Is it acceptable to use British English in United States??

[kabunaru]

In all seriousness, it depends. Many people don't consider themselves as having an accent, but upon reflection, most realize they do. I know I speak like someone from Northern California (normally ), just as someone from the South might speak with a southern accent, or a New Yorker might speak with a New York accent.

I have to admit this but the general Midwestern American Accent sounds "normal" to me (what an average person will talk like) while British Received Pronunciation makes a person sound more intelligent and like a scientist.

 

[dukebound85]

Do Americans think they have no accent and that they sound "normal"?

everyone thinks they talk "normal" and they are right. who is to say one way is more "normal" than another way

normal is very dependent on locality now isnt it?

I have to admit this but the general Midwestern American Accent sounds "normal" to me (what an average person will talk like) while British Received Pronunciation makes a person sound more intelligent and like a scientist.

what does an accent have to do with intelligence?

 

[kabunaru]

Appalachia mountains region is still a mystery to me when it comes to English (whether some people there might use Elizabethan English).
British, what do you think of when Americans use terms like: "Gotten, Fall for Autumn, Gray for Grey, etc...) Don't you realise that it is an older form of English and it is the British who changed those terms (Fall--->Autumn, Gray--->Grey, etc)?

 

[dukebound85]

i say gotten and say fall much more than autumn. i dont quite get your point

why cant people just stick to whatever dialect they grew up with and call it good. anyone who tries to change their accent to be "different" for the sake of being "different" comes off as immature imo

 

[juanster]

i say gotten and say fall much more than autumn. i dont quite get your point

why cant people just stick to whatever dialect they grew up with and call it good. anyone who tries to change their accent to be "different" for the sake of being "different" comes off as immature imo

I agree, accents are just that, accents...it really bothers me when people say someone doesn't speak properly because someone has an accent, be it a "different" english or a foreign accent, and I don't even want to get started with the whole center/centre, color/colour, aluminum/aluminium and the way us canadians(or british) and americans pronounce data or missiles and that stuff

me and my aussie friend always have jokefights about pronunciation of words

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

Do Americans think they have no accent and that they sound "normal"?

Kabunaru, don't you live in the US? Why do you insist on implying that Americans are different from you?

EDIT: This is just too pretentious. If you're not British then don't use British spelling. This is just too similar of reasoning to when you were asking for Apple to switch back to PPC. It's just so you can be different.

 

[kabunaru]

why cant people just stick to whatever dialect they grew up with and call it good. anyone who tries to change their accent to be "different" for the sake of being "different" comes off as immature imo

I do not try to change my accent. I just use a different version of English.

 

[dukebound85]

I do not try to change my accent. I just use a different version of English.

what do you mean by that? a different version of english is a different accent pretty much

different english means different pronunciations, spellings, and word choices that are different than what is "normal" in your locality

 

[kabunaru]

what do you mean by that? a different version of english is a different accent pretty much

different english means different pronunciations, spellings, and word choices that are different than what is "normal" in your locality

I just use different spellings and word choices. I do not have a British or American accent.

 

[Big-TDI-Guy]

So now my character has a British Accent?!

 

[kabunaru]

So now my character has a British Accent?!

And do not forget this car (which I think is still better than any modern car):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlt4GQ45TXg

 

[Macky-Mac]

You want an honest answer? If you're an American, I think it's a pretentious affectation designed to convey an air of uniqueness, otherness and sophistication.

what BV said also applies to americans who decide to start using british spellings instead of the spellings they learned as a child

 

[Melrose]

what BV said also applies to americans who decide to start using british spellings instead of the spellings they learned as a child

I grew up using British spellings. It's just something I've always done - not an affectation. But I agree people who decide to do so out of desire to get attention. I love it when you hear fake English accents and the people think they're so cool and with-it..

 

[kabunaru]

I grew up using British spellings.

I still cannot believe the fact that teachers would mark down British spellings as wrong in United States.
Pretty funny actually.

 

[juanster]

I still cannot believe the fact that teachers would mark down British spellings as wrong in United States.
Pretty funny actually.

they do? that's weird...but understandable i guess, they should nto mark it as wrong but kids should maybe learn teh difference without thinking one of them is right or wrong

by the way what do you mean you speak a different version of english, i didn;t knwo languages came in "version"

 

[kabunaru]

they do? that's weird...but understandable i guess, they should nto mark it as wrong but kids should maybe learn teh difference without thinking one of them is right or wrong

There is:
International English
American English
Canadian English
South African English
British English
Australian English
New Zealand English
Indian English
Singaporean English
Philippines English
etc...

 

[juanster]

There is:
International English
American English
Canadian English
South African English
British English
Australian English
New Zealand English
Indian English
Singaporean English
Philippines English
etc...

hmmm interesting... you learn a new thing everyday..

 

[Melrose]

I still cannot believe the fact that teachers would mark down British spellings as wrong in United States.
Pretty funny actually.

That means either the teacher doesn't know British spellings and thinks it's in error, or they know British spellings and are simply being pretentious.

Granted, if it's a spelling test and you live in the US, and I can sort of see the point..

 

[Blue Velvet]

New Zealand English

Is identical to British English.

Apart from localised vernacular and slang, something you see'll in every country and region. But it's not a separate language.

 

[kabunaru]

But it's not a separate language.

They are just all dialects of International English.

 

[Blue Velvet]

They are just all dialects of International English.

I wouldn't even call it a dialect, more an accent. You're talking to a Kiwi, most of New Zealand law and education is based on British law and education, the Queen is still the Head of State. Please give this line of argument up about 'New Zealand English'.

 

[kabunaru]

I wouldn't even call it a dialect, more an accent.

Still, it is part of British English which makes it (along with other English varients) a dialect of International English.
The Kiwis do have a nice accent. I wish I had a Kiwi accent now.

 

[Blue Velvet]

Still, it is part of British English which makes it (along with other English varients) a dialect of International English.

You're absolutely right. I had better switch my keyboard and Mac over to New Zealand English lest I get confused.

 

[kabunaru]

You're absolutely right. I had better switch my keyboard and Mac over to New Zealand English lest I get confused.

What do you think about American English (spellings, grammar, accents, etc.)?
Archaic terms (for the British) like: gotten, fall (for autumn), gray, etc...?

If you think about it, the modern British English is no more closer to the language of Shakespeare (Early Modern English) than American English.

 

[leekohler]

What kind of question is this? Of course it's OK. I don't even get why this question was asked.