I'm a Jersey girl, but I never acquired the accent. If anything, I probably have some of the New-York-ese of my parents (both who were born and raised in Da Bronx!).

My wife was from Rutherford and had no accent. Could not tell where she was from except the east somewhere. As far as changing it, leave it alone, makes people more interesting I think unless you're from the deep south and then I cann't understand you anyway.

It is of absolutely no importance whatsoever.

I deliberately worked to lose my Jersey accent. I think it made me sound extremely unintelligent.

Not important at all

I like accents..they only become troublesome when they stray from what is intelligible or understood..when the root language is butchered and bastardised into colloquial slang...

I think it's bull that people judge accents. Like it's something to be ashamed of. It's like the same mentality when people think someone in a suit is more respectable. Some of the biggest assholes and crooks are in suits. The people who judge accents make me think of the movies with "high class" rich people and how they judge the people who aren't affluent.

I remember a speech class I had in college. It was taught by an actor named Ed Setrakian. Nice guy, but he was telling me to correct something and to put my tongue up to the roof of my mouth every time I made a certain sound. Like I'm going to do that uncomfortable shit every time I say something. It sounded more dumb that way.

I really enjoy dialects and try to figure out where someone is from by their colloquialisms and accent. When I travel and when I lived in other parts of the US, I've found my New England accent to be a great way to get a conversation started, like when someone comments on certain distinctively Mass. words I use or words that I pronounce unusually ("wicked" or "aunt" ). I've never tried to modify it, but I think my accent has lessened a bit over the years. I've noticed it coming out more when I talk with others who speak Bahston.

We don't have an accent in Texas!

So long as it doesn't interfere with getting your message across, do what works for you.

That’s too bad you lost your original accent. It’s part of your identity. I understand why people get rid of it, but I had a college professor with a thick Southern accent and I liked it.

I don't think it's overly important unless people continually are unable to understand what you are saying.

I live in Minnesota and answer the phones at my work. About about once every month or two someone will ask where I'm located, after I tell them they usually say they could tell I was either from Minnesota or Canada. They can understand me clearly, I just elongate my vowels occasionally. What I find interesting, is I typically do not detect an accent on them, but they do me.