American accents are different from each other depending on which state you are in. If you don't want your accent to appear fake, choose exactly which one you want to use and start with phrases typical of that area.
Steps
Step 1. Choose which American accent you want to imitate
There is a huge difference between the Texas drawl and the Mississippi or Tennessee style. Accent typical of Midwestern locations such as Chicago, Illinois, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and St. Paul, Minnesota are also very different from each other. The New York accent is one of the best known, as is the Boston accent.
Step 2. Learn the typical phrases of the region you want to imitate
For example, in the south it is very common to contract the words "you all" into "y'all" and use it as the plural form of "you", ie "you". In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, "yinz" is used to refer to "you". In Massachusetts and other New England states they often use the word "wicked" to emphasize the concept "That was a wicked bad car accident." or even "That test was wicked easy". In Massachusetts, you will also come across the famous Bostonian accent. Here is an example: "Park the car at Harvard Yard and get a cup of coffee" becomes: "Pahk the cah in Hahvehd yahd and get a cup of caffee" due to the sequence of h and r.
Step 3. Watch independent films, shot in the regions whose accent you want to imitate
For example, if you want to learn to speak with a Mississippi accent, look for a film that is produced and set in that region.
Step 4. Learn the most frequent words and phrases, paying particular attention to where to put emphasis and where to cut or add letters (for example, the people of Wisconsin tend to add the sound "t" at the end of words that end in double s, like "acrosst" instead of "across", while Connecticut people say the "d" little or even omit it when it is in the middle of the word, for example "ranom" instead of "random"
Step 5. Try to use these tricks throughout your vocabulary
Step 6. If you want to talk like a "Valley Girl" (the typical California girl), use "like" as an interleave and often say "oh my god" and "a lot"
(For example: So I was, like, walking down the street, and this guy was wearing, like, the weirdest hat, I was like 'Oh my god' cause, yeah). A lot of little girls talk like that nowadays. This type of speech did not exist before the 1980s and was imported directly from television. Adults and the elderly don't talk like that at all! Some find it offensive to imitate the Valley Girl accent.
Step 7. Here are some examples of pronunciation:
- Been: plays "Bin" or "Ben", not "Been"
- Again: rhymes with "ten" (it's a short sound: ga-en)
- Often: the American pronunciation of "often" rhymes with "coffin", although many (especially the younger ones) pronounce it in English: "off-tin"
- Tomato: plays Toemaytoe
Step 8. Use short, closed "A"
You may be wondering what that means. Most Americans pronounce "A short" (a typical phonetic phenomenon) in two ways: open or closed. The closed A is pronounced with the tongue a little closer to the palate, creating a sound a little more like "eh-uh", "ay-uh", or "ee-yuh". Most Americans use the A closed before the M or N and in some regions even before the S and G. Any other short A is open. The difference in the two sounds (A short closed and A short open) is less and less marked, from generation to generation, and is stronger as you move south. Also, in California, a Lunga is used for "ang" or "ank", so that "rang" sounds more like "rain" than "ran".
Advice
- As we mentioned, the less Valley Girls there are, the better. The rest of the Californians show a rather weak accent, but living in the area, there are a couple of peculiarities: Californians pronounce "water" as "wadder". In fact, very often the "T's" become "D". If a Californian counts by tens out loud, the count sounds something like this: "ten, twenty, thirdy, forty, fifty, sixty, sevendy, eighty, nindey, and one hundred."
- Similarly, most locals say "co-ffee" but in some areas of New Jersey / New York, it's called "caw-ffee."
- Remember the typical expressions of each state. For example, in Pennsylvania people drink soda rather than pop (fizzy drinks) and eat hoagies rather than subs (sandwiches). You can check dialect maps online.
- Maryland has a variety of accents within a single dialect. Beware of anyone who thinks they can mimic the Baltimore accent - it's usually impossible, unless it comes naturally!
- When trying to convince someone that you are American, it is best to know the vocabulary used by your interlocutor. Americans say "truck" instead of "lorry," "faucet" instead of "tap," "toilet" or "bathroom" instead of "loo," and so on… They also use "instead" instead of "rather". In some areas of the North they started saying "pop" instead of "soda". In areas such as West New York, these words are used interchangeably. Keep in mind that people will often pronounce terms that are not used in your home country.
- In Midwestern speech, older people especially sometimes say "warsh" to say "wash," as in the phrase "I warshed (washed) my clothes in the Warshington (Washington) river." They also tend to have very light nasal pronunciation, such as when they say "nothing" ("nuthen") or when they use "ain't."
- Some accents are easier to imitate than others. For example, unless you're a regular or live in and around New Orleans, avoid imitating the Cajun accent until you're absolutely sure you know how to do it just fine. There are very few good imitators of this accent and the bad ones are quickly recognized by the natives.
- Learn from a person who speaks with the accent you want to imitate.
- If you are serious about learning the standard American accent, there are books and courses that offer comprehensive lessons on the subject, such as the 'Learn the American Accent-fast' course - now standard in many schools around the world.
- In Chicago, instead of saying "Where are you?" we will say "Where are you at?". Also, people with a strong Chicago accent whistle "s" and add "s" to the end of store names. For example: Jewel becomes Jewels, Jewel-Osco becomes Jewel-Oscos, Walmart becomes Walmarts, Target becomes Targets, etc.
- Remember that the same word is pronounced differently in different states. In New Jersey (or other Atlantic states), it is called "wudder," unlike the rest of the country, where it is called "wahter". In Florida it is called "wader".
Warnings
- Be careful not to offend anyone when imitating an accent (for example, if you imitate a Valley Girl accent in California, people might be offended).
- Hollywood movies made by big companies are quite unreliable in terms of accents. For example, if you imitate the Louisiana accent from the movie "Big Easy" (played by Dennis Quaid), you will immediately be framed as an imitator. Even the Valley Girl accent from the movie Valley Girl or Clueless will immediately be recognized as fake. These accents are heavily emphasized versions for theatrical purposes.
