English Diction

Question

Hi guys,I have been living in London since January 2003. Hoping that I would have got rid of my strong and terrible Italian accent after 2 years, I have now lost all my hopes.Could you suggest me any diction courses or whatsoever to pick up the pure British accent. I know that it might be nice, but I really hate my accent and forbids me from being natural and spontaneous sometimes.Hope you can help me out!Thanks a lot!

Crux_online · Accepted Answer

AnonymousHi guys,

I have been living in London since January 2003. Hoping that I would have got rid of my strong and terrible Italian accent after 2 years, I have now lost all my hopes.Could you suggest me any diction courses or whatsoever to pick up the pure British accent. I know that it might be nice, but I really hate my accent and forbids me from being natural and spontaneous sometimes.

Hope you can help me out!

Thanks a lot!

You strike as someone who is extremely proficient in English usage, so now-~~for you~~-it has come to this: you must change the articulation point inside your mouth. I haven't heard your individual accent, but if you're having issues with pronouncing certain consonant sounds (particularly [ d ] and [ t ]), you may just need to articulate the tongue a bit farther back inside the mouth.

Most problems with the British English accent have to do with the way the vowels are pronounced. Other than the 'glides' that occur in BE, the broad [ a ] sound is common, as is the schwa (the 'uh' sound). Whereas you say 'addio' with a clear [ a ] sound like in the word 'father', in some BE accents the [ a ] is broadened to be more like [ aw ] in 'awful'. Furthermore, such broadening may make the word 'awful' sound more like 'oh-ful'.

The schwa is the most common sound in English and is represented by a symbol that looks like an upside down e when you look up words in the dictionary. It is a completely neutral sound and commonly put in place of unstressed vowels (especially in American English):

The word 'inspiration' has two...the second 'i' and the 'io' in 'tion'. in-spuh-ra-shun.

But to gets these right, you have to listen closely and emulate them. Rural Britain is still a haven for dialects and accents that have existed for hundreds of years and in some cases are not mutually intelligible right away, so make sure that you apply these examples only where they fit.

Short version: Listen to and emulate vowel sounds and glides. BE articulates most consonants differently that in Italian...relearn the articulation.

C.

MrPedantic · Answer

Try talking Italian with an English accent, Anon. Imitate the head and facial movements of an English speaker of Italian. (A bad speaker.) Read some Italian out loud, as if you were a stiff, awkward, embarrassed, middle-aged Englishman.

("Doh-vay ill mew-zay-oh, sin-your?", etc.)

Then try some English.

MrP

Crux_online · Answer

MrPedanticTry talking Italian with an English accent, Anon. Imitate the head and facial movements of an English speaker of Italian. (A bad speaker.) Read some Italian out loud, as if you were a stiff, awkward, embarrassed, middle-aged Englishman.

("Doh-vay ill mew-zay-oh, sin-your?", etc.)

Then try some English.

MrP

All seriousness aside, that's a great idea, too.

YoHf · Answer

Ehm... Hwat if he forgets Italian accent and he doesn't learn British accent? He won't speak any of them then... <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/4.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/4.gif' alt='Emotion: stick out tongue'/>

MrPedantic · Answer

It's the tiny element of risk that makes it exciting, YoHf...

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you for this,i hope you post video that we can listen and emulate,,,,

Anonymous · Answer

I Know....Italian accent is indeed HORRIBLE!!

Anonymous · Answer

Not really useful advice, he's asking for tip to talk with BRITISH ACCENT!!!

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