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My Final Project ~ Are English Accents Important?
In general, some languages have their accents. English as one of the languages in the world also has accents, but there is a problem in learning it. Most of English learners are wondering about the importance of English accents. They are confronted with two English accents to learn: American English and British English (leaving aside Australian, Indian, Singaporean English, etc.). As the time goes by, those two accents have changed due to the cross cultural influences such asvocabularies, spellings, andpronunciations as well.So, is it important to learn those two English accents?
To answer that question, first of all, let us compare between American English and British English.There are many differences between those two accents, three of which arethe definitions, spellings, and vocabularies. Wikipedia states, ?American English is the form of English used in the United States. It includes all English dialects used within the United States. Otherwise,British English isthe form of English used in the United Kingdom. It includes all English dialects used within the United Kingdom.? In spellings, American English has more economical spellings than British English. For example, there is an excision of the letter ?u? in words such as ?color? belongs to American English and ?colour? belongs to British English. It is also in word ?program? and ?programme?, ?check? and ?cheque?, and many more. Furthermore, some vocabularies of American English and British English are different, especially in their term. For instance, ?elevator? belongs to American English and ?lift? belongs to British English. Another example is ?rest room? for American English and ?toilet? for British English, etc. In spite of those differences, both American English and British English also have similarities. One resemblance is that the same articles that we use such as ?the?, ?and?, ?but?, etc. Another similarity is its pronunciation of the letters, except for the letter ?z? which is usually pronounced ?zed? outside of the United States. Both American English and British English have the same adjectives, nouns, verbs, and adverbs as well. In short, American English and British English have differences and similarities. Of course, the differences and similarities are related to the difficulties in learning those two accents. Our ability in differentiate both accents is one step forward to master it.
On the other hand,non-native English learners mostly have difficulties in learning American English and British English. It is because of many obstructions. One obstruction is the learners? first language. Mostly the learners? accents are influenced by their mother tongue. It is quite difficult to change, for instance it needs a long period of time. Besides, it is such an obstacle if the learners have unsupported surroundings. It does not mean that the learners? environment is bad in English but the people around mostly assume that accents are not necessary to learn. They think that as long as people understand our language, it does not matter about the accents. It is such a trouble if the learners eager to know English accents. Another obstacle is the learners do not have good role models in learning accents. It will be OK to learn the accents if the learners are living in English speaking countries, especially in America and England because the learners can compare their accents with the natives. However, the learners who are living outside America and England have doubts in learning accents. Their friends, elders, even their teachers are sometimes not sure with their own accents. In brief, there are some factors that hamper non-native English learners in learning English accents such as their first languages, their surroundings, and also their role models. Obviously, their doubts in learning English accents are growing up. It should be minimized or even be erased.
To eliminate the learners? doubts in learning English accents, the learners should know how necessary the accents are. It is right if people say that the accents are not really matter as long as other people understand our languages, but it will be great if we can master English with a good accent, whether it is American English or British English. The most important thing in learning English accents is to build our self-confident especially in speaking aspect. If we are not sure about our accents, of course it influences our self-confident. For example, in a particular situation we may be afraid if other people laugh at our accents, but if we have a good English accent, we will be brave and confident in English speaking whatever the situation. The second significant point in learning English accents is we can broaden horizons. It means we are not just learning an accent, but we are also learning a culture. An accent shows a culture. An obvious example, Americans are using American English and Britons are using British English. In a particular situation, there is a cross cultural between them. The result is Americans know about British English, even they sometimes use it, and vice versa. The least prominent in learning English accent is others? impressions. It is one of human characteristics that human needs good impressions from others. For example, if we have a good English accent, others will think that we are intelligent, presentable, etc. In a nutshell, to eliminate our doubts in learning English accents, we have to know how important the accents are. If we are able to master an English accent, it can build our self-confident, broaden our horizons especially in cultural development, and increase our prestige that is impressed by others.
To sum up, English actually has many accents, but mostly people face two English accents, specifically American English and British English. The English learners who want to know the importance of learning English accents have to understand about the accent. As English has American English and British English,the learners should be able to find out the differences and similarities so that it will ease them to learn it. In learning those accents, they will have some difficulties such as their first language which is influenced by their mother tongue, their surroundings, and their role models.Those difficulties generally make them indecisive in learning English accent, whether American English or British English. Moreover, some people say that English accent is not really matter as long as other people understand what they say. Although that opinion is right, learning English accent is still necessary indeed. By learning English accents, we will be able to build our self-confident up, to increase our knowledge especially in cultural development, and to have nice valuation from others related to our ability in English accents. Those are the reasons why we should learn English accent.
Sources:
Admin. Comparison of American and British English. From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_American_and_British_English. May 11, 2013.
Admin. Do Accent Really Matters? From: http://www.italki.com/question/51787. May 11, 2013.
Luh Gede T.P.D.
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- Survey - What Are Your Thoughts On English Speaking Accents?
Kaplan is currently running a survey asking people who speak English as a second language about their thoughts on English speaking accents and how confident they feel when speaking. It?s a quick 10 question survey and respondents get entered into a prize...
- British Vs. American English: Colour/color Them Different
As all major languages do, English comprises a diverse family of speakers across a wide variety of geographical and ethnic boundaries. There is a world of difference between the English spoken in Oxford, Boston, Nashville, Toronto, Delhi, and Sydney....
- A Brilliant Map-based Tour Of British Accents
Understanding different British accents can sometimes be tricky. You can no familiarize yourself with them in this informative video! ...
- The English Language In 24 Accents
People speak a little different English in different parts of the world. This guy does a great job demonstating the most common accents: ...
- Top Ways To Learn English Fast
As learning English has become an international craze a lot of people try different means to improve their spoken English. Many want to improve it without even learning Grammar. In case, your mother tongue is English you do not actually need to learn...