England accent!

19POSTS

9 years ago

Hi everyone,

I am an International student in Finland at the minute, and I intend to do an exchange/internship in England next year. But the problem is my pronunciation is not good at all.

I wonder if anyone here knows any sources where I can find received pronunciation or standard accent, such as postcards, records, videos? I think I can improve myself by repeating these stuff. Just it is not easy for me to find reliable sources.

I will highly appreciate if you guys can recommend or advice me anything.
Thanks in advance!

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Cynic UK/Netherlands Expert

8103POSTS

9 years ago

Lot's of stuff on You Tube; follow this link.

arespaxxer Member

19POSTS

9 years ago

Cynic wrote:
Lot's of stuff on You Tube; follow this link.

Hi, Thanks for your suggestion.
I know how to speak English but the thing i want is to study Received Pronunciation. Also, i looked up on youtube and some stuff on google, but these sources are not reliable. I meant I am not sure if they are Received Pronunciation so that i asked for help here.

Cynic UK/Netherlands Expert

8103POSTS

9 years ago

I wouldn't worry that much about pronunciation, the UK is a multi-national country and there are many accents and dialects in the UK already; to the extent that many foreigners speak and spell it far more clearly than the nationals (my wife is a good example).

The worse that's going to happen to you is that some may laugh; don't worry, I went through it when I learnt Dutch; yes it's embarrassing, but it's how you learn, by speaking it and making mistakes.

If you're determined to do it, Babble has a good reputation; this link will take you to the web-site.

SimCityAT Expert

13663POSTS

9 years ago

I'm English and my misses speaks better English than me. She is Austrian and has never lived in the UK.

You will find you will learn as you go along while you live in England. I don't think you can do any more.... I as I said I'm English and there are some accents in the UK I have trouble understanding. lol

Fred Indonesia Expert

30549POSTS

9 years ago

I like this one. It teaches you a lot about English idioms, something that most non native speakers find hard to grasp.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02pc9z … /downloads

Fred Indonesia Expert

30549POSTS

9 years ago

By the way, forget standard English accents, you'll find out why when you get there.
Work on clarity of your pronunciation, not trying to be perfectly in line with 'the queen's English' because not all that many people speak it.

arespaxxer Member

19POSTS

9 years ago

Thanks a lot for your useful advice!
On getting home, I will have a look at them. Basically, i do not want to be a fish out of water when i do an exchange in England. So the best way is to make a preparation by studying local accent

)
But anyway, i will try my best to do it.

riazcdki Serial expat

900POSTS

9 years ago

I would like to add a few points to what is said above.

a) Pure English, " Queens" English has no accent, in the UK , an accent represents a touch of a particular geographical area which is a lot of fun and of a lot of interest, but for all practical purposes is unimportant.

b) It is more useful to build up appropriate vocabulary and continue improving upon it.

c) Correct pronunciation helps but as Cynic has rightfully pointed, UK is a multicultural place and all that's important is to make your self understood.

d) There are certain foreign accents which have associations, eg French= sexy, Italian= Macho , Arabic= Wealthy, Indian/ Pakistani= funny.

Nevertheless , when you walk into an office or an airline counter and speak with a flawless "educated" accent, people around you get impressed.

Cynic UK/Netherlands Expert

8103POSTS

9 years ago

#10

riazcdki wrote:
..... Nevertheless , when you walk into an office or an airline counter and speak with a flawless "educated" accent, people around you get impressed.

Unless of course, you're speaking to a local, who will be definitely uninterested.

Fred Indonesia Expert

30549POSTS

9 years ago

#11

A lot depends on where the OP intends to live.
Speaking and understanding standard English is good, but it's bugger all use in Newcastle as you'll never hear it there.
Anyone moving to any given area should listen to the accent local to that place.