It really depends on the individual. I've met several people that moved to the US from non-English speaking countries when they were 15 or 16 and have a perfect American accent. I've also met a fair number of people that moved to the US in

Anonymous wrote: Hello, I am applying to several Ph. D. programs, and I need to learn how to mask or hide my Southern West Virginia accent. It is not cute- it is embarrassing in a business setting. If anyone has ever seen "Matewon" (movie

Prez1dent wrote: Sorry for the interruption. I would prefer the USA to the UK for its climate. The climate in the US varies quite a bit depending on the region. For instance, no one wants to live in the Deep South. During the summer, it's like

Forbes wrote: Anonymous wrote: I'm not sure many would find a Newcastle or Glasgow accent to be "charming and melodious." An experiment was carried out where recordings of different varieties of English were played to (I think) Russians

Anonymous wrote: They may not be but to me, British people sound sophisticated. Sounding and being are two different things. Actually, middle- and upper-class people in Britain probably are more sophisticated than their American counterparts on

Just admit it Nona, Londoners are screwed up.

Anonymous wrote: Folks, you should also bear in mind that, in BrE, some 'ise' words cannot be spelt with an 'ize' suffix, e.g. 'advise', 'reprise' etc. Those are only spelt with the "-ise" ending in AmE as well.

MrPedantic wrote: The extreme retractability of the banana might also give cause for concern. MrP Is that merely supposition?

MrPedantic wrote: A lunchbox often contains items of an appropriate shape (two apples and a banana, for instance). MrP I know that Lance Armstrong had rather severe testicle cancer, but to have apple-shaped ones sounds much worse.

Why a "lunchbox"?