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American vs British English | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| shahvlad Newbie Belgium Joined 5301 days ago 19 posts - 38 votes | Message 17 of 25 19 June 2010 at 12:10pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
But just because you'll never truly sound like an Englishman or an American doesn't mean you don't have to strife to sound like one? What kind of an approach to language learning would it be to tolerate incorrect pronunciation or bad grammar - with the excuse that you're not ever going to sound like a native anyway? If anyone's serious about a language, he will settle with a variety and make sure he sounds as native-like as possible. I'm sure you'd like to sound like a native Italian eventually? If not, then I assume you're not very serious about the language. It is simply not acceptable for, say, an interpreter, or any professional who has to speak foreign languages, to have a thick accent. Add in some serious grammatical mistakes and he can kiss his career goodbye. Edited by shahvlad on 19 June 2010 at 12:12pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5445 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes  Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 18 of 25 19 June 2010 at 12:20pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
I think what most of the teachers meant to teach us was RP, or at least some sort of British Standard English, but what most of us actually learnt was skoleengelsk ("School English"), a mix of American and British English with a Scandinavian accent. I try to speak British English though. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Romanist Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5274 days ago 261 posts - 366 votes Studies: Italian | Message 19 of 25 19 June 2010 at 1:37pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Well, I'm tempted to say: "It's a realistic approach" :-0 (But of course, I can see your point: it is a fact that many learners do indeed strive hard to find the 'rainbow's end' of becoming exactly like a native speaker.)
Actually I accepted a long time ago that I will never sound like a native Italian - it just isn't going to happen! However, I think it would be a non-sequitur to conclude that I am, therefore, "not serious" about the language. My main goal in learning foreign languages is to be able to read great literature in the originals. I hope and trust that it is possible to read Dante without necessarily being able to go 'in piazza' and masquerade as a native-speaking Italian!? Edited by Romanist on 19 June 2010 at 1:43pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| shahvlad Newbie Belgium Joined 5301 days ago 19 posts - 38 votes | Message 20 of 25 19 June 2010 at 1:51pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Romanist, thanks for your clarification. You're entitled to your approach but to me it still comes down to telling yourself you're never going to master your target language. That, of course, is your good right. And if you're a hobbyist, that's fine with me!
However, I think that's exactly the opposite of what the mindset of a student or professional should be like. As a language student who will be making a living of languages in the future, I have to - and I want to - aim at [near-]perfection. All of this is getting off-topic though because the purpose of this thread was to learn about English education in other countries and people's preferences. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Romanist Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5274 days ago 261 posts - 366 votes Studies: Italian | Message 21 of 25 19 June 2010 at 2:01pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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As far as 'Romanistik' is concerned, yes, it is absolutely a hobby. :-)
(My dream is to read Latin, French, and Italian as well as I can read the Germanic languages - but my focus is often elsewhere, alas.) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| shahvlad Newbie Belgium Joined 5301 days ago 19 posts - 38 votes | Message 22 of 25 19 June 2010 at 2:27pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
My focus is more on business so speaking and writing skills are equally important to me. I see languages as practical tools that enable me to connect with other people and help me learn more about a nation's history and its mindset. I couldn't possibly get myself to learn a language merely for the sake of being able to read its literature. Which is not to say literature and culture leave me cold though. Good luck with your endeavors! Edited by shahvlad on 19 June 2010 at 2:27pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| ReneeMona Diglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 5327 days ago 864 posts - 1274 votes Speaks: Dutch*, EnglishC2 Studies: French | Message 23 of 25 19 June 2010 at 2:34pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I was taught British English in school but heard mostly American English through the media so I tend to sway back and forth in terms of my preferred accent. My American accent is better but I sometimes use an RP accent for a couple of days/weeks as well and I try to watch British films and TV to avoid losing the accent.
As for achieving a native accent; I consider it a vital and indispensible part of reaching native fluency in a language. Native fluency, to me, means being able to pass for a native speaker and this is impossible without the right accent. I strive for it in both English and French and I know it is a near-impossible goal to reach but I’m a perfectionist and I see no reason to learn a language unless I plan to learn it all the way to speaking it like a native. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| lynxrunner Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States crittercryptics.com Joined 5914 days ago 361 posts - 461 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish*, French Studies: Russian, Swedish, Haitian Creole | Message 24 of 25 20 June 2010 at 2:13am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I'm really curious about this topic. It's interesting to hear people's reasons for
learning one dialect over another... I am technically ESOL, but I speak English at the native level (and consider it one of my native languages, anyway) so I am not qualified to speak on this topic. There was another topic like this before; I was just reading it. It seems a lot of people want to learn British English because it's "more refined" as compared to American English which is "cool". Geography doesn't seem to play such a big role; there are many Swedes with good American accents, and in Jamaica it seems that British English is the norm (or at least, they teach British spelling and grammar as the more "formal" version of the language). 1 person has voted this message useful |
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