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If I'm used only to Standard English, might I have trouble understanding dialects?

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Mr Wordy  #520552  Thu, 29 May 08 03:26 PM

There are some differences in vocabulary and idiom across the British Isles, and you might encounter some regional words and expressions that you're not familiar with. But the core vocabulary and grammar are not hugely different, and you might find that a bigger problem is pronunciation. If you're only familiar with the sort of English spoken by middle class people from the south of England, and you go into a pub in a rough part of Glasgow, say, then you might not even realise that the people there are speaking English at all.

The native speakers I (as a native speaker myself) have most difficulty with are young urban working class people. In this case, vocabulary (lots of "yoof slang" I've never heard of) and pronunciation both cause problems. I might overhear, say, a group of youths chatting in a London suburb and only catch about 50% of it.

There's no need to try to speak regional dialects of British English yourself (unless you're particularly interested in doing so, of course). If you speak something approximating to "standard" British English then you should be able to make yourself understood anywhere in the British Isles.

  
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bear2008  #520626  Thu, 29 May 08 06:24 PM
How's the Welsh accent? Do Welsh people use Welsh words when speaking in English?
  
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bear2008  #520627  Thu, 29 May 08 06:31 PM
Well, I assume that all British people know Standard English or the Queen's English as others call it.

And what about the American varieties? I know there is a general American accent. But I heard there are also varieties of American English. So, are those varieties great when compared to the General American accent? 

  
Mr Wordy  #520649  Thu, 29 May 08 08:23 PM

bear2008
How's the Welsh accent? Do Welsh people use Welsh words when speaking in English?

Welsh people speak English with a distinctive lilting accent that is often described as "sing-song". The Welsh accent is not uniform across the whole of Wales though; for example, in north-east Wales the accent sounds to me quite like a Liverpool accent.

I'm not an expert on this topic, but in my personal experience Welsh people rarely if ever use Welsh words when speaking in English to non-Welsh speakers. When talking informally amongst themselves, people who are Welsh/English bilingual may sometimes use a sort of hybrid language that mixes up English and Welsh words, sentences and sentence fragments.

  
Tanit  #520931  Fri, 30 May 08 03:48 PM

Mr Wordy
Welsh people speak English with a distinctive lilting accent that is often described as "sing-song".


Hi,

I had never heard of that expression, and it's just perfect! I've known some people from South Wales (Swansea and Cardiff, especially) and they really seemed to sing while speaking, because of their usage of intonation. It took me some time to get used to it, but it was not difficult after all.
I also met some people from the Valleys, but never became accustomed to their accent - really hard for me.
  
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edwinhihi  #534812  Mon, 30 Jun 08 07:50 PM
We cannot speak English as a native speaker if we don't live in an english spoken country or don't put all effort on doing that.
  
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