NationStates Jolt Archive

What does English sound like to you and how do American and British English sound different? Is there any language that seems similar?

What does English sound like to you and how do American and British English sound different? Is there any language that seems similar?

I'm technically esl, but I'm a native English speaker. So, I don't actually have a point. Yeah...

*leaves thread*

Well, I'm a native speaker, but I teach EFL.

For my Japanese students, they complain about the large amount of sounds that forms up English (300+) as well as the issues with the rhythms and intonation, none of which they can catch. There's also the old L/R problem (Which lead to a rumor that Americans eat hot dogs prepared like a banana split because J-sensei said he wanted to put cherries on his hot dog [I said I wanted to put chili]).

And no, they cannot catch the difference between British English and American English unless it's the difference in words. The elementary AET is from Australia and even with the two of us standing side by side saying the same word (See? L-sensei said eight this way, J-sensei says 8 that way), my students didn't hear the difference at all.

And no, they cannot catch the difference between British English and American English unless it's the difference in words. The elementary AET is from Australia and even with the two of us standing side by side saying the same word (See? L-sensei said eight this way, J-sensei says 8 that way), my students didn't hear the difference at all.
I wonder if it's just 'cause they aren't familiar enough with the language to catch the difference in accents yet? It took me a while to notice the difference between Parisian French and Quebec French when I was learning...

I wonder if it's just 'cause they aren't familiar enough with the language to catch the difference in accents yet? It took me a while to notice the difference between Parisian French and Quebec French when I was learning...
Pretty much, I cannot tell the difference between some of the ben in Japanese, and get laughed at by my kids or in-laws when I pick up a word or pronunciation that's non-standard.

My wife, who has spent time in the UK and is a good English speaker, can tell the difference between the two as well as some accents. Of course she's also picking up my Nevadan one, along with the bad habits from that.

Well, I'm a native speaker, but I teach EFL.

For my Japanese students, they complain about the large amount of sounds that forms up English (300+) as well as the issues with the rhythms and intonation, none of which they can catch. There's also the old L/R problem (Which lead to a rumor that Americans eat hot dogs prepared like a banana split because J-sensei said he wanted to put cherries on his hot dog [I said I wanted to put chili]).

And no, they cannot catch the difference between British English and American English unless it's the difference in words. The elementary AET is from Australia and even with the two of us standing side by side saying the same word (See? L-sensei said eight this way, J-sensei says 8 that way), my students didn't hear the difference at all.

My father is just begining to hear accents. He's now spoken English for over twenty years. It's wierd. He also can't tell the difference between "r" and "l" if heard, but he can pronounce both correctly if he sees them spelled.

I've heard it said that English sounds like dogs growling to foreigners (something like "ra-ra-ra-ra-ra"), since we have a more pronounced "r" sound in most words.

We also have the stupidest language because for every rule there is a rule that says that rule doesn't apply...

Well, I'm a native speaker, but I teach EFL.

For my Japanese students, they complain about the large amount of sounds that forms up English (300+) as well as the issues with the rhythms and intonation, none of which they can catch. There's also the old L/R problem (Which lead to a rumor that Americans eat hot dogs prepared like a banana split because J-sensei said he wanted to put cherries on his hot dog [I said I wanted to put chili]).

And no, they cannot catch the difference between British English and American English unless it's the difference in words. The elementary AET is from Australia and even with the two of us standing side by side saying the same word (See? L-sensei said eight this way, J-sensei says 8 that way), my students didn't hear the difference at all.
ENGRISH!!!

I've heard it said that English sounds like dogs growling to foreigners (something like "ra-ra-ra-ra-ra"), since we have a more pronounced "r" sound in most words.
I was wondering if someone might put that...but not be native...*RUFF! RUFF!*

What does English sound like to you and how do American and British English sound different? Is there any language that seems similar?

English sounds less "melodical" then Scandinavian languages, like you usually say all words in the same tone but the words are less errr neutral? Like they dont come out flat but like Americans revolve "r".
American English sound cooler but British English is more classy...

What does English sound like to you and how do American and British English sound different? Is there any language that seems similar?
English sounds ugly. Extremely extremely ugly. Its sounds are very awkward and it doesn't have a good flow to it. It also doesn't provide the versitility I'd like in a language. As for British vs. American, I prefer British English infinitely over American because British sounds classier.

Like in so many other languages English is spoken differently than its written. Words taken from another languages are mutilated, take knight which is german knecht. It always gets mixed with night. It is not clear cut and disciplined as a language.

In Turkish sounds and letters are the same and a voice recognition software or any computer and artificial intelligance software is infinitely easier to develop than any other language.
Irregular words are a problem but not as much as its in german, the list is longer in that.
On good part it makes other relative languages easier to learn, its widely used because of English Empire's past efforts. Of course real reason is the inventions that english speaking people added to human civilisation and those words are used by everyone with some or no change on them. Making english a familiar language.
Most sounds are swallowed which is unbearable to me. Thinking in more than one language I have realised that english thinking is more prone to ending in black and white arguements and results: to be or not to be, 1-0 whereas my own language tends to have great versatility covering a large scale of grey (32 million colors =P)
I have a love hate relationship with english, it has its uses. I speak without much of an accent, perhaps a very little british accent.

I would say the difference between US English and standard British English is pretty damn obvious.

I now pride myself on knowing the difference between a Kiwi and an Aussie, and a Yankee and a Canuck...yes, even a Scotsman and an Irishman. Wasn't always clear to me.

But US and British, they might as well be two different languages.

I don't think there is another language that sounds like English, because English is today a whole set of languages by itself. And considering its curious way of coming about, no, I can't think of one that really sounds similar.

But US and British, they might as well be two different languages.

I say, give it another century. We can hardly understand the brits as it as, a hundred years of society should make them completely inunderstandable.

I havent always believed that English is the best language, but I think its far from "ugly", it has many uses, one I like particularly is that in english I can make up words (at least when talking with other english speakers) or improvise on words, and still be fully understood.

It's the one lasting legacy of the British Empire, the borders, the governments and the troops were outlasted by their language. Especially impressive is its use in India, where hundreds of languages are used, English, even if it is foreign is used as a 'common tongue' to most Indians.

We had a German bloke stay with us for 3 months earlier this year. When he arrived he couldn't pick the differences between Australian, American & British accents. By the time he went home, he was pretty good at spotting them.

I'm not a native english speaker. I'm Dutch. To me English sounds like a far more "cooler and awesome" langauge. Because whenever something tries to be "hip and cool" in the media, it's english. Movies that are popular are all english. I also find English to be more easy then Dutch. Well, writing english that is. Pronouncing english is horrrible.

On the difference between US English and British English. Yes I so do hear the difference. I prefer British english myself when it comes to pronouncing stuff. But because US english seems to be more widely used also often use that.

English is also a very flexible langauge. If you can't find a word for something it's easy to improvise. Also it's a langauge that sounds nice to my ears.

I find my english to be quite okay anyway.

It's the one lasting legacy of the British Empire, the borders, the governments and the troops were outlasted by their language. Especially impressive is its use in India, where hundreds of languages are used, English, even if it is foreign is used as a 'common tongue' to most Indians.
As it is said, the English were the greatest pirates in history. Their fleet stole half of the world and their language stole the rest of it.

What, exactly, are the differences between US and British english apart from a few word variations? (Nappy/diaper, biscuit/cookie, ect) I'm not too familiar with actual British english, since it seems most of the Brits on here write the same way I do.

What, exactly, are the differences between US and British english apart from a few word variations? (Nappy/diaper, biscuit/cookie, ect) I'm not too familiar with actual British english, since it seems most of the Brits on here write the same way I do.

There are subtle grammatical differences that are a bitch to pick up on. The one that annoys me the most is the usage of the subjunctive. In AE (American English, i.e. both Canadian and USAmerican) there is a tendency to actually use the subjunctive ("I demand that he go" or "We recommended that they speak to the manager") while in BE there seems to be a tendency to avoid it and use an auxiliary modal verb ("I demand that he should go" or "We recommended that they should speak...").

It annoys me because having learnt French, where the subjunctive is a very living and useful mood, I am prone to favour it over the BE variant, even though I tend to speak with a British intonation and prefer BE for basically everything else (a combination of liking the UK more and the fact that one learns BE in Swedish schools, where AE is treated as an ugly sister that uses awkward words).

Another difference I've noticed is in contractions of "have." AE seems to only contract it when it is an auxiliary verb ("I've been to the store" or "He's gone to Europe"), while BE allows contraction even when it is solitary ("I've no money" or "We've a new television"). BE also allows for concatenating contractions ("We'd've gone, had he not stopped us" or "I'ven't seen the Space Needle"), something I haven't seen all too often in AE.

Another difference I've noticed is in contractions of "have." AE seems to only contract it when it is an auxiliary verb ("I've been to the store" or "He's gone to Europe"), while BE allows contraction even when it is solitary ("I've no money" or "We've a new television"). BE also allows for concatenating contractions ("We'd've gone, had he not stopped us" or "I'ven't seen the Space Needle"), something I haven't seen all too often in AE.

I've always wanted to do those things...:)

And I like being able to make up words in English and have them make sense.

What does English sound like to you and how do American and British English sound different? Is there any language that seems similar?
Hm, I never thought that any language sounded "similar" to English, so no.

I can't even describe the sound of English as such (as in "melodious" or "harsh" or whatever).

But yeah, American English and British English do sound different: British English (like, the "stereotypical" one, not some funky local accent) sounds very much like stiff upper lip. When I try to parody it (or, well, even actually just speak it) I always end up with pursed lips and a disdaining look. :p It's true, too.
American English, however, sounds very broad and drawling. Like, you would widen your mouth into a froglike grimace to parody it. In German, we say that it sounds like Americans are chewing gum when they talk (esp. the Texan accent and similar, drawling ones) because they also have the very extreme "r" thing going on. I don't know what to call that, but you know - our "r" is pronounced not rolled (like in Spanish) but hard, if you will. American English's "r" is all garbled and gargled. :p

I wonder if it's just 'cause they aren't familiar enough with the language to catch the difference in accents yet?
My father is just begining to hear accents. He's now spoken English for over twenty years.
Yes. Absolutely.

Back in high school, when we were just learning English, none of us could have told you what kind of accent our (German) English teachers had. Today, I'm guessing that many of them actually spoke British English with a terrible German accent.

I spent a year in the US (Indiana), watch all movies in English, and whatever, but I still can't tell American accents apart. I recognize the New York accent and I hear when someone's from the South, obviously, but I couldn't tell you if he's from Texas or form Georgia. When I hear the two side by side (and when does that ever happen?) I would probably be able to pinpoint the differences, but only if they're really pronounced. Otherwise, no chance.

Kinda frustrating, really. For me, it's the same with British and Australian, to a certain degree, and to a lesser degree even Scottish and Irish, simply because neither of those is something I hear a lot.

Then again, the accent thing is something that is the same for one's native language. People from a certain region are often able to pinpoint pretty much the exact town someone comes from based on their accent - people from the rest of the country just about recognize the general accent/dialect of the region, if at all.

Hm, I never thought that any language sounded "similar" to English, so no.

I can't even describe the sound of English as such (as in "melodious" or "harsh" or whatever).

But yeah, American English and British English do sound different: British English (like, the "stereotypical" one, not some funky local accent) sounds very much like stiff upper lip. When I try to parody it (or, well, even actually just speak it) I always end up with pursed lips and a disdaining look. :p It's true, too.
American English, however, sounds very broad and drawling. Like, you would widen your mouth into a froglike grimace to parody it. In German, we say that it sounds like Americans are chewing gum when they talk (esp. the Texan accent and similar, drawling ones) because they also have the very extreme "r" thing going on.

They probably actually have chewing gum. :p

When I was living in England I was surprised to find that many of the English I met couldn't distinguish between the Australian, New Zealand & South African accents. To me, they're easy to pick, but I was often asked if I was one or the other.

I'm not very good at distinguishing American accents. I can hear the difference between a New York or a Southern accent, but probably not much more than that.

They probably actually have chewing gum. :p That just exacerbates the problem, it doesn't cause it. :p

I'm not very good at distinguishing American accents. I can hear the difference between a New York or a Southern accent, but probably not much more than that. Plagiarist! :mad: :p

I actually think the reason that the New York accent is at least somewhat recognizable to foreigners is because we hear it so often in the movies. Especially all the ones about the mafia.:p

english is my first language but i don't usually recognise accents simply because i don't notice them. apart from my friends back in jersey everyone i know has a different accent so i just never pick up on it unless it's really pronounced. i can tell the difference between south african, antipodean and american accents but no more specific than that.

I think that I notice accents less now. Especially the American accent, because it is in the media so much. It sounds very similar to British English to me unless I really concentrate

What does English sound like to youEnglish?
Maybe I just know it too well for it to sound like anything else..

It annoys me because having learnt French, where the subjunctive is a very living and useful mood, I am prone to favour it over the BE variant, even though I tend to speak with a British intonation and prefer BE for basically everything else (a combination of liking the UK more and the fact that one learns BE in Swedish schools, where AE is treated as an ugly sister that uses awkward words). As a side note, do you know if this is common across Sweden, learning BE? A Swedish aquaintance of mine speaks with a slight american accent. I've never seen her write anything, so it may be she writes BE.

Another difference I've noticed is in contractions of "have." AE seems to only contract it when it is an auxiliary verb ("I've been to the store" or "He's gone to Europe"), while BE allows contraction even when it is solitary ("I've no money" or "We've a new television"). BE also allows for concatenating contractions ("We'd've gone, had he not stopped us" or "I'ven't seen the Space Needle"), something I haven't seen all too often in AE.

I'd agree with most of those, but the last one, "I'vent" I've only heard as a result of running two words together, as opposed to an actual contraction.

Canadian English also has localised accents. For the most part, it isn't always clear (for some reason, all Canucks talk like hosers)...

Newfies on the other hand do have a distinct accent depending on where from in Newfoundland-Labrador they're from. Prairie Canadians have a slight accent as well, though not terribly distinct as do Maritimers...

Then there's the rest of us who sound like we're from no one notable.

i'm from Luxembourg, and find British, specifically English with a Plymouth (my carer was english, from Plymouth) the easiest to understand. I also find Luxembourgish people speakign English easy to udnerstand - for obvious reasons. I find Americans quite hard to understand - they speak slower than british people, I don't know why I find this harder to understand, I just do.:confused:

I don't know what to call that, but you know - our "r" is pronounced not rolled (like in Spanish) but hard, if you will. American English's "r" is all garbled and gargled. :p

Germans pronounce the 'r'... hard? Most of them seem to mispronounce (:D) it as a sort of 'ch' sound to me. Agree with the rest of what you say about "R"s. Especially the gargling part.

Speaking of German accents, after hearing some Germans speaking English in the last week, I'm now convinced that it's actually true that the majority pronounce English in that stereotypical way (not the "W vs. V" thing, but the "th vs. z" thing). Which is funny, because Swiss German speaking people never seem to do that, even if most of us can't be arsed to pronounce it properly either. We use a 'D' sound instead.
So:
"I've seen zen zousand people wiz swords." is German, while
"I've seen den dousand people wid swords." is Swiss German.


People from a certain region are often able to pinpoint pretty much the exact town someone comes from based on their accent

There's a little program out there that can place a Swiss German in their town based on 7 words. It misplaced me by about 10 kilometers, though. :confused:

Germans pronounce the 'r'... hard? Most of them seem to mispronounce (:D) it as a sort of 'ch' sound to me.
Let me get this straight - you're Swiss German (which I didn't know, btw. Grüezi! :p) and you're actually saying Germans pronounce anything as a "ch"?!
Excuse me while I go point and laugh. :p

Really? Hm. It even annoys me when English speakers say that because it's based on all those horrible Hollywood movies where Germans always bellow in that guttural Nazi speech. But when you speak "normal" German, most don't think it's so very guttural after all.
And I would accept the "ch" itself as being guttural, simply because it doesn't even exist in English, but the "r"? I always thought our "r" sounded all... flat, really.

Speaking about "r" and "ch", btw - does anybody ever notice that the French pronounce their r like that? Try saying "la mer" and get back to me. :p

Speaking of German accents, after hearing some Germans speaking English in the last week, I'm now convinced that it's actually true that the majority pronounce English in that stereotypical way (not the "W vs. V" thing, but the "th vs. z" thing). Which is funny, because Swiss German speaking people never seem to do that, even if most of us can't be arsed to pronounce it properly either. We use a 'D' sound instead.
So:
"I've seen zen zousand people wiz swords." is German, while
"I've seen den dousand people wid swords." is Swiss German.
I hope it's not the majority, but it's definitely true.
As is the "W vs. V" thing, btw. :p

This is something I have always wondered. I absolutely adore all languages. I love them. Each language has it's own character, rhythm, pace and so on. I have always wondered what the character of english is. Or is it that my understanding of languages will always be limited or constrained to the comparative understanding provided by my mother tongue?

As is the "W vs. V" thing, btw. :p

When I lived in Hesse I had a friend who did this and it drove me absolutely insane. Not because it was an occaisional thing, but because she did it every single time.

Speaking about "r" and "ch", btw - does anybody ever notice that the French pronounce their r like that? Try saying "la mer" and get back to me. :p

I don't think I can judge fairly, my French teacher is German.

As it is said, the English were the greatest pirates in history. Their fleet stole half of the world and their language stole the rest of it.
hahaha...

When I was living in England I was surprised to find that many of the English I met couldn't distinguish between the Australian, New Zealand & South African accents. To me, they're easy to pick, but I was often asked if I was one or the other.

I'm not very good at distinguishing American accents. I can hear the difference between a New York or a Southern accent, but probably not much more than that.

Australian and British seem almost identical...maybe Aussies seem a little more bouncy/happy/wild (Steve Irwin). South African definitely has some Dutchiness in it, maybe some African too.

i've been told by my dutch, sweedish, norweigen, danish and finish friends that they used to watch american and english films. when they came to ireland they thought they would be able to understand what most people were saying. they were wrong. they actually thought that the way we spoke english was another language.
but yet irish has been voted sexiest accent in the world. i prefere german.

I like Irish English. I can recognize British and American/Canadian English rather well. I can not give a general explanation how English sounds to me... 'blurry' maybe because you avoid all the long vowels from German and link words together.

I also forgot to say that Canadian seems to American as Scottish seems to British...to me an American. Canadians seem to have that sort of happy northern accent that Scots appear to have. IT's hard to notice, but I realized it a few years ago on a TV show that had Canadians a lot on it....Popular Mechanics for Kids (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_Mechanics_For_Kids). They sounded sort of like a plain speaking version of singing.

I also forgot to say that Canadian seems to American as Scottish seems to British...to me an American. Canadians seem to have that sort of happy northern accent that Scots appear to have. IT's hard to notice, but I realized it a few years ago on a TV show that had Canadians a lot on it....Popular Mechanics for Kids (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_Mechanics_For_Kids). They sounded sort of like a plain speaking version of singing.

what iassume you ment is that scottish is different to english accent. scottish is easier to understand. for me.

I realized it a few years ago on a TV show that had Canadians a lot on it....Popular Mechanics for Kids (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_Mechanics_For_Kids). They sounded sort of like a plain speaking version of singing.

You watched it cause of Elisha Cuthbert, didnt you? didnt you? i remember her being on it and commenting on how she would be beautiful someday...

(which I didn't know, btw. Grüezi! :p)
:) Aber Du darfst mich auch duzen :P

Otherwise, I'd prefer a "Grüessech", but you couldn't know that, I guess...


and you're actually saying Germans pronounce anything as a "ch"?!
Excuse me while I go point and laugh. :p
Well, there are the ones that say "ch" and the ones who say it like the vowel "a" (as in "Keina kauft Eia oda Pfeade beim Bäcka"), but when you said hard, I assumed you belong to the first group.


Speaking about "r" and "ch", btw - does anybody ever notice that the French pronounce their r like that? Try saying "la mer" and get back to me. :p

Yup. Anyway, I like my "r" rolled. Anything else can be done with "ch", "a", or a piece of chewing gum :)

Hmm, I wish I were able to write with those funny phonetic letters they use in dictionaries more precisely, but that only makes sense if you can actually tell the difference between all the characters and modifiers they use...

what iassume you ment is that scottish is different to english accent. scottish is easier to understand. for me.

Well saying the English accent of English doesn't make much sense.

You watched it cause of Elisha Cuthbert, didnt you? didnt you? i remember her being on it and commenting on how she would be beautiful someday...

No...I had no idea wo she was until I looked at the credits once...and was somewhat upset to find she was born in 1982 and not 1989 as I thought...