How can I accuire an English accent?

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bobthebrowser

Try Harrods,they say they sell anything

gina

1. Understand that all English accents barring those from the West lack a rhotic 'r'. That is, most 'r's are not pronounced.
2. Some English accents may be that the 'T's are not pronounced.
3. Pronounce the 'U' sound as 'you', not 'oo' as in an American accent. Thus 'styupid', not 'stoopid'.
4. In the standard English accent, the 'a' (for example of 'rather') is pronounced 'aah' like 'our', not 'a' like 'apple'.
5. 'T' is pronounced 'T', not an American 'D'. (Duty is 'Dyuty' or, more commonly, 'Jooty', not 'doody')

Tips

* As with any accent, listening to and imitating a native speaker is the most important and fastest way to learn. Remember that when you were young you learned a language by listening and then repeating the words while imitating the accent.
* As a child, your ability for the ear to process different frequencies of sound is greater, enabling you to distinguish and reproduce the sounds of the languages that surround you. To effectively learn a new accent, you must expand the ability of your ear by listening over and over to examples of the accent.
* As you expand the ability of the ear, speaking becomes an automatism. When the ear can â€˜hearâ€™ a sound, the mouth has a better chance of producing it.
* There are a wide range of British accents. For every day use or for business, try learning an "educated, upper class" accent like Oxbridge.
* Think about your audience. If you wish to genuinely fool people into thinking you're British, you want to think about regions, and work much harder than if you want to get a general picture across for a school play.
* Try imagining a plum in your mouth. While pronouncing your vowels, try to keep your tongue as low in the mouth as possible while keeping the roof high. Talk as normal as possible (not foolishly). The placement of the tongue, combined with the extra resonance, should make a good start to "faking" an English accent.
* As well as accent, watch for special vocab, like 'Lads' for boy/man, 'Lass' for women. 'Loo' for the toilet, but 'bathroom' for a room you clean yourself.
* Remember: The accents of Julie Andrews or Emma Watson (Hermione from 'Harry Potter') are quite different from 'Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey.
* Many places have diffrent mannerisms and word usages. Look up a British dictionary online for more British terms.

sonfai81

There's no reason to put on a fake English accent. Just be who you naturally are. If you do fake one, you know you're going to get asked where you come from every time you open your mouth. And then when you say, a couple of blocks from here, they're going to think it strange. The only way to naturally obtain an English accent is to spend some time in England and even then it's not definite. My neighbour from Glasgow moved to Florida 10 years ago and her accent hasn't changed one little bit.

Katherine

You can get a dialect coach who will work with you on acquiring the accent. Actors hire these coaches to affect accents for roles. If you don't have the money for this, try watching a lot of British television and movies. Work on mimicking the inflection of speech. Use an audio tape to record your voice and review your efforts.

The best way to get the accent is to visit the area for some time and socialize.

english guy 1985

there are many different English accents, probably about 15-20 different regional accents and the standard 'posh' accent that you will here people like Hugh Grant speaking in, that might be what you are thinking of when you say a 'English accent'

you are not alone- many people here in England try and acquire that accent, whether conciously or unconciously, because it is associated with the educated and wealthy classes, in a country where social class distinctions are so much more pronounced than the US. It is not uncommon for people to drop their regional accent and dialect and begin speaking like this as they aspire to climb the 'social ladder'.

the tips given by gina, above , were actually very good I thought - follow her advise!

and thank you for admiring the English ,speaking personally we admire the Americans in many respects aswell ,we know you aren't all bad!

Trotsky vs Kerensky- ÐÐµÐºIÐ¾!

I can't believe you like British accent, I know that most Americans do like it, but why? It seems so absurd to me. I absolutely hate the way British speak. American accent is way cooler.

Ike

get a lauguage coach!

chibichomp

You can get a "Learn English" program, CD ... etc ... that is done with a British accent ... hopefully, when you repet with the tape you will pick up the accent

Or, find a frind who has a British accent ... spen enough time talking to them and you should pick it up automaticaly ...

Lali

Don't worry I feel the same way about you...I love their accent!

rocker_girl

watch english movies.. and then copy...!!

UK all day!

i hear that a lot. and you can go to as many classes as you want. you may be able to pull it off. but its never gonna be there. your always gonna get some words that you just cant say right. and the context in which its used. but you can try

B MAFIA

go to england and stay there

Marilyn O'Dowd

Be a good yank and stick with your bloody american accent, if us Brits catch you....that won't like what will happen. Don't be such a wanker, suck it up little yank! It would be quit wonky of you to do, you are not British, so get over it. And stay away from London, I hate all these damn tourists! You have to have the apperance to pull of the accent to. No one will believe you if you look like a american hick trying to talk like us.

Coloured Kisses,
Marilyn

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