How can I develop proper English accent?
Asked by
gamefu91 (
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)
January 9th, 2011
Their are so many English accents.Which is the correct one? Or which is the proper or most widely used accent? Is it received pronunciation? British accent? Received Pronunciation? Neutral accent?
And how can I develop that accent? Do I only have to learn pronouncing words properly according to that accent or I will have to do something else too? How to correct pronunciation? I don’t know how to do that from a dictionary.
I am from India and cannot find such English speakers to talk to and practice.What else would you suggest?
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10 Answers
From your ability to assign a ton of topics to this question, I can only assume that your English proficiency is better than you expect. The only way you can perfect an accent is from practice. I’m currently learning a non-English language (Nederlands) and running into similar obstacles, so I’d be more than happy to communicate with you in any way that you like.
Shoot me a message here or seek me out on my profile and let’s chat. Thanks.
I wouldn’t worry about accents, there are so many of them in the United Kingdom. Concentrate on vocabulary and grammer. You can get some tips on pronunciation on the BBC website but it is something you can only begin to learn once you are in the UK (or the US)
Marry Harple. No wait, that job is taken!
I wouldn’t worry too much about accent either. Personally, I love the natural accent that East Indian people have when speaking English. But if you want to develop one besides the one that comes naturally to you, I’d personally go with either Received Pronunciation or General American.
Both are accents that are commonly used on British and American TV respectively, so if you can’t find anyone to speak with in person, you can either watch TV broadcasts or listen to some British or US audiobooks. Listening to audiobooks while reading the physical text simultaneously is a great way to improve pronunciation.
The “proper” English accent is the one used by BBC in former years. If you are really keen to acquire it, try listening to and imitating old broadcasts or radio plays. However, many regional accents have always existed and are highly acceptable now – even on the BBC.
My wife came to the US speaking both Italian and Spanish. Her immediate family didn’t speak English, so they sat her in front of Sesame Street to learn English.
She has no distinguishable accent (although she does sound like Big Bird).
@janbb got there first—and taught me something new, that the BBC has modified pronunciation standards somewhat in recent years.
@anartist Yes, you’ll often hear a Welsh, Northern or Scottish accent on a BBC reporter now which you neve would have before.
The BBC accent or recieved pronounciation (RP) accent- the accent the queen has was originally an accent from a particular region in the UK it was seen as the’proper’ way to talk as this is how the royal family spoke, therefore ‘proper’ however people view different accents with differing opinions-
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/scottish-and-irish-accents-top-list-of-favourites-448630.html
Many people have negative stereo types about certain accents and some have false idolisation of RP even though it was originally an accent in it own right!
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