You are taking your lead from the sun. That paper is pure tabloid trash. Good luck to ya!
What accent do you really hate? and which one you love?
In all fairness it was England who took over the rest of the country and now you are trying to get out of it after robbing the other places of their natural resources. Why don't you lot vote on the matter.
I don't want southeners and Lancs controling me from London any more than I wan't the Scots. Screw English independance, how about Yorkshire independance! the English didn't take over the rest of the country, it was the scots that made the union, and a scot that designed the union jack, just letting you know. And the Sun is rightwing bollocks for people with a reading age of 5, and thats no lie, ive done a word count test my self.
My mother tongue is Spanish but I was taught English from an early age. All of my instructors favoured British RP over anything else, including American. I then took some additional classes in phonology and achieved a quite satisfactory (to an English friend's ears) RP. I've recently come to the US to study and in as little as a year, I've found to my dismay that my accent is all over the place. Sometimes non-rhotic, sometimes rhotic... I've now realized that my 't's' in words like "city" and "atom" are awfully American! I could probably "force" myself to re-adopt my former pronunciations but it would seem artificial and could annoy people around me. How would you feel if someone you know did this?
If you wan't to use a different accent, go for it. As English is your second language you could just pass the change off as your accent improving? Obviously you allready are fluent and RP was your original accent, it shouldn't sound artificial at all. If a native speaker tried to change their accent artificialy that would be the only time it is anoying.
<<My mother tongue is Spanish but I was taught English from an early age. All of my instructors favoured British RP over anything else, including American. I then took some additional classes in phonology and achieved a quite satisfactory (to an English friend's ears) RP. I've recently come to the US to study and in as little as a year, I've found to my dismay that my accent is all over the place. Sometimes non-rhotic, sometimes rhotic... I've now realized that my 't's' in words like "city" and "atom" are awfully American! I could probably "force" myself to re-adopt my former pronunciations but it would seem artificial and could annoy people around me. How would you feel if someone you know did this?>>
It depends on what you want. When I studied abroad in Argentina I modified my accent (both consciously and unconsciously) in Spanish to imitate the Argentines around me (before my accent had largely attempted to imitate Spanish as spoken in Mexico and California, where I live). Even tho I'm back in the US I've largely kept my Argentine norms as they're natural to me now.
I like it because it's a legacy and a reminder of my time spent in Argentina.
It depends on what you want. When I studied abroad in Argentina I modified my accent (both consciously and unconsciously) in Spanish to imitate the Argentines around me (before my accent had largely attempted to imitate Spanish as spoken in Mexico and California, where I live). Even tho I'm back in the US I've largely kept my Argentine norms as they're natural to me now.
I like it because it's a legacy and a reminder of my time spent in Argentina.
You must either eliminate these tendencies or go the whole hog and change all your vowels and rhoticise every R in sight. A hybrid accent of that sort is even harder on the ear than a native NA accent.
>>You must either eliminate these tendencies or go the whole hog and change all your vowels and rhoticise every R in sight. A hybrid accent of that sort is even harder on the ear than a native NA accent.<<
Or one could learn the ability to main separate pronunciations, both RP and whatever NA dialect one is in contact with, separately, so that one can use either. Of course, such is likely more difficult than just trying to strictly maintain RP pronunciation (which would be hard due to large amounts of contact with individuals of which practically none use such) or completely switching over to just the local NA dialect (which would be easier due to plenty of contact with individauls speaking such, but would be hard to do perfectly due to still having been taught solely in RP).
Or one could learn the ability to main separate pronunciations, both RP and whatever NA dialect one is in contact with, separately, so that one can use either. Of course, such is likely more difficult than just trying to strictly maintain RP pronunciation (which would be hard due to large amounts of contact with individuals of which practically none use such) or completely switching over to just the local NA dialect (which would be easier due to plenty of contact with individauls speaking such, but would be hard to do perfectly due to still having been taught solely in RP).
I think it may be easier to eliminate the tendencies than trying to adopt a full-blown American accent. I recorded myself the other day, and what I've noticed as "Americanisms" are:
1 - A lower, less rounded vowel in words such as "thought"
2 - The "flapped" t in "city"
3 - Occasional rhoticity, especially in open positions (in "exposed" syllables, such as at the end of a word before a pause).
4 - A closer quality in the "trap" vowel.
I wish I could upload this recording so you can give me your opinion. I do not particularly dislike American accents, it's just that I was rather proud of my own.
1 - A lower, less rounded vowel in words such as "thought"
2 - The "flapped" t in "city"
3 - Occasional rhoticity, especially in open positions (in "exposed" syllables, such as at the end of a word before a pause).
4 - A closer quality in the "trap" vowel.
I wish I could upload this recording so you can give me your opinion. I do not particularly dislike American accents, it's just that I was rather proud of my own.
One thing about learning English I find very hard is that many many words are pronouced differently in American and British English.
I guess my pronouciation is full of both of them, and sometimes incorrect ones also.
I guess my pronouciation is full of both of them, and sometimes incorrect ones also.
That must be very frustraiting. Is there a standardised accent which English teaching companies, or what ever use?
There used to be. It was called Southern British, or SB, by speech/elocution/art of speech/articulation teachers, and was basically RP with some of the more affected pronunciations (such as pronouncing "my" as "may") toned down.
"That must be very frustraiting. Is there a standardised accent which English teaching companies, or what ever use? "
Do you mean in my place??
The English teachers here used to teach standard English (I'm not sure their pronouciation is standard enough though) but now they're begin to teach those kids American English in primary school.
I used to speak with a slightly rhotic accent (thanks to those hollywood movies).But now I found RP accent easier to pronounce and sounds better so I try to work toward that way.
Do you mean in my place??
The English teachers here used to teach standard English (I'm not sure their pronouciation is standard enough though) but now they're begin to teach those kids American English in primary school.
I used to speak with a slightly rhotic accent (thanks to those hollywood movies).But now I found RP accent easier to pronounce and sounds better so I try to work toward that way.
>>Do you mean in my place??
The English teachers here used to teach standard English (I'm not sure their pronouciation is standard enough though) but now they're begin to teach those kids American English in primary school.<<
It is interesting that you speak of teaching "standard English" in opposition to "American English" (which I assume means General American), as if one (happening to be Received Pronunciation or some variation thereof) were standard and the other were not. This is despite that both RP and GA are usually referred to as separate independent standards within a pluricentric language in most literature on the topic. Taking that into consideriation, how would you yourself explain such a position?
The English teachers here used to teach standard English (I'm not sure their pronouciation is standard enough though) but now they're begin to teach those kids American English in primary school.<<
It is interesting that you speak of teaching "standard English" in opposition to "American English" (which I assume means General American), as if one (happening to be Received Pronunciation or some variation thereof) were standard and the other were not. This is despite that both RP and GA are usually referred to as separate independent standards within a pluricentric language in most literature on the topic. Taking that into consideriation, how would you yourself explain such a position?
"In all fairness it was England who took over the rest of the country and now you are trying to get out of it after robbing the other places of their natural resources. Why don't you lot vote on the matter. "
It was a Scotsman who created both the Union Jack and the United Kingdom, so don't blame it on the English.
It was a Scotsman who created both the Union Jack and the United Kingdom, so don't blame it on the English.