When someone from Britain speaks, Americans hear a "British accent"...

[Erik Max Francis]

Mike Holmans wrote:

> My wife's an Okie, but she speaks the US equivalent of RP - the one
> used by newsreaders on the main terrestrial TV networks and which is
> commonly thought to be used mostly in Ohio and other places just south
> of the Great Lakes. If there's such a thing as a standard "American
> accent", that's it. It neither sounds dumb nor clever - just American.

The linguistic term for that accent, by the way, is General American.

> The problem which a lot of fairly-midstream American accent users face
> is that it's the same sort of thing which Brits try and imitate when
> they want to suggest a snake-oil salesman.

And due to overcorrection, typically do a really bad job of it :-).

-- 
Erik Max Francis && max at alcyone.com && http://www.alcyone.com/max/
San Jose, CA, USA && 37 20 N 121 53 W && AIM erikmaxfrancis
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