British English or American accent?

[Offroad]

Hahaha... I have seen that movie before... it gave me an enormous belly-laugh. Well... I noticed their accent is a little ... strong but it was not that hard to get. However, that drunk guy on the bus to Paris...hmm... quite strong accent.
I have looked for this movie for months... Eurotrip.

[Pheebs]

I was born and bred in New England, US. My niece just married a Brit and lives in the UK.
I like the British accent, but sometimes in the US, anyone with an accent of any kind is regarded as an "outsider". Yes, sad but true.

[hanky]

Originally Posted by Pheebs

I was born and bred in New England, US. My niece just married a Brit and lives in the UK.
I like the British accent, but sometimes in the US, anyone with an accent of any kind is regarded as an "outsider". Yes, sad but true.

I think it happens not only in the US but also in the others places: anyone who doesn't have the accent that any others have is considered as an "outsider".

[SUDHKAMP]

Originally Posted by hanky

I think it happens not only in the US but also in the others places: anyone who doesn't have the accent that any others have is considered as an "outsider".

True, but I think places like London and New York also adjust, ignore any differences in accents and respect the true talent of any person.

[IvanV]

Originally Posted by SUDHKAMP

True, but I think places like London and New York also adjust, ignore any differences in accents and respect the true talent of any person.

I'm afraid it has little to do with talent (though I follow this reasoning when looking toward the learners - work it always applauded to, at least in those circles where I am). It's simple - if you don't fit, you're 'out'. Ones may find your difference appealing, especially if they are generally fond of the accent you speak with, while the others may dislike it. It's probably a tad harsh to say that, but it's most likely that you'll be considered an outsider as someone mentioned earlier.

p.s. To draw from personal experience, I think that American women like that old, classic British accent.

[marshal1]

Great post nice information thanks for this post

[Kevinaya]

I am an American residing in the County of San Diego in Southern California. Hearing someone here with an accent is nothing new here as a huge percent of residents here have Mexican/Spanish accents...I feel that it is a breath of fresh air to hear an accent other than Mexican. I am also fluent in German, I went to Germany this summer with a group of students from all over the United States we were exchange students in houses of our own and being there for a month I realized the difference in the English from Tenessee, Chicago, and even Washington...my host brother even pointed out to me that his favorite was the Tenessee accent, although the accent was not a Southern drawl it was still very different from the accent here in California...I also have to say that my favorite accents are the New England accent and the Birmingham accent in the UK.

[alawton]

Hello,

I am an ESL teacher living in Austin, TX. I believe that here in the US we tend to find the English accent to be very formal. It sounds like a distinguished person is speaking. I could see a British accent as being a positive in terms of speaking English for business.




Andrew Lawton
ESL Lessons and Exercises for English Fluency by Drew

[ramanan92]

Hi,
What you have asked is absolutely true. I am Ramanan Thiagaraj from India. Even here also british english is used and more preferred than american english, this is because british english is the original english and others are just derived. So be confusion in that.
ALL THE BEST

[alawton]

Hello,

Besides teaching ESL, I teach Spanish at the local community college. I have a student from India and we love to talk about accents. Her accent is British. She learned English in India. She is very curious about how she sounds compared to others in our class, or in the US for that matter. She is trying to lose the English accent so as not to stand out so much. I keep telling her that she sounds great speaking the way she does. Her grammar is perfect and the British accent sounds great. Do you get exposed to the American accent in India at all?


Andrew Lawton