What do Yanks think of English English?

Hello mates and girls!

Well, I've been studying English for almost 3 years by myself. Actually I'm just improving my pronunciation and I've taken the British pronunciation (RP) as a standard because I prefer it. The nasal accent of many americans just annoys me. I think my pronunciation is quite good but it's too americanised. Just as someone said - I can't tell you if it has been said in this topic - It's easier for anyone to pronounce in the american way because of the american cultural domination. For example, my ex-boss is american and I've practiced a lot with him, then I tend to speak with american accent. What I've been doing is just a re-education of my accent. I love the study of languages and actually I've been learning German too. I'm perfectionist and that's why I want to master the English pronunciation. Although English grammar is easy, the pronunciation is not. I mean, it's not difficult to articulate the words, but to pronounce them correctly. There are too many exceptions and you can't follow a standard at all. English was influenced by many languages so the pronunciation of a word depends a lot on its root. That's quite difficult for non-native speakers to pronounce correctly since it requires the speaker to study hard. I'll get a microphone and record something for you so you can laugh at my frustrated attempts of sounding like a British! ;)

Regards,

ICQ: 72802358
ODIGO: templum_salomonis@odigo.com

Just an addition: I'm re-educating my pronunciation because it's too mixed. LOL. It's funny but it's real! I've never gone to any school specialised in English to learn it. And before practising with my ex-boss, I practised listening with songs and as I love metal, I started practising with many british bands songs (Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, etc) and afterwards, when I got bored of them, I practised a little with Metallic songs. Then, well, it sounds silly, but some words I pronounce in the British way and some of them in american way. I think it must not be very pleasant. Imagine someone speaking with variations of accent.

"The nasal accent of many americans just annoys me."

"I'm perfectionist and..."

--------------------------------------

People who leave out indefinite articles just annoys me.

I am American by the way.

I didn't mean to offend anyone. I said I dislike the nasal accent of MANY (NOT ALL) americans. If you don't agree, great, I respect your point of view and I hope you have culture enough to respect mine. Everything is a matter of taste!

to Clark:
I didn't mean to offend anyone. I said I dislike the nasal accent of MANY (NOT ALL) americans. If you don't agree, great, I respect your point of view and I hope you have culture enough to respect mine. Everything is a matter of taste!

I don't think Templar meant to offend. My American accent would probably get on some people's nerves, but then again, their accent could very well get on my nerves too. I tend to keep these kinds of opinions to myself, but I wasn't at all offended by what Templar wrote.

Templar,

You seem to speak English well, but your statement regarding culture should read: "I hope you are cultured enough.....etc" This would be a better choice in English.

mjd,
Thanks for the praise. What I've written concerning culture really sounds a little weird, ;) and I agree with you, your sentence is better. I really should have kept my opinion to myself :/ since it may seem offensive to some people. But it would be hypocrisy if I had said I love all varieties of american accent. BTW, do you study Portuguese or have any interest for it?

mjd,
I think my last question shouldn't be addressed to you. I mixed up your nick with another one. I think the bloke interested in Portuguese is Chris, not you.

Sim, estudo e falo português.

Se precisar de alguém para praticar, pode contar comigo. Eu sou brasileiro.

Prazer. O meu pai é português e tirei o meu bacharel em português e ciências políticas. Vem de qual região no Brasil?

(So as not to break forum rules)

Nice to meet you. My father is Portuguese and I got my bachelors degree in Portuguese (Lusophone lit) and Political Science. What region are you from in Brasil?

*typo: Brazil (in English)

It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm from São Paulo. Seems you've been learning the Brazilian Portuguese. Am I right?

I've had a lot of Brazilian professors and have read a lot of Brazilian literature, but the family is from Lisbon, so it's a bit of mix at this point. When I speak Portuguese, naturally I have an American accent, but I use continental Portuguese pronunciation....quer dizer, o "s" chiado etc.

I see. Then you must speak fluidly. Have you been studying it for how long?
I've read that the Brazilian telenovels are influencing even young Portugueses. Some teenagers over there speak você instead of tu, just like paulistas in Brazil. It's amazing! I hate telenovels. ;)