Years ago I had a BBC record of accents. Actors used to play these over and over to learn accents. I thought it was very difficult and wondered how you could ever learn them.
However, now I find accents easy, so long as you stick to no more than a sentence or two.
Flag of UK
London
Let's start with London. I am a Londoner. I speak with received pronounciation. My voice sounds like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music.
The Queen's English
I speak the Queen's English. If the queen were to abdicate or die tomorrow or next year or later, and a king came on the throne, I would be talking the King's English. The Queen's English and the King's English are the same thing. It just depends who is on the throne. (See the film / movie The King's English.)
The flag of England.
If you want to learn to speak English clearly, listen to the BBC news readers. Or listen to Her Majesty the Queen delivering the Christmas Message. Listen to Prince Charles, William, and Kate.
English Accent
English is mostly accented on the first syllable. Good MORning. HAPpy BIRTHday. By contrast, Chinese and Japanese are staccato, to the English they sound like machine guns.
Shakespeare
In Shakespearean plays the kings and queens and heroies and heroines, the important characters, speak with a pronounced rhythm. This makes them sound grand. The sentences are like waves of even length, so you expect them to last a certain time and to finish at a certain point. By contrast, the servants and commoners have short seetnences and exclamations with no particular rhythm.
ast word, the toastmaster rushes forward with his hand out to say thankt you, but no , the speaker is off again.
So remember to tell the listener, the audience, the toastmaster of the evening, the interviewer on radio or TV, whether you have finished.
Statements end with a lowering of the voice at the end. When poeple ask questions, their voice goes up at the end. The last word of a speech should be an important word,, one you can say loudly and emphatically.
Foreigners who end a sentence with a voice up at the end leave you expecting they will continue. maybe it's a rhetorical question, one which they answer themselves. If a speaker ends on a high note, the Toastmaster of the evening is confused. He doesn't know whether the speaker will continue. Should he stand up and shake hands? On the other hand, if the speaker ends with a definite and emphatic word, that's the end.
Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister.
Listen to speeches by Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. When Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister, she was sent to speech lessons and taught to speak with a lower voice to sound more msculine and more authoritative.
Winston Churchill, who gave speeches on the radio during WWII.
The United Kingdom includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. if you drive or take the train west you reach Wales. Where is it, W for west, w for Wales.
The flag of Wales showing the Welsh droagon.
Welsh Accent
The Welsh accent is very singing, singsong. I go there every year, so I just imagine I am lsitening to the people welcoming me. Boy-o. Welcome to way-ills. Your voice goes down on well and up on come, down on way and up on ills. The intonation is down up, down up, down up.
The Edinburgh accent is refined, fainter than the Glasgow accent. To remind myself of the accent, I say refained, and Edinbrrrrr. I think of a head mistress, or teacher, in the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, or my friend Fiona.m, I recommend
The flag of Scotland
Scottish Words Wee and Bonnie
Add the word wee for small. A wee lad, or a wee lassie (girl). The voice tends to go up slightly at the end of a phrase or sentence. If you are not sure of the intonation, to remind yourself, just try a sentence with the words Edinburgh and wee and make it a question. is the wee lad from Edinbrraaaa?
Of course, you know the word of Auld Lang Syne, old long time, translated as old time's sake. You can practice or listen to a reading of a Scottish poem for Burns Night, or practise Auld Lang Syne.
As a child I learned the songs, My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, and the plaintive song, you take the high road and I'll take the low road and I'll be in Scotland before ye .. on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. Loch is lake.
Glasgow accent
The Glasgow accent is stronger. I say Glasgee, to remind myself.
For the Northern Ireland accent, listen to Ian Paisley. I think of the Oirish, to be sure. Some opeole say the Irish never say to be sure. But it's a handy reminder to get you in the mood or to help you to recognize the accent. There are plenty of Irish songs.
Whether or not you can speak in the accent, play a few songs and you will soon learn to recognize them.
If you want to watch a film, I recommend a film with Alec Guinness such as The Ladykillers. I have suggested this to Japanese friends and pupils and they loved it.
But the best way to learn an accent is to visit the country.
Useful websites
visitbritain.com
visitbritainshop.com
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, author of Wedding Speeches & Toasts, and speaker, speech tutor, teacher of English and other languages
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