Do you wish you had a different accent?

Drop Radio France's website, Clark. I've found out something much better:

http://www.accents-de-france.fr.st/

It's a website which describe each French accent and offer to listen them online! (two recordings for each regions)

Kabam? Are your French?

If so, when you learnt English, did you find it easy because of the amount of French words in the English language?

Yes, I'm French.
I didn't learn the French words in English imediately, since many of them are not used in everyday speech (de rigueure, soit-disant, en route, attaché, tête-à-tête, tour de force, ...). As for the "Englishised" French words (post, guard, grotesque, vary, recognise, question ...) they are helpfull and not hellpfull cause you may wrongly think that you can pronouce them more or less like in you native language, and that's not the case.
At the begining, what I found easy in English was that the words are often much shorter than in French and I thought the spelling was more logical, but when I started to be more carreful about pronouciation, I realised that the pronunciation of some vowels vary, depending on in which words there are used!
I don't know if I've answered your question, but most of the "French words" in English are indeed very English. I mean, a French who doesn't study English couldn't recognise them.

I wish I had a accent of nowhere.

R.F.I or "Raio France Internationl" is not bad at all. You can listen to it on the web and I believe it's 24h/24.

Canadians tend to prefer "-ize" to "-ise", this is true but Shakespear used it too and the Oxford Dictionary accepts both.

Tom,

You write "They're not going to treat you as their equal if you don't speak English with an accent that resembles a native accent." Alas, I suppose it is somewhat true. However, who you're writing of here are those that I'd call racist. Yes, there are a good deal of racist people about. It is these racists who are not going to treat foreigners as their equal. Keep in mind, though, not all English speakers are racist. If someone were to speak to me in English using a non-native accent I wouldn't treat them any differently.

Fred,

If you want an "accent of nowhere", don't speak.

On a personal level, only nasty people will judge you by your accent. But in getting a job - particularly where talking is a key role - accent can be very important. As an Englishman for example, it would be difficult for me to get a PR job in Dublin. I have met highly qualified multilingual Dutch people who have a hard time getting a job in Belgium, simply because they have the wrong accent.

hell nae min a love me accent

>>>R.F.I or "Raio France Internationl" is not bad at all. You can listen to it on the web and I believe it's 24h/24. >>>

You're right Rock, but Clark wants to learn how to recognise the different French accents. For that purpose, I think the website about the French accent is better. However, thanks for recalling everybody who learn French that Radio France International exist. That's true it's interesting.

Jim
But I need to speak in order to live.

Jim,

I wouldn't call it racism. Personally, I would certainly discriminate against a person who spoke English with a German accent, for example if I was responsible for hiring people in a multinational corporation. I'm sorry, but there are a couple standard accents, and if someone doesn't (want to?) conform to the standard, then he/she will be discriminated against. Not because of their race, but because their English is nonstandard -- and by definition harder to understand.

Let me clarify that I wouldn't demand a perfect RP or GenAm accent (whatever that means). For example, a blend of American and British would be perfectly acceptable. Strong regional or foreign accents would definitely be a disadvantage.

I schpeek Inglisch wiz a German aksent. I am fery proud ov it. Ve Germans generally schpeek fery gut Inglisch bekoz Inglisch ist a Germanic language and it ist eezee vor za Germans to schtudy it.

Soll !

Ich bin schur es ist !