Hi Englishuser,
As I said, there are a number of reasons why I don’t want to sound or act like ‘a very aristocratic Englishman’.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, question-response: You still have my business card, don’t you?[YSaerTTEW443543]
Hi Torsten,
Who, in their right mind, would want to?
A
And it’s not necessary anyway, because native English speakers (at least in my country) generally don’t mind if someone has a foreign accent, if it’s intelligible. After all, in the US, Canada and Australia, practically everybody’s grandmother had a foreign accent.
Well Alan, I guess there are those who do want to sound like aristocrats just as there are people who want to look like celebrities. I think it has to with a person’s self-confidence or lack thereof.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, talks: Afternoon traffic report on the radio[YSaerTTEW443543]
Sad, isn’t it?
A
Hello,
Torsten wrote:
Or then it has to do with a person’s desire to speak so that people can understand what they are saying. If you speak Spanish or Swedish as your first language, you will have to learn how to ‘achieve’ the sounds of English. You therefore need someone to model your speech on.
HM Queen Elizabeth II is a good role model speechwise for each one of us because her accent will be understood in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.
Englishuser
The average educated person you meet walking on the streets of London is completely clear and understandable in any English-speaking country. So is almost anyone in the Midwestern United States, and almost everybody in Canada. It’s not as if they’ll need to run subtitles under your face if you talk on TV. Most Germans use regular, educated non-aristocratic English as their model, or else General American. Nobody has any complaints about how they talk.
The advantage of imitating one of these other accents is that no one will laugh at you. Nothing is funnier than a person who speaks with an aristocratic British accent but makes mistakes in grammar and terminology. If you don’t believe me, watch the first half of “My Fair Lady”.
Hi Jamie,
You wrote:
Perhaps it is good to get laughed at while one is learning. Eventually you’ll make many less mistakes in grammar and terminology.
It is perfectly all right for most people to model their speech on HM The Queen of Canada. Her Majesty sets a good role model for every speaker of English in Her Majesty’s Canadian Realm.
Englishuser
Guys, I think this person is just joking, and having a lot of fun egging us on.
Hi Jamie,
I am sure you know that even native speakers of English tend to pay less attention to proper grammar and pronunciation than used to be the case.
Englishuser
You know what EU? You remind me of Sir Arthur Quiller Couch but then I’m sure that his lectures on The Art of Writing must be compulsive bed time reading for you. By the way would the queen actually say this:
A
Hi Alan,
Why do you think I am fond of Sir Quiller Couch’s writings?
I am not HM The Queen and I do not present myself as an authority on the English language on this forum…
Englishuser
Well, that’s a relief. I was getting a tad worried.
Oh absolutely old bean! Things definitely are not what they used to be. It all started to go downhill when Johnnie Milton decided to write his Paradise Lost in the vulgar tongue instead of Latin.
A
Well, blow me down EU has gorn and removed his post. Gosh
Hi Alan,
I just love the way you write!
Englishuser
Well you live and learn. I’m deeply moved.
A
PS
Fighting back the tears, don’t you know.
Hi Alan,
You said:
I wonder what post you’re referring to. Also, why do you think I’m a he? I could be “a he, a she, or even a robot”, as I recall our friend Jamie saying.
Englishuser
EU
Are you intentionally using pretense?
What I mean to say is, are you really so proud of QE 2 (not the ship) and her kin?
I can understand a sense of pride, of approval – that’s okay with me – but to brag about her like a Liverpool fan brags about Stevie G?
Come on, man. She isn’t your grandma… nor a soccer star.
“Way to go, QE 2, way to wake up today! Great job at not dying!”
And please get off this British subjugation kick. The United States never will be part of the Commonwealth. We’ll be your best friend (or among them), but subjugation is so 18th century.
Hi EU,
You like the mystery, not I. This forum is mainly about English language questions, not about teasing. If you are not a ‘he’, then tell us what you are. Otherwise we’ll be in the dark.
A
Hi prezbucky,
I really don’t think I would be that eager to discuss my own grandmother in the forums - at least I would be really uncomfortable telling you so much about how good my grandmother is and how mighty she is.
Englishuser