American or English??

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Suki

Hahah yeah, I just realized she wrote that in 2008. We're a tad bit late on our replies.

I agree with Robin though. There's no such thing as proper English. There isn't a better dialect than another, so I fail to see how British English is more correct than American English in any way whatsoever.

There are lazy speakers and more proper speakers in any country and any language. I think it would be hard to argue a drunken hoodlum in Liverpool speaks a more proper English than, say, the American president.

[Ryzorian]

I'm from the Midwest where the "accentless" American English is. I don't mind British accents, though some are barely recognizable as english. Cockny and highland brogue to name a couple. America has certain accents that make understanding difficult as well. Hillbilly, deep south, and hell if I know what half those folks from "Jersy Shore" are saying.

Then you have American army english, that's mostly grunts, interspersed with swear words and technical terms. No one I have ever heard could swear as much as M1 tankers. Example's being "Where the blankity blank is my blanking fire blanking support...BLANK!!..Blankin get my blankity blank blanking Sargent Blanking NOW!" Roughly, from what I remember anyway.

[dogsbody70]

YouTube - Richard Burton - Desiderata

Sir Richard Burton reading desiderata


from Dylan thomas "Under Milkwood"

YouTube - UNDER MILK WOOD.


YouTube - Willam Butler Yeats - Broken Dreams

the wonderful Michael Macliamor reading some Yeats.

here we have Donavon singing to the Song of wandering Aengus by W B Yeats.

YouTube - Donovan - The Song Of Wandering Aengus


Its rather lovely I think.

[Ayame90]

Originally Posted by Dmnhntr

Here in America we speak American-English. But there are different variations of American-English like if you are from the south, like South Carolina, you will sound alot different and pronounce things different, than say someone from Ohio. The accent varies depending on what part of the country you live in.

True Here in Illinois we have about three or four different dialects of english. Country twang being most used, but even one's from the cit have an accent.

[dogsbody70]

YouTube - American Accent for Japanese Speakers

this is a website for japanese to speak in American English.

Its quite interesting.

[dogsbody70]

this site seems useful. re American English

Tower of English Idioms/Slang

[stachoo]

I am learning English and I prefer American English. AmE is more loose and is easier to understand for me than British English. BrE has also this "funny" accent. So I prefer AmE though my teacher is learning me BrE.

[tipsygypsy]

I feel like learning Jamaican English...Patoi or some like that

[TalnSG]

Originally Posted by dogsbody70

YouTube - American Accent for Japanese Speakers

this is a website for japanese to speak in American English.

Its quite interesting.

She does make some very good points. However, I would not entirely agree with some of the examples she gave. Her pronunciation of "contain" is actually no more acceptable than the version she considered incorrect. Just because lazy speech is common, does not mean it is correct. The "con" is not pronounced as a schwa sound; but as a fully pronounce short O with less accentuation, which her own speech pattern does not replicate well.

For the most part though, her own AmE is a general, homogenized version of American accents, as is mine -depending on who I am speaking with and how tired I am. I truly have to concentrate to kill copying accents if I am in conversation with someone who has a strong one (southern U.S., various Brit or Scot, Brooklyn, etc.) If I am tired, the Texas Twang slides in a bit.