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Peťo Machovčák Posted 10 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation

Attempting to sound like a British native : pass or fail?

Hello everyone, firstly I apologise in advance for this (the recording) being all over the place - I was in a hurry as I was recording hence me speaking and pronouncing the words really quickly. First part of the recording is an 'unrehearsed talk' I just tried to explain what accent I want to have, what I was going to be doing and what I want from the lovely people in here. Second thing I did was to read a paragraph from this article here http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/10/31-commonly-confused-words/ - I read the '3-4. hoard or horde' part. And lastly, I went on to Wikipedia and tried to pronounce every single word in the table https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English that should contain every sound that there is in English, and I think that mastering all the sounds is one of the essential things when trying to get a native-like accent. Now, again as I'm listening to the recording I'm talking really fast and sometimes slur the words together but I find this 'the hardest part' because when I speak clearly I find it easier to get the pronunciation, the prosody and the stuff right whereas when I speak quickly as I did in here - I find it A LOT harder to get everything right and that's why I haven't made another recording. The accent I want to have is the sort of generic southern British accent that isn't posh/RP but isn't really too dialectal either (e.g. too Cockney or too 'sick innit bruv' sort of accent). So my question to you is - Am I on the right track of achieving that goal? Could I pass off as a native if I spoke to you? If not, what sounds/words gave me away? And generally I'd just like you to give me some advice on how to improve to sound like a Brit or what accent I should acquire (do I really have the sort of accent I'm aiming for or not?) Thank you very very much for the feedback, I really appreciate it as it helps me an awful lot.
THE RECORDING'S HERE https://soundcloud.com/pe-o-machov-k/my-take-on-the-british-accent

Again, I'm incredibly grateful for any sort of response or feedback.
  

Top answer

Peto Machovcák The accent I want to have is the sort of generic southern British accent that isn't posh/RP but isn't really too dialectal either You have that. Peto Machovcák sick innit bruv' sort of accent That's not worth learning or using generally. It's a kind of contrived way of speaking that is very modern and mainly used by uneducated, chav types.

— Anonymous

  • Peto Machovcák The accent I want to have is the sort of generic southern British accent that isn't posh/RP but isn't really too dialectal either You have that.
  • Peto Machovcák sick innit bruv' sort of accent That's not worth learning or using generally.
  • It's a kind of contrived way of speaking that is very modern and mainly used by uneducated, chav types.
  • Peto Machovcák Could I pass off as a native if I spoke to you?
  • Generally, unless one concentrates very carefully on your pronunciation.
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2 Answers
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Peto MachovcákThe accent I want to have is the sort of generic southern British accent that isn't posh/RP but isn't really too dialectal either
You have that.
Peto Machovcáksick innit bruv' sort of accent
That's not worth learning or using generally. It's a kind of contrived way of speaking that is very modern and mainly use
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Thank you very much for the response since this is probably of the best reaction I could have hoped for Emotion: smile
Yeah, I agree with you
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