Which accent do I speak?

[Ashlander]

Well, most people i met thinks i have a heavy accent. If so, I'd like to know which accent do I speak, and is it really heavy or not? What do you think?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzGt2BEla6GWNkdfaFJ0bVFHMGc/view?usp=drivesdk

 

[emsr2d2]

[STRIKE]Well,[/STRIKE] Most people I meet [STRIKE]thinks[/STRIKE] think I have a heavy accent. If so, I'd like to know which accent [STRIKE]do[/STRIKE] I [STRIKE]speak[/STRIKE] have, and if it is [STRIKE]is it[/STRIKE] really heavy or not. What do you think?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzGt2BEla6GWNkdfaFJ0bVFHMGc/view?usp=drivesdk

Welcome to the forum. :hi:

Note my corrections above. I have listened to your clip and I have to agree with those other people you meet. You do have a strong accent. If I hadn't already looked at your profile and seen that you are Turkish, I would probably have said that you were probably an Arabic speaker or maybe from one of the southern ex-Russian states.

Reading from a pre-prepared text doesn't always give us a good idea of how learners really speak. Try recording yourself just talking. Don't prepare it in advance, just speak a few sentences that come into your mind.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Yes, you have a strong accent. My guess was Russian, but looking at your profile, I see it's Turkish.

Rember that learning an accent is not the same thing as learning a language. Becoming fluent in English is great, but that doesn't mean you have to lose your accent. A lot of people who are totally fluent keep their accents for their entire lives. There's nothing wrong with that. It's part of who you are.

 

[Ashlander]

Here it comes
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzGt2BEla6GWUXM4SDFPM3ltX1E/view?usp=drivesdk

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you for doing that. That recording was much more natural and understandable than the first. I hope you weren't offended when I said I might have thought you were an Arabic speaker - it was mainly the use of the very throaty "ch/gh" sound in the first recording that made me think that. In your second recording, it wasn't really there at all (for example, when you said "I have", you did not make that throaty sound at the beginning of "have") so perhaps it only pops up when you're reading a text. I understood what you said clearly. There are a few pronunciation issues but you had already identified that as an area in need of improvement.
For example "native". You pronounce the first three letters as "nat", as if they rhyme with "cat/sat/mat" but that's incorrect. The first sound in the word is "nay", rhymes with "say". So it's "nay-tiv".

Have you tried using Forvo? It's a great pronunciation website. Choose the language you want to hear (English) and then type in the word you want to hear. You will then get lots of recordings of the word, made by native speakers from all over the world. It's really useful.

Here's the list of recordings for the word "native".

 

[Ashlander]

Thanks, i will try.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks, I will try it.

I assume you meant that you will try using Forvo. If so, you needed the word "it" after "try".

You're welcome. Remember to capitalise the word "I" every time you write it. Also, please note that you don't need to write a new post to say "Thank you" to anyone. Clicking on the "Thank" button (as you have already done) is all we need.

 

[Ashlander]

So, now that you listened the second recording, what do you think about my accent? I reckon it is still strong, but i'd love to learn your idea as a native speaker and an English teacher.

 

[emsr2d2]

I gave my opinion about the second recording in post #5. Your accent is still strong but you're understandable.

 

[Ashlander]

Not like that, like Russian, or British et cetera.

 

[emsr2d2]

I probably wouldn't have gone with the "potential Arabic speaker" had I only heard recording 2. I'd still have said possibly some type of Russian accent. However, it's very hard for me to come up with an unbiased opinion because I already know you're Turkish. You sound like many of the people I met in Istanbul, as far as I can recall.

 

[teechar]

I hope you weren't offended when I said I might have thought you were an Arabic speaker

I don't consider being thought of as an Arabic speaker (or a speaker of any other language for that matter) offensive.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Not like that, like Russian, or British et cetera.

Not like what?

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't consider being thought of as an Arabic speaker (or a speaker of any other language for that matter) offensive.

Nor do I but in recording 2, the OP clearly said that the suggestion that Turkish people are Arabic is a very sensitive one, and assured the listener that they are not. That led to my statement, to be on the safe side.

 

[Ashlander]

Of course it is not. But, reason we Turks don't like being called Arab is that most people think we are Arabic just because majority of us believe in Islam. We have a proud history from Northeast Siberia to Asia Minor. This is like calling a Scottish English.