British vs American accent Since I was a kid, I've always though that I could better understand the British accent. All I've been remembering was a very proper pronunciation, very tight. That wa

Gérald

British vs American accent Since I was a kid, I've always though that I could better understand the British accent. All I've been remembering was a very proper pronunciation, very tight. That was before I came across a TV Show called "sherlock" where the actors have a British accent and are speaking at a natural (and fast) speed. Not only I was not able to understand what they were saying, but I was wondering "how is that even possible to understand what he (sherlock) is saying ?" At this time, I decided to postpone my training with the British accent to "later". After all, I had so many things to work on that I didn't fell the urge of working on this understanding chasm that exists between my comprehension of the American and British accent. This was before last Monday, when I told to myself "hey, let's try this oopt test on italki, maybe I'll find something to work on after the test". And my wishes came true, this was a shock.... I had terrible difficulties understanding the "listening part" of the test (OK, that and the fact that my kids were running around in the living room, shouting at each others). Anyway, from now on, I guess I know that I need to work on that. British and American accent are different. They both have their own way of "eating words"... and I guess I got used to the fast food way ^^

Oct 23, 2014 7:30 AM

Corrections · 3

Thx, very interesting !

November 12, 2014

It would also be a good idea to understand that there is no such thing as a "British" accent. It doesn't exist. Each part of the British Isles, from the littlest island, to the biggest region has its own accent. People in London often have no idea what people in Glasgow are saying, even though they are both speaking English. To make matters worse, TV shows like Sherlock often study accents from 100 years ago, or even longer, that nobody uses any more. The experts in accents believe there might be over 100 accents in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and the little islands that are still used in 2014. So, don't worry if you can't understand everything in one of the British accents, just remember that some native British don't understand it either.

November 11, 2014

British vs American accent

Since I was a kid, I've always thought that I could better understand the British accent.

All I remember was a very proper pronunciation, it was very tight.

That was before I came across a TV Show called "Sherlock" where the actors have a British accent and are speaking at a natural (and fast) speed.

Not only was I not able to understand what they were saying, but I was wondering "how is it even possible to understand what he (Sherlock) is saying?"

At this time, I decided to postpone my training with the British accent. After all, I had so many things to work on that I didn't feel the urge to work on this chasm of understanding that exists between my comprehension of the American and British accents.

This was before last Monday, when I told to myself, "hey, let's try this oopt test on italki. Maybe I'll find something to work on after the test." And my wishes came true; this was a shock.... I had terrible difficulties understanding the "listening part" of the test (OK, that and the fact that my kids were running around in the living room, shouting at each other).

Anyway, from now on, I guess I know that I need to work on that. British and American accents are different. They both have their own way of "eating words"... and I guess I got used to the fast food way ^^

November 11, 2014

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