Do Us English Find Uk English Annoying?

[Dee1980]

Im from the United Kingdom and live in the US. I love US accents anywhere in the US. And love using the words gas instead of fuel, chips instead of crisps etc. It feels more laid back. Of course there are things that I miss from home, but Im really not bothered about the differences in US english to UK english. It is quite refreshing to have differences.

 

[void]

This is the most random thread ever but would love to ask it. I posted a thread in discussion on a trauma related th...

Americans do not speak English, ............they speak American.:)
The English are speaking English correctly......why would proper English be annoying to those who speak it properly?
Most Americans know very little(if anything) about the UK and the origin of the English language.

(no offence intended(see what i did there:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:))

 

[Nighthawk]

Ill agree with the above
American English is lazy.

 

[Changing4Best]

My husband was from Argentina and had been taught English by a British teacher as a child. However, he came to the US as a young teen and soon was irritated with how the British spoke, since he had hated his English teacher. He instead said that he learned to speak English by listening to the pop tunes on the radio! He did have a Spanish (South American) accent, of course, and then he later learned a lot of English by going to church and studying there, as well as by listening to the news and watching TV. He'd pick up the language by getting the gist of the story as he watched it. He also studied the dictionary, the Spanish to English and English to Spanish one.

 

[Mafia_Science]

I'm from New York and I find British accents to sound very nice and proper. I don't care much for the thick cockney accents though. Many people from New are completely obsessed with

I know a lot of people find the New York drawl (which I have) very annoying and unpleasing. Whenever speaking with non-New Yorkers, Im constantly self-conscious that I will sound uneducated or uncaring because of my accent.

 

[cherryblossom]

I enjoy different accents. and different takes on a language. Wouldn't it be boring if we all sounded the same?!

I have several foreign clients, and they pick up on some of the things that I say, that they don't understand. Things that I don't even realise I say (I'm UK born and bred, but have also moved around the country), as a result, I have a pretty nondescript English accent, but also use phrases from across the country. When I was younger, I lived in the north East and had a geordie accent, but moved down south when I was a 12, and no one could understand me, so I lost my accent.

In my previous career, I had to relate to all types of people, and would find that I changes the way I spoke in order to try to relate to them on a personal level, which they were comfortable with.

Now I enjoy the fact that I can teach my foreign clients some new phrases.... one thing I apparently say a fair amount, which sometimes causes confusion for them is 'okey-dokey'!

 

[cat-lady]

Did you know that we give our pets accents by interacting with them? Studies have shown that American cats meow with the pitch rising at the end like a question in an American accent but English cats meow with the pitch rising before the end like a question in an English accent. I find this both hilarious and adorable.

 

[sedna]

My kids are English, the accents of English people started to get on their nerves after they moved to the States. It depends very much on the region though. One thing I noticed in England is that people cringe like you sound like Rosanne Barr if they've never met an American in person before. That made me tone it down to a 'transcontinental accent from nowhere' that sounds like Madonna when she lived there. After that people kept asking me if I was Canadian. After I moved home to California, people kept asking me if I was Canadian. Apparently, Canadians sound like Madonna trying to blend in with Guy Ritchie's friends. :laugh:

 

[sedna]

Americans do not speak English, ............they speak American.:)
The English are speaking English correct...

:cautious: Hey....I hate to be the one to point this out ( no I dont, really ) but I've never heard so many different English people speaking anything but proper English in one small area ( ENGLAND ) until I moved to the origin of the great language myself. Some example : innut = isn't it. li- uhl = little fill- its. = filets cuz = because and of course the exchange of 'me' instead of 'my.' Thats just a few, I could fill a page. There were variations of bad grammar that were unique to every single 50 mile radius and didn't seem to be related to whether people went to school or not.

The only people making an effort to sound like they read Shakespeare for pleasure and possibly played polo in Royal circles were my in-laws, and people who actually read Shakespeare for pleasure and played polo with Prince Charles. ( not my in-laws ) . There were a few exceptions in the form of Headmistresses and Solicitors, but other than that, not really. I never understood why R's were randomly put on the end of names when they didn't belong, like saying Linder instead of Linda. Well, I never pass up an opportunity for a little reverse snobbery at the expense of the English, Sorry ;)

 

[hodge]

Haha, fun thread.

One of my best friends here is from the south of England. Though she is of Scottish and Welsh descent, she basically has a London accent, as she worked there for many years. Most people here in rural Minnesota love her accent. They are also mostly reserved and thus do not often make personal comments to people they don't know well, but almost always comment favorably on her accent when we're out together.

Oh, and btw, she has admitted to me that she has worked to keep her accent, even though she's lived here for 20 years now, lol.

 

[hodge]

I love differences in the English language from the UK to the US and within both. I'm from Detroit and still have that accent, but I have become very fond of some Minnesotanisms, such as "uff da" and "for weird." There are some things, however, I refuse to go along with. It's "casserole," not "hotdish." And it's "dinner," not "supper." Likewise, it's "lunch," not "dinner." These last two have often caused confusion when people invite me to a meal or I invite them. We've all gotten to the point of just saying what time to come over, lol.

 

[Recovery4Me]

My new sister in law, was raised and lived in China most of her life. She decided to learn English (for my brother) by watching the 100's of episodes he held most dear- Star Trek NG. :clown: So with Captain Picard's British accent (and underlining her Asian tonal dialects), she promptly exchanged a response to my brother when he announced he needed to pick up their son,

"Make it so!" :D she offered to his total amusement and adoration.


So, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." ~Sigmond Freud *However, I have loved reading this thread & the many stories of communication. Thanks for my smiles.