British English or American accent?

[bhaisahab]

To go back to the original subject, accents of English (sorry for diversifying). I like all the accents of English and I don't have too much trouble ubderstanding any of them. I speak with the semi-mythical standard English accent, that is to say uninflected, probably as a result of education. I come from south London and my ancestors were Scottish and Irish, most of my extended family speak with a south London accent.
My favourite accents are west of Ireland and Indian.

[SUDHKAMP]

Originally Posted by bhaisahab

To go back to the original subject, accents of English (sorry for diversifying). I like all the accents of English and I don't have too much trouble ubderstanding any of them. I speak with the semi-mythical standard English accent, that is to say uninflected, probably as a result of education. I come from south London and my ancestors were Scottish and Irish, most of my extended family speak with a south London accent.
My favourite accents are west of Ireland and Indian.

Dear Bhaisahab, will you please specify about the Indian accent? I wish to know more, as living in India, I cannot compare them with any other, as you can do with your varied experience and travel.

[Offroad]

I used to have trouble understanding most of the accents, well, now I started listening to radios (worldwide) and can understand all of them as long as people speak correctly...haha some people have trouble pronunciating some words which have an L or an R on them. Then it's not so uncommon to hear, "I would like some flied flies".

[bhaisahab]

Originally Posted by SUDHKAMP

Dear Bhaisahab, will you please specify about the Indian accent? I wish to know more, as living in India, I cannot compare them with any other, as you can do with your varied experience and travel.

It is very difficult to describe the sound of something. I think that the Indian English accent is melodic, it has a sort of sing-song quality. I'm afraid I can't do better than that, sorry.

[thod00]

I do a (poor) Indian accent by pressing my tongue into the top of my mouth between every word and speaking slightly too fast.

[hanky]

I personally have a bit trouble with Indian accents, Indians speak too fast and quite unreachable.

[Offroad]

Originally Posted by hanky

I personally have a bit trouble with Indian accents, Indians speak too fast and quite unreachable.

Fully agreed. However, working on it.

[stuartnz]

I disagree that Indians speak too fast. The key to understanding a strong Indian accent, as with most accents, is finding the natural rhythm of the accent. Once you have tuned into the rhythm or flow, the words are easy to distinguish, and you'll see that most Indians do not have a high "words per minute" sort of speed in English. Part of the problem is that Indic languages (I can't speak for Dravidian) do not have the same use of stressed and unstressed syllables as English, which can make it challenging to find that rhythm. New Zealanders and Australians speak English much, much faster than most Indians, and we don't open our mouths properly either. The native English accent I find hardest to decipher is Belfast Irish - that can be almost impenetrable to my ears.

[bhaisahab]

Originally Posted by stuartnz

I disagree that Indians speak too fast. The key to understanding a strong Indian accent, as with most accents, is finding the natural rhythm of the accent. Once you have tuned into the rhytm or flow, the words are easy to disctinguish, and you'll see that most Indians do not have a high "words per minute" sort of speed in English. Part of the problem is that Indic languages (I can't speak for Dravidian) do not have the same use of stresses and unstresses syllables as English, which can make it challenging to find that rhythm. New Zealanders and Australians speak English much, much faster than most Indians, and we don't open our mouths properly either. The native English accent I find hardest to decipher is Belfast Irish - that can be almost impenetrable to my ears.

Thanks for your comments on the Indian accent, I agree. The Belfast Irish accent, while it's not one of my favourites, I don't have any trouble understanding.

[hanky]

Originally Posted by stuartnz

I disagree that Indians speak too fast. The key to understanding a strong Indian accent, as with most accents, is finding the natural rhythm of the accent. Once you have tuned into the rhythm or flow, the words are easy to distinguish, and you'll see that most Indians do not have a high "words per minute" sort of speed in English. Part of the problem is that Indic languages (I can't speak for Dravidian) do not have the same use of stressed and unstressed syllables as English, which can make it challenging to find that rhythm. New Zealanders and Australians speak English much, much faster than most Indians, and we don't open our mouths properly either. The native English accent I find hardest to decipher is Belfast Irish - that can be almost impenetrable to my ears.

Well, I guess you are right because never do I have heard Belfast Irish accent.
Yesterday I watched "Eurotrip 2004" film and I hardly heard what have been spoken by those soccer hooligans whom are fan of Man United while I perfectly understood Mieke's father who is German. I guess those MU's fan are from Manchester (but in the movie this fan club is in London, but I dont think they are Londoners). Can anyone of you who have seen this movie confirm this for me? Thanks.