Quick and Easy Ways to Identify Similar Accents

Summary:

Eric Singe, a dialect coach, shares some easy ways to differentiate between accents that sound similar. He provides examples and techniques for distinguishing Australian from New Zealand accents, northern and southern English accents, New York from Boston accents, and New York City from Philadelphia accents.

Australian vs. New Zealand accents:

To differentiate between an Australian and a New Zealander, listen for the kit vowel sound. Australians tend to realize it closer to an “ih” sound, while New Zealanders centralize it closer to a “schwa” sound. A good phrase to test this difference is “fish and chips.” Australian pronunciation tends to sound like “fush and chups,” while New Zealand pronunciation tends to sound like “fush and chups.”

North vs. South English accents:

Northern and southern English accents can be differentiated by the sound of the strut vowel. North of a certain line in England, strut words tend to have a vowel sound closer to “oo.” South of that line, there are two different vowel sounds for strut and foot words, and they don’t sound the same. To test for this difference, have someone say the phrase “did you cut your foot?”

Geordie vs. Brummie accents:

Geordie (Newcastle) and Brummie (Birmingham) accents can be distinguished by the face vowel. Brummie accents sound more like a London sound with a diphthong, while Geordie accents tend to have a monophthong sound. A good phrase to use to test this difference is “David bakes great cake.”

New York vs. Boston accents:

New York City and Boston accents can be distinguished by the sound of the lot vowel. In a New York accent, it tends to be more open fronted with no lip rounding. In a Boston accent, it tends to be a little more lip rounded. A good phrase to use to test for this difference is “that’s not a lot of pot.”

New York City vs. Philadelphia accents:

New York City and Philadelphia accents both raise the trap vowel in certain circumstances, but they do it in different places. In a New York accent, words like “trash,” “traffic,” “sad,” and “bad” tend to be raised. In a Philadelphia accent, they tend to raise different words, like “man” and “hand.” To test for this difference, have someone say the words “trash” or “traffic.”

Conclusion:

Eric Singe shares some easy techniques and phrases to help differentiate between accents that sound similar. These tips are helpful for everyone from dialect coaches to cocktail party enthusiasts. With a little practice, anyone can learn to identify differences in accents that may have once sounded the same.