Travel around the world, one YouTube video at a time, following the YouTube Accent challenge; or create your own, which builds your brand, and increases subscriptions and views. 

We access the world through our devices and engage with it through our social media channels, introducing us to an entire global community. Accents become a noticeable and intriguing feature. The YouTube accent challenge thrives on this intrigue and exploration of the world through accents. And recently there has been a revival of the YouTube accent challenge. We bring you the benefits of creating content around this challenge, guidance on the choice of words to include, and tips on how to boost your content and stand out, using more than your accent (even if you do not have one). All of this, compressed into one article. 

What is an accent challenge?

The accent challenge has evolved over many years. The origins trace back to the Tumblr Accent Challenge. Popularly, it involves participants recording themselves alone or with a partner, repeating a list of words in their respective accents. This has been extended to their country/region. Wion explains this in their video.  

An alternate version to this challenge involves repeating phrases, instead of words. While still interesting, the entertainment factor is the actual accent. Some voice actors and content creators capitalize on this by using their talent for accents to adapt the accent challenge to include impersonations of accents from around the world. 

With the range of accent challenges, the simplest version is still the word challenge. 

The benefits

Like any YouTube challenge, the accent Challenge attempts to attract more subscribers and views. It has a global appeal, with the spotlight on international accents. It is also a linguistic exploration, examining how words are pronounced or changed to suit people based on their language or region. This level of interest and relatability attracts followers. 

Let us look at some words you could use in your accent challenge. 

List of words to use – Tumblr Accent Challenge

Based on the original Tumblr accent Challenge, we have dug up this list of words. If you prefer to stick to the original, this would be the way to go. Use this as it appears, or draw inspiration from it. It is entirely up to you.

• Aunt
• Roof
• Route 
• Wash
• Oil
• Theatre
• Iron
• Salmon
• Caramel 
• Fire
• Water 
• Sure
• Ruin 
• Crayon 
• New Orleans 
• Pecan 
• Both 
• Again
• Probably 
• Alabama 
• Mayonnaise 
• Pajamas 
• Aluminum 
• Envelope 
• Caught 
• Tumblr 
• GPOY 
• Naturally 
• GIF
• Crackerjack
• Doorknob 
• Garage
• Furniture
• Jaguar
• Figure
• Herb 
• Advertisement
• Vase
• Calendar
• Ballet
• Tomato
• Basil
• Brazil
• Toilet
• Address 
• Coupon 
• Lawyer 
• Fish
• Excellent
• Car 
• Flag
• Rant 
• Cunt 
• Internet 
• Serum 
• Machine
• Buoyancy
• Data
• Syrup
• Coffee 
• Impossible 
• Possum
• Repeat 
• Posture 
• Spitting Image 
• Relationship 
• Aeroplane 
• Donna
• Rude

Here is an alternate list of words 

Based on their level of interest or (for some accents) difficulty in pronouncing, we have a second list. It makes for engaging content. You may have a list of your own words based on your experience or a specific country/region. You may build on these accordingly. 

• Plead
• Paper
• Scissors
• Snake
• Lunch
• Pineapple
• Jelly
• Colorful
• Buttons
• Pancakes
• Zebra
• Windows
• Babies
• Butt
• Rock
• Muscles
• Cinnamon
• Pumpkin
• Latte
• Bacon
• Eyebrows
• Tomato
• GIF
• Emoji
• Memes
• Furniture
• Jaguar
• Advertisement
• Vase
• Calendar
• Ballet
• Toilet
• Cheesy
• Freaky
• Seashells
• Jingle
• Kangaroo
• Fish
• Peppers
• Sheep
• Appletini
• Peanuts
• Smelly
• Pants
• Easy
• Love
• Strawberries
• Juice
• Louder

Tips and Tricks to taking your accent challenge to the next level (with examples)

Get creative

Insert an aspect of randomness to the challenge by instructing participants to select words out of a hat/jar, together with the accent it must be said in. This works for phrases too. Check out this example. A group of 7 friends takes the accent challenge using this method. The video garnered 9,420,866 views and 230,000 likes. The incredible performance can be attributed to the random effect and the banter it creates between the friends.

Shorts

You do not have to commit to recording a full-length accent challenge. Mary Elizabeth Kelly, who is something of an expert when it comes to accents demonstrates this perfectly. She takes her masterful command of accents even further when she challenges herself to squeeze as many accents as possible in the 60-second YouTube shorts (originally a TikTok video). With 45K likes and 738,852 views, her across-channel sharing is also pretty strategic too.

Across-Channel Sharing

Smart content creators will kill 2 birds with 1 stone by creating content on one channel and sharing it on others. So simple, allowing you to grow all channels and compare the performance of each channel. Look at this TikTok compilation of accent challenges which provides excellent examples. 

Audience Interaction

Encourage audience participation with accent challenges like this. It’sNNAU plays accents numbered 1 through 20 and asks viewers to guess the accent/dialect. The viewers are given 15 seconds to guess each audio clip. The time limit adds a little tension. The video garnered 42,000 views. This is ideal if you do not possess any accent-related talent. You can compile audio clips of accents and still benefit from this challenge. He also creates a series dedicated to accent challenges.

Create a series

This golden tip applies to any content that performs well. Turn it into a series. Many creators have turned accent challenges into a series. It is what they have become known for. Check out these creators. 

Ada Obi1

Mary Elizabeth Kelly

Themes

Apply themes to your accent challenge. In this example, Tanvi (London, U.K) features Sanjna (Sidney, Australia) attempting an accent challenge that involves each person pronouncing words in their respective accents. They also guess London slang and what it means. London slang is their unique theme. This adds interest while playing on the accents. Giving your accent talent a specific theme increases the video’s engagement.

Not good at accents, try dialects

Grab a friend from a different region of your city or country and attempt a dialect challenge. Or simply do it yourself. Words may be pronounced differently based on the different parts of the same country or city. This attracts local subscribers as it is relatable, but also introduces your unique accent and dialect to the larger internet community, AKA the world. Comedy Sauce takes a stab at this, and it is entertaining. It brings the world to their doorstep which can be intimate and an opportunity to get a glimpse of their corner of the world.

Another example is World of friends video of 3 participants from America, Australia, and Britain. They each repeat the same phrase in their specific accents, being judged by the native speaker of that accent. There is humor and teasing, which makes this video a hit with 1,236,695 views. Clearly, this style of accent challenge is a winner.

You’re on your way!

The YouTube accent challenge has survived the evolution of content creation and YouTube, as a whole. Considering content lasts forever, it is one of those staples that you should have in your collection. If you are not an accent master, there are ways to work around this, as covered. If you have an accent, stop apologizing for it and put it to good use. With our list of words, tips to succeed (with examples), and some background information on accent challenges, you are just a few words away from attracting more subscribers.