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Of course I speak English with an American accent, a rather strong one. Pronunciation is one factor that determines American English.
I have hardly any German accent anymore, which I am very proud of If anything I probably have a slight Portuguese accent by now
But apart from the accent, I also speak American English because I don't use any of those typical British words and terms, but the American ones instead. So even if I had no accent whatsoever, I would speak American English.
Your post is full of 'typical British words and terms' in fact every word used on it is 'British English'!!! You my friend speak British English just like Americans do too, you are speaking 'British English' to me not American!
Your post is full of 'typical British words and terms' in fact every word used on it is 'British English'!!! You my friend speak British English just like Americans do too, you are speaking 'British English' to me not American!
I can't help but think there is no point in discussing this with you any further, you don't seem to understand what we are talking about and you are contradicting linguists that know a whole lot more about those things than you do...
Let me try one last time
Imagine we have 50 Americans and 50 Brits mixed in a room and we ask total strangers to tell where each of those 100 people is from, the US or Britain. Those total strangers that are native speakers from either country will be able to tell with 99% accuracy where each of those 100 people is from, just by hearing them speak for 5 seconds or so each. And even non-native speakers with a good command of the language will be able to tell with an accuracy of at least 75% which of the two countries any of those 100 people is from, just by listening to them, regardless of the topic. Why? American vs British English.
I can't help but think there is no point in discussing this with you any further, you don't seem to understand what we are talking about and you are contradicting linguists that know a whole lot more about those things than you do...
I am English so I know quite a bit about the English language. I am merely pointing out that as much as you may dislike the idea the language you speak is English, every word on your previous post is English, written the way an Englishman (and an American man) would write it, I know about differences in accents and 'slang'. I don't mean to be confrontational and I am genuinely interested in why you have a belief that you speak American English as opposed to English English, what I see from your posts is English English and I wonder what it is exactly about your English that you think is particularly 'American', that's why I wondered if you could perhaps give me some examples?
I can't help but think there is no point in discussing this with you any further, you don't seem to understand what we are talking about and you are contradicting linguists that know a whole lot more about those things than you do...
Let me try one last time
Imagine we have 50 Americans and 50 Brits mixed in a room and we ask total strangers to tell where each of those 100 people is from, the US or Britain. Those total strangers that are native speakers from either country will be able to tell with 99% accuracy where each of those 100 people is from, just by hearing them speak for 5 seconds or so each. And even non-native speakers with a good command of the language will be able to tell with an accuracy of at least 75% which of the two countries any of those 100 people is from, just by listening to them, regardless of the topic. Why? American vs British English.
I am English so I know quite a bit about the English language. I am merely pointing out that as much as you may dislike the idea the language you speak is English, every word on your previous post is English, written the way an Englishman (and an American man) would write it, I know about differences in accents and 'slang'. I don't mean to be confrontational and I am genuinely interested in why you have a belief that you speak American English as opposed to English English, what I see from your posts is English English and I wonder what it is exactly about your English that you think is particularly 'American', that's why I wondered if you could perhaps give me some examples?
Again, please distinguish between language and dialect/variant. Of course I speak English, I never said anything else.
I know I speak American English because total strangers assume I am American when I speak English. And it is logical because I have systematically switched from BE to AE. Just like I deliberately speak European Portuguese instead of Brazilian Portuguese (simply because I like the sound better). However, after years of exposure to both variants I can switch between the two at will. To us non-native speakers foreign languages are just accumulated knowledge, like math or chemistry, it does not run in our veins. Therefore we speak those languages consciously, translating in our minds before we speak, unlike native speakers. That translation phase allows us to decide whether we opt for this or that variant.
Again, please distinguish between language and dialect/variant. Of course I speak English, I never said anything else.
I know I speak American English because total strangers assume I am American when I speak English. And it is logical because I have systematically switched from BE to AE. Just like I deliberately speak European Portuguese instead of Brazilian Portuguese (simply because I like the sound better). However, after years of exposure to both variants I can switch between the two at will. To us non-native speakers foreign languages are just accumulated knowledge, like math or chemistry, it does not run in our veins. Therefore we speak those language consciously, translating in our minds before we speak, unlike native speakers. That translation phase allows us to decide whether we opt for this or that variant.
All said in beautiful English (the English kind!) :-), OK let's agree to disagree - though trust me if people assume you are American then it will be because of your accent rather than the words you speak, I have a fairly close German friend and I would be very disappointed if she lost her German accent for either an American or English one, her accent makes her very appealing! ;-)
All said in beautiful English (the English kind!) :-), OK let's agree to disagree - though trust me if people assume you are American then it will be because of your accent rather than the words you speak, I have a fairly close German friend and I would be very disappointed if she lost her German accent for either an American or English one, her accent makes her very appealing! ;-)
Well if Neuling says words like 'trash can' or 'garbage' or 'sneakers' then I'm going to think American English. The words used are different.
All said in beautiful English (the English kind!) :-), OK let's agree to disagree - though trust me if people assume you are American then it will be because of your accent rather than the words you speak, I have a fairly close German friend and I would be very disappointed if she lost her German accent for either an American or English one, her accent makes her very appealing! ;-)
Yes, accent (pronunciation, rhythm, melody, etc.) is one aspect of AE vs BE vs AussieE etc., though by far not the only one.
I find the German accent ugly, actually there is no such thing as THE German accent, there are several. Someone from Bavaria will pronounce English differently than someone from Hamburg or Berlin.
But I am a cold-blooded perfectionist I used to read English texts and record it on tape. Then I would analyze it and compare it to the American English recorded from VOA and AFN radio programs and systematically eliminate the remaining traces of my accent. Oddly that doesn't work when speaking directly, the tape, however, makes you sound like someone else and you evaluate objectively what you hear.
The British empire spread the English language right around the world, this is why billions of Indians, Chinese, Africans, australians, new zealands, jamaicans, Gibraltans, carribians etc speak British English.
Britain made it compulsory for children in British colonies to learn English at school and home, this is what made English the global language.
America also spoke english, so they too helped the English language to become the dominant language back in Europe aswell, but by then the British empire had already made the world an English speaking world
Last edited by Obi wan spaghetti; 03-12-2014 at 10:33 PM..
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If anything I probably have a slight Portuguese accent by now 
