The typical accents of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are different, but with a little practice you can learn to speak like a native. However, other factors are added to the way of expressing oneself, such as body language. This is how the variants of English appear based on "Queen's English", or "Received Pronunciation", that is the accent taught to non-native speakers (note: the phonetic transcriptions have been simplified so that everyone, even those who do not study Languages or Linguistics, they can read without problems).
Steps
Step 1. The pronunciation of the “r”
Most British accents do not roll up the 'r' (except those characteristic of Scotland, Northumbria, Northern Ireland and parts of Lancashire).
Step 2. The "u" of words like "stupid" and "duty" should be pronounced as "iu", and not as the elongated "u" of US English
In the standard English accent, the "a" of words like "father" is pronounced in the back of the mouth, with the throat open. In the south of England and according to the "Received Pronunciation", terms such as "bath", "path", "glass" and "grass" predict this sound, while in other parts of the country the sound of this vowel is more similar to an "ah".
Step 3. Spell out the words with strong consonants
Pronounce the "t" of "duty" as if it were, in fact, a "t", and not like the American "d". Pronounce the suffix "-ing" with a strong "g", although sometimes, in words like "looking", it is shortened to "lookin".
The word "being" can be pronounced "biing", "biin" or "bi-in"
Step 4. In some accents the "t" is not pronounced at all, especially in words where it is double, such as "battle", which becomes "ba-ill"; you will have to take a breath on the back of the tongue at the end of the first syllable before pronouncing the second
- Speakers of Estuary English, Received Pronunciation, Scottish and Irish consider it lazy and rude not to pronounce the "t", but, in general, this accentual characteristic is accepted when the consonant is placed in the center of the words and is speaking in an informal context. In this case it is considered almost universal to insert a glottal pause at the end of the syllable.
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Americans always take glottal breaks: "bu-on" for "button", "mou - ian" for "mountain", etc. However, Brits perceive this as typical of Cockney and 'chav' accents.
Speak in a British Accent Step 5
Step 5. The word "bean" should not be pronounced "bin", as in US English, but "biin"
However, you may sometimes hear "bin" in an informal conversation.
Step 6. Listen to the musicality of the language
Pay attention to the tone and emphasis of native speakers. Do the sentences end on a high, low note or remain unchanged? How much does the tone vary during a typical conversation? There are huge differences between the various regions. The standard British accent has much less variation than that of US English, and the general tendency is to lower the pitch slightly towards the end of the sentence. In any case, the Liverpool area and the north-east of England are a notable exception!
Step 7. Ask a native speaker to chant phrases like “how now brown cow” and “the rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain”
Listen carefully. Rounded London vowels in words like "about" are flattened in Northern Ireland.
Step 8. Two or more vowels joined can form an extra syllable
For example, the word 'road' is usually pronounced 'rohd', but in Wales and certain areas of Northern Ireland it might be pronounced 'ro.od'.
Advice
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As with all other languages, listening to and imitating native speakers is the quickest and easiest way to learn. When you are young, learning a new language and repeating the accent is much easier.
As children, the auditory ability to process the different frequencies of sound that are heard, to distinguish and reproduce them is greater. To effectively absorb a new accent, it is necessary to expand the ability to listen and re-listen to the language we are interested in learning
- Some particularly strong regional accents tend to replace “th” with “ff”, so “through” sounds like “fru” or “birthday”, “birfday”. If you watch the show "Doctor Who" (in original language), you will notice that Billie Piper speaks just like that.
- "At all" is pronounced as "a tall".
- Train your hearing by watching Monty Python, "Doctor Who" or "Harry Potter". He also downloads TV shows like “Him & Her”, “Fresh Meat”, “True Love” or “Lip Service”: the characters belong to various social strata and areas of Great Britain.
- In addition to the series we have already recommended, you could follow "Eastenders" and "Only Fools and Horses": people still talk like this, especially the working class of East London and those who live in certain parts of Essex and Kent, too. if this linguistic custom is much more evident in older people.
- There are hundreds of different accents in the UK, so categorizing them all under the heading 'British accent' is wrong. Wherever you go, you will find new pronunciations, just like in Italy.
- In addition to the accents, the slang also changes. In the north of England or Scotland, you will often hear words like "lads" and "blokes", which mean "boys" and "men", respectively, or "birds" and "lasses", words referring to women. "Loo" indicates the toilet, while "bathroom" indicates the place where you take care of personal hygiene.
- Each place has its own peculiar expressions. You will find several in online dictionaries, but remember that natives may consider you a source of entertainment, at best, or patronize you if you try to adopt them in your way of speaking.
- Learn the techniques and listen to native speakers for a long time, try reading paragraphs of books with the new accent: you will have fun and practice.
- Another way to practice English, Welsh, Scottish or Irish is to watch and follow certain news and channels on a regular basis, so you can reproduce the expression of journalists and presenters. It will take half an hour a day to improve your skills in a couple of weeks. Of course, you should already have a very good command of English.
- Pronounce everything clearly and articulate each word, making sure to leave spaces between terms.
- Don't learn more than one accent at a time. Estuary English is very different from the Geordie accent, and it may be difficult to understand what you are saying.
- You may have heard of the Cockney accent (East London). It is no longer in use but, if you want to imitate it, remember that the words are almost sung, the vowels almost replaced and the letters removed. The "a" of the word "change", for example, becomes a kind of "i". Films based on Dickens' books or those like "My Fair Lady" feature further examples.
- The synonym "Queen's English" to define the Received Pronunciation was not chosen by chance: listen to the queen to understand what we are talking about. Go for a long speech, like the one given at the State Opening of Parliament.
- An English word that shows the British accent well is "water", pronounced as "wo-tah" in Great Britain and "wo-der" in the US.
- Remember, the accents of Julie Andrews and Emma Watson, speaking according to the Received Pronunciation, are different from those of Jamie Oliver and Simon Cowell, characteristic of Estuary English, which is probably the most common current accent in the South of England, halfway between Cockney and Received Pronunciation; Billy Connolly, on the other hand, is from Glasgow.
- If you have learned American English, you surely know that the words used in Great Britain are different from those in the United States. Examples: "rubbish" and "tap" instead of "trash" or "faucet". Learn, if you want, to pronounce the "sch" of "schedule" as "sh" and not as "sk", but spelling out all five syllables of "specialty" is essential.
- Learning by listening is easier. The formal accent can be learned from BBC news. Formal British English is more articulated than US English, especially in radio and television broadcasting.
- Imagine having a plum in your mouth. When pronouncing vowels, try to keep your tongue as low as possible and raise your palate. But try to speak normally. The placement of the tongue, combined with the increased resonance, is a great starting point for “faking” the British accent.
- Don't speak in a nasal voice.
- Think about who will listen to you. For example, if you are learning to speak British English for a school play, you will need to create your character well taking into account his or her body language as well.
- The universities of Oxford and Cambridge are among the last bastions of standard English, although accents from the rest of Great Britain and from students from all over the world are now increasingly heard, while the natives of the cities and areas surrounding people retain their own way of expressing themselves. And they might feel offended if you try to speak stereotypically. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that Oxfordshire or Cambridgeshire accents are the same as Queen's English.
- As you expand your language skills, listening will become automatic. When the ear is able to "hear" a sound, the mouth has a better chance of reproducing it.
- Plan a trip to the UK to practice. You might want to go to London, where the accents are lighter than in other places.
- Search for British “Skype friends”!
Warnings
- Don't be too sure of your accent - it's rare to find an imitation that can fool a native.
- Don't squeeze your mouth too tight when you say the "a" of "shark" or "chance": your accent may sound South African. The pronunciation of "shark" is more like "shock".
- Don't think you can master the accent overnight. After some practice, you may fool a non-native, but a British speaker will find that your accent is not genuine.
- The Cockney accent, which you can hear in the movie "My Fair Lady", is rare in modern British. The TV gives the idea that it is the main one, but in reality it is not that common (as mentioned before, there is still a lighter version, known as Estuary English).
