What Accent Do I Have Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. When you naturally say “car,” “hard,” and “turn,” what happens to the R sound?
I pronounce a clear R in all three words.
The R is usually present, although it can become weak in quick speech.
I mainly pronounce the R when another vowel follows.
I normally leave out the R after the vowel.
2. Imagine saying “far away” and then “far north.” How does the R in “far” behave?
I leave it out before the consonant in “far north” but may link it into “away.”
I usually leave it out in both phrases, including before the following vowel.
It varies: I sometimes pronounce it even before the consonant.
I consistently pronounce a clear R in both phrases.
3. Say “tune,” “news,” and “duty.” How often is there a Y sound after the first consonant?
I normally include it in all three: “tyoon,” “nyooz,” and “dyooty.”
I include it in two of the three words.
I include it in only one of the words.
I normally omit it from all three.
4. When you say “lot,” “clock,” and “gone,” what is the vowel like?
It is a distinctly rounded short vowel.
It is rounded, though less strongly in casual speech.
It approaches my longer vowel in “thought.”
It is an open, unrounded “ah” close to my vowel in “father.”
5. How do you usually pronounce the vowel in “bath,” “dance,” and “after”?
I use a long, broad “ah” vowel in all three.
I use the broad vowel in most of them but not all.
Only one of those words has the broad vowel for me.
I use the same short vowel as in “cat” in all three.
6. Which language and accent exposure best describes the years when your everyday speech was developing?
I regularly used or heard multiple languages or regional English varieties every day.
I moved between regions or gained sustained exposure to another variety during those years.
I mainly heard one local variety, with meaningful exposure to others later.
One local English variety dominated both my early and later everyday speech.
7. Listen to your vowel in “lot,” “stop,” and “body.” Which description fits best?
It is an open, mostly unrounded “ah” similar to my vowel in “father.”
It is fairly open and only lightly rounded.
It is rounded and closer to the vowel I use in “thought.”
It is a clearly rounded short “o,” distinct from both “father” and “thought.”
8. Looking across R sounds, the vowel in “bath,” and the T in “water,” how neatly do your features fit one regional pattern?
Several features point toward different accent families rather than one bundle.
Most fit one family, but two features consistently come from elsewhere.
One noticeable feature differs from an otherwise consistent bundle.
These features form one broadly consistent regional bundle.
9. Say “new,” “tune,” and “student.” Which pattern sounds most like your everyday pronunciation?
They begin like “noo,” “toon,” and “stoodent,” without a Y sound.
I omit the Y sound in most of them but retain it in one.
I retain a Y sound in most of them but omit it in one.
I normally use a Y sound: “nyoo,” “tyoon,” and “styoodent.”
10. What do you hear when you say “go,” “no,” and “home” naturally?
The vowel starts centrally, almost “uh”-like, and then glides toward a rounded sound.
There is a subtle central beginning before the rounded glide.
It begins with a clear “oh” quality and then glides.
It is mostly one steady, back, rounded vowel.
11. Slowly say “mate,” “day,” and “place.” How does the main vowel begin?
It begins quite open, between “a” and “eh,” before gliding toward an “ee” sound.
It often begins open, although the effect becomes weaker in careful speech.
It begins around a clear mid “eh” and then glides upward.
It stays relatively steady, with very little glide.
12. In “car,” “park,” and “morning,” how consistently do you pronounce the written R after a vowel?
I normally omit it unless a following word begins with a vowel.
I omit it in most cases, but a few words retain a weak R.
My use varies substantially by word, setting, or speaking speed.
I pronounce a clear R consistently in these words.
13. During a week that includes family, friends, school, or work, how much does your pronunciation shift between settings?
I move between two or more recognizable pronunciation patterns.
A second pattern appears consistently in certain settings or with certain people.
My style changes, but the underlying sounds remain mostly the same.
My core pronunciation is quite consistent across settings.
14. In a relaxed sentence such as “The writer put water on the table,” how do you usually pronounce the middle T sounds?
They often become a quick tap that can resemble a soft D.
I use that quick tap casually but a clearer T in careful speech.
I retain a recognizable, crisp T most of the time.
I often replace the T with a brief catch in the throat.
15. Consider “dance,” “chance,” and “plant.” Which description best matches your usual vowel?
I use a long, broad “ah” vowel in all three.
I use the broad vowel in most of them, with one exception.
I use the broad vowel in only one of them.
All three use my short vowel from “cat.”
16. When unfamiliar listeners comment on where your accent seems to come from, what usually happens?
They suggest several unrelated places or describe it as mixed or international.
Two different regions come up repeatedly.
One region is suggested most often, with occasional guesses elsewhere.
They repeatedly identify the same specific region or accent family.