BBC/American

luqman   Fri Jul 18, 2008 12:17 pm GMT
Hi,which accent is easier ,American or British to learn?
Skippy   Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:53 pm GMT
Depending on where you live, it may be easier to find British English materials, but I'm sure you have a lot of exposure to American movies, culture, music, etc. so American may be easier.
Guest   Sat Jul 19, 2008 4:57 am GMT
One isn't harder than the other to learn. They are just different.
Damian in Edinburgh   Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:31 am GMT
I would imagine that on a global scale, the ratio of preference - American to British - would be about 5:1. In Europe here, I find that many Scandinavians, in particular, prefer to follow the American style.
George   Sat Jul 19, 2008 6:27 pm GMT
Neither is easier, it's a matter of choice. There are lots of American movies, but British English is more common in current affairs media. Equally there are lots of other English speaking countries with their own particular English, their usage tends to be a bit closer to British English, but each has it's own style.

I find most people stick most closely to the accent of the first native speaking country they stayed/worked in. My experience is that most people sound a bit more British, but will know a mix of British and American vocabulary. In general the differences are small and rarely causes problems.
Guest   Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:20 pm GMT
I think American English is probably easier.
Damian in Edinburgh   Sun Jul 20, 2008 2:58 pm GMT
In some ways it's more logical! But generally speaking, the English Language and logic are not the best of bedfellows are they?
ali   Mon Jul 21, 2008 2:09 am GMT
I think british tends to be easier, because the sounds usually are more closely related to the other language. American english has some strange extra harsh sounds which seem to be more difficult to accomplish. It depends, though.
Damian in Edinburgh   Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:07 am GMT
AE v BE.....it's a case of six of one and half a dozen of the other. Some British voices (ie accents and style of speech patterns) are very pleasant to listen to, some are pretty horrid. I like listening to Helen Mirren, Christian Bale and Ewan McGregor. I cringe at Cilla Black, David Beckham and Brian Sewell...all three cover a wide spectrum of style and accent.

The same applies to American voices. I quite like listening to Barack Obama....he's cool.....I winced at Hillary Clinton as I do at George Bush, and I'm seriously trying to avoid political bias here, and the fact that we never know what stupid thing the last guy named is going to say anyway.