this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2026
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[–] foggy@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

UK accents that are as different from each other as they are the generic American accent.

So yeah, when you say 'British accent' that means basically nothing to anyone in the UK.

It's akin to saying "the generic American Accent," Which means absolutely nothing to anyone in the US.

[–] Einskjaldi@lemmy.world 0 points 1 day ago

There is one but you didn't notice it.

[–] Septimaeus@infosec.pub 3 points 2 days ago (3 children)

There is a generic American accent though. News anchors began using it heavily in the 80s because focus groups said it sounded the most neutral and hard to place. It’s basically a NoCal accent.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Yeah that's a midlands accent. It sounds hard to place, but you can tell where it isn't. It's not a Philadelphian, or a new Yorker, or anywhere on the east coast really (so many accents over there). Definitely not Californian or southern. So really it just sounds like the midwest (not Minnesota) or like it might be Pacific Northwest. The big thing though is it's easy to understand. Boston or Baltimore for example would be terrible accents to make the default for newscasters.

Really it's like how the BBC has an accent

[–] eestileib@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago

Nah, the San Jose local accent is distinctive and it's not on any national news.

The newscaster accent from the '80s was a real thing but it was upper-midwest. Tom Brokaw is the canonical example.

[–] foggy@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Go tell that to any linguist and get laughed at.

[–] wieson@feddit.org 1 points 2 days ago (2 children)

please don't hug them to death, but https://www.dialectsarchive.com/ is a very valuable resource for actors and linguists. if you want to contribute to the archive, i haven't looked in a while but they were accepting submissions

[–] foggy@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

The precise definition and usefulness of the term continue to be debated,[8][9][10] and the scholars who use it today admittedly do so as a convenient basis for comparison rather than for exactness

Thank you for agreeing with me, and providing sources to back up my point.

[–] Septimaeus@infosec.pub 0 points 1 day ago

You and your point maybe ought to take a little break from internet stranger fight time

[–] Miaou@jlai.lu 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

There are more varieties of accents inside London than across the entire US. You understood their point, no need to be pedantic.

[–] foggy@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Their point is equally pedantic.

[–] Slovene85@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago

You guys are all shallow and pedantic.