What do you think of the different accents of English?

[CeejayMode]

~delete~

[BearAcrosser]

I'm not a native speaker of English, so I'll give my perspective as an outsider. The accent I prefer is pretty much RP; nothing sounds as good to me as the accent of, for instance, David Tibet (search for some Current 93 songs and hear his accent!). It is also the accent I find easier to understand, perhaps because during my academic career it was the main variety used for teaching.

I also really like the Scottish accent. And Southern American sounds really evocative to me! It makes me imagine a lonely and rusty gas pump at the side of a road in the middle of the desert.

The accent I dislike the most is the General American you find in American movies, it sounds slurred and garbled to my ears, although I understand it is a matter of personal preference, and that every accent is born equal!

[pcgamer]

I am watching Doctor Who right now. It's a British show. If you notice, they pronounce certain words differently than i other accents. For example, Hello is pronounced more like helo.

[Muthoni]

I find English spoken with an accent very fascinating. I can listen to someone with a good accent for a while. Yes I once faked an accent over the phone to play a prank on my friend. She did not recognize me until I talked in my own accent.

[dostava]

An unpopular opinion: I dislike Cockney but I love Scottish. Southern British accents all sound to me as is the speakers were secretly making a mockery of their audiences while Scottish appears raw, untempered and completely honest (yes, I'm aware of the regional dialects that exist in Scotland as well, but here I'm only comparing the North in general to the South in general). I even like Scouse, despite the fact I barely understand it when it's spoken...

[gmckee1985]

I really like the British take on English, so to speak. At the least the type that is popularized in movies and culture in general. I think it's very sophisticated and pretty sounding. I think Margaret Thatcher kind of epitomizes the accent that I'm talking about. I'm from the southern united states, and I'd much rather hear that accent on the language rather that the, shall we say not so sophisticated way some people speak the language in the United States. :bored:

[Kektheman]

I don't know much about the different dialects, to be honest, since I'm not a native speaker. But I love the Scottish dialect a ton! As Dostava pointed out before, it just sounds raw and down to Earth. Unlike other English accents that can come off as extremely posh.

[chigreyofthenorns]

I always liked British English. There is a certain charm to this accent. Actually, I find speakers of British English really respectful. It's as if they are really scared of offending anybody. People with this accent who I love very much are Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Colin Firth.

[RAHSTYLES]

I find it hard to understand the "broad" accents and it takes time to adjust to hearing them.

[edthebig]

I think the British accent is very sophisticated and even though my native language is Spanish, I am now fluent in English. So maybe I could try and change my English accent but I learned English by living in the United States so now I would be very difficult to try and change my English accent. But I think the British accent is very fun.

[Languagetat]

Some people speak of a "Mid-Atlantic" accent, which blends British and American accents, as it could be heard in some old Hollywood films by actors like Cary Grant. I really like that accent. A more recent example is geographer David Harvey who is British but has lived in the U.S. for a long time and now both accents are mixed.

In general, I think I really like the Southern England accent as long as it doesn't sound too posh. However, I like to hear the "r"s pronounced, and this is something I really miss in Southern England accents. In that sense, I like the Boston pronunciation of "r"s.

[Kektheman]

Some people speak of a "Mid-Atlantic" accent, which blends British and American accents, as it could be heard in some old Hollywood films by actors like Cary Grant. I really like that accent. A more recent example is geographer David Harvey who is British but has lived in the U.S. for a long time and now both accents are mixed.

In general, I think I really like the Southern England accent as long as it doesn't sound too posh. However, I like to hear the "r"s pronounced, and this is something I really miss in Southern England accents. In that sense, I like the Boston pronunciation of "r"s.

Are you talking about the pronunciation of "r" like the one in American English? I honestly don't like that much, but I really like the linking "r"s and intrusive "r"s in RP. Would you like both of them mixed together?

[Lin]

What do you think of the many accents of English? Do you have a particular accent you like? Have you ever tried to change your accent?

I do especially like the British accent. It sounds more refined and dignified to me. Once to start speaking in the British accent, people start looking at you. I have when the accent is too deep though. I also find that the Australian accent is somewhat similar to the British, so I like that one as well. There is something sweet about the Jamaican accent as well (Tess Ann Chin spoke it well on the Voice).