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Transcript
Sophia: Hi, everyone! Welcome back to another video for the British Council’s LearnEnglish Teens website and their YouTube channel. Today I’m joined with Natasha again and we are going to be doing a little challenge. I’ve seen this video on YouTube and it’s an accent challenge. So, Natasha, where are you from?
Natasha: Er, I’m from the US, in California.
Sophia: And I’m from London, in England in the UK. As you might be able to already tell, our accents are slightly different, so even though we are both English native speakers, we pronounce some words differently. So, we wanted to put this to the test and see how we pronounce words differently. So, we have a list of words that we’re going to both pronounce and you guys can join in as well. Before we say how we would say these words, you can tell us how you would say them. So, the first word is this – hopefully the sun is not washing it out. How would you pronounce that? Natasha, do you want to go first?
Natasha: ‘Vitamin.’
Sophia: You would say ‘vitamin’. I would say ‘vitamin’. Why do you pronounce your ‘Vs’ as ‘vai’?
Natasha: Well, it’s ‘V-I’, is why it’s ‘vai’ … for us.
Sophia: ‘V’, ‘vitamin’ … ‘vitamin’ … anyway, that’s the difference! I’m not sure about the technicality behind it. (The) next word is a basic for everyone but we argue about how we pronounce it. How would you guys pronounce this? How would you say it?
Natasha: I would say ‘water’.
Sophia: And I would say ‘water’. I think the British, like, ooh, at least the London British accent, is very closed in the mouth, it’s like ‘wa’ … like everything is ... swallowed.
Natasha: That’s true. Yeah, and I think in the US we don’t, well, just at least where I’m from, we don’t always pronounce the ‘T’ super sharply so it becomes like a ‘D’ sound, like ‘butter’, too, is also, how do you say ‘butter’?
Sophia: ‘Butter.’
Natasha: Yeah. So, I think it tends to have a ‘D’ sound.
Sophia: Mm, OK, that’s interesting. OK, the next one is this. So, I would say ‘herb’.
Natasha: And I would say ‘erb’.
Sophia: Why do you not pronounce the ‘H’?
Natasha: I don’t know. That’s a really good question. I’m not sure, but I’ve always loved ‘herb’. Like, I’ve always wanted to name someone ‘Herb’. But I don’t know why we don’t pronounce the ‘H’. That’s a very good question.
Sophia: I was actually watching another YouTube video recently and apparently the ‘haitch’ in the British English phonetic alphabet is actually meant to be ‘aitch’.
Natasha: Oh. And that’s how we say it in the US. We say ‘aitch’. We don’t say ‘haitch’.
Sophia: But I always thought that was wrong. So, I guess I’ve been saying the ‘haitch’ wrong all these years.
And the last word is …(beeping sound) Oh my god! And the last one is this. I would say this ‘envelope’.
Natasha: I would say ‘envelope’.
Sophia: Yeah.
Natasha: But actually sometimes I think I say ‘envelope’.
Sophia: ‘Envelope.’ But why do you say ‘en’? That sounds French.
Natasha: Yeah, it does sound French. ‘Envelope.’ I’m not sure.
Sophia: ‘Envelope.’
Natasha: I don’t know why we say the things that we do.
Sophia: So, I hope you guys have enjoyed this video anyway. Comment below, let us know … is this, is this a mean question to ask … whose accent they prefer?
Natasha: Ha ha. I don’t think it’s that mean.
Sophia: Be nice! But let us know which accent you prefer, which one perhaps is clearer. Or if you can even hear any differences, because I know some people don’t always hear the differences between different native speakers. But I hope you enjoy this video and I hope you guys are having a great day. We’ll see you in the next one. Bye!
Discussion
Which accent do you prefer? How would you describe the difference between the two accents?
Comments
the British accent might be more polite, but I prefer the American accent because I hear it clearer than British.
I prefer American accent because I speak it with my theachers. It's cool! But it's true that British accent is more clear and polite.
I like British accent so much! It sound very clearly and beautiful. However, we study American English at school and try to speak like Americans
I personally prefer the British accent beacuse I think it is more elegant than American accent, I learn more British than American also because I study that at school
I personally prefer the British accent because it sounds more elegant and it's my personal taste but the American accent is easier to understand and you can copy the way they talk whereas the British accent is harder than the American one
I prefere the British accent beacause I think the USA accent is too open and less clear
I think english accent is easier than the american one, but i personally prefer American accent because is sort of funny and more "relaxed"
I prefer the British one because it's clearer
I think British accent is better because in my opinion it's easier to understand
I think that British accent is better because it's easier for me and the sound is clearer than American accent
I prefer the British accent because it's clearer and easier to understand.
I'd prefer the english accent because it's more understandable.
I prefer British accent because I think it's more clearer and
i'd prefer the US accent because i have a lot of american friends so i'm used to it. i study english at school but i talk like an american!
the british accent is more polite and clear, and the american sounds rude.
I prefer the British one because it's clearer and easier to understand
I think that both are good; British is the first I've ever learned, so I prefer it, the accent is more elegant and polite, but thanks to tv series and American books I can understand both without any problem. Though talk using American noun is difficult, and I think I will always use British to speak.
I prefer the accent of USA because I think that the British one's is too close,and maybe is more difficult to undestand than the other
Hi!
Melissa and I prefer British accent because it's clearer than the american one
I prefer British Accent because it sounds better for me. But sometimes I mix it togethe so it doesn't make a real problem. But is it good when I mix to accents? Please reply
Hi englishlearner3141,
When you speak English the most important this is to speak clearly so that everyone will understand you. It really doesn't matter if you mix accents and say some words that are American English and some that are British English - native speakers do this sometimes too. So just remember - the goal is to always speak clearly. :)
Best wishes, Jo (LearnEnglish Teens Team)
I think it's okay mixing 2 accent. I think that everyone will understand anyhow what you're saying if you pronounce them right!
Thanks, Dhedalus! That's great advice. :)
Jo (LearnEnglish Teens Team)
I'd prefer British accent because it's clearer
I'm agree:)
ps: I made a mistake, I really wanted to write "I agree"!
Hi!
Both accents are nice but I prefer the British one:)
PS: the video is amazing
oh yeah
I think that the American one is more interesting. I prefer it. But I also think that if someone speaks slow the British accent is easier to understand. But I think the "sounds" when the American girl speaks are better.
I think that the two pronunciations are quite different in all the words that you said. I personally prefer the American accent, because I think it's easier to understand, because even if the "r" is pronounced really strong, or the "t" sound becomes "d", as I already knew it, i like it more than the British one, because this last accent doesn't let understand much more letters like the "r" between 2 letters in the words or in the last place of it. I've always prefered the american one
Hi both accents are nice but I have a little preference for the US accent ;)
Thanks a lot for the video, it's super nice !
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