What do British people think of the American accent?
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They probably think we chew gum and smile all day and say things like “Yeah…whatsup man?”
I have met a lot of people who think that all Americans sound like they are from California.
Well I don’t think there is ‘one’ American accent. Similarly to accents in the UK, they vary depending on where people are or where they originally are from. I like American accents though. I tend to like accents generally though. It is that point of difference.
@adirondackwannabe – any American accent.
I have been told by British girls that they feel about boys with American accents the way that American girls feel about boys with British accents.
@RockerChick14 I’m from a small town in Upstate NY. I have a slight drawl.
I find the Californian accent way too annoying.
Seriously, the time it takes for them to say one sentence, I can usually fit in three. It’s just,,, hurry up and say what you wanna say old bean. Not very cricket, what. Not fitting at all. One must not mumble.
The Brit I knew definitely knew how refined and elegant her accent was in comparison to “ours.”
I tend to agree with her.
@MilkyWay I had an English woman tell me I talked really slow but thought really fast.
@MilkyWay: Oh, you Brits are all too quiet anyway.~ grumble grumble
@MilkyWay It kept me out of trouble a few times. Unfortunately I type a little too fast sometimes on here.
@MilkyWay: That was amazing. Colors are brighter. Foods tastes better. I know the meaning of life. Thank you. Seriously. That was beautiful.
@milkyway – what California accent?
@RockerChick14 The one my cousins in California talk in. I love keeping in contact with them via email, but I always avoid talking to them on the phone…
@milkyway It’s not the surfer dude accent is it?
@Adirondackwannabe Mind linkin me? Anyway, they’re both girls, so technically, they’re not ‘dudes’... They do visit the sea though.
Somebody help me out. Sean Penn’s character in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Thanks for asking this! I’m an American getting ready to move to the UK and I’m super self-conscious about my accent!
@ANef_is_Enuf Most likely because the American entertainment industry is for the most part based in LA.
@MilkyWay Most likely the California accent with unrounded vowels, so the “oo” sound sounds like “ew”. “Let’s get some fewd”. Listening to myself on recording—I do sort of talk like that…
@milkyway – if I do have a California accent it’s because my parents are from California and I don’t have a valley girl or surfer accent.
@sliceswiththings – your welcome and don’t be nervous about your accent I’m sure it will be ok.
@sliceswiththings, don’t be! People will love your accent. Are you single? If so, it will add to your charm.
(cringe) I sound annoying
When I have heard British people sort of mocking Americans it usually is done in a southern accent.
I’m not sure about how they really perceive our accent, but if you go by Top Gear they definitely think Americans are fat. The two episodes I have seen they visited the American south. They made fun of how people spoke once or twice.
Whut kinna ac-cent y’all takin’ bout? It’s them day-um Yankees whut’s got tha ac-cent! : D
Its more what a person says, and the way they deliver it, than the accent they have which colours ones opinion of them. An ignorant person will sound ignorant whichever accent they have…...
The same Scottish people think about the English accent.
Oh, sophisticated and elegant??
Well, you all speak in an English accent when I’m reading you anyway ;-)
Ay up @‘arple, I don think I ‘ave an accent at all!
@Bellatrix ha ha! Nor, lass… tha’s soundin’ jus reet!
@harple
Boy, ah don’ think yew can make THIS drawl into no English ac-cent! Prolly blow out sum circuits er sumfin! Heh!
Put kettle on woman and we’ll have a brew and a yarn eh?
Aye lass, le’ss do jus that! Would you be wantin’ a biscuit wi’that?
Oh aye, that’d be good. D’y’ave any custard creams?
Don’t know about British, but I find it annoying. I had reason to phone a woman in the US yesterday, and she pretended that she couldn’t understand me (either that, or she was just ignorant….........)
Unless I miss my guess, our most distinctive accents actually draw from Great British immigrants.
What do they think of their own slough of accents? I hear tell one can’t get from one end of London to another without passing through a half-dozen different kinds.
@Nullo Personally, I love the variety of accents we have within the UK – it’s fabulous in such a small country to be able to pinpoint quite accurately which patch someone hails from. Some are sing-songy, some are very formal sounding, some add in lots of additional unnecessary words, some can sound quite harsh. I can’t think of one UK accent that directly compares to an American one off the top of my head though…
@Harold I think it is very likely she did not understand you, I highly doubt she purposely acted like she couldn’t when she could. An amazing amount of Americans won’t stop and really listen to someone with an accent, and take the time to concentrate and decipher what is being said if it sounds foreign. Most British accents Americans can understand, fewer Americans know the different words used by the Brits. For instance lift vs. elevator, flat vs. apartment, mad vs. crazy, etc.
I dated a guy from Newcastle (talk about an accent!) We met in the south and he had an awful time understanding folks with that drawl. We took a trip up to Boston’s north shore and it was much easier for him. The accent people in my hometown is so distinct, I heard someone talking in Florida and new she had to be from there, and she was.
@harple Did all of those accents grow up in the city, or are they imports that settled there?
The Appalachian accent, for example, is largely a blend of Scottish and Irish, with some Welsh thrown in for flavor. Blending would make direct comparisons difficult.
@Nullo We have so many influences here, normans, romans, celts etc etc, goodness knows where our accents originate from. You mention the Appalacian accent being a blend of Scottish, Irish and some Welsh… but the accents in those three countries vary so much within them. Wales has two VERY distinct accents (aside from all the variations beyond that) for example.
@JLeslie – You may be correct, but I figure if I can understand someone else’s accent, they should make an effort to understand me. As to UK accents, I don’t find them particularly hard to understand. Scottish is more difficult.
@Harold This is a generalization, but what I find is people who live in places with many accents are more likely to be patient and listen more attentively to a foreign accent. My statistics professor had a string Indian accent, but I had no trouble understanding him. A lot of people in my class complained about his accent, and said they could not always understand him. They usually were from small towns, and rarely exposed to anyone who was dissimilar to them. Someone living in the American deep south, in a small town, with a strong southern drawl, who speaks very slowly, might have trouble with an English accent, they have trouble with some American accents. And, vice a versa for that matter. My husband had to print up a list of what not to say for his staff who answers the 800 line, because people calling in from other parts of the country would not necessarily understand what they are saying.
I do agree with you, everyone should make an effort. I also agree generally Scottish is more difficult.
@JLeslie Out of interest, do YOU find Australians hard to understand? By the way, you make some valid points above I have to agree. I have no idea why there lines through this, either…........
@Harold If you put a single dash (-) before and after what you write with no space it will put a line/strike through your sentence. Double dash will give you the small font.
Well, I don’t find many people difficult to understand, I am pretty good with accents. I don’t have trouble understanding Australians except when they use some native to Australia expressions I am not familar with, but their accent I don’t find to be a problem at all.
All over the world typically the biggest factor in understanding each other in ones own language is social class, but not always.
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