The American accent

Question

Hi,Learning English is my hobby .I think my level is intermediate now ,so do you recommend to learn the American accent at this stage. I don't know whether it's difficult or not ,but since I watch American movies every day , I think the learning process won't be that difficult.I've found some interesting books about this accent in the library .So what do you recommend…I really need some good advice

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

There are several American accents. Regional accents such as western, southern and Appalachian, are quite distinct as are accents specific to cities (especially Boston and New York).
I suppose the "standard" American accent would be the one used by the national news anchors. Just listen online or continue to watch movies. See if you can identify the different accents!
It can be quite difficult to change an accent, because we learn when we are very young to mimic the sounds we hear around us.

CalifJim · Answer

mubrik88do you recommend to learn the American accent at this stage.

The American accent is worth learning at any stage. Many learners find it easier than any other accent. I think you're right that you won't find it difficult because of your experience with watching American movies.

CJ

Peaceblinkfriend · Answer

Hi mubrik88

You might be interested in these sites if you want to familiarise yourself with the American accent. A lot of the articles there are read aloud. VOA also has a 'Learning English' section which you might find useful. I suppose most them are read in the 'standard' American accent since they are targeted at both the national and international audience. I would sometimes browse the articles/programs by their topics so I could listen to what I find interesting.

Voice of America
http://www.voanews.com/english/index.cfm

National Public Radio
http://www.npr.org/

PBF

Kooyeen · Answer

You should have learned about pronunciation since the beginning! It's important!

Anyway, it's not too late, don't worry.

If you think you're going to hear more American English than British English, or if you plan to go to the US, or if you just like American accents more, then I suggest you learn more about American English. That's what I decided to do too, and decided I would use an American accent, but after a while I realized... you won't just hear one accent though: if you pay attention to what you hear you'll realize there's actually a lot of different accents (from different part of the US, from the UK, foreign accents, etc.). That's why the more you learn about English in general, the better.

Starting with a general American accent is a good idea: that's what I did too. What I did was read "American Accent Training" by Ann Cook (and listen to the audio files that come with the course), and that boosted my listening skills. Before that, I hardly knew what spoken American English was, I'm afraid.
One warning: don't take any courses like that like "the bible" that will tell you how everyone is supposed to speak. I told you, the reality is that you'll hear a lot of different ways of speaking when you watch movies. However, that course is very complete so it's a perfect starting point, and it's probably more than enough for the vast majority of learners. Here's the official website. Good luck.

http://www.americanaccent.com/

Mubrik88 · Answer

Mr. AlpheccaStars

Mr. CalifJim

Mr. Peaceblinkfriend

Mr. Kooyeen

Thank you all for your help

the links and the advices which you wrote were a big help for me ,and gave me a great boost to continue learning more and more

By the way I have found some great lessons in YouTube about the accents
Check this out:

Amazing !!!

Peaceblinkfriend · Answer

A very interesting and entertaining clip, Mubrik88. That last one, the Trans-Atlantic accent, was certainly new to me.

PBF

Elvicas · Answer

I honestly believe that is not too late for you to study anything at all. I envy your courage to learn America Accent. But i must confess to you that you have to do more than just watching American Movies. They are other materials that can enhance your efficiencies in Accent. Plaese see< Link removed by mod.>

Aliaj · Answer

Congratulations on your enthusiasm in such a complicated hobby.

It is not necessary to have an American accent, but is more important to be able to pronounce words correctly so that others will understand you. To acquire a complete American accent is not a realistic goal unless you were trained that way from the beginning of your language learning process. There are so many factors that go into language learning that it can become too complicated and confusing. The point is not to sound exactly like the American, but to make sure that you are pronouncing words, phrases correct.

Also "American Accent" is an extremely broad term because the accent changes from state to state and region to region. So, you can speak and understand English well and move to a southern state like Louisiana and not understand a word of what is being said or for that matter people may not understand you.

So basically make sure that you know the phonetics (sounds) of the words that you are pronouncing. You can speak English with your own accent and be understood providing that your pronunciation is as it should be.

The following link will be helpful (URL removed by mod).

Anonymous · Answer

I suggest if you learn an american accent that you learn the standard one. (not the boston, new york, southern, georgia, etc)

Aliaj · Answer

I absolutely agree. However, when working in the American culture one is often faced with being transferred on the job and ends up in a place where the accent is regional and they do not understand. That can be devastating, especially if you have to attend meetings or speak with customers. Therefore it is necessary to not speak with a regional accent, but to understand the basics so that you can communicate. Many of my clients have complained of highly stressful situations involving inability to perform on the job due to lack of communication.

For clarification: http:http://askalia.squarespace.com/info-on-the-go-accent-survival/

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