A friend told me today one of his students speaks with a strong British accent and that when he asked her how she acquired the accent, she said she had purposely learned it because it sounds classier than an American accent. This upsets me. Let me make it clear first that I am not pro or against the British accent. Looking back, I have probably acquired American, British and Australian accents at different stages while I was learning English. However, I never see any of these accents as classier or better than the others. Language is a tool, which carries the message you want to convey. The tool itself does not make you more or less classy; the message does. What difference does it make whether you speak with an American or British accent when your message is completely rubbish? Honestly, I am not surprised at what this student said. I’ve heard similar ignorant statements before, mostly from English majors, unfortunately. I hope these people will soon stop viewing English or a certain accent of English as an accessory they wear to make them look good. What English (or any other language) does for us is: it offers us more opportunities to understand the world. It's as simple as that.
About Me
- Rainbow Chen
- I have been teaching English for 15 years. My educational credentials include a Ph.D. in learning technologies and an M.A. in English & American literature. I wouldn’t say I am a workaholic, but I am, no doubt, devoted to my work. For me, there are always things to do and to learn. I can never understand why some people would say they are ‘bored’. When I am not working, most of my time is spent reading and chatting with my husband. My husband has a lot in common with me. We both are, I would like to believe, intellectual and fun to be with. We are planning to add a member to our family soon – a cat!
I've really think that British accent is classier than Singlish or Manglish before. But I think I got to change my mind. Singlish and Manglish are just not proper enough. And that should be my main target to change my slang and accent.
ReplyDeleteHui Kee,
ReplyDeleteYes. The goal is to improve your English so you can use it as a native speaker of English does. When people talk about British English being 'classier' or more 'elegant', most of the time, they are simply being vain.
In fact, giving British English a higher status than other 'standard' forms of English, such as American, Australian and Canadian English, is like saying the Mandarin spoken in Mainland China is better than the Mandarin spoken in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia (or the other way around). Don't you think?
One of my friends from China once told that he thought that the Mandarin spoken in Taiwan sounds better and softer than the Mandarin spoken in China. So I wonder if English speakers may think that British accent just "sounds" better than other accents? My American friends used to said that British accent sounds sexy for them... but sure it doesn't make any side classier than the other. =]
ReplyDeleteAbout how Americans think of the British accent, my guess is that they find it exotic. Is this friend of yours a girl? I asked this because I did hear quite a few stories about American women saying this about European guys. Come to think of it, American men probably think the same about a French woman’s accent. How come we do not hear Taiwanese men and women describing non-Taiwanese people's accent when speaking Mandarin as exotic (or sexy)? Intriguing, huh?
ReplyDelete