What does it mean to have an American accent? The United States is a very large country, and there are a lot of people in it. Should an American sound like a midwestern newscaster? Or maybe have a strong southern twang? Or perhaps the American accent is located in the r-less cities of Boston and New York. As you can probably guess from these questions, to find out what people from the United States sound like, you have to explore multiple American accents.

The task of dividing the country into discrete accent boxes is still pretty difficult. The lines between regions are blurry, the way people talk is constantly changing and a relatively small area can have people speak any number of different ways. Geography isn’t even the only marker of an accent; people can speak a certain way because of their profession or their upbringing.

This hub, then, presents a growing but incomplete list of some of the most distinctive American accents around today. We explore what these accents sound like, where they come from and what they can mean for both individual and cultural identity.

American Accents (Geographic)

• Maine Accent
• New England English
• Pacific Northwest English
• California English
• Midwestern American English
• Southern American English
• Hawaii English And Pidgin
• New Orleans And Cajun English
• East Coast Cities Dialects (Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New York City)
• High Tider (North Carolina Coast)

American Accents (Other)

• General American (America’s “Neutral” Accent)
• African American Vernacular English
• Radio/TV Voice
• Sports Announcer Voice
• Native American English