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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| RMM Diglot Groupie United States Joined 5227 days ago 91 posts - 215 votes  Speaks: English*, German Studies: Italian, Spanish, Ancient Greek, French, Swedish, Japanese | Message 41 of 66 26 June 2012 at 1:07am | IP Logged | |||||
I don't know why you would consider this a sign of "superiority;" it could be more a sign of simply looking for the product that is easiest for them to understand. I have, in fact, known many Americans who find it a bit difficult to understand British accents. You must remember Americans are exposed to British accents far less than the British are exposed to American ones in general. Why not try to find the easiest-to-use product to pay your money for? At any rate, I have heard complaints before about British accents from Americans, and some Americans do, I think unfairly myself, see the RP accent as a little "uppity" or arrogant. But really I've never in my life heard an American say that American English is superior to British English. In fact, I've run into many Americans who consider British accents to be superior to American ones. Many here consider RP to be classy and sophisticated. Others consider British (and esp. Australian) accents to be different and "cool." I remember a kid in my high school spoke with a British accent and most of the other students thought the way he spoke was really cool. It made him more popular, not less. If I were you, I wouldn't be so quick to put the worst possible interpretation onto what you read, nor to draw broad, far-reaching conclusions from some online product reviews. You're liable to be wrong. 4 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| tastyonions Triglot Senior Member United States goo.gl/UIdChYRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4665 days ago 1044 posts - 1823 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: Italian | Message 42 of 66 26 June 2012 at 8:54am | IP Logged | |||||
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Every American I've heard speak on the subject is either indifferent or (more often) favorable toward British accents and toward non-American native English accents more generally. I've never heard someone call them inferior or snobby. Some such people may exist, but I have never met one. Edited by tastyonions on 26 June 2012 at 8:55am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| COF Senior Member United States Joined 5831 days ago 262 posts - 354 votes Speaks: English* | Message 43 of 66 26 June 2012 at 9:42pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Most Americans don't really know what British people actually sound like. The British accent most Americans hear is RP, which is not how real British people speak.
In fact, I'm not sure most Americans would immediately identify most non-RP accents as being British. In my opinion, the closest thing Americans hear to a "typical" contempary British accent is the singer Adele. Edited by COF on 26 June 2012 at 9:43pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| kira428 Newbie United States Joined 4540 days ago 7 posts - 8 votes Speaks: English* | Message 44 of 66 28 June 2012 at 4:59am | IP Logged | |||||
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As an American, I think that a lot of what people see as British English being "uppity" actually stems from the depth and richness of British history that we in America simply don't have. We were raised on fairy tales, and it's the British accent that evokes images of kings and queens and castles. So "uppity," I think, is actually "classy," and "proper" to a level that we simply don't have in America.
Also, in general, British accents are perceived very positively in America. There's a reason why bartenders with British accents always get more tips :) I've had trouble with some language books that work in British English. There are so many false cognates! "Flannel" was the first to cause me to make a rather silly error, and quite a few others have followed. So in general, I prefer to work with American English. That way I won't tell somebody about my "flannel" shirt, which apparently came across as a shirt made of facecloths when it has a very different meaning in the U.S. I have several British friends, and I'm certainly amazed at how differently they talk, especially considering Britain's size relative to the U.S. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| gravityguy Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4537 days ago 56 posts - 77 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 45 of 66 28 June 2012 at 12:10pm | IP Logged | |||||
Yeah, I can really see your point on this one COF. I was in Florida only a few weeks ago (I'm English by the way) and not a single person could hear a word we were saying due to our English accents. Obviously, my wife being a lawyer, is very snobby and uptight and therefore it was especially difficult for being to understand her... oh hang on a minute, how silly of me, they could actually understand everything we said, all of the time perfectly well. In fact quite a lot of people actually said how much they loved my accent (even if a couple of them did think we were Australian!) lol. How completely moronic and ill educated to think that only US accents can be understood world wide!
Totally agree, as per the above. I have to say that I have been very impressed whilst I've been reading this post, as in many/most other forums, it would soon have turned hostile and the thread would probably have been closed. It is quite refreshing that despite the obvious attempt by the OP to turn native speakers of the English language from various countries against each other, people have managed to turn it into an intellectual thread on the origins of the American accent which I actually find quite fascinating. 4 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| gravityguy Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4537 days ago 56 posts - 77 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 46 of 66 28 June 2012 at 12:22pm | IP Logged | |||||
Haha, I love these sort of differences. There are quite a few words/phrases that have completely different meanings in British English than in American English. A couple of my favourites (they are quite crude, but I suppose that's what makes them funny) are fanny packs (fanny in Britain has a VERY different meaning). Also the word fag, which in Britain actually means cigarette. Oh, I forgot bogey, which in Britain is not a pleasant thing! hehe Sorry, I know they are crude and not in keeping with the forum but it is quite funny nevertheless ;-) 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Elexi Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5565 days ago 938 posts - 1840 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 47 of 66 28 June 2012 at 12:58pm | IP Logged | |||||
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and then there is the pronunciation of 'buoy'....
1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| gravityguy Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4537 days ago 56 posts - 77 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 48 of 66 28 June 2012 at 1:30pm | IP Logged | |||||
Ahh yes, in the US isn't it pronounced "boo-ee"? UK is 'boy' Also heard someone talking about faucets once on the TV and I had no idea what they were talking about. I realised that they were referring to taps after I had looked it up on the net. lol I would love to know the origins of some of these quite significant differences. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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