[Deleted]
which do you prefer? Bristish or American English? or you have your own accent? i speak british english, cos i find american english stagy,haha
Jul 26, 2010 2:09 PM
Answers · 17
5
American English because that's what I speak.^^ Haha. I actually heard somewhere that American English is closer to "traditional" English. Just something I heard.^^ I don't have a source so take it as you will, haha. Not that I think it matters; to me, English is English. As for accent... well, I don't think I have one, haha, but other people in the US would think I do, haha. I live on the West Coast, so we generally have the most diluted accent out of all the regions.
July 26, 2010
2
Well, I feel like Erin's post is pretty similar to what I heard. Sorry I wasn't clear earlier. I was talking about in the US. Of course I still have an accent, but you can't really guess where I am from when you hear me speak (in the US). You can tell I'm from the west, but beyond that, you can't get much more specific. It's hard to tell where someone is from based on their accent once you are west of Texas; you can't really tell if they are from the Northwest (like me) or the Southwest (like the rest of my family); we pretty much sound the same. Accents are much more diverse moving east from Texas. "It is generally agreed that the diversity of American dialects declines steadily as one moves westward, and that the western part of the United States shows a diffusion of Northern, Midland and Southern characteristics as a result of the northward movement of Southern speakers through the Dakotas and Montana, and the steady flow of people from various regions to the far western states." From: http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/NationalMap/NationalMap.html#Heading2 Also: http://blogs.voices.com/voxdaily/Linguistic-Geography-Mainland-United-States.gif And that's all. Haha.
July 26, 2010
2
American vs British accent Prior to the Revolutionary War and American independence from the British in 1776, American and British accents were similar. Both were rhotic i.e. speakers pronounced the letter R in hard. Since 1776, the accents diverged but English accent in America has changed less drastically than accents in Britain. Towards the end of the 18th century, non-rhotic speech took off in southern England, especially among the upper class; this "prestige" non-rhotic speech was standardized, and has been spreading in Britain ever since. Most American accents, however, remained rhotic. There are a few fascinating exceptions: New York and New England accents became non-rhotic, perhaps because of the region's British connections. Irish and Scottish accents, however, remained rhotic. To be fair, both American and British English have several types of accents and there is no one true American or British accent. Source:http://www.diffen.com/difference/American_English_vs_British_English
July 26, 2010
2
I speak British English, and of course I prefer it. Unfortunately, American English does not usually sound very good to our ears. There are exceptions, of course.
July 26, 2010
2
I prefer to listen to the english accent also because it is easier to me. but I still have my own very italian accent :( any volunteer would help me with a pronunciation course??
July 26, 2010
Show more
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!