answersLogoWhite

0

If you think for example 200 years or more ago , there were no communication aids like radio or telephone , no-one travelled much unless they really needed to , and so there were many variations in language . In the same country people from one village or town or tribe , could possibly live their whole lives and never visit the ajoining town . Different expressions developed and wide variations in slang existed across a whole country .

This still happens today in some remote places such as southern France near the Pyrenean mountains , where some people still speak a dialect which is more like Spanish than French . Likewise on the other side of the mountains , there is an area

where they speak an different version of Spanish.......Although a country may be under one flag , it does not erase the differences in language which have existed over many years .

In a fairly small country like England , there are wide variations today in dialect and accent , and it can happen that a person from one end of the country has a problem understanding someone from the opposite end , although they can guess from their accent , whereabouts they were brought up .

The language which we first learn as children from our parents and family becomes deeply embedded in each of us , and is always detectable in the way we say certain words , although we may have moved to another part of the country or even a new country as we grew up .

Learning a new language is always very difficult , as you have to modify or extend how you think of every word you know......learning a new spelling is hard enough but you also have to learn how to pronounce these new words correctly ...

It can take a matter of years to perfect pronounciation, a decade before somebody could pass off as a foreigner, and succeed. The difficulty of such an achievement is due to the subtle variations in the pronunciation of word components, these variations are so deeply rooted in our minds that it takes a lot of effort to be able to switch between them when speaking different languages, thereby producing accents in the people unable to do so.

As a person born in England myself , I find it quite amusing that friends I have from Holland and Sweden speak English , with what is to me , an obvious United States accent . This must be because their teacher at school was an American or they have watched an awful lot of American television programmes in English .

With the progess in communications , first radio and then television , a standard form of a particular language is used predominately . Newreaders(newscasters) and other announcers and presenters are typically chosen because they possess a 'standard' accent which is acceptable or understandable by most of the country . Interestingly this does not seem to have changed the regional accents , which have not disappeared . Instead people are aware of alternate pronounciations which they can use at will....... often for fun to impersonate someone else .

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago

What else can I help you with?

Continue Learning about Linguistics

Why do English people hate foreigners accents?

Only some hate foreign accents, not english people in general. As for those who hate foreign accents, it is probably because they are being prideful of having proper english. However, there are many foreigners that can speak english better than the average native.


Do Dutch people have accents?

Yes, Dutch people have accents that vary based on the region of the Netherlands they are from. Some common accents are from regions like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Limburg, each with distinct pronunciation and intonation patterns.


Can British people talk in American accents?

Yes, British people can imitate and speak in American accents if they choose to do so. Many actors and performers are able to switch between different accents for their roles. However, it may require practice and familiarity with American speech patterns and pronunciations.


Why don't Americans have accents?

We do. Everyone has a different accent according to someone else. Within the US there are many different accents. I live in the south and we have a southern accent. People from the North east have what we down south call a Yankee accent. People from the Midwest have a distinct accent from other parts of the country.


Do Cornish people have different accents?

Yes, Cornish people may have accents that differ from other regions in England. The Cornish accent is distinct and can vary from region to region within Cornwall. It is influenced by the local dialect and historical influences on the region.

Related Questions

How is the accent different from the Irish and the Scottish?

coltish people have Scottish accents; garlic people have Irish accents


What accent do people from the south of Ireland have?

People in the south of Ireland have different accents. There is not one single accent. Like anywhere in the world, different areas have different accents, even when those areas are close together. So there are lots of different accents in the south of Ireland, depending on where exactly you are.


How did western people use to talk?

With many different accents.


Do Canadian People have accents?

yes, like Americans only different


Why do people from derbyshire like jason statham have a different accent than british people?

There are actually several different British accents. Think of the United States. People from New York and Alabama have different accents even though they're from the same country.


What are the pecific features of accents in Northern Ireland?

That is a difficult question to answer, without being able to hear the accents. There are many different accents in Northern Ireland. There are hard accents and soft accents. Accents differ in different places, even in local areas. There are also different ways of speaking, and words used in different parts of Northern Ireland, which is also a factor. You really have to hear an accent and the way people speak and the words they use to notice differences.


Why do English people have peculiar accents?

Everyone has a different accent in different countries. England is like America the different places you go you get different accents there not all the same. For instance an individual can have a Essex accent which is different to the London accent. Also, other accents are Lester accent or a Manchester accent a Nottingham accent a Scottish a Welsh accent and a Hull accent.


Are British accents spelled The same as American accents?

The British accents are spelled the same as American accents. The New England accents are spelled different than American accents.


What areas of the United States are known for having different accents?

There are a wide variety of areas within the United States that are known to have people with different accents. The people of Boston, New York City, and New Jersey, for example, typically have distinctive accents. The same can be said for individuals from southern states such as Texas or Louisiana.


Does the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland accent sound the same to outsiders?

No they do not. There are many accents all around Ireland which are very different. Different parts of the Northern Ireland have very different accents. Different parts of the Republic of Ireland also have very different accents. So no matter where you are in Ireland, accents will sound very different.


What are the different types of accent in music?

The different types of accent in music include dynamic accents, agogic accents, and articulation accents. Dynamic accents are emphasized notes played louder, agogic accents are notes held longer than others, and articulation accents are notes played with a specific attack or articulation.


Do Dutch people have accents?

Yes, Dutch people have accents that vary based on the region of the Netherlands they are from. Some common accents are from regions like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Limburg, each with distinct pronunciation and intonation patterns.