Don't need to ask. They simply can't resist ! And if you add to that our inimitable quality and taste, the game is over ! [youtube]-HMtpvbRrKQ[/youtube]
I know I'm subjecting myself to ridicule by saying this, but I have never found my American accent to be helpful in my attempts to hook up in England. Here, I've done rather well with Brits, but not there. It always seemed unfair, since english friends over here seem to do well here. In a business I started many years ago, when my english office manager left we never quite recovered. Clients had confidence in him because of his accent. His accent seemed to transmit competence. Again, I just don't see my accent having any similar effect there.
Too many people in this country and bowled over by an accent. Especially and Australian. One freaking G-Day mate, and everyone seems to automatically like the guy and think no matter what they do it can't be wrong. How unfortunate. However, a yank speaking Spanish, or I would guess any other language decently, can fool others easily.
An accent is great. If you are talking to somebody at a bar or party it's easy to tell if they like you, if they want to get to know you, or at least be friendly. 'That is a nice acccent, where are you from?' is a very easy opening for small talk. I found my accent is a big ice breaker. If I engage somebody and there is a need to break the ice, people often go for that opening. To such an extent this is true, that sometimes if I'm socializing and there is an ackward silence, and the person I'm trying to meet doesn't bother use this opening, then I will just figure they are not interested in me and I move on to somebody else.
In Beirut, the ladies loved my anglicized Arabic. In London, I chatted up a stewardess who seemed to be rather fond of me, although I'm not sure if that's my American accent or just my innate charm. The accent works I tells ya!
First go to the rest room and make sure your fly's not open or you don't have snot coming out your nose. What?
Australian & eastern European accents bug me. Scottish accents, on the other hand, make me seriously weak in the knees.
I agree, and this sums it up. If nothing else, its an icebreaker and a topic of conversation. I have even gotten comments regarding my accent (didn't realize I had one ) from southerners when I travel.
I only heard that Americans laugh at our teeth a couple of years back (courtesy of The Simpsons). Conversations about this with friends also baffled them and I am interested to know where this came from. Is it actually a general view of the Enlish from Americans or is it a longstanding joke or something similar? p.s Ironically my teeth are actually pretty bad. Half of one tooth fell out about a month ago and I haven't done anything about it yet. Go England!
Aussie guys have it made in the US.. Two guys I know who are Australian are bartenders (decent looking guys, average intelligence) and have more stories than you can read about.. Its at the point where they even make fun of themselves for their success.
In a reverse of the original article I do find myself strangely drawn to girls with American accents. But as for them being influenced by my accent, well I've found that nothing works better on American college girls than a mumbling northumbiran accent with a dutch twang.
Oh America ! True land of multiple opportunities ! Screw Old Europe ! Note to myself : Must stop efforts to kill my accent.
The Australian accent isn't very nice. I don't like most American accents either - the ones I do like tend to be the softer midwestern ones.