How to Sound Like a Californian: California Accent Pronunciation Guide

Overview

Californians speak with a more open mouth, often not closing the mouth at the end of a sentence. Try this:

Say the following sentence clearly:
I can’t believe you did that!

Now, say the same sentence, but leave your mouth open at the end. It sounds more like:
I can’t believe you did tha!

Some Californians (especially younger ones and those from Los Angeles/Southern California) also tend to raise their voice at the end of a sentence so that the sentence sounds like a question.
” I don’t really like seafood.” becomes “I don’t really like seafood?”

Many Californians clearly produce the “r” sound, which is not true of some other parts of the United States. For example, the word “really” stresses the “r” a lot, so it sounds like “rrrreally.”

Vowels

Californians often do not distinguish from some vowels. For example, look at the following words with the “e” sound:
wreck, kettle, really

In California English, these words sound more like wrack and kattle and rally.

The same can happen with the “oo” sound. For example, think of the following words:
book, look, put
These can sound more like buck, luck, and putt.

Vocal Fry

Vocal fry is when the voice is very low and when the end of a word is pronounced in short, cut sounds. You’ve probably never heard of it. . . but you’ve probably heard it.

The Cali accent is most commonly associated with women but what about the guys? The truth is that the California accent is most often attributed to females; however, men of course have an accent as well. They take on many of the traits that are expressed by women.

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