I am American and I totally agree with Maria. Indians who half-way adopt an American accent sound funny. There are two basic types of north Indian accents I hear in the US: The stereotypical Indian accent that can be heard on "The Simpsons," where the speaker learsn American English and then a much smoother sounding-accent, where the speaker studies British English. I don't think most Americans pick up the difference, but to me, it is a big difference. The Indo-British accent is actually very pleasing to me.
Another thing. I am Californian, and there are many Mexicans. The only Spanish accent I have ever heard is the Mexican-American accent. I take that back. I have heard people from Spain speak, but they didn't sound like they studied British English. I would like to hear that.
Lastly, has anyone ever seen American news clips from the fifties and earlier? It seems to me that even as late as the seventies, the American accent had more British elements than now. Can anyone else hear them? I am extremely interested in both the recent and colonial evolution away from the British accent. Early James Bond sounds to me just like another American guy form the early 1900's.
As an American. I personally think that everyone is better off knowing how to speak english the way the British do. It's more decent and sophisticated then the American english.
you are saying that the best way tospak pure American is to study British English and then to be able to deffientiate between the two accent,, is it impossible to well learn the American accent and then u will be able to filter what you hear and care only about American accent.
I don't think that the point is about which language is better than the other because the pronunciation, vocabulary, syntax, colloquial and idiomatic expressions are all different. The history and the culture behind the british and the american has a cause-to-effect relationship. Needless to say that the american has derived from the british.
I know english but i think not good
English...Whether american or british is still english.... you have to know both when it comes to the listening part but you are obliged to stick to one when you speak.... unless of course if you can use each of them in different occassions... but it's awkward to hear them mixed up.....
Hi, I'm an Irish teacher of English as a Foreign Language in Barcelona, Spain, and I have also taught in other countries. Because English is now the main international language, accent is less important than in other languages; nobody is trying to speak like a native English speaker, you just want to make yourself understood.
What is pure american. What is american. Who is Amerigo Vespucio an italian-american whose daughter was baptized by a german geographer.
I am a medical student but I love English Language and its linguistics indeed. I like both American and British pronunciations. Both have a beauty and uniqueness of their own. And I suppose both should be studied. There is nothing wrong with either.
But one thing that I think should not be there is that as a speaker, one should all the time stick to only one pronunciation and not both. This makes one completely unidentifiable. What I am trying to say is that one should adopt one pronunciation and then follow it.
This message from me is for those people who are from Pakistan: All my life I have wondered how much the people of our nation love English language. I know many people who don't want their children speak any other language than English. The passion of our nation for English language is really worth mentioning.
But alas, we have a very serious problem. The problem is that our nation don't have a good command of the language. All my life, I have seen only a few people who can really speak reputable English. Speaking from the point of view of pronunciation, the state of affairs is even worse. When our people speak, native can't remain without laughing heartily. The problem is that our own language have a completely different way of utterance. Our people speak English in that very style which makes them rediculous.
My advice to them is to abandon their own language at while they are speaking English. They should also listen to native speaker and see how they speak their language.
Abdul Waheed Khan From The Aga Khan University Karachi.
I'm Canadian. We do not talk like Brits....well some do. I'm British and I have a bit of an accent, and I'm trying to learn to talk like a Brit. Could you help me? All I need is some tips to learn to speak like a Brit. Please post the tips on this board.
Thanks,
Runt
How do you know that british sound better then americans? I am british and i can talk like you americans. its not that we sound better its that we use proper grammer.
I want to have an accent like a brit because i think that more people would surround you for something that is different. Byt he way i am canadian eh?
Hey, don't get carried away with this racist stuff. Most Europeans will find it more useful to learn and use English English unless they are coming into contact or need to do business with a significant number of Americans.
Accent is accent (not language) and most Europeans I know tend to have an accent which is more American than English but not really either.
But if you're talking about the language, just learn everything and be sensitive. For instance, I don't mind you "analyzing your garbage" if you wish but if you write an article in an English newspaper on this you really should talk about "analysing rubbish". But, please let's have none of this linguistic apartheid. Both English English and American English grew out of the London dialect of English and are still very much mutually intelligible. We are linguistic brothers (or sisters) not "enemies".
Quick question - what is pure American? I didn't realise it was a separate language. If you're talking about accents then which is pure - New York, Texas or any of the other accents that there are in the USA.
What is British English? Is it English spoken with a Glaswegian accent, an Edinburgh accent, a Yorkshire accent, a Newcastle accent, a Cardiff accent, a Belfast accent.... the list is endless.
The fact of the matter is, no-one can say what "pure English" is. English is an international language and it is more important to communicate your ideas rather than worry about what accent you have.