Funny thing is, there are thousands of UK accents that are as different from each other as they are from the generic American accent. Granted, there’s variety in the US as well, but the concentration is higher in the UK, as we’ve had towns and villages for thousands of years within 20 miles of each other that had their own unique way of speaking that often only locals can understand without effort.
So yeah, when you say ‘British accent’ that means basically nothing to anyone in the UK.
I speak a couple of languages with enough fluency to spot accents (including English, having lived in Britain for more than a decade) and in my experience even small countries have lots of distinct regional accents.
That which you describe is pretty much true everywhere with all languages - people from abroad who don’t speak the language can’t really spot accents unless they’re at the fluency level of speaking that language and even those from countries were the same language is spoken can’t really tell apart most of the accents in that different country beyond rough categories (so for the British Isles that would be “English” accent, “Scottish” accent and “Irish” accent).
It’s the same with Scottish accents - the English think there’s just one, but there’s an big range. Living here for 30+ years I can identify Orkney, Highlands, Western Isles, Weegie, Reekie (posh and non-posh), Aberdeen and Galloway. That last one is odd, it sounds almost Geordie and the locals call it “Galloway Irish”.
I take your point, which was why I added the next sentence acknowledging the variety of US accents. I’d argue that the Mid-Atlantic accent that most (but certainly not all) movie stars use is the closest thing to said generic accent.
I remember seeing some claim they did a study of English accents around the world and when they tried to average them all they got something similar to how people talk in Boston. Which I must say that’s hard to believe, but fuck do I know
There is a generic American accent though. News anchors began using it heavily in the 80s because focus groups said it sounded the most neutral and hard to place. It’s basically a NoCal accent.
The precise definition and usefulness of the term continue to be debated,[8][9][10] and the scholars who use it today admittedly do so as a convenient basis for comparison rather than for exactness
Thank you for agreeing with me, and providing sources to back up my point.
To repeat my point,
Stating that there exists a generic UK accent is as useless as suggesting there exists a generic US accent. The wikipedia article suggests that linguists by and large agree with me. So again, thanks.
If anyone doubts this, keep in your head what your idea of a British accent is, then go and find some vids of people talking in the Black Country accent. The old black and white videos are the best - its thought to be the nearest surviving accent from ‘Old’ English.
Funny thing is, there are thousands of UK accents that are as different from each other as they are from the generic American accent. Granted, there’s variety in the US as well, but the concentration is higher in the UK, as we’ve had towns and villages for thousands of years within 20 miles of each other that had their own unique way of speaking that often only locals can understand without effort.
So yeah, when you say ‘British accent’ that means basically nothing to anyone in the UK.
I speak a couple of languages with enough fluency to spot accents (including English, having lived in Britain for more than a decade) and in my experience even small countries have lots of distinct regional accents.
That which you describe is pretty much true everywhere with all languages - people from abroad who don’t speak the language can’t really spot accents unless they’re at the fluency level of speaking that language and even those from countries were the same language is spoken can’t really tell apart most of the accents in that different country beyond rough categories (so for the British Isles that would be “English” accent, “Scottish” accent and “Irish” accent).
UK having 1,000 accents to sound inbred in instead of America’s 5ish is pretty neat!
Yeah, you have to say “Bri’ish” or they won’t understand you.
My British accent hits a very hard and accentuated T.
If your T is so hard, you could probably get a water softener.
It’s the same with Scottish accents - the English think there’s just one, but there’s an big range. Living here for 30+ years I can identify Orkney, Highlands, Western Isles, Weegie, Reekie (posh and non-posh), Aberdeen and Galloway. That last one is odd, it sounds almost Geordie and the locals call it “Galloway Irish”.
Tell me about it - i live in Shetland, which is wildy different from our closest neighbours in Orkney, which to my ears sounds like Welsh!
Saying “generic American accent” is about as valuable as someone doing a cockney accent and saying it’s generic British.
I take your point, which was why I added the next sentence acknowledging the variety of US accents. I’d argue that the Mid-Atlantic accent that most (but certainly not all) movie stars use is the closest thing to said generic accent.
I remember seeing some claim they did a study of English accents around the world and when they tried to average them all they got something similar to how people talk in Boston. Which I must say that’s hard to believe, but fuck do I know
I mean, how do you “average out” accents?
Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G72tZdjnS2A
Yesterday at my flight with British Airways there was a stewardess with a heavy Liverpool accent. It sounded so nice.
It’s akin to saying “the generic American accent,” Which means absolutely nothing to anyone in the US.
There is a generic American accent though. News anchors began using it heavily in the 80s because focus groups said it sounded the most neutral and hard to place. It’s basically a NoCal accent.
Nah, the San Jose local accent is distinctive and it’s not on any national news.
The newscaster accent from the '80s was a real thing but it was upper-midwest. Tom Brokaw is the canonical example.
Go tell that to any linguist and get laughed at.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_American_English
Thank you for agreeing with me, and providing sources to back up my point.
To repeat my point,
Stating that there exists a generic UK accent is as useless as suggesting there exists a generic US accent. The wikipedia article suggests that linguists by and large agree with me. So again, thanks.
There are more varieties of accents inside London than across the entire US. You understood their point, no need to be pedantic.
Their point is equally pedantic.
You guys are all shallow and pedantic.
Shallow and pedantic
also people judge you for your accent a lot more there than in the USA
americans are really only mostly familiar with the posh accent or cockney anyway.
Familiar? Yes. Do we care? Not in the slightest.
If anyone doubts this, keep in your head what your idea of a British accent is, then go and find some vids of people talking in the Black Country accent. The old black and white videos are the best - its thought to be the nearest surviving accent from ‘Old’ English.