Why is it that when an english person talks, I can't understand a word they're trying to say?

Question

Do people from england understand what most americans are saying when they open their mouths and talk?

Answer 1

it all was to do with the accent. If you're not used to the accent than you are going to hae a hard time understanding what the are saying.... it happens to me all the time. All u've got to do is to pay close attentin... I believe is equally hard for both... but than again it depends on the person.

Answer 2

I, myself, have a hard time understanding many people with accents.

But not most Brits. Only if it's really "strong" or different or unfamiliar to me.

I think that people vary a LOT, from individual to individual, in how well they understand people with different accents.

And, just as there are a lot of accents in different areas of England, we in the US have a lot of different accents, and "strength" of accent.

So, it would depend on the two individuals involved: how well each understood people with which accents, and how different their accents were from each other.

My experience is that most Brits understand most Americans OK -- though our word usage, especially slang words differ. That's where I see the biggest difficulties. What's a biscuit to us, isn't to them (it means 'cookie' in England); what it means to be 'knocked up' (tired or exhausted, not pregnant); and such like.

Being more familiar with writings and entertainment by the English, I've gotten used to most of those kinds of differences, too.

Answer 3

Everybody above is right.

Even if you speak English, that doesn't mean that people in all the English spoken countries will understand you. It's has to do with the difference of accents ... not the language itself. Not every ear is trained to the variety of accents in his own language. I am French, but when I go to Marseille (in France), it's tough for me to understand what they say .... because I didn't take the time to train my ears and familiarize myself with this particular French accent.

Read my article to have more insights: How to improve your listening skills: http://languageslovers.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-to-improve-your-listening-skills.html

Answer 4

when I was young a family moved near us that came from England. I had a hard time understanding them at first but after only 3-4 days I "tuned in" to their accent and never had a problem after that. They said it wasn't as bad for them understanding our accent but was just that we both used different expressions. different words

Answer 5

On a recent visit to Wisconsin from the UK I had trouble with a few words due to accent, and a few words due to vocabulary or phrasing.
No-one expressed having trouble with my accent, quite the reverse: some just loved it!

So no major problems.
Wad-yawant made perfect sense in context.

Answer 6

What?