American pop culture LOVES these 10 accents

So after reading a ton of your comments the consensus seems to be that these accents deserve to be included in the canon: 🗣 Mid-Atlantic Accent: kind of similar to the Preppy Accent, but associated mainly with midcentury Hollywood actors and other elites who were consciously trying to sound proper and sophisticated. I feel like these days you mostly see it employed in the context of parodying old-timey actors and their unnatural, affected, very clipped and fast-talking ways. You see this a lot in parodies of “Film Noir” movies in particular. I feel like Kate McKinnon on SNL does this accent a lot when playing some sort of tough, old fashioned woman, which probably comes from its association with Katherine Hepburn. 🗣 Cajun Accent: Arguably just another sub-tier of the broad “Southern Accent” coalition, but the Cajun accent, from Louisiana, is noticeably a bit more French-influenced and theatrical. Even though I feel like it is most often used in the context of a character who is very explicitly supposed to be from Louisiana, it’s also come to be commonly associated with a certain idea of Cajuns as some of the most extreme and flamboyant southerners, who are the most over-the-top in their stagey manners and usually somewhat creepy and unhinged as well. Bill’s cousin in King of the Hill was often mentioned as a very stereotypical Cajun character, along with some of the characters in the Princess and the Frog. I would say “Big Daddy” (as distinct from regular daddy) in that one episode of the Simpsons as well. 🗣 The “Gay” Accent: this one is fast falling out of fashion but is the lispy, feminine, theatrical way of talking once associated with gay men. In pop culture, it is not always used to imply that a character is literally gay, just that they’re kind of weak and feminine and odd. So Jack in Will and Grace or Big Gay Al in South Park would be a classic gay example, but then you would also have characters like the Mad Hatter in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland or the Lion in the Wizard of Oz as sort of retro examples where a character is sort of “gay coded” through his accent. I feel like the Big Cheese in Samurai Pizza Cats is very much this as well.

If you're gonna mention the British accent, you might as well mention how the Australian accent is often associated with park ranger/nature enthusiast type characters (probably largely thanks to Steve Irwin). And the German accent is often associated with fictional doctors and scientists, and basically intelligence in general

The so-called "Trans-Atlantic" accent is also worth mentioning, aka "that accent 30s-50s actors all had that no one had in real life." Which is literally true, it was an invented accent that supposedly combined the best aspects of American and British accents. And it lives on as the 'old time movies' accent.

I get that JJ couldn't cover all the nuances, but I appreciated the delineation between the uses of southern accents. The big difference is that Appalachian accents are the ones used to convey "stupid", while more deep south plantation or "syrupy" accents are used to convey "flirty" "fake" or "snooty" This goes back to ethnicity differences since most Appalachians are decedents poor of Scotch and Irish immigrants, while the plantation accents are associated with wealthy British landowners. As JJ pointed out... the use of the accents in media continues very problematic classist stereotypes. As an Appalachian, it can be painful to think that your accent and culture are shorthand for dumb and uneducated.

I would say that we also use Spanish accents for certain characters as well. Usually confident, sassy, flirty, and sometimes outright sexual. Like Puss in Boots is a great example, so is the pool boy in legally blonde.

I can think of two other major examples: one is the stereotypical "gay accent" which, besides being used to suggest a character is gay, also brings to mind an effeminate, materialistic and sassy man concerned primarily with his own status. It's almost like a male version of the valley girl accent. Then there's also the "nerd" accent which, obviously, signals someone who is very smart. There's two main variations on it: the wimpy nerd (like Dexter from Dexter's Laboratory), who sounds like they're speaking with braces on, and the annoyingly self-important nerd (like the Polar Express glasses kid), which sounds more nasal.

I'm fascinated by how Scottish accents are used to signify characters who are gruff, masculine, and slightly foreign: the Dwarves in World of Warcraft, the Vikings in How to Train Your Dragon, Leonidas in 300, etc.

As a Japanese-American fluent in both languages, I just have to pitch in that Japan does the same with accents acting at times as a characteristic shorthand in addition to the multitude of first/second/third-person pronouns, which gives the character an instantly recognizable trait, especially in anime that take place in a non-Japanese environment (although some pronouns and dialects/accents do tend to go hand-in-hand). Kansai dialect is probably the most distinct, with various other regional non-Tokyo dialects reflecting various shades of rural-ness.

(As an Australian) I think the California surfer dude accent seems to carry over to the Australian (male) accent, with the difference being that the characters are often portrayed with more romantic appeal than their California counter-parts. There’s definitely a consistency of “laid back” Australian characters and the attempts at the accents are fascinating to hear.

When I was living in Tennessee, I met a man that was an Orthodox Rabbi and a fluent Yiddish speaker but spoke with a very thick Southern accent, because he grew up in rural Mississippi. It really threw me for a loop when he would speak Yiddish, because my perception of how he "should" sound, with his full beard, black hat, etc., clashed so heavily with how he did sound. Mass media really does kind of train us into believing in stereotypes, sometimes.

I noticed that the American Southern accent is often used to show that somebody is rural/dumb or in the opposite case with the California Valley accent showing somebody who is urban/dumb

The game "team fortress 2" is a really great example of how accents can develope a character's personality and stereotypes

golden girls is such a good example! blanche (southern accent) is charming, flirtatious, superficially polite but kind of mean and judgmental underneath. rose (fargo/minnesotan accent) is innocent, simple minded, rural, but very kind. dorothy and her mother sophia (italian new yorker accent, despite sophia being born in sicily) are blunt, rational, 'tells it like it is', etc.

I think it's really interesting how the narrative of the British accent has changed in America. The number of "Bri'ish 'people'" and "chewsday innit" jokes I hear kinda show that American awareness of British 'lower-class' accents is becoming more common. Make of that what you will.

As a modern californian: I can say that without a doubt, the surfer accent is real and present. Growing up around people that spoke like that, it's also an amazingly easy accent to slip into (though I do have my experiences code switching elsewhere due to social context).

"Coming To America" showed quite the variety of American accents Eddie Murphy could pull off, including ESL (Akeem), several varieties of African American (Clarence the barber, the singer), and elderly Jewish (the old Jewish man at the barbershop).

There's the "Evil German Scientist" accent, the most popular examples would be the Medic from Team Fortress 2, and Principal Scudworth from Clone High. There's also the "Drunk Scottish" accent, a popular example would be the Demoman from Team Fortress 2, he also goes by Tavish DeGroot. There's even a map named after him in the game where you're limited to mostly medieval weapons, as the shield item turns him into a completely new melee based class. I'd also say the Mid-Atlantic/Transatlantic, the Cajun, and the "Gay/Queer" accent but you mentioned those in your pinned comment and I like your analysis better than mines.

The only major American accent that wasn’t showcased is the “Mid-Atlantic” accent; a constructed accent used in radio shows and movies in the 1920’s and 1930’s. It gives characters an “old timey” feel in modern media. There’s also the Boston accent, but it’s not something I see as much as the New York accent.

There’s also the use of a southern accent to designate someone as overtly religious. Televangelists, traveling preachers, and judgmental nosey neighbors almost always have southern accents.

E.S.L immediately reminds me of Rolf from Ed, Edd & Eddy. Specifically, I think he makes a great example of the kind of vaguely foreign character who mixes a few complicated English words with simple grammar and blunt, unfiltered statements.