Comments on: The Great British Accent

By: Tyler

Tyler — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 09:45:16 +0000

@Anna

this article is really KEWL, I like it! <3
and BTW RP accent is the best haha

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 02:55:49 +0000

Well, I agree with Anna wholeheartedly. I finnd that the majority Europeans (apart from some French) do imitate American accents (I know because I’m a recruiter for a multinational that focuses on employing European graduates). The trouble is they don’t do a good job of it and the result is rather disapointing: the accents are non-standard, incomprehensible to even native American English speakers. So you have a project team consisting of a Dutchman, a Spaniard, a Chinese and an American and they don’t understand each other very well, sometimes not at all. If they were to learn a standard accent, either the British Receceived Pronunciation or the General American accent, life would have been easier.
Furthermore, I spent 2 years at Columbia University in NYC and all, I mean ALL Americans there loved the British accents (Hugh Grant had a lot to answer for) and more than a dozen admitted that it was better sounding than their own accents.
I suspect that the people that criticised the article are not real American at all. Either that or they are just too insecure to understand humour.

By: Akaela

Akaela — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:34:41 +0000

I understand that what you’re saying was not meant to be offensive. My parents moved over to Australia when I was young and were surprised that, not only were the children’s shows American, but some teachers also taught American spelling and pronunciation in schools.

It’s not that people may find the American accent unpleasant, it’s just odd to find it spoken in such places. It’s also odd for American to be taught in place of a more region-appropriate dialect.

By: Anna

Anna — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:58:44 +0000

Hello Aidan,

Thank you for your comments regarding my article. I agree with you about the regional accents in Britain being varied, and did make note of this in the second paragraph of the article when saying it was a shame that there is just one common perception of the ‘British’ accent, that being Oxford English or as you say ‘upper class’ English. The link I included goes to a video of someone doing 21 different accents from all over Britain, giving a wide overview. Admittedly, they are not all accurate, however it does give you a good idea that not everyone sounds ‘posh.’ Perhaps I should have elaborated on this in the article and it may be something for me to consider writing about in the future.

By: Aidan

Aidan — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:17:53 +0000

It would make more sense to me for people outside of the English speaking world to learn American English since that is the dominant version of English worldwide. In my work the corporate language is US English so that is the variety we use for spell checking. I grew up using more British spellings than US ones (although in Ireland -ize is perfectly acceptable instead of -ise) but it is not so difficult to change to US spellings.
In terms of accents I think it is a misnomer to speak about a ‘British’ accent. Somebody from Ballymena or the Welsh valleys sounds nothing like an upper class English person. In fact upper crust New England accents (cf. the Frasier type mid-Atlantic accents) sound far more like English accents than UK regional accents.

By: TJ

TJ — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:53:57 +0000

*sigh* … I never get tired of a Brit telling me that I speak English improperly, and then being called over-sensitive when that bothers me. No really, it never gets old! Honestly, nothing brings us closer than your criticism of how I was taught to speak since birth.

By: The Queen

The Queen — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:45 +0000

Dear Miss Anna,
I would like to express my extreme gratitude for the enthusiasm with which you have spoken of the language with which I converse with my subjects. One was simply thrilled to have it brought to me by the corgis this morning, and to read it over a lovely breakfast of egg and soldiers. You truly are a shining example of what one small country can achieve amongst the lexiographic diversity in this World.
As for those writing from areas, once colonies of my ancestors, who now speak with variations on the particular dialect that one uses in Windsor, I can only suggest that whilst the evolution of the sounds shows progress, your unnecessarily defensive comments strike the casual observer to events from the palace, as a touch over-sensitive.
Yours most sincerely,
Liz

By: Corentin

Corentin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:28:12 +0000

It’s too bad Americans seem to take the various opinions expressed here as a mere sign of hatred for USA.

It’s not irrealistic to hear such a thing:
- “I don’t like the American accent”
- “WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA, you arrogant, pompous Brits? Stop being so rude!”
It’s not about America itself, where did you read that? It’s only about the accent, OK?

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:42:19 +0000

@ Carina and Julie:

Thank you for your kind and respectful words!

The tone of my comment was not to be taken as combative. I was simply trying to state my opinion as you would in a debate. I had no problem with this article until she called American English “improper”. Our shows and movies and music are very popular abroad, so it always bothers me when people from other countries beat up on us. It’s not fair to make generalizations based on what you read on potentially biased websites or hear on biased news. The US is a country of some 350 million people – how can one possibly generalize that many people? Just my 2¢.

By: Julie

Julie — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:28:10 +0000

I don’t get the tone of all your comments… Come on, the article is funny and there is nothing offensive in it! I think you’re overreacting, she’s talking of her own personal experience!
I am French and I completely agree with her, almost all my English teachers were either Americans either French speaking with an American accent… I had an Irish teacher last year at the university and we were all very confused and had to make her repeat a lot of things. Actually, we French are not all dumb, we happen to watch movies or series which are not dubbed, and since most of them come from the US, we got used to the American accent. When a British person talks to me, I find it harder to understand! And that’s a shame, because the British accent is very pleasant (well, this is my opinion and that does not mean I hate Americans and their accent, just to be clear).