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US vs UK English for learners | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
 Hencke Tetraglot Moderator Spain Joined 6895 days ago 2340 posts - 2444 votes  Speaks: Swedish*, Finnish, EnglishC2, Spanish Studies: Mandarin Personal Language Map | Message 65 of 136 19 May 2009 at 7:46pm | IP Logged | ||
Maybe this is turning into too much of a political debate, but I must say I feel the same way on this point, and also share and support some of the other views expressed by Cordelia. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| pmiller Account terminated Groupie Canada Joined 5675 days ago 99 posts - 104 votes Speaks: English* | Message 66 of 136 20 May 2009 at 2:12am | IP Logged | ||
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Well I'm new here and still don't know just where the line is when it comes to borderline political debate, but I'd certainly love to hear anyone's thoughts in more detail about European perceptions of the US and cultural dominance, lowest common denominator, etc.
If you feel the discussion can't proceed further in the forum, you're welcome to PM me... anyone who wants to discuss related matters with an American guy. I'd really like to better understand the European viewpoint. Don't worry about causing offense... I think I'm pretty open-minded. Edited by pmiller on 20 May 2009 at 2:23am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| sprachefin Triglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5747 days ago 300 posts - 317 votes Speaks: German*, English, Spanish Studies: French, Turkish, Mandarin, Bulgarian, Persian, Dutch | Message 67 of 136 20 May 2009 at 2:51am | IP Logged | ||
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To comment on the original topic, I tried to model as much as I could after the way the British spoke. I started learning English on my own and I found the materials that taught formal British English. I learned all the vocabulary, but since I was new to languages, I did not really learn how to make a very good British accent. I went on a trip with a couple of friends to America for about two weeks one summer, and I didn't really liked the way they spoke. I later spent some time there with a vacation abroad program where I would go to the U.S. for school but only when we would have vacation (the schedules are different). I picked up and American accent, and I still speak with an accent when I speak but I try to sound as American as possible when I speak, but I use British pronunciation of words and British vocabulary (yes I do get funny stares). But I think the one you should learn is the one you prefer. There will be no communication issues if you learn one and spend time in a country where the other is spoken.
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| thecoffeecake Newbie United States Joined 5680 days ago 5 posts - 5 votes | Message 68 of 136 20 May 2009 at 6:01am | IP Logged | ||
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us americans here in the northeast know we're the only English speakers without an accent : )
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| Abik Triglot Newbie Netherlands Joined 5669 days ago 8 posts - 10 votes Speaks: Dutch*, Italian, English | Message 69 of 136 20 May 2009 at 10:08am | IP Logged | ||
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I think a foreign learner should base his decision on purpose, at the moment I am studying Spanish, and I want to understand both standard Spanish television Spanish, and train myself to understand mexican radio, very interesting when a slight flu infestes the thinking of media all over the world.
As far as English is concerned, a foreign speaker should be aware of variety's of a language, no matter what language he is learning. English can be mutually unintelligable even between native speakers, I remember a drunk Cambridge student in Italy speaking to a californian girl, the cambridge girl wanted to leave the party because she had drunk too much, she explained this to the californian girl, and this led to misunderstanding. (pissed) The californian girl thought someone had insulted the cambridge student and was worrying about this. For myself, English is a tool and it does the job, every native speaker understands my English, but i do not understand every native speaker of English, Sailing to yorkshire I could perfectly ask things to people, but it took me three days to decode their anwsers, once decoded i made a sport about training myself into their pronunciation. Language is a living thing, play with it. I do not agree with the motto. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Abik Triglot Newbie Netherlands Joined 5669 days ago 8 posts - 10 votes Speaks: Dutch*, Italian, English | Message 70 of 136 20 May 2009 at 10:32am | IP Logged | ||
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Sprachefin, my German is bad, but in Germany nobody cares, I just speak German and try to improve it by having fun with people when I am there. Cycling through your country led to the conclusion that I had to learn a different language every day. And I loved it.
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| Abik Triglot Newbie Netherlands Joined 5669 days ago 8 posts - 10 votes Speaks: Dutch*, Italian, English | Message 71 of 136 20 May 2009 at 10:43am | IP Logged | ||
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| William Camden Hexaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 6273 days ago 1936 posts - 2333 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, French | Message 72 of 136 20 May 2009 at 4:10pm | IP Logged | ||
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I would say foreign learners would be better learning American English, as it is readily understood everywhere, even in the UK. You get a wide range of accents and dialects in the UK, wider than in the USA.
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