why i can understand the american accent very clearly and i can't undersatnd the british accent at all?

Question

do americans undersatnd the british accent? what is the difference? i'm confused? does that mean I'm not fluent? do I have to master both? what can I DO?
PLEASE ANSWER ALL THE QUESTION.....

Answer 1

Ok, I'm going to assume that the guys here claiming that there are 4 British accents are all Americans. I live in London, and within 20 miles of here there are at least 10 distinct accents, not counting variation within London regions. Get further afield, for instance Yorkshire, where I'm originally from, and most people there can tell what town you live in from the accent, never mind what country! So Britain has several hundred accents at the least, more if you include Ireland.

That said, British accents range from the very easy Berks/Bucks accents, through Scouse, Brum and Manc, all the way to Geordie, Yorkshire Dales and Glaswegian which even a native Brit can have trouble understanding. It all depends on the person speaking and your level of experience listening to that accent. The only way to become more competent at understanding a different accent is to listen to it more.

Mind you, some words and phrases do differ between American english and the real thing. Pants, sidewalk, freeway - trousers, pavement, motorway. But you'll soon spot these if you speak to a Brit often enough.

For some great practice, try watching LockStock and two smoking barrels. Some lovely East London accents going on there. Do they still subtitle that in the US?

Answer 2

You must have learned English in AMerica or by listening to Americans.
If you listen and practise long enough you will understand British English - after all England where English originated is part of the larger nation known as Great Britain.
Most Americans can understand the British and the British can understand most Americans. There are a few differences in meaning for some words which can cause misunderstandings but there is not too much of a difference.

Answer 3

1- Because the native British (there are 4 main british accents + the London slang)accents are very strong and rely on traditional pronounciation of syllabs. American english is a collection of degraded forms of the Native English.
2- Americans agree they do not always easily understand the british accents.
3- the difference is explained in alinea 1
4- yes you are confused
5- You are fluent in what you need. You speak the language your environment needs and uses.
6- No you do not have to master both
7-Nothing except ... for curiosity, spend a few time trying to get more of the english accent in order to complete your knowledge of the english.
All questions answered

Answer 4

I can understand British people fine. Some times I'll miss a couple of words they said if they have a real strong accent but even with a strong accent you can usually understand basically what they are saying.

It depends who you want to understand. If you can't understand the Brits and you want to then go ahead and master it, but if you don't then it doesn't matter. But if you undertsand the American accent, as you improve with that you should start understanding the Brits.

Answer 5

I am an American and some of the British movies their accent's are so strong i cant understand them either..... I guess you would have to master them both..

Answer 6

As far as I can see Americans cannot understand the British. If you can master only one make it the British. They speak the original English. What the Americans speak is A mixture of slang and southern dialects.

Answer 7

Although there are some very different expressions and meanings between British English and American English.

For example: (from what I've heard)
Men in England do not wear "pants". "Pants" refers to women's underwear, called "panties" in America.

Also a friend of mine once told me about a London girl who came over to see him in the United States. She invited him over sometime. She said, "come knock me up sometime." Now, I know that would be an innocent expression in the UK, but you just don't say that to a guy in the US.

Answer 8

Good luck with that one,,

In America,, you will find about 200 different accents, ranging from southern redneck to New york to Ebonics,, all very different using different words for different things.

I only know of about four in great Britain,, but those are equally hard to understand if you are not a native speaker.

Answer 9

I can understand some English people but it depends on the dialect. I once spoke to a man from a certain area of London and could not understand a word he said. He spoke very fast!

Answer 10

Different countries....different slang. The accents also change depending on what region of the country you're in, be it England or America. All you can really do is listen and learn.