British English or American accent?

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Ibeke

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tdol said:
Calvin, don't give your age out on the internet- it's not a good idea. ;-)

Who says he really is? :wink: Children are often used in the media to get people's attention, most of the time succesfully and going by the speed of your response once again succesfully...It's a bussiness :idea:
 

Ibeke

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Aug 11, 2004
yulia said:
Talking about the accents. I'm not a native English speaker, and I've never been to any foreign country so far, (unfortunately), but most of the foreigners, who I've ever happened to communicate with, tell me that I've got an American accent. One Englishman even asked me once whether I've been educated in the US. No, I have not. But I think that this domination of American English mostly came to us from watching American movies, listening to American songs and so on. I don't blame Americans for that, no, I like an American accent and I don't mind talking with it. But I, ike British accent as well, though I must admit that it's harder to speak BE than AE.

In Belgium they are very clear about American: it sounds lazy, not too bright and very nasal (just quoting :wink: ). Most of the people here give preference to BE.
 
Y

yulia

Guest
Ibeke said:
yulia said:
Talking about the accents. I'm not a native English speaker, and I've never been to any foreign country so far, (unfortunately), but most of the foreigners, who I've ever happened to communicate with, tell me that I've got an American accent. One Englishman even asked me once whether I've been educated in the US. No, I have not. But I think that this domination of American English mostly came to us from watching American movies, listening to American songs and so on. I don't blame Americans for that, no, I like an American accent and I don't mind talking with it. But I, ike British accent as well, though I must admit that it's harder to speak BE than AE.

In Belgium they are very clear about American: it sounds lazy, not too bright and very nasal (just quoting :wink: ). Most of the people here give preference to BE.

Hey, it sounds as you don't fancy AE at ll, or maybe it onle seemed to me. Anyway, as I've mentioned above, I fancy BE as well, it's just that as a matter of fact I speak just this way so what?
BTW, thanks for your info. :lol: if I ever happen to be in Belgium, I'll try my best to get prepared to speak BE to please ya'll.
Cheers :wink:
P.S. I wonder, :wink: what does RonBee think about this?
 

Ibeke

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Joined
Aug 11, 2004
yulia said:
Ibeke said:
yulia said:
Talking about the accents. I'm not a native English speaker, and I've never been to any foreign country so far, (unfortunately), but most of the foreigners, who I've ever happened to communicate with, tell me that I've got an American accent. One Englishman even asked me once whether I've been educated in the US. No, I have not. But I think that this domination of American English mostly came to us from watching American movies, listening to American songs and so on. I don't blame Americans for that, no, I like an American accent and I don't mind talking with it. But I, ike British accent as well, though I must admit that it's harder to speak BE than AE.

In Belgium they are very clear about American: it sounds lazy, not too bright and very nasal (just quoting :wink: ). Most of the people here give preference to BE.

Hey, it sounds as you don't fancy AE at ll, or maybe it onle seemed to me. Anyway, as I've mentioned above, I fancy BE as well, it's just that as a matter of fact I speak just this way so what?
BTW, thanks for your info. :lol: if I ever happen to be in Belgium, I'll try my best to get prepared to speak BE to please ya'll.
Cheers :wink:
P.S. I wonder, :wink: what does RonBee think about this?

It's called language attitudes. Many people think that when Arab's spoken it sounds like two people quarelling when they are just having a normal conversation...It's a perception, who says it's true? Same goes for American.
 

RonBee

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yulia said:
Ibeke said:
yulia said:
Talking about the accents. I'm not a native English speaker, and I've never been to any foreign country so far, (unfortunately), but most of the foreigners, who I've ever happened to communicate with, tell me that I've got an American accent. One Englishman even asked me once whether I've been educated in the US. No, I have not. But I think that this domination of American English mostly came to us from watching American movies, listening to American songs and so on. I don't blame Americans for that, no, I like an American accent and I don't mind talking with it. But I, ike British accent as well, though I must admit that it's harder to speak BE than AE.

In Belgium they are very clear about American: it sounds lazy, not too bright and very nasal (just quoting :wink: ). Most of the people here give preference to BE.

Hey, it sounds as you don't fancy AE at ll, or maybe it onle seemed to me. Anyway, as I've mentioned above, I fancy BE as well, it's just that as a matter of fact I speak just this way so what?
BTW, thanks for your info. :lol: if I ever happen to be in Belgium, I'll try my best to get prepared to speak BE to please ya'll.
Cheers :wink:
P.S. I wonder, :wink: what does RonBee think about this?

Well, I think everybody has his (or her) prejudices. I guess you could say I am prejudiced in favor of AE, because I am an American, but that probably wouldn't really be accurate. I don't feel that a person is either more or less intelligent or more or less educated because he or she has a British accent. You cannot tell a book by its cover.

:)
 

Ibeke

Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2004
RonBee said:
yulia said:
Ibeke said:
yulia said:
Talking about the accents. I'm not a native English speaker, and I've never been to any foreign country so far, (unfortunately), but most of the foreigners, who I've ever happened to communicate with, tell me that I've got an American accent. One Englishman even asked me once whether I've been educated in the US. No, I have not. But I think that this domination of American English mostly came to us from watching American movies, listening to American songs and so on. I don't blame Americans for that, no, I like an American accent and I don't mind talking with it. But I, ike British accent as well, though I must admit that it's harder to speak BE than AE.

In Belgium they are very clear about American: it sounds lazy, not too bright and very nasal (just quoting :wink: ). Most of the people here give preference to BE.

Hey, it sounds as you don't fancy AE at ll, or maybe it onle seemed to me. Anyway, as I've mentioned above, I fancy BE as well, it's just that as a matter of fact I speak just this way so what?
BTW, thanks for your info. :lol: if I ever happen to be in Belgium, I'll try my best to get prepared to speak BE to please ya'll.
Cheers :wink:
P.S. I wonder, :wink: what does RonBee think about this?

Well, I think everybody has his (or her) prejudices. I guess you could say I am prejudiced in favor of AE, because I am an American, but that probably wouldn't really be accurate. I don't feel that a person is either more or less intelligent or more or less educated because he or she has a British accent. You cannot tell a book by its cover.

:)

I agree :)
 
D

Dáirine

Guest
I rather prefer an Irish accent myself. :) Though I can't say I really prefer one over the other.

I think that the... fascination, I guess... with other languages is really just the greener grass on the other side. :wink:

I went to visit my cousins, who live in the U.S, (I'm in Canada, eh!) and they didn't seem to have a different accent from me. They did say things differently though. Like soda instead of pop (weird) and candy bars instead of chocolate bars (even weirder), but that's really all. I did notice an accent in New York, though. I like that accent :D

But then, I like Canadian accents too. I think they just remind me of home.

At work, we have a French guy, and a British gal, and a Newfie! The Newfie (Newfoundlander, if you don't know, and no offence meant) doesn't have much of an accent, but she is a little nasally, I noticed. The French guy has a really thick Quebec accent. (A little different from the France accent that comes to my mind when I think French accent) And lastly, the British gal has a northern accent, I think she said. I like her accent too. :D

Now, I have to say this. Don't you think that saying one accent is better than another is really a kind of racism? Sure, people have their own opinions, but that's all they are. They don't have any right to say one accent is better than another. You can say one person is easier to understand than another, but that has nothing to do accent. Just on grammar and how well they enunciate.

I mean, if someone has a really really thick accent and is trying to speak English, (and vice-versa with any other language, I would think) then you can say they're hard to understand because of their accent. But that doesn't mean one is better than the other.

Someone here said (can't remember who, sorry! And I haven't figured out how to go back to find out who it was) that the accent you use depends on the business you want to do.

I don't agree with that exactly, I mean, yes, you want to be able to be understood in business. But so long as you speak clearly and with good grammar, I really don't think it would matter what kind of accent you had. Or have. Whichever you prefer.
 
R

Ruenna

Guest
Hello!

I'm from the US, and I'm not sure if it's just because I was born here, but I would rather listen to any accent so long as it isn't an American one. I just think it's so blan! If you put two guys next to eachother who looked exactly alike and were exactly alike in every aspect except for their accents (One American, and one British or anything else) I would choose the Brit in a heartbeat. Not sure about everyone else though. I also do a very natural sounding British accent just for fun sometimes, and the only real difference I hear are the vowels. :wink: Because I understand the accent so well, and watch the BBC constantly, I have no problem understanding it and other accents, although my parents have major problems with it. I guess it's all about what you're raised with!
 

Steven D

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2004
Member Type
English Teacher
Wong said:
However, the college teachers suggest that British accent is more acceptable in the world, especially in the world outside US. Is it true?

No, it's not true at all. I've had enough contact with international students to know this. With just a few exceptions - only one that I can recall - the ESL students I've spoken to that are in the U.S. temporarily and permanently speak with an AE accent.

I can usually detect by listening to an ESL/EFL student's accent when he or she has had mostly British English teachers. Even when these students have had British English teachers, their accent still mostly leans towards sounding American.

There is nothing more acceptable or less acceptable about any type of native speaker English accent.

Your teachers are, in my opinion, are misleading their students by stating this.
 
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Steven D

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2004
Member Type
English Teacher
Re: Hello!

and the only real difference I hear are the vowels <<

The British English/English "t" is softer sounding than the American "t".

Have you noticed this?

We can listen for this in how numbers are pronounced and in words like "tomato" and "potato". It can be heard in words like "little" and "better" as well. The American English "t" approaches sounding almost like a "d", but it's still really a "t" sound.

70, 90,
 

Ravenclaw

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Joined
Mar 4, 2005
Member Type
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Anonymous said:
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 may not be the best person to answer this as I am American (Californian to be exact) and I adore accents, but I personaly like the British accent the best. I also don't think anyone outside the U.S (or maybe just outside California) would respond very well to picking up the phone and hearing, "Hey homedog, what up?" and respond worse if it was an enterpenuer(sorry if that's spelled wrong) and they added, "How would you like to buy some magazines, new with some bad dirt." then again that is mostly based on Californian slang so I don't know, people generaly don't like getting called about a "stupid product that wastes their money."

I think you could get by with any accent, personaly. If you just want to be understood then I'd say find an accent that is easy to understand (one that isn't "cloudy" and pernounces things, pernunciation is a key thing to being understood) and do NOT use slang.
 
G

gusilcan

Guest
I am not an English native speaker. However, I have learned English since I was 6, at school. Now, I study in Hong Kong, with people from all around the world. Here, at school, there are as many accents as you can imagine, and the matter of accents is something that we don't discuss on, but quite a few times ppl have told me that I have an American accent. I have to say I like it. I can't explain, but I find that American accents are easier to understand, are somehow clearer... Besides, most of the people here that do not have English as a first language tend to have a rhotic pronounciation and to pronounce things in the 'American way'. It is a matter of fact: American English has a stronger presence in non-English speaking countries thanks to movies and series... entertainment is an industry that can go anywhere. On the other hand, I find BE to be educated and I like it, too... I just like the American one better...

BTW I am from Latin America
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
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Home Country
UK
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Japan
It's often a matter of personal choice- for every person that finds American easier, you'll find one that doesn't. It also depends on the education sustem- in Europe, for instance, most countries tend to teach BrE, though others, like Germany, favour AE. ;-)
 

Ravenclaw

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What are BE, BrE, and AE?
I may claim to be an accents fanatic ;-) , but if those letters have anything to do with accents I must be wrong :oops: .
 

Tdol

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BE/BrE = British English
AE = American English
;-)
 

Ravenclaw

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Thank you, I was very confused there *holds head up high* now I can go back to claiming that I'm an accent fanatic ;-) :lol: .
 

Tdol

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You're welcome. :)
 
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