How to learn British accent?

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malvi

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I always wanted to learn the British accent. I was listening songs on YouTube and I stumbled across video with accents . There were two accents that I loved so much and they're called : RP accent and Posh upper class accent ( I think they are both formal and I saw that a lot of people are making fun of them) .
I was wondering how could I learn those accents? What's the most important in talking like that?
 

LordJenkins

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All accents get made fun of! lol


The RP accent is the most beautifal accent on the planet in my opinion. The vowel sounds are just perfection. All other english accents around the world are so plain in my opinion. If you want to learn the accent, I recommend this book.

Get Rid of Your Accent: The English Pronunciation and Speech Training Manual: Amazon.co.uk: Linda James, Olga Smith: Books


If you want to learn the older style RP, you will want to study the cardinal vowels. Buy a book on phonetics. This book is great.

A Practical Introduction to Phonetics Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics: Amazon.co.uk: J. C. Catford: Books
 

konungursvia

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Sorry, but most serious linguists will tell you that value judgments on the sounds of accents are unscientific, and ultimately unreliable. As a learner, you can choose to try to adopt your favourite, but as for championing one accent over the others, this is a poor recommendation in my view.
 

thatone

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You can start by seeing the latest Harry Potter movie. It's good. :)
 

sylviawiseman

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You can start by seeing the latest Harry Potter movie. It's good. :)


Actually, Harry Potter himself has a low class accent in real life, but he is an actor, so he did learn how to speak properly in films.
 

5jj

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Actually, Harry Potter himself has a low class accent in real life, but he is an actor, so he did learn how to speak properly in films.
I don't think many people who speak with that accent would like to hear it called 'low class". He is not speaking 'properly' in the films; he is using a particular dialect.
 

LordJenkins

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I don't think many people who speak with that accent would like to hear it called 'low class". He is not speaking 'properly' in the films; he is using a particular dialect.


Harry's accent isnt what one would call 'posh'. He has a regular london type accent.
 

britintheUS

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Well you can basically learn to imitate any one you want, but as far as adopting it, it would take A LOT of passion. Many would say that you can't actually acquire another accent but I'd say if you wanted to enough you could probably manage.

You would probably make some sort of mistake as far as going back into your original accent quite often.

I'd just listen to one particular speaker who has 1 regional accent ( London, Yorkshire, Cornwall....etc) since there are so many within Britain and England itself and then keep listening to them until you pick it up. If you listen to too many different speakers from different places you'll get an unrecognisable accent.
 

Hedwig

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Sorry, but most serious linguists will tell you that value judgments on the sounds of accents are unscientific, and ultimately unreliable. As a learner, you can choose to try to adopt your favourite, but as for championing one accent over the others, this is a poor recommendation in my view.
I agree with you but, was that a value judgement or an expression of personal taste? He did write 'in my opinion' both when he spoke about the most beautiful accent and plain accents.
 

konungursvia

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I agree with you but, was that a value judgement or an expression of personal taste? He did write 'in my opinion' both when he spoke about the most beautiful accent and plain accents.

It's true he didn't try to pass his opinion off as fact. But he did extend his superlative judgment of RP, and his disdain for other dialects, well beyond any possible realm of usefulness here.:cool:
 

bagzi94

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Practice makes perfect.
 

Wicked Pissah

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How about a Canadian accent, eh? Just sayin'....



be careful, though, a Canadian team...lost the Stanley Cup Championship to the Boston Bruins are are very bitter about it...ssshhhhh.
 

White Hat

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Personally, the most beautiful British accent I have ever heard is that of Patrick Stewart who is most widely known for his television and film roles, such as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. This IS the accent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiCz1tvrsMk&feature=related
 
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billmcd

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I always wanted to learn the British accent. I was listening songs on YouTube and I stumbled across video with accents . There were two accents that I loved so much and they're called : RP accent and Posh upper class accent ( I think they are both formal and I saw that a lot of people are making fun of them) .
I was wondering how could I learn those accents? What's the most important in talking like that?

I always ask the same question when a post such as yours pops up. WHY:?:
 

raindoctor

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Lets go beyond the bland answers.

1. The first bland suggestion: listen carefully! This is a brute force method to acquire an accent, the worst way to go. Get trained on what to listen for before embarking on that 'careful' listening program. For instance, try to understand various English language-specific phenomena: for instance,
Blaoism: Pronunciation phenomena

2. The second bland suggestion: imitate! This suggestion is devoid of content. There are six things you should focus on before you go on that imitation exercise.

Here are six things:

Pitch--high/low
Pitch characteristic -- gravelly, raspy, breathy, scraping, creaky, etc
Tempo -- faster/slower
Rhythm: dadada-daah (clipping), military style
Placement: nasal, back
Mouth work: dialect

Voice Matching and Imitating Voices | Voices.com

Here is the problem with those who give bland advice: either (a) they have not acquired any L2 with a native-like proficiency; or (b) they have not done any voice over work that involves voice matching or automated dialogue replacement.
 

Tdol

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Lets go beyond the bland answers.


Here is the problem with those who give bland advice: either (a) they have not acquired any L2 with a native-like proficiency; or (b) they have not done any voice over work that involves voice matching or automated dialogue replacement.


Please try to discuss things and avoid turning every thread into an opportunity for you to brag of your supposed superiority, You can add things to bland answers without belittling people.
 

Linda White

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Personally I think it's quite difficult to learn a new accent unless you are surrounded by people who also have that accent, and then it becomes easier. Actors spend hours with teachers learning different accents for films and, in my opinion, rarely pull it off. If you get a chance look up the UK TV show Downton Abbey, the accent is lovely to listen to.
 
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