Why Do So Many Americans Think They Don’t Have an Accent? /u/brown-sugar25 No such thing as stupid questions

Something I’ve noticed a lot: Americans saying they “don’t have an accent” or even wishing they had one. It baffles me. Like, hello—everyone on the planet has an accent! The way you speak is shaped by your region, culture, and background, no exceptions.

This mindset feels like a strange kind of US defaultism, as if American English is the “baseline” and everyone else’s way of speaking is a deviation from the norm. Do people really believe this, or is it just an ingrained way of thinking?

I’m genuinely curious—why is this such a common belief? Is it lack of exposure to other languages and dialects, or something deeper about cultural perception? Would love to hear thoughts, especially from Americans themselves

Something I’ve noticed a lot: Americans saying they “don’t have an accent” or even wishing they had one. It baffles me. Like, hello—everyone on the planet has an accent! The way you speak is shaped by your region, culture, and background, no exceptions.

This mindset feels like a strange kind of US defaultism, as if American English is the “baseline” and everyone else’s way of speaking is a deviation from the norm. Do people really believe this, or is it just an ingrained way of thinking?

I’m genuinely curious—why is this such a common belief? Is it lack of exposure to other languages and dialects, or something deeper about cultural perception? Would love to hear thoughts, especially from Americans themselves