Do American speak standard english?

[ananda]

In Belgium, I could use english to communicate with the European.

But here in USA, I'm quite frustrated and always doubt my ability

of listening and speaking native english. Well, the NO to answer the

subject would make me feel quite well.

[Claw]

American English differs only very slightly from British English. Most of the vocabulary except for slang terms are the same and the pronunciation is very similar.

What in particular do you have trouble with? Many Americans (especially in those living in cities) are very used to people from all over the world with all sorts of different accents so I don't think you need to be afraid of not being understood. I personally have heard so many different types of accents, Chinese, German, French, Turkish, Indian, etc. that I barely even notice anymore if someone speaks with an accent.

[roddy]

It's possible one of the reasons you found it easier in Belgium is that there you are dealing with a lot of non-native (but very good) speakers, who were used to dealing with other non-native speakers. The UK might not have been so easy.

Roddy

[TSkillet]

To answer that question, first you'd have to answer "what is standard English?"

Furthermore, there is not one "American" accent - although most people would label Californian (due to Hollywood/American television) as the closest to the standard "American." But Californian is not the same as someone in New York, and someone in Texas does not speak the same as someone in Boston.

Likewise, in the UK, someone from Hull speaks a very different sort of English than someone from London (heck two people from different areas of London can have radically different accents)

So the answer is yes or no. Depending on what you'd like to believe.

[Claw]

Furthermore, there is not one "American" accent - although most people would label Californian (due to Hollywood/American television) as the closest to the standard "American." But Californian is not the same as someone in New York, and someone in Texas does not speak the same as someone in Boston.

Ugh... I wouldn't label Californian as the standard American accent. Although a lot of movies come out of Hollywood, the actors don't all come from California. In addition, most actors train themselves not to have a particular accent.

beirne mentioned in another thread that the standard neutral American accent that is used for most national news broadcasts is actually based in Ohio. Here's what he wrote in a previous conversation:

The neutral news accent is said to be based on the accent of mid-Ohio, which I appear to be at the north end of in suburban Akron. [url']http://www.blacktable.com/smith040407.htm[/url]

[SassybutSweet]

I can understand where your having trouble!! The words differ from one another depending on where you are, as everyone brought out!! Some say that in Britan they speak proper English and here in the USA we speak broken English!! But I have arrived at a much diffrent conclusion, it depends on the group of people with whom you speak with!! I learned something when I was learning Mandarin that the older generation speaks entirely diffrent then the younger generation!! That is the same with English, not only your age group can change the way one would speak a certian language, but also the location!! Language is an ever changing thing, you can never really get a grasp of it!! It will always differ, but as long as it's a slight diffrence then we can deal!! I'am from New York and when i came south I was surprised at how they spoke!!! But don't let this discourage you!! I almost let it discourage me when learning Mandarin because I thought you had to learn all the diffrent little dialects!! But the best thing to do is to just get the language down and you'll be okay!! Your English sounds good to me!!!

[wushijiao]

I think it always takes a few weeks to get used to the accent of where you are. Don't worry! Native speakers use tons of slang without knowing it, also.

As far as the news, they use "Mid-Western Neutral" accent, I think it's called. In my opinion, the American accent changes very little from the Mid-West to California. It also changes very little in the upper-income brackets. To be honest, I think American English varies more by education and income level than it does by location.

[Quest]

are there variations in ebonics?

[wushijiao]

I can't give you a linguists answer....but my guess is that ebonics is always fluid and changing. Rappers like Nelly, who's grammar be's ebonics, seem to have invented new forms of pronunciation like the change in "r" like "werr 'bout" for worry about. 70's Jive doesn't seem to have that much in common with today's rapper-speak.

I think ebonoics also as a lot of regional and underground vocab that isn't meant to make it to the mainstream. With that said, not all black people speak ebonics, or they are "bilingual", if you will. For example, one of my good friends in college was a black feminist that spoke "white" with me, but spoke so-called ebonics with her black friends.

Anyway, this gets into the wole Bill Cosby debate which has been in the news a lot lately.

[bunni87]

are there variations in ebonics?

Ebonics is just a blanket term that's supposed to indicate a "Black American" dialect, which really is just a bunch of branches of Southern dialects with some soul added. There is no single form of "ebonics".

When you hear the so-called "ebonics" of New York compared with the "ebonics" of New Orleans compared with the "ebonics" of Detroit etc., there are distinct variations in each even though they don't conform to the standard pronunciation of the area. Although the root is in the South it gets more and more blended with other local accents as you go West and North.

Rappers like Nelly, who's grammar be's ebonics, seem to have invented new forms of pronunciation like the change in "r" like "werr 'bout" for worry about.

Nelly didn't invent anything. He's just from St. Louis. My cousins talk the same way, not due to Nelly.

The dialect and rhythm that a person chooses to speak with says just as much about that person as actual words. Personally, I think standard American dialect is boring and bland...but that's just me. America has so many various dialects to listen to, I love it.

Perhaps this is why I like Chinese dialects so much...

[ananda]

well, i think my main problem is about the pronunciation, i'm in

seatle area now, I feel a little better after watching tv for

several days. thank all of you.