the West coast and the mid-Atlantic states, and I'm not sure this accent has a name (or even that it's the same in both regions, though they sound similar enough that I suspect they're at least related). The Midwest has a different accent, as do the Northern cities. Then there's the South, which at the very least needs to be split between Southwest, Deep South, and Appalachia. And there's whatever the heck Sarah Palin has; it reminds me of North Dakota, but that's not where she's from; maybe some kind of Northwest accent (not to be confused with Pacific Northwest, which runs much closer to the West coast that I mentioned above)? If I really had to name a standard in terms of U.S. Presidents, I'd put it somewhere between Reagan and Obama and call both of them very close.

Millennium said: shinyuhadouken said: as others said, there is no official accent in the US. This, more or less. About the closest one gets is the one spoken on the West coast and the mid-Atlantic states, and I'm not sure this accent has a name (or even that it's the same in both regions, though they sound similar enough that I suspect they're at least related). The Midwest has a different accent, as do the Northern cities. Then there's the South, which at the very least needs to be split between Southwest, Deep South, and Appalachia. And there's whatever the heck Sarah Palin has; it reminds me of North Dakota, but that's not where she's from; maybe some kind of Northwest accent (not to be confused with Pacific Northwest, which runs much closer to the West coast that I mentioned above)? If I really had to name a standard in terms of U.S. Presidents, I'd put it somewhere between Reagan and Obama and call both of them very close.

If you want a breakdown of major American accents:

• Northwestern (New Yorker-type accent. Italian-influenced)
• South Eastern (Southern-Draw. Comes in a few minor variants such as a heavier redneck, Larry The Cable Guy style and Alabama/Mississippi)
• North Mid-West (that's the Sarah Palin accent. Starts in Michigan and goes to North Dakota with a stop in Alaska, it seems)
• Cowboy (Oklahoma/Texas)
• Cajuin (Louisiana)
• Surfer/Valley Girl (Pacific-West..Pretty small group of accents)
• 'Traditional' (Mid-West to CA which is the default voice)

There are always variants, but those seem to be the major and minor variants. Its kind of like English accents - you know a scot or an Irishman when you hear one. Same goes for other language-speakers when they learn English.

NJ5 said: The strong Southern US accent sounds pretty bad (as in cowboy movies but not limited to those)... but it can be funny too. Other American accents sound much better, and are the easiest form of English to understand IMO. The standard British accent sounds pretentious and it's not as easy to understand as most American accents. Some other British accents are almost impenetrable, such as the Sccotish accent.

Have you been listening to the VGC podcast?  We don't all sound like maxwell! 

Hell, I live in the deepest of the South, yet around New Orleans we sound nothing like the guys that live in the heart of Georgia.

Louisiana is kind of emblematic of the problem: I can think of at least three major accents in that state alone, and it only has six million people.

Khuutra said: Louisiana is kind of emblematic of the problem: I can think of at least three major accents in that state alone, and it only has six million people.

I can think of at least five.  Typical New Orleans people like myself, that have often been said to have no recognizable accent at all, New Orleans ghetto, St. Bernard (Y'ats!), cajun/creole, then Northern Louisiana folks that sound like typical Southerners.

makingmusic476 said: Khuutra said: Louisiana is kind of emblematic of the problem: I can think of at least three major accents in that state alone, and it only has six million people. I can think of at least five.  Typical New Orleans people like myself, that have often been said to have no recognizable accent at all, New Orleans ghetto, St. Bernard (Y'ats!), cajun/creole, then Northern Louisiana folks that sound like typical Southerners.

Sweet Jesus no they don't. Northern Louisiana is still very separated from the likes of Georgia or Alabammy