Anyone else have a hard time distinguishing accents?
Posted by g0Ids0undz@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 7 comments
I’m from US in AUS and today, for the third time, I have met an American and didn’t realize they were American until they pointed it out. Not sure why I didn’t immediately know by their accent..
I am surrounded by so many accents these days it’s getting harder to tell them apart.
DutchieinUS@reddit
You don’t recognize an American accent? As an American? How is that possible?
i-love-freesias@reddit
Complete nonsense. If you’re American, you know an American accent.
DutchieinUS@reddit
Right?? My guess is that OP’s next comment will be “I’ve built an app that helps you to recognize accents”.
elijha@reddit
I mean I guess there’s some “you don’t recognize water? As a fish?” to it all but yeah, still…
Silver_Mud_4975@reddit
Totally get the struggle — it gets harder the more accents you're surrounded by, not easier. And honestly I don't think there's anything wrong with just asking where someone's from? It comes from genuine interest, and most people are happy to share. You learn with time.
The UK is a good example of how wild it can get — accents change properly between towns 20 minutes apart. Liverpool and Manchester are basically next door and sound nothing like each other, and locals can often pin down which side of a city someone grew up on. Once your ear is calibrated for that level of granularity, broader categories like "American" start to feel surprisingly broad.
I am no expert by any means in recognizing accents yet (living in UK) but I can see considerable improvement with time :) good luck, it gets easier!
ItsReemAlBlahBlahDee@reddit
Not really. While some words may phonetically sound the same, accents and dialects are all pretty distinct. But then again most of my American friends have a tough time distinguishing between different accents. With exposure you’ll learn.
Prisoner_of_the_road@reddit
Trust me, it’s even tougher if English isn’t your first language