British English or American accent?

[Vibovit]

American accent was considerably easier for me to understand.

(I've only been to New York and Delaware - I don't know about West Coast, southern States etc.)

It's flat, while British accent is not, and the English tend to swallow a lot of sounds.

(Scottish or Irish accent is not any easier to me, for obvious reasons.)



Surprisingly or not, it also worked the other way round for me - Americans seemed to be more comfortable with my slavonic accent than the English.

[GreenSky]

I have to say that when it comes to accents, most of the time I adore them all because of the character it gives people. I have lived in the southern US my whole life, but my grandmother is from Germany. Although she has lived here a very long time, she still has a good bit if her accent left. All of her "th"s sound like "d"s, and all of her "w"s still sound like "v"s.

My aunt, who married into the family, is from Hull. She has lived here a long time now as well, but her accent has definitely faded. Still, it is obvious that she is from England, as it is obvious my grandmother is from "somewhere" in Europe. I love to hear them both speak, especially when my aunt REALLY puts on the BE.

I myself have a typical Southern US accent, and am quite proud of it. A lot of media and stereotypical propaganda would have one believe that southerners are uneducated, shoeless mountain folk, and this simply is not true. Just as I respect and admire the way others speak, I also do not generalize them into a category, and I feel that it is very important to keep this in mind when learning the English language.

[nekobaka]

I'm american, and I teach in Japan. Some of my coworkers are british, and students often say that I'm easier to understand. Like China, Japan also gets mostly american english in their education. That's the way it is, but I think it's important to listen to a variety of accents, and at least be able to understand. When it comes to speaking, both accents are equally acceptable.

[vivekvaradarajan]

I sincerely dont think Americans speak English the way its supposed to be,
am mean words galore like "wanna", "kinda" and a tone load of modifications to English words that dont belong to the dictionary means thats not rightful English and to say others have an accent is wrong.

Besides Americans have most of their ancestory from the Brits, and since precolonial times other countries have caught up with English only as a colonial language

So why not speak like the rest of the world America??

I am from India, but live in USA

[curmudgeon]

I'm with you vivekvaradarajan! now keep your head down!!

[RonBee]

We colonials took the language and made it our own. Accents are all over the place. The Brits certainly have accents, but there are also American accents: Southern, New England, New York.

~R

[curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by RonBee

We colonials took the language and made it our own. Accents are all over the place. The Brits certainly have accents, but there are also American accents: Southern, New England, New York.

~R

Hey RonBee, you didn't 'take' the language, it was a gift.

[Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim]

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.

The dominance of one language (dialect) over another is due to some kind of power. In case of AmE it is the military and economic power in addition to film industry, technology and music. There is evidence now that AmE is permeating into BE. But of course a new type of English (global Englsih GE) is now emerging which might replace both.

[tongpa]

Hi every body over there,
I'm a Chadian and have been teaching English now for years. The difference between British and american has always been a puzzle to me. Now I'm teaching in a company where I have many English speakers from different countries around the world, I don't think the difference in accent is a problem. It's true that it was hard to understand people from the U.K(for me).
Although at school I was taught to use British when I came into contact with Americans, it was easier for me to understand them then I would understand someone from the UK. What's important is the message and I'm happy that all English speakers don't care about the accent but the message conveyed.
I have never been outside of my country and would to have an oppotunity to go in to the US or UK to live the difference.

[chauhnvn]

I also find American much easier to understand though it seems more difficult to imitate American accent. However, in Vietnam students are often taught British accent. But how to make my tongue create American accent? It is not easy to do so