The fact that people around the world speak the same language differently is fascinating. The difference may be small but its consequence may be countries apart. A twang here or there in your accent has the power to define where you come from…or not.
Having lived in 5 countries, my accent is messed up — forever changing depending on who I speak to. Also, people can mimic accents — like in this video where this girl speaks in 21 accents — kinda putting the logical thought that accents are defining, down the drain.
Check out the video, I thought she was fantastic. Majority of the people who commented on this video thought she sucked. Hence brings another interesting twist on the “accents define where you are from” thought: how the accent differs and where it comes from, varies basis people’s perceptions. Which leads to a final point to ponder — are accents merely figments of our own perceptions?


March 11th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
That video is great! I think I guessed her true accent correctly (a quick search for her bio revealed “Whidbey Island”, which is north of Seattle) but the others are very passable if not bang-on.
Just goes to show that YouTube commenters should not be trusted as a judge of culture. Or of anything else. Ever.