Dear MaxQ,
Coming from a country where our neighbours to the South firmly believe we say "oot" and "aboot" instead of "out" and "about", I understand your pain!
We don't really say those words that way, of course, and I think I've said this before, we just use a different dipthong (uh-oo) before an unvoiced consonant, whereas in the US they use the same dipthong (ah-oo) whether the consonant is voiced or unvoiced!
Anyway, I figure, as long as you pronounce things the way everyone around you did when you were learning to speak, then your accent must be "right" for where you live!
(Recently there was an international choral festival here. A choir from Australia was being interviewed on the radio, and commented on the "funny accents" here. After the segment, the announcer wondered aloud - just
whose accent was funny!?)
