Everyone Has an
Accent Except Me
Alison Weisbach
Alyssa Soukup
Eric Monroe
summary of the myth
 You think that you are the only one
without an accent.
 A person believes their speech is devoid
of distinguishing characteristics.
why do people think this
myth is true?
 Nature of “own-ness”
 To be “one of us” and sound like it
 Accent is a map
Arguments *against* the
myth
 The construct of an accent is relative.
 Time
 Location
 ‘Co-construction of reality”
 Constructivism is the idea of forming an
identity actions in your life thus far.
 Accent is shaped by one’s experiences
Three Strands of Accent
 Very short consonant/vowel sounds in
rapid succession
 Rhythm and intonation
 Voice quality
How does it relate to what
we're talking about?
 How people would spell things differently
depending on how we say that.





“blink”
“bat”
Cleveland v. Cincinnati
New York v. New Jersey
Louisville v. Louisville
Myth’s Relevance to Our
Lives
 Alyssa: Working in a Call Center
 Alison: Roommates from Cleveland
 Eric: Working in a Call Center