Job Discussion Forums

[leeroy]

And how do you change it (if at all) in the class?

Mine's something close to "Estuary English", a blend of London cockney and the (far blander) South-England accent.

I don't really pronounce my 'r's (so "car" is "kah"), and any 't's in the middle of the word are usually replaced with a glottal stop;

"butter" = bu' uh
"city" = si'ee

I use the long /a:/, which typifies the Southern British way of speech;

"fast" = farst

"Do you know what I mean?" is contracted to ridiculous extremes;
"J'naa' a mean?"

Occassionally, the London side of things gets the better of me and "th" (voiced) becomes "v", and "th" (unvoiced) becomes "f". So...

"Three thousand" = free fousand
"Don't bother" = don' bovver

In the class, however, I don't use the glottal stop and use 't's in their rightful position. 'v's and 'f's are used when they should, my intonation is slightly exaggerated, and naturally everything is ....slower.....and.....clearer.

And yourselves?

[leeroy]

Oh for *beep*'s sake. Dave's fucking beep machine is getting on my fucking *beep*.

*beep* in the previous post was "c.ockney"

[Capergirl]

Heheeeee, I almost had a coffee-out-the-nose moment when I read your second post.

I'm guessing (from your description) that you sound a lot like the folks I couldn't understand when I visited London earlier this year. As for me, I don't actually think I have much of an accent. I'm sure that's debatable, however. A few of my friends have pointed out that I tend to slur my d's sometimes - that is to say that I make a t sound when d is at the end of a word, a typical Cape Breton habit. When I'm teaching, I try very hard to speak without any "twang".

[joe-joe]

My accent is what I think is referred to as 'RP' (received pronunciation); it used to be called something like BBC English, (or just plain posh..... ). Damned if I know where I got my accent from as I grew up in Cornwall, England, so in theory I should have picked up a really broad West Country accent of the Wurzel Gummidge/OOH ARR variety.

[dmb]

I have an 'anglified Edinburgh Scottish Accent' I don't alter it for class. I have tried to do various pronunciation exercises (from Headway for example) I feel uncomfortable and stupid trying to imitate an RP accent. I am proud of my background and so why try to change it. Also, in the same thread I don't expect my students to have an Eton-like accent. If they have an accent that identifies where they are from so what. If they are able to communicate with no breakdown in communication what's the problem. I'm sure many learners are proud of their heritage and culture. why try to hide it by putting on a fake accent( or is that vernacular?)?

[denise]

I guess I have a California accent, vinus the valley-girl thing. I pronounce things fairly clearly (except for standard reductions like gonna, wanna, etc.--but I try to either control them in class or explain them to the students), so I feel no need to change anything. From an American perspective, why would I try to speak with an RP accent?!?!? (Sorry, but I've kinda gotten the impression, from a couple of different threads and from some textbooks/former colleagues, that RP is "correct"--not for those of us in the States!)

d

[Celeste]

I do alter my speech patterns a bit, and I definitely speak more slowly. The only time I ever felt stupid teaching pronunciation was when the British textbook I was using was pointing out the difference between cot and caught- in my accent there is NO DIFFERENCE!!! I had to go and practise with one of the british teachers on staff before I could teach it.

[jud]

Standard American English (I think that's what we called it in acting school), though sharp ears get that I'm from the Eastern seaboard.

I avoid demonstrating British pronunciation points that I can't demonstrate and let a cassette handle it, pointing out to students that there's a difference between what I would say and what the tape says.

[donfan]

When I was teaching in Taiwan one day I was teaching rhyming words and I used log and frog as examples of words that rhyme. My Chinese assistant said to me, "Those words don't rhyme". I said "They do where I come from". She said "But you're from Australia. In American English they don't rhyme. It's log and frawg".

I have a very neutral accent. In fact at home I often get asked where I am from. When I say I'm from Australia I get very skeptical looks.

[shmooj]

I (with my British accent) once got a job application from someone who said, and I quote, "I speak English with no accent". He was from North Carolina.

Needless to say, I didn't hire him

[shmooj]

[scot47]

I have the same accemt as dmb - or Sean Connery for that matter. I get really hacked off when I am presented with some stupid pronunciation exercises that take RP as the model "cot" and "caught" for example.

And I have met teachers who contend that only RP should be taught and that all EFL teachers should be RP speakers !

At all levels learners should be exposed to different sccents used in Standard English : US, Canadaian, Australian, South African, Indian, Scots, Irish.

Wit the new technology it should not be difficult. Once upon a time I had some BBC auduiocassettes with different accents. It was useful. Now I hjave no recollection of the titles and the cassettes have disapperaed. Probably somewhere in that 2.9 tonnes of luggage in the container I shipped from Saudi to Europe.

[Kurochan]

I have what people call the "Midwestern American" accent. People also sometimes call it "newsreader English," since it's the one American networks prefer when hiring.

BTW, I was looking in my Oxford Chinese-English/E-C dictionary the other day, and they gave the pronunciation for medicine as "medcin." Do British people outside of the Royal Family say that anymore?

[Freaky Deaky]

Leeroy - I'm from London and spent time in school (borstal) in Kent. When I'm sober I speak the Queens English, but after a few drinks I turn into Delboy.


You sound like a right laugh mate. It would be good to see another down-to-earth English bloke - unlike some of the plummy mouthed numpties I've met here in Shanghai.

[jud]

Log and Frog rhyme when I say them.