British English or American accent?

[SUDHKAMP]

And if you for some odd reason don't like the fact that American speak English , I'll tell you right now that it's the fault of the British only.

How remarkable. I had no idea there was one way it is supposed to be spoken. What way is that? :shock:

Simple, just speak the way your dictionary guides you to.:up:

 

[jyss101]

I'm not sure you'd say that about all British accents. ;-)

that is very true
im from the uk and i live in liverpool
and sometimes i speak in a HEAVY scouse accent
and no1 can understand me
but i do think when you speak in a proper english accent it sounds
well posh.
but its up to u

x

 

[SUDHKAMP]

that is very true
im from the uk and i live in liverpool
and sometimes i speak in a HEAVY scouse accent
and no1 can understand me
but i do think when you speak in a proper english accent it sounds
well posh.
but its up to u

x

Dear Tdol and all,
just notice the script above. Forget the pronounciation, English now faces a new challenge by these net surfers of losing its traditional way of writing the full words.
Ex: im, i, no1, its, no use of periods or commas, No capital letters.
Is this the way the English language is going to develop in the 21st century? Are the lexiconist taking into account this kind of usage becoming standard?
For me, the picture is very gory.

 

[sassik]

Re: British English or American accent?

In American English the neutral accent is usually " (Emerging)General American English" and occasionally "Network English" and Broadcaster English."
In British English, the neutral accent would be RP (or Received Pronunciation) based primarily on the upper middle-class speech of London.

American English and British English (BrE) differ at the levels of phonology, phonetics, vocabulary, and, to a lesser extent, grammar and orthography.

Read more...:up:
Neutral Accent - The Complete Guide

 

[makaveli]

Re: English Accents

I am an American who grew up on the West Coast of the United States and have what I consider to be a very plain accent. British English comes across to me as polished, fluid and calming. I also feel there is something "upper crust" and refined about the sound of an English accent.

Personally, I think that American English is easier to understand (of course, I'm biased) but lacks the aesthetic, phonetic appeal of the English accent.

In the United States, I also prefer a Southern American accent (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, etc.) to accents used in other parts of the country as well as accents primarily used on television and in movies.

Alas, the grass is always greener on the other side...

Have to say I have heard this type of comment many times and being from the UK I have to agree, and respect to you Kathryn for being so honest!

However to the original poster; there is a misconception by many learning English that "an American accent" means one only as if their is no variation! There are many different accents and some border on very posh/neutral English accents.

I have to also say as an observation of teaching many years in Asia that a lot of students have and continue to comment that they have a great deal of trouble understanding many American accents. That is not to say the same wouldn't happen with some UK accents but it is a common opinion put over to me many times!

I have a young student now who has had many hours outside of school with an American teacher and I and most of the rest of the class have problems understanding her. Maybe because it has become muddled with her native Asian tongue and American plus 3 years with me!!!!

Personally I want and like my students to develop a nice rounded Asian accent, maybe that is what you should aim for? :-D



Mak

 

[gawad]

Really this is a very important topic.I'm Egyptian ,living in England-Newcastle I was shocked when I came here because all people here in Newcastle pronounce the letter (u) as (o) ex:bus is pronounced as boss and so on .so English people accept all accents easily

 

[Offroad]

Re: English Accents

I totally agree with Kathryn about the fluidity and aesthetic qualities of the British accent. It really does sound more refined and proper.

My feelings exactly!
However... American English has influenced many "Englishes" out there, wich includes British English.
I believe some day the world will speak American English. It's happening to Portuguese! Portugal has to start spelling BR Portuguese. :shock:

 

[guoguohu]

I believe people should not be judged on the accent he or she holds. I like both English and Amercian accents. I also love the Scottish one which in my opinion is purely sexy.

 

[IvanV]

And no I'm not jelous. WHy would I be? Nothing to be jelous about. Maybe you're jelous for some reason...I could call you jelous just as much as you could call me. You also sound a bit closeminded. SOme people from European English SPeking countries get off thinking they speak "right" and anyone else speaks "wrong". That's very close minded and ignorant so I wouldn't go around with a prideful attitufe like that. I honestly don't like Birtish English accents or any British accent at all.

Nervous? :shock:

 

[bhaisahab]

British accents are very over-rated.They're aren't great at all. I wont say they're ugly because they're not, but I don't like them. I prfer some types of American accents. The personally love Southern accents, like Kelly Clarkson's when she was on AMerican IDol. Very pretty.Other Southern accents are nice too. If I'm not mistaken there are quite a few different ones than the most popular one.

And no I'm not jelous. WHy would I be? Nothing to be jelous about. Maybe you're jelous for some reason...I could call you jelous just as much as you could call me. You also sound a bit closeminded. SOme people from European English SPeking countries get off thinking they speak "right" and anyone else speaks "wrong". That's very close minded and ignorant so I wouldn't go around with a prideful attitufe like that. The beuty of language is the different dialects and accents.

And yes I speak English the way it's supposed to be spoken,...for communincation to other English speakers...

I honestly don't like Birtish English accents or any British accent at all.

Xenophobic perhaps, as well as semi-literate..

 

[IvanV]

Xenophobic perhaps, as well as semi-literate..

Fully agreed. :up:

 

[thod00]

I was thinking about how I would classify British accents. Although London is located in the south east, there is a distinctive London accent. The accent of south east England is the closest to the BBC accent. The others I would use are:

West Country (yokel)
Welsh
Brummies (Birmingham)
Scousers (Liverpool)
Manchester
Yorkshiremen
Geordies
Scots (excluding Glasgow)
Glasgow (like Rab Nesbitt)
Northern Ireland (norn ir'n)
Southern Ireland

 

[digga]

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.

To answer original question, I work at a U.S. call center in Costa Rica, and I am an English teacher. It is my experience that Americans prefer to talk to Americans when getting help over the phone for problems. They don't like having to fight to understand people's accent.

I've seen call centers fire people if their accent wasn't American enough. I even saw a British person get fired. (Sad but true)

I am an American, and I get asked all the time here how to get an American accent. I usually refer them to this excellent product http://tinyurl.com/bg2ustif they want to learn in their own home.

 

[SUDHKAMP]

To answer original question, I work at a U.S. call center in Costa Rica, and I am an English teacher. It is my experience that Americans prefer to talk to Americans when getting help over the phone for problems. They don't like having to fight to understand people's accent.

I've seen call centers fire people if their accent wasn't American enough. I even saw a British person get fired. (Sad but true)

I am an American, and I get asked all the time here how to get an American accent. I usually refer them to this excellent product http://tinyurl.com/bg2ustif they want to learn in their own home.

Many thanks for the above.

 

[alibeth]

hello,

I am from England and I am studying English grammar and lingusitics at university; in one of my modules we looked at language structure and a 'world language' namely - English. In discussions, we looked at some of the reasons why English has been 'adopted' as the main language of trade, retail, entertainment i.e. music and films that you mentioned - and the media - obviously this is an issue with many ways to take a view on it.

American English can be just as useful too learn as British English; being someone who listens to American music and who watches American films too, I know how easy it is to let 'Americanisms' into my everyday speech.
Some americanisms are thought of as stanardised now, and i think it is a matter of opinion whether or not there is a necessity for a divide between American and British English.

Personally I think that it is useful to learn American English; I have many international students on my course who say they were brought up learning British and American English which shows how some places take the view that there is a need for two seperate versions of English.

If a native speaker of English, such as myself speaks subconciously with Americanisms, then a chinese speaker would not be heckled for it. Any form of English is useful in the world today. I hope this is insightful to you.

 

[inri.2007@hotmail.com]

thanks a lot

 

[bhaisahab]

hello,

I am from England and I am studying English grammar and lingusitics at university; in one of my modules we looked at language structure and a 'world language' namely - English. In discussions, we looked at some of the reasons why English has been 'adopted' as the main language of trade, retail, entertainment i.e. music and films that you mentioned - and the media - obviously this is an issue with many ways to take a view on it.

American English can be just as useful too learn as British English; being someone who listens to American music and who watches American films too, I know how easy it is to let 'Americanisms' into my everyday speech.
Some americanisms are thought of as stanardised now, and i think it is a matter of opinion whether or not there is a necessity for a divide between American and British English.

Personally I think that it is useful to learn American English; I have many international students on my course who say they were brought up learning British and American English which shows how some places take the view that there is a need for two seperate versions of English.

If a native speaker of English, such as myself speaks subconciously with Americanisms, then a chinese speaker would not be heckled for it. Any form of English is useful in the world today. I hope this is insightful to you.

Ther are some significant differences between AmE and BrE, one particular horror in AmE (for me) is 'She didn't do her homework yet.' and similar sentences.

 

[SUDHKAMP]

Ther are some significant differences between AmE and BrE, one particular horror in AmE (for me) is 'She didn't do her homework yet.' and similar sentences.

What has forced them to standardise such usage in American English, Bhaisahab?

 

[bhaisahab]

What has forced them to standardise such usage in American English, Bhaisahab?

That is a good question SUDH. Some have said that it was to distance themselves linguistically from the old colonial power. I don't really know. Do you have any theories?

 

[SUDHKAMP]

That is a good question SUDH. Some have said that it was to distance themselves linguistically from the old colonial power. I don't really know. Do you have any theories?

I thinks the Britishers followed one standard model shaped by the Royalty.
While the Americans were a melting pot with immigrants settling from continent and Africa and other parts of the world. They did not have inhibitions on accepting different usages of English which were influenced by mother tongues of different people.
Thus they arrived in a situation, where they had a different attitude towards usage of English and a mentality to accept such usage as common. And what is common usage in any language is considered 'stanadard' by the linguists.
Same thing is happening in India. Mumbai(erstwhile Bombay) has many immigrants settled from all states of India and they speak a brand of Hindi, which has Marathi overtone. Purity of language takes a back-seat and thus Mumbai has developed a brand of Hindi, which is punctuated by words from many languages and does not reflect correct usage of 'Hindi Vyakran'. The Hindi purists are furious over such usage, yet, it is Mumbai Hindi which has made Hindi more useful and popular across India and many cultures. It has its own unwritten grammar and can be understood by those who llive in Mumbai.
Same thing is happening in Delhi, where there is Punjabi overtone and mixture of words.
Last year I had been to Bangalore and common man speaks Hindi during travel and stay in Hotel(though it may sound surprising to people who think South India never speaks Hindi). They also have their own version of Hindi and it is influenced by Deccan(Hyderabadi Hindi/Urdu). I think the subject is going beyond the purpose of this thread, yet I am trying to find an analogy, how English developed during the years.