There's no such thing as a British accent!

[GideonB]

Technically I've got a Earth accent. Woo!

Hooray. I also have an earth accent

 

[Drakmeire]

NOOOOOOOO!
you just told me the equivalent of there being no Santa Claus.
Well I guess I can speak in a British accent since the voice I do sounds like a strange mixture of English, Scottish, and a little bit of Australian (which is an offshoot of an English accent).

 

[Skinny Razor]

After all there is Texan,

Ahem, no such thing as Texan either, it's Southern or Western. We Central/Eastern Texans don't like how we're generalized with those hillbilly, ranch-owning, oil-drilling West Texans.

Are you telling me there's no "hillbillies" in, for example, Bowie County? Or is that considered the Arkansas Annex?

 

[LavaLampBamboo]

Technically I've got a Earth accent. Woo!

Hooray. I also have an earth accent

I think we should all just say with have Earth accents. Saves confusion.

 

[Unesh52]

So for discussion value, who here is like me, bothered by people saying 'British accent'? And who here doesn't give a shit?

What bothers me is people who don't know the difference between a dialect and an accent. The differences are VERY distinct and are often confused since the term "dialect" has a negative connotation.

What's the difference between the two? I'm curious is all.

I recently read Pygmalion in school, and the main character was a professor of phonetics in (...England somewhere.... I didn't read that closely). It's ludicrously complex, if you ask me, and it's certainly only slightly useful. I think trying to be exact, or even at all "correct," about the accent you're referring to is much of a waste of time. For the sake of general conversation, the public conception of the "British" accent, or whatever, is perfectly effective at getting a point across.

Just another example of how stereotypes can be useful.

 

[cyce3]

I'm with you on the whole "not knowing the difference between British and English" thing, but I've known a few folks who get upset that I can't tell a Welsh inflection from, say, an Essex accent. I'm sure to a sheep all other sheep seem different but I haven't made a study of furrin talk.

By the way something, there's no such thing as 'proper" pronunciation, only common usage.

Yeah but the English language originated from England and it has been virtually unchanged since it was made. So in a way, it's right to call it the 'English language'. It's like how people in Mexico speak Spanish. Just because they speak it, it doesn't mean it's not the 'Spanish' language. It still originated from Spain.

What about Old English? Middle English? Or the Norman invasion? Or why it's called "England" in the first place? I was with you until this gem of misinformation.

Well you probably already know this but hey i love to throw my lot in anyway. Its called England because that evolved from Angleland ie the land of the Angles which is what the people living in the country before the norman invasion were called as they had moved on from being just saxons after the viking invasion.

 

[General Vagueness]

pip pip cheerio

 

[Treblaine]

Okay, this has been bothering me for years. There is no such thing as a British accent!

Great Britain is an island made up of three countries, England, Scotland and Wales. Each of these countries has their own accent, not to mention countless more dialects depending on the area of the country.

It seems like when people say a 'British accent' they are referring to the English accent. So why not just say the English accent?

It's like saying someone has a South/North American accent or an Asian accent. It just doesn't make sense.

I know making this thread isn't going to change anything in the grand scale of things, but I just hope that some users here on the Escapist realise that there is no such thing as a British accent.

So for discussion value, who here is like me, bothered by people saying 'British accent'? And who here doesn't give a shit?

Thanks for putting up with my rant.

When people say British Accent... they aren't being SPECIFIC. I mean Northern England and Scotland have increasingly convergent accents, especially considering the already huge variation in speech just from person to person within the same accent. Also you can't just say English... what if they happen to be Welsh? There are still common linguistic tendencies across all British accents, especially in spelling and grammar (colour/Color).

I mean the accent in America's Deep South is extremely different from in the North East... that doesn't mean there is no such thing as an American Accent.

 

[duchaked]

Because it doesn't matter. You know what they're talking about, right?

That's not the point. The point is that they're incorrect. I'm pissed off about it, but some people are downright offended at other people's ignorance.

hey hey don't get upset or anything, it's a generalization for convenience, not purposeful ignorance

in America, there are distinctive accents for northerners and southerners
I guess the big difference between north and south is that they both stem from very different cultures
there are differences within each region's accents, mainly in the north since the southerners don't seem to notice or care lol, but I guess it'd be like how there are differences between a Liverpool and Yorkshire accent

another one I know from experience is an Asian accent, although this one's strange to generalize seeing how Asia's even HUGE compared to the U.S., so for this one I would just say that since pretty much all Asian languages stem from Chinese, the common theme is that native speakers would have the same difficulty with speaking the English r's and th's

(again, all this is from personal experience so no scientific research/studies shown)

personally, I just find it fascinating when someone from the UK describes an "American accent"
makes me wonder where I would lie on its variations
(I know I can effectively imitate the southern accent tho haha)

I apologise if I gave out the impression that I was upset. I realise this goes on almost everywhere in the world. It just seems like it happens more with the 'British accent'. I already admitted I was over-reacting haha. I just felt like having a little rant. I'm pleased at how people have responded though.

haha no no it's cool, this has led to some very interesting and educating conversation lol
(it was just because you typed that you were "pissed off about it" that I got that impression)

admittedly, it's a different case for the Britain I suppose, consisting of three countries (aka bigger deal)
(whereas American accents would be split between regions/States, so none are really rallied behind a flag...except those crazy Texans lol jk!)

 

[Tiroe]

Wow, I had never heard of this until now. I'll be more careful next time I mention an accent...Although you could think of the British accent as a category? As in the English accent and the Scottish accent are British accents? I wouldn't get offended by it...

 

[WrcklessIntent]

I can understand why you would be pissed at that but I'm not trying to be offensive when i say some people just really don't care about the difference. If you visit another country for example if you sound like your English your going to be labled as having a British Accent its just the way it is. Just correct them and move on, there is nothing more you can do.

 

[Red Right Hand]

um... There's a set of acents that come from those islands just like there is a set of accents coming from north america or asia, meaning that it is perfectly acceptable for people who don't hear them everyday to lump them all together.

It's not even a question of growing a thicker skin, it's of realizing that the world doesn't revolve around you so people won't know everything about your region.

Exactly this.

The U.S. is full of people with different accents. Mid-western accenst, New York accents, Rhode Island accents, hell, our own Moviebob occasionally lets loose with his Boston accent. Yet many people around the world lump them all together as an "american accent".

Do you know how annoying it would be to have to learn about the accents for every piece of the British isles? especially when each county/city/town/village seems to have their own unique accent (from what I've gathered people talking about on the internet at least).

That's because America is one country. Britain is not. It's like saying a frenchman has a European accent. You just don't say that, us Brits aren't asking that everyone can distinguish between an ayrshire accent and an orkney accent, though they are fairly different. We, well I, just wish people would make the distinction between and English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish accent because they are fairly different.

 

[Deviluk]

My best friend is Scottish, and the other is Chinese but has a UK passport, so they collectively say British. To be honest I don't mind being grouped with them, but they obviously don't speak like me. People say I sound like how Americans think we sound, i.e. like the queen. Jolly good.

 

[FinalHeart95]

I tend to mix up accents, so I figured I'd save myself trouble by saying "British" rather than saying someone has a "Scottish" accent and it's really English... I'd probably get the shit beaten out of me if that happened.

 

[wordsmith]

I always specify that I am English, not just British so yes it could get on my nerves slightly.

I, on the other hand, am British, not English. The Channel Islands are not part of England.

 

[LightspeedJack]

What pissess me off more is when people say English accent. I may be wrong, but isn't English a language? Not an accent?

lolwut?? Italian is a language is it impossible to have an Italian accent?