Hello! I would like to work on my pronunciation and accent. Please, tell me, which accent should I choose to learn- american or british (which would be easier for me to learn, basing on how I speak now. which is closer to my current pronunciation?) I'd be glad to hear any suggestions.
I think your accent is very satisfactory as it is. It could go either way, depending on your teacher or the recorded materials you use.Originally Posted by qwertyyy
It appears to me to be closer to British than to American and, for this reason only, I would suggest you opt for Britis, if you are going to spend money on a teacher or recorded materials,
Thank you very much for your response. I've never been to an English-speaking country and never had a chance to talk to a native speaker so I really have no idea how my accent sounds to other people. I'm very surprised that you say it's satisfactory. I thought it's really weird and not understandable.
It is very easy to understand. Indeed, for many people, including many native speakers, your accent is easier to understand that some native English dialects.
It is possible that in unprepared conversation your accent slips, but you clearly know how to pronounce English when you have time to think about it.
A good example of what? British English is no better, or worse, than any other dialect. It may be a better choice if one is going to live and work in an area in which BrE is commonly used, but that's different.
I personally prefer American accent. I don't know why, probably it's because I have more contact with it- most of the movies are American etc. But I wish I could have ANY accent that would resemble the way any native speakers speak, no matter from what region of the world. It really irritates me that my English is so unperfect. Accent and pronunciation are an important element of the language and I don't understand why teachers at school pay so little attention to it...
I don't think accent is so important. It may be important to some but generally it seems to be an issue of least concern. It doesn't have a crucial impact on your ability to communicate. It's certainly not irrelevant but it doesn't seem a major issue.
I found your accent very pleasant. It's far from being a thick Polish accent.
The need to master a native accent is understandable. If you really want to excel at pronouncing English words like some group of Americans, you will probably have to put a lot of effort into it. But if you just want to sound more or less American, it will probably come with time and watching those American films you mentioned. (Although not all films are American.)
Last edited by birdeen's call; 23-Aug-2011 at 19:51.
I don't understand why you want to have an American or British accent. As long as your pronounciation is correct, that's all what matters. I have come across quite a few Polish people in London and I always found it rather pleasing to the ear to hear them speaking English with a Polish accent. And unlike with some native English speakers I could actually understand what they were saying. So, unless you are an actor and need an American accent for a role, I wouldn' t bother trying to sound like a native speaker. If you manage to live in an English speaking country your accent will probably adjust over time to a certain degree anyway. Should anybody ridicule you for your accent, just ignore them and be proud to be Polish.
TomUK
As I suggested earlier, your accent is far from imperfect. Some teachers do indeed pay too little attention to pronununciation, but many do a good job. There is a compromise involved - if we insisted that all our students produced a near-perfect British (or American, Australian, etc) accent, then most learners would make very little progress indeed. The only way that most learners can acquire a 'perfect' accent is to live for some time in the country whose accent they wish to acquire, preferably when they are young. There are so many accents and dialects in the English-speaking world, that a non-native one, if it is clear, is no obstacle to anything.
As I also suggested earlier, an accent such as yours is far easier to understand that some native regional accents. Indeed, if, for some reason, you wish to be taken for a native speaker, then you would do better to try to speak with a strong regional accent, for example, Newcastle or Liverpool (England) or Glasgow (Scotland). The locals will know that you are not a native speaker, but nobody else will.
I think what's most important is that you can communicate well, and I think you sound wonderful. I can hear you quite clearly and I think you've done a really good job.
I don't think any accent in particular matters too much, but I guess by surrounding yourself in the area with the accent of your choice, that would be much easier.
Maybe you could just keep working on your English and pronunciation and you'll form an accent of your own. :)
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