How to Talk With a British Accent

An accent is a certain way of pronouncing a language, so it is quite impossible to speak without one. Luckily, our accents can change over time so, if you're interested in learning to talk with a British accent, all you have to do is follow a few simple steps.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Pick a country. Great Britain is an island nation composed of three parts: England, Scotland, and Wales. Once you decide which country you'd like to concentrate on, you can take the next step.

2. Watch British television. If you subscribe to cable, you can have access to such channels as the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC) and learn to affect the accents you hear.

3. Pronounce your t's. Americans tend to be lazy when it comes to enunciating this letter so doing this can make a big difference in your ability to talk with a British accent. Say "duty" with a hard "t" sound rather than pronouncing it like "doody."

4. Be careful with "u." Pronounce this as you would in the word "you" rather than "stupid." Thus, "duty" sounds like "dyuty" instead of "doody."

5. Enunciate well. People sometimes describe the British accent as "proper" because it sounds so clean and crisp. When speaking, enunciate each consonant clearly, especially those on the end. For example, instead of saying "I wan it" as many Americans tend to do, place special emphasis on those "t" sounds.

6. Leave out the "r." British people pronounce the "r" if it is in the middle of a word, but not if it lands somewhere toward the end. Hence, "car" becomes "cah" and "park" becomes "pahk," but remember to pronounce "promise" and "borrow" almost as you would normally.

Resources

• Type in a word and hear it pronounced with a British accent.
• Check out the British Broadcasting Channel .

[nebula]

on 11/1/2009 مقال جميل..أعجبني
لأنني احب اللكنة البريطانية وارغب بتعلمها
شكراً ..Thanks

[alex-mac]

on 5/18/2009 -continued from below-..their moustaches)also I've noticed that when an American speaks in a low breathy whisper it can often come out as an English accentI agree with the article mastering the English "R" sound is very importantthere's my input I hope it is of help

[alex-mac]

on 5/18/2009 Good advice in the above article.As a Brit (Scots) I know of a way of cutting a lot of corners in acheiving an RP accent , RP is "Received Pronounciation" as spoken in the TV Show the Avengers (which I have to admit I don't have) its the result of lessons or belonging to a certain social class and both the stars of the show got theirs from a mixture of both.here is the quick tip open your mouth slighlty and then tense your jaw muscles, keep your jaw as still as possible and try not to move your upper lip, it looks odd but gets you a bit closer right away. Obviously you can't go around like that all the time but it gives you clues as to pronounciation I've always suspected that the accent itself is partly the result of many of the aristoracy during their military service wearing headgear with tight chinstraps and a desire to show as little emotion as possible (and also not to spoil th...

[Myshashi]

on 3/27/2009 1.Watch lots of english movies and talk to a lot of english speaking people 2.Watch international channels on your tv BBC,discovery,national geographic,CNN international and you can buy english CD or download english audio stories 3.Join English class and try to speak easy language. Source: http://www.neutralaccent.com

[appe87]

on 11/23/2008 it has given me an idea,how to start with british accent.the information provided is really helpful.