My accent is very non-RP.
Best way to Learn British English?
I am practising heavily by watching the film Layer Cake and snippets of it rewinding and all, to get the sounds down. A serious contrast can be seen in the interview on the bonus disc, that shows an interviewer with a very I think is RP, and then Daniel Craig and Matthew Vaughn with their mixed accents. The interviewer sounds very different but as is noted it can be hard to say where he comes from, it is very general the RP.
How does this sound?
"Hello Mates! How are you doing? How is everything going? I found it was rather cumbersome to get my motor going due to the ice this morning, what do you think of it. That parcel was going to be mailed this morning, however due to the snow it will have to wait. With all due respect, stop being such a twit and just give me the quid you owe me before I take that parcel back!"
LOL, a bit much there I think...
And what about my boy Adam, all you chaps and lasses seem to be busting chops on Adam as if his opinions do not matter. He portrays the very British identity that I expect and see in films and from real life people, Adam teach me some of that British flair mate!
How does this sound?
"Hello Mates! How are you doing? How is everything going? I found it was rather cumbersome to get my motor going due to the ice this morning, what do you think of it. That parcel was going to be mailed this morning, however due to the snow it will have to wait. With all due respect, stop being such a twit and just give me the quid you owe me before I take that parcel back!"
LOL, a bit much there I think...
And what about my boy Adam, all you chaps and lasses seem to be busting chops on Adam as if his opinions do not matter. He portrays the very British identity that I expect and see in films and from real life people, Adam teach me some of that British flair mate!
What the hell is a 'roundabout'? sorry to be rude but Im quite interested?
This is a roundabout.
http://www.civil.ubc.ca/research/ite/content/content_images/roundabout%20large.jpg
What's it called in other countries?
http://www.civil.ubc.ca/research/ite/content/content_images/roundabout%20large.jpg
What's it called in other countries?
Roundabouts in the UK....just as shown in the link posted by Guest above. All main roads here have them....as I said the Edinburgh Ring Road/City by-pass has roundabouts at all junctions so they are very numerous. Most of them have names as I've said...some are controlled by lights. CANDY knows of one called Magic Roundabout down in Swindon, England. :-)
As we drive on the left in the UK when you approach a roundabout you give way to traffic coming at you from the right on the roundabout. You filter into the traffic flow when it's safe to do so and go roundabout the roundabout until you get to your exit and there you go....you leave the roundabout and go on your merry way. Many city/urban ones are controlled by traffic lights.
The circular centres are very often planted with flowers and shrubs as well as mown grass and maintained by the local councils (City of Edinburgh here).
http://www.2pass.co.uk/roundabout.htm
http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/17.htm
Milton Keynes is a rapidly developing city in SE England which has more roundabouts than any other city in the UK....they all have names as well like they do here. I met a guy from MK when I was at uni and I've been to his family place there a couple of times and MK is one real fun place to be. ...plenty going on. I'm going down there weekend 8/9 Oct to a party on Saturday night. Quite a long drive down from Edinburgh. Can't wait.
Milton Keynes......local Language is 100% pure unadulterated Estuary....knaow wo' oi mean yeah? Oi be'er practice before oi gaow dahn there. It has more people under the age of 25 than other city in the UK.
Radio Free Milton Keynes (sorry...Miwl'on Keynes)
http://www.radiofreemk.co.uk/
As we drive on the left in the UK when you approach a roundabout you give way to traffic coming at you from the right on the roundabout. You filter into the traffic flow when it's safe to do so and go roundabout the roundabout until you get to your exit and there you go....you leave the roundabout and go on your merry way. Many city/urban ones are controlled by traffic lights.
The circular centres are very often planted with flowers and shrubs as well as mown grass and maintained by the local councils (City of Edinburgh here).
http://www.2pass.co.uk/roundabout.htm
http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/17.htm
Milton Keynes is a rapidly developing city in SE England which has more roundabouts than any other city in the UK....they all have names as well like they do here. I met a guy from MK when I was at uni and I've been to his family place there a couple of times and MK is one real fun place to be. ...plenty going on. I'm going down there weekend 8/9 Oct to a party on Saturday night. Quite a long drive down from Edinburgh. Can't wait.
Milton Keynes......local Language is 100% pure unadulterated Estuary....knaow wo' oi mean yeah? Oi be'er practice before oi gaow dahn there. It has more people under the age of 25 than other city in the UK.
Radio Free Milton Keynes (sorry...Miwl'on Keynes)
http://www.radiofreemk.co.uk/
PS:
In the first of the links above have your audio system switched on.
In the first of the links above have your audio system switched on.
PPS:
In the audio clip the girl definitely has a Northern English accent...listen to how she pronounces "instructions". I'm not too sure about the bloke's accent.....maybe CANDY could confirm. I don't think it's Southern English..so maybe he's from the North of England as well. If he is, his accent isn't quite as identifiable as is hers.
In the audio clip the girl definitely has a Northern English accent...listen to how she pronounces "instructions". I'm not too sure about the bloke's accent.....maybe CANDY could confirm. I don't think it's Southern English..so maybe he's from the North of England as well. If he is, his accent isn't quite as identifiable as is hers.
ROLLS:
Honestly, RP BBC posh style as you probably understand it is not the standard accent of the majority of people in England, certainly those under the age of 30/35. Most people who do not have distinct ENGLISH (ie of England) regional accents have a sort of standard part RP-part Estuary type speech pattern. Even the two Royal Princes...Willy boy and Harry boy.....don't talk anything like their Daddy ....Charlie boy.....the one with the ears...if you were to hear them they have traces of Estuary in their accent. Basically that is the Southern situation......as far as I can make out the "South" in England is that area of England from the Severn Estuary up to about Worcester and then across to the Wash. The "North" is that part of England north of a line from Chester to the Humber.
In between all of all that is the Midlands ....which is an accents hotchpotch all of its own.
In England now it is a social no-no to be heard "speaking posh"....it leads to derision and social ostracism. :-)
Wales and Scotland are outside of all this......thank God. We have our own situations in which class and social status have never, ever been factors in how our people speak...or should speak.
Honestly, RP BBC posh style as you probably understand it is not the standard accent of the majority of people in England, certainly those under the age of 30/35. Most people who do not have distinct ENGLISH (ie of England) regional accents have a sort of standard part RP-part Estuary type speech pattern. Even the two Royal Princes...Willy boy and Harry boy.....don't talk anything like their Daddy ....Charlie boy.....the one with the ears...if you were to hear them they have traces of Estuary in their accent. Basically that is the Southern situation......as far as I can make out the "South" in England is that area of England from the Severn Estuary up to about Worcester and then across to the Wash. The "North" is that part of England north of a line from Chester to the Humber.
In between all of all that is the Midlands ....which is an accents hotchpotch all of its own.
In England now it is a social no-no to be heard "speaking posh"....it leads to derision and social ostracism. :-)
Wales and Scotland are outside of all this......thank God. We have our own situations in which class and social status have never, ever been factors in how our people speak...or should speak.
<<Really? like cockney?>>
No. My accent is a mix of Welsh, Irish and Scottish accents. I don't particularly like the RP accent.
No. My accent is a mix of Welsh, Irish and Scottish accents. I don't particularly like the RP accent.
In the US, we call a roundabout a "major multiple-vehicle accident scene with heavy fatalities".
Just kidding -- we call it a traffic circle, and they're mercifully rare. I've never actually seen one here (but I have seen a few roundabouts in England).
Just kidding -- we call it a traffic circle, and they're mercifully rare. I've never actually seen one here (but I have seen a few roundabouts in England).
"Hello Mates! How are you doing? How is everything going? I found it was rather cumbersome to get my motor going due to the ice this morning, what do you think of it. That parcel was going to be mailed this morning, however due to the snow it will have to wait. With all due respect, stop being such a twit and just give me the quid you owe me before I take that parcel back!"
"Hello" is formal, "mates" is very informal, "Hello chaps" or "Alright mate" sounds more normal depending on whether you want to be formal or informal. "Cumbersome" is just a good word to use, but used by anyone regardless of accent. I think people in Britain would more commonly talk about "posting" a parcel rather than "mailing" it, but in general English "mailing" is fine.
"Hello" is formal, "mates" is very informal, "Hello chaps" or "Alright mate" sounds more normal depending on whether you want to be formal or informal. "Cumbersome" is just a good word to use, but used by anyone regardless of accent. I think people in Britain would more commonly talk about "posting" a parcel rather than "mailing" it, but in general English "mailing" is fine.