What is meant by Accent? Bring out differences between British and American accent.

What is meant by ACCENT?

Language is the words used by a certain group of people e.g. English in order to communicate with other people. Language varies through different regions around globe, because people have different accents. Accent is the way people pronounce their words, the sound of their voice but not the actual words.

Different accents can greatly affect how we perceive people. If we spoke to somebody who spoke Received Pronunciation, then we will judge them to be middle class, well educated and wealthy. We would also guess that they come from a posh area, probably in Bangalore. Received Pronunciation is also associated with power and status, this is because all the politicians and people on the Aaj-Tak/BBC speak it, and politicians rule the country and therefore have power. According to Bernstein this is an elaborated code of language.

If we spoke to somebody who had a regional accent, we would probably perceive them to be working class. This is mainly because working class people have low social mobility so therefore never lose their accent because they are in the same place all of their life. Bernstein says this is a restricted code of language. People have different perceptions of working class people and would automatically stereotype this person from the moment they speak. A person who spoke Received Pronunciation would probably feel superior to this person.

Different regional accents also affect how people are perceived e.g. if I heard a Suffolk accent, then I would automatically assume the person isn’t very intelligent, this is because they talk slowly. I would also assume that they live on a farm. This stereotype can be unfair because it can affect the way we communicate with people e.g. if somebody assumed a person was unintelligent then they might look down on the person or take the mickey out of them, when in fact the person with the accent could be clever and not work on a farm.

People from Liverpool (A Society or A Place) can often be perceived to be criminal or untrustworthy because of their accents. This is probably because of the city’s bad reputation. However, I always assume when I speak to a Liverpudlian that they will be quite funny. This is probably because a lot of comedians are Liverpudlians and it’s quite a high-pitched accent that you can’t really take that seriously.

Accents can create physical and psychological barriers. This is because some accents are really heavy so it is hard to understand them. There may be an accent that we really dislike, so when a person talks to us in that accent we may not wish to listen and may ignore them.

Therefore, accent can greatly affect how we perceive and treat people. Stereotypes and assumptions are made because of this which can be unfair.



Differences between British and American.

The major differences between British and American English lies in the choice of VOCABULARY.

Common Words in American and British English

1.
American English:- Apartment
British English:- Flat

2.
American English:- Baby Carriage
British English:- Pram

3.
American English:- Band-aid
British English:- Plaster

4.
American English:- Corn
British English:- Maize

5.
American English:- Diaper
British English:- Nappy

6.
American English:- Flashlight
British English:- Torch

7.
American English:- Extra-time
British English:- Overtime

8.
American English:- Mail
British English:- Post

9.
American English:- Pharmacist
British English:- Chemist

10.
American English:- Susage
British English:- Banger

11.
American English:- Trash Can
British English:- Bin


Different Idioms


1.
British English:- Sweep under the carpet
American English:- Sweep under the rug

meaning:- To try to stop people from finding out about wrong , illegal, embarrassing etc. that has happened or that you have done.

2.
British English:- Not touch something with a bargepole.
American English:- Not touch something with a ten-foot pole.

meaning:- To refuse to get involved with or in a particular situation.

3.
British English:- Touch wood
American English:- Knock on wood

meaning:- Used when you have just mentioned some way in which you have been lucky in the past, to avoid bringing bad luck.

4.
British English:- see the wood for the trees
American English:- see the forest for the trees

meaning:- Clearly visible, in a way that is clearly visible.

5.
British English:- A drop in the ocean
American English:- A drop in the bucket

meaning:- An amount of that is too small or unimportant to make any real difference to a situation.

6.
British English:- A home from home
American English:- A home away from home

meaning:- A place where you feel relaxed and comfortable as if you were in your own home.