Accent Issues
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You are currently reading a thread in /adv/ - Advice
You are currently reading a thread in /adv/ - Advice
I'm Asian. I sound pretty American as I practice really hard but there is this really annoying Asian undertone that will never go away no matter how hard I try. It doesn't matter whether I am speaking English or another language or just singing - the Asian undertone is always there. How to get rid of the "Asianess" in my voice? Nobody likes an Asian accent as opposed to other non-native English accents which are perceived as "sexy" and "exotic" by the general public. Nobody will think of an Asian accent as sexy, even if it's an American accent tainted with a bit of "Asianess". For goodness sake, I can never win a singing competition simply because of my accent (i.e. it makes what I am singing sound terrible).
>>16918790
my gf has the same problem, shes gotten better since we started living together because she practices all the time with me
>>16918790
That "asianness" is hard to change, it has more to do with facial structure affecting tone. Over time I guess it may help to try and imitate speech and mouth movement of native speakers.
>>16918822
But a lot of Asians who grew up in America sound fully American.
>>16918820
See? It is a "problem". I absolutely loathe my voice because there is nothing I can do about it. It is something that I am plagued with for my entire life.
>>16918830
dont worry its just a practice thing, make sure you are using english a lot and are speaking with fluent native speakers and not just other asians
its funny because you write like her too, are you from near shanghai by any chance
>>16918822
this
you're doomed
it's ok though
>>16918790
Go to speech therapy, they will teach you how to pronounce words from the ground up.
If you're this worried, it may be worth the investment.
>>16918838
I can speak English fluently. It's just that this Asian overtone is always there no matter how hard I try.
No. Is my grammar that shit? I'm just really lazy at the moment and I can write much better sentences.
>>16918839
It's NOT ok. There are a lot of Asian kids born in America who speak with no accent.
>>16918856
no I dont mean in terms of fluency, I mean in terms of the accent, it fades when you practice it since you naturally mimick the sounds of the people you're around. I mean practice speaking to fade the accent not get better at english
and its not that your grammar is shit, its that its pretty much perfect and very formal which is not something native speakers usually do
>>16918860
I feel like writing formally today. Sometimes I don't care about spelling errors and shit like that.
>>16918943
I'm the guy with a gf in the same situation still lurking here is there anything else I can offer
if it means anything to you I personally find her accent extremely sexy, I get her to read to me in mandarin softly when we snuggle in bed sometimes
>>16918790
So what rock it you'll smooth it out in time.
>>16918790
try to copy a british singer or actor.
encorporate his personality while speaking.
helped me.
Sorry if a spelled something wrong, english is not my mother tongue.
>>16918949
>I personally find her accent extremely sexy
Impossible, because nobody finds Asian accents attractive. European ones? Yup. Asian ones? Not so much.
>mfw the cantonese accent sounds terrible in english, mandarin, and pretty much every other language
>>16918956
I did this and the Asian undertone is still there!
>>16918958
So fucking true. Why god.
Your palate sets around the age of 9-10, and this affects your enunciation. There is nothing you can do about it.
>nobody will think of it as sexy
Well, everyone has armpit hair and nobody thinks armpit hairs are sexy either. Focus and accentuate the sexy attributes you do have instead of being hung up on and blaming everything on the accent.
>singing
Singing involves a completely different technique that is very different to ordinary enunciation, taking actual singing lessons might help.
>>16918960
well, look.
First of all dont let that amuse you, you are an asian... we Brazilians already consider y'all as expert masters of the world since you can do impossible things. Its good to improve something on you, but its important to keep a positive line of tought... Focus on the things you are good on...
After that, why dont you try to move to england? Is much easier to gain a british assent that an american one
Sorry if a spelled something wrong, english is not my mother tongue.
>>16918967
>>16918971
OP here. Yeah I loathe my voice. I learned English at a really young age.
My accent is definitely not heavy but apparently a teeny-weeny bit of "Asianess" is already a turn-off.
>>16918958
I dont know what to tell you other than I find her voice very sexy
its not like I have yellow fever or anything too, I'm not a weaboo or shit like that
she has a bit of british english mixed in with it though since she's been at cambridge for a while
>>16918973
Do you speak Spanish? How is my Spanish?
>>16918432
>mfw I sound terrible in Spanish as well
It is very difficult for me to fake a British accent.
>>16918978
is this you talking OP? post an english vocaroo
>>16918978
ptbr >>>> spanish
sorry m8
>>16918979
Yeah that is me
I'm outside so I can't record my voice at the moment.
>>16918958
There's no getting around it. It's an ugly accent. I won't lie to you OP. Work on the rest of your package like being fit, pretty, cool, to make up for it.
You can train this away, look at the countless of hollywood actors from non-english speaking countries who can sound absolutely english native.
I assume you're not up for payin for vocal coaching, what you should do is record yourself speaking some common sentence, play it back, listen and try to pin point exactly what specific sounds you're not happy about, and compare to someone native saying it and try to mimic.
Keep doing this and keep recording yourself and you will eventually find a new way to say things. Then do another sentence, and then another etc.
You don't have to go through every sentence possible like this, it's just an exercise to teach yourself to pronounce things the way you want to. It takes time and effort but you can do it.
>>16918790
can't be fixed, I can tell people are asian even when they grew up in the west
