Monday, February 7, 2011

UK vs American English

This wasn't something I really thought about in America but here in Europe it is something that I have taken notice of. Last year I worked and lived with the English. Most of it was a good experience and I even enjoyed hearing their accents. But now 1.5 years into my experience here, that fascination has somewhat worn off. I suppose it depends on the type of English accent. Some of the CDs in my lessons however, offer the British accent and my honest impression, my rough impression is that it is a somewhat overly formal showoffish kinda language.

To say that one style of English is more correct than another is rather ignorant thinking and I would never say that, so when I do hear this it irritate me. To give specific examples from my experiences here, they involve two londonites who at times pissed me off. One was a guy I lived with, the other was an Indian-Brit who supposedly had a posh English accent (like I can tell the diff). While I don't have any ill will towards them they were somewhat of a culture shock for me and I am thus left to wonder if they were a true taste of what awaits me the next time I go to visit London. I've been there before but it's been 12 years.

They struck me as rather cold at times, pushy, arrogant and too anglo for my tastes. What really pissed me off was their attitude and reaction towards differences in the English language. I got a really constipated reaction when I wasnt aware of some of their slang or if I asked a question to which I genuinly did not know the answer to. I told them once...the whole English language does not revolve around what's popular in England! I speak the same language as them, but I am after all from a different country so it's normal to have differences in the language. Doesn't every language change constantly?

One aspect of UK English that I dont like is how they tell time. Their usage of the word, "past" at times confuses me like for 6:30 they'd say half past 6. I think the American way is more practical: hours and mins....that's it. Another is using the present perfect when we dont use it. Ex: I've had a shower this morning......vs. I had a shower this morning. Both are correct really so I can't discourage my students from saying it the UK way.

One thing I refuse to do is to go around saying that USA English is better than UK English. It's simply a different way of talking. As for personal preference, I do prefer to hear British accents when you compare them to certain American accents which at times get on my nerves. One particular American way of talking that makes me cringe is hearing young American girls talk. Not all of them are this way of course, but so many have this cutesy way of talking as if they are making a deliberate attempt to sound extra girly and in some instances, this affects the tone of their speech, meaning they at times sound like they're asking a question when it's really an affirmation. I remember once some girl came to my cell phone store and said, "My phone is broken?" Are you asking me or telling me??? And then there is the classic , " Like OMG. " Such a pleasure it is to never hear that over here !!

I dunno, the American way of talking to me just doesn't seem like an intelligent one. Let's face it, I got a problem with English....PERIOD!! heheheh. But it is a useful language and my lifeline here in Italy.