Fellow Nepalese, I honestly need some help here. Here's the deal: I have been in the United States for more than three years now. As you guys might guess, I can speak English pretty fluently but I still have a pure Nepali accent. I wouldn't mind having an accent as long as people understand me but the problem is some people have a hard time understanding me. There are around 7 Nepalese students in my college and it seems I am the only one who has this problem. All the other Nepali students seem to have picked up an American Accent.I have been getting scholarship all these three years, have a good gpa and a good job( right now I am doing an internship as a computer programmer) but this accent thing is bugging me real bad. Whenever I have to speak English in front of a Nepali, I become over conscious of my accent and sound real nervous.

I know I am a totally loser( after spending three years in the U.S. I am writing this in sajha so that people can suggest me ways to improve my accent--I know this proves how big a loser I am) but I just wanted to post this message in sajha so that you guys can advise me ways that would help me improve my accent


Mr. loser

By the way why do you want american accent ?
When I call customer service for troubleshooting my computer and other computer related problem , i can hear desi accent all the time.....man you are lucky that you are in computer field and don't have american accent ...talk like those MF desi's and you rule.....I mean if you have desi tone and work in computer field..these freaking americans think you know everything...so chill out...grab some beer and talk in american accent.....

Mero ta tuppi nai thado bhayo.... tauko ko...

ye ama! bistarai boley bhai halyo ni, bujchan kuirey haru le... ali .. eshlowly bolne ke, nepali accent bhayeni bujchan...

... aakhir bujaunai parne ho.... feri jeti je gareni tyo nakkali american accent le kai garne hoina, ulto joke nai banincha... tyasaile, ... afno jasto cha, je cha tyai bolne, ali bistarai, ekdam naturally...

ani kuro milcha...

hey i have one sugesstion why don't you go back to nepal and and make some kind of robot plouge in nepali accent which can work itself so farmers would not have to work and every nepali can go to harvard and learn pure ANGREJI accent. if u succeed u would be the next PM means pir marka

Hey hey! What's wrong with nepali accents? I like nepali accent just fine. I don't think it's that thick compared to Indian accents. Nepali accent sounds pretty neutral.

And who says American accent is the best? I know some ppl...even khaires from other countries who find American accent annoying. Talk about accents, besides nepali...my fav is Irish :D

focus on your reading in a language you are good in. language is just a means of communication. search for the word linguistics and noam chomsky..in internet. hope it helps

I want a Scottish accent! I love how Craig Ferguson speaks in his late late show!!

i am laughing out loud reading the replies ...
i also think there is nothing wrong with the nepali accent... what i have noticed is a lot of nepalis trying too hard to have the american accent... that really cracks me up and at the same time its quite sad... like everything else in life... dont change, just improve... u dont need to have an american accent... they will always understand you... what u need to do is to make sure you dont mispronounce words... pronounce right, hell with the accent... either way, does nt matter how you sound... as long as u have brown/black eyes and dark skin, u are never one of em... so be loud and proud... and they ll respect you...
just dont over do the american accent thing... its quite shameful...
for example... instead of a regular hello.... some try to be american by saying HALLLOWWWW.... lol... sweet and simple bro... thats the way to go

bored: yea, I love the way they roll out their 'R's. Irish ra Scottish a bit similiar justai laagcha malai...but who cares..love them both. Ani ppl, stick to whatever accent you have. Trying on a fake accent will make u look even worse.

I wont the English sccent pls.

accent* And Scottish, Irish accents are SO CUTE. Lawl. Aussie accent ain't bad either!

maybe those accents turn the girls on.. but i think it is rather feminine... its kind of like how girls love having their gay friend around.... "gay men are so friendly, so easy to talk to, so sensitive etc... " i think thats the main reason u girls like the cute British accent...
its all relative... maybe the brits think the regular american accent sounds just as bad...

dont listen to immature dimwits...here are few ways u can improve yr accent significantly in few months without spending any money:
1: increase the volume of yr tv when u hear daily news....follow the news reader and speak out loud after him/her as close to their accent as u can ..do it often and daily even if it is for 5-15 mins. U must increase the volume enuf to hear the news anchor over yr own voice
2. read out loud yr daily newspaper right after u have done the TV news bit...for at least 10-15 mins..u can do this while on th e loo as well ;) try to immitate the same accent u just tried when speaking after the news anchor...give yrself 3 months and come thank me ;)

But well Idk, I wos watching Britain's Next Top Model last time, they're such a bigass coypcat and Idk for some reason their accent weren't sounding so English, it sorta sucked and sounded funny!

why are people insisting on the accent... the accent is not at fault... its the damn mispronunciation... why should we change our accent because its not convenient... learn the language the right way... hell with the american accent... au learn from making mistakes... so dont hesitate... just let it out ...
nothing is worse than someone overdoing the accent... its just not natural and the kuirays will know that u are trying to fake the funk ;-)

if you are that concerned by ur accent take some communication class or something....... or just be urself if ppl understand what ur saying its all good...for selfconfidence watch BORAT..hehe

I must admit some of the replies are pretty funny. However, I greatly appreciate all the suggestions you guys have given me. I will try to do the things you guys suggested me for the next 4 months and at the end of August let you guys know how it went.Thanks a bunch!!!

If any of you know any on-line course that could be helpful. I don't care how much money I need to pay or how much hard I need to work, I am willing to do anything to modify my accent.

Thanks for the replies.

Let target=_blank>http://www.accentmaster.com/Products.htm

Let me know if it works.....

Coming from Nepal and having an accent problem is almost inevitable. I don't think it is possible to get rid of it completely. However, you can always better your spoken english by interacting with people more. Perhaps you could be less conscious about how you speak and try to relax and be comfortable while you communicate. This should help you very much.

Imagine an Englishman trying to speak like an American, an Australian trying to speak like an Englishman, a Kenyan trying to sound English, and Indians trying to sound either English or American. There's something inherently wrong with these pictures and we find these a little uncomfortable at the least. My thinking is you have to improve your verbal skills and expressive capabilities when it comes to language learning. Making yourself understandable in a place you live in is important. Pronunciation is important and so enunciating the word correctly and stressing words at the right syllable are two important things in verbal English. You can always listen to books on tapes to get used to listening and to learn how to pronounce words correctly. Fluency comes with practice. Talking to people and being aware of whether or not they are actually following you is one most important step you can take. Don't burden yourself with trying to sound American. Would you like to sound like an Easterner or a Southerner or a black guy from the East or the South or what has been described as an "accentless" American? Americans with Italian heritage may sound different than Americans with Irish heritage for instance. My point is the way you talk is part of your identity. There's no need to be ashamed of who you are. Trying to cover yourself up because you are ashamed of your true identity is a wrong thing to do. Having said that being able to make yourself understand is a very important thing and you should work on it in various ways throughout your life.