British English or American accent?

[smelvanzq]

For me it is not really important as long as it is comprehensible

[Tdol]

Originally Posted by smelvanzq

For me it is not really important as long as it is comprehensible

I agree with you and the differences between the standard forms are rarely enough to impede comprehension.

[queenmaabd]

I'm from the U.S. and I teach English in Spain. That is one of the most common questions I get because I'm the only American teacher at our academy. All of my other workmates are either Spainish or English. Our company has no strict policy as to accents, but I do the best I can and I always tell my students about the differences I know, both in vocabulary and in pronunciation. I'd say if you can't decide for one or the other, learn them both, just try to be constant when you speak and use just one accent (whichever is easier for you). You can't switch back and forth all the time, because if you do, you'll give poeple trying to understand you a really hard time.

[thestudentproofreader]

I don't care about what people sound like

As long as I can understand what they're saying it really doesn't bother me

http://www.studentproofreader.com

[dipizz]

I think it doesn't matter in which accent people express themselves. What's more, I believe that different accents make languages richer and more precious.

I'm a Spanish speaker from America and I see it from this point of view: accents should not bother anyone whereas they don't make difficult comprehension.

In Spanish, as in many languages, we also have different accents. The main ones are the Peninsular Spanish accent and the South American Spanish accents -one of which is the River Plate region accent.

Related to English, I really like the United States accent. As I watch movies from there, I try to emulate their accent. It's a good way to improve pronunciation.

Regards,

Adrián.

[nyggus]

Originally Posted by thestudentproofreader

I don't care about what people sound like
As long as I can understand what they're saying it really doesn't bother me
http://www.studentproofreader.com

The thing is that many people say that (which I like, for sure)--but usually not the people who are interviewing you (which is bad for me). At least it is a bit consoling that so many people think like thestudentproofreader. Thanks for that!

Take care,
Nyggus

[lapiz]

Hello!! I`m from South America. I study at a teacher college trainee. My teacher of phonetics say that The British accent is the most understandable one. I think that languages are used to communicate. If you speak british or american it doesn`t matter. The thing is that the person you are speaking to have to undestand what you are saying.

[lapiz]

Originally Posted by lapiz

Hello!! I`m from South America. I study at a teacher college trainee. My teacher of phonetics say that The British accent is the most understandable one. I think that languages are used to communicate. If you speak british or american it doesn`t matter. The thing is that the person you are speaking to must understand what you are saying.

[Philly]

Originally Posted by lapiz

My teacher of phonetics say that The British accent is the most understandable one.

I'd say that what your teacher of phonetics is really saying is that the British accent is the most understandable for him/her and that he/she personally has difficulty with the "American sound".
.
I once had to teach a group of beginners and, because I'm American and their coursebook and accompanying tapes were also "American", the pronunciation they heard in class was initially strictly American.
.
When we were about halfway through the course book, I decided to start doing some listening exercises with British pronunciation. The particular course book that was being used had both British and American versions, so I simply brought the "British" cassette with me one day. My students promptly commented on how odd the speech sounded and complained that they could hardly understand anything the speakers said. They had very little trouble understanding the American tape because that's the sound they'd learned up to that point.
.
I rest my case. 8)
.

[Shad]

Originally Posted by Anonymous

I am a student in China. Because of the Hollywood movies, American songs and much more frequent contact with US than that of UK, American accent seems more popular.

However, the college teachers suggest that British accent is more acceptable in the world, especially in the world outside US. Is it true?

I want to know how would UKers react to American accent speaking callers and vice versa.

Do Americans like British accent on the phone when it is a sales call, for example?

I want opinions from only native English speakers, mainly UK and US citizens. Please state your nationality and your feelings about the accents.

Thanks.

I am an indian, we in india teach/ learn BE but popular speaking is American usually. we also write BE...we also understant BE quicker.. but american eng.. overwhelms the television etc..