# Is a clear, well spoken English accent really difficult to understand for some Americans? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 30, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528 "2009-11-30T22:29:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/61 "2009-12-03T19:51:16Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Like Americans say sure, to rhyme with blur or fur or purr > Kiwis will say sure as in SHORE to rhyme with more or for I’m from Eastern Pennsylvania and I pronounce sure as shore. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/62 "2009-12-03T19:55:35Z")
> [@tacoloco](#): > > I’m from Eastern Pennsylvania and I pronounce sure as shore. I remember a _Frasier_ episode where Daphne was imitating an American accent, as she heard it, and the keynote was “Shurrr”, spoken as **Markxx** had it. I don’t know if that came from the _Frasier_ writers or if it came from Jane Leeves. People in other countries are going to have their own stereotypical idea of an “American accent” just as we here in the US tend to have a stereotypical idea of a “British accent” (Pip-pip! Cheerio! Eh, wot?). ETA: Hell, half the time we don’t know what other AMERICAN accents actually sound like. Do a search for one of the “merry, marry, mary” threads sometime…it’s insane. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/63 "2009-12-03T20:48:25Z")
Some times this phenomenon can amaze me. My first job in the US was bartending. When I would take an order for a burger, I would ask the customer if he wanted lettuce, tomato (with a long a), and onion on it. The number of times I got a completely blank stare from people amazed me. OK, so you don’t immediately recognize the word sound. But do you think we have invented a whole fucking new vegetable to go on your burger and called it something strangely similar to tomato with a short a? I also found a lot of the time when people didn’t understand me it wasn’t the accent so much as I was either talking too fast (southern US residents speak significantly slower than most British people) or I was using individual words they might not have been aware of. “I don’t understand your accent” was just a short way of saying “what the hell did that word mean, and slow down while you are at it.” ---
**Author:** ![TheFatKid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@TheFatKid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFatKid)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/64 "2009-12-04T01:29:57Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > The US, though, has reached such a level of diversity that even in remote regions, one is likely to hear several different accents, some of them foreign, in their normal day-to-day life. Yes, it might be difficult for someone with a native Southern/Ozark accent in Toad Suck, Arkansas to understand the very strong Indian accent of their doctor, but they’re exposed to it. It’s not like someone in Gillette, Wyoming is going to encounter nothing but clenched-mouth cowboy accents all the time, even in the media. Well, by the same token, I’m sure it’s not everyone who’s having trouble understanding the British phone reps. Around here, I hear several varieties of Southern accent, the occasional Indian/Pakistani, lots of Latin American (esp. Mexican and Central American), but that’s about it. You can catch British accents on PBS, which has low ratings, and of course US broadcasterese. But no, your average person around here will not have much exposure at all to British English, and their exposure to, say, Indian English will not incorporate the kind of vocabulary you’re likely to hear from a phone rep. And as others have mentioned, conversations over the phone are much more difficult to follow than conversations face to face. ---
**Author:** ![TheFatKid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@TheFatKid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFatKid)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/65 "2009-12-04T01:31:37Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I remember a _Frasier_ episode where Daphne was imitating an American accent, as she heard it, and the keynote was “Shurrr”, spoken as **Markxx** had it. I don’t know if that came from the _Frasier_ writers or if it came from Jane Leeves. People in other countries are going to have their own stereotypical idea of an “American accent” just as we here in the US tend to have a stereotypical idea of a “British accent” (Pip-pip! Cheerio! Eh, wot?). I was always impressed by Paul McCartney’s ability to pull off a perfect American accent. ---
**Author:** ![TheFatKid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@TheFatKid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFatKid)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/66 "2009-12-04T01:35:10Z")
> [@villa](#): > > Some times this phenomenon can amaze me. My first job in the US was bartending. When I would take an order for a burger, I would ask the customer if he wanted lettuce, tomato (with a long a), and onion on it. The number of times I got a completely blank stare from people amazed me. > > OK, so you don’t immediately recognize the word sound. But do you think we have invented a whole fucking new vegetable to go on your burger and called it something strangely similar to tomato with a short a? The a is not the only difference b/t US/UK. All the vowels are different in that word. You probably said something like teMAYdeh, which doesn’t sound much at all like what a Brit would be listening for. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/67 "2009-12-04T03:00:37Z")
> [@TheFatKid](#): > > The a is not the only difference b/t US/UK. All the vowels are different in that word. You probably said something like teMAYdeh, which doesn’t sound much at all like what a Brit would be listening for. OK now I’m confused. If he was bartending in the US, why would a Brit be listening for a certain pronunciation? And Americans are unfamiliar with tomato with a long a? Huh? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/68 "2009-12-04T04:47:49Z")
If you asked me if I wanted a burger with to-mahh-to on it, I’d suspect you were trying to pawn off some substandard freak vegetable on me. But that’s not the worst of it. What is this British thing with vegetable marrows? Here you got your squash, and you know what you’re getting. “Vegetable marrow” sounds perverted. I have little trouble understanding Brit speakers, even when they pronounce the word “law” with two or more "r"s at the end. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/69 "2009-12-04T04:50:09Z")
Its been twenty years, but I still can’t understand Geoff Boycott. “They bOOwled aht aour lout with a fare degri ov pay ce”. Should be illegal IMO to speakin any “accent” but RP. Towtally rong. Shud be 'Ung ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/70 "2009-12-04T04:57:04Z")
> [@ThirdOne](#): > > My mom always turned up the volume on the t.v. when there was anyone speaking with a British accent. I’m not sure what it is about the accent, but she found it difficult to understand - male or female. I do the same thing when I’m watching a Britcom. I don’t know if it’s their accent or the generally lower production quality of their sitcoms. I don’t have a problem with Dr. Who but I do with some of their other shows. In real life I’ve only run into one Briton whose accent gave me problems and he was a Scotsman. I had to figure out what he was talking about based on the context of the words I understood and even then I had to ask him to repeat himself quite often. I wasn’t the only one who had a hard time with his accent. Odesio ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/71 "2009-12-04T05:09:56Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I do the same thing when I’m watching a Britcom. I don’t know if it’s their accent or the generally lower production quality of their sitcoms. I don’t have a problem with Dr. Who but I do with some of their other shows. A lot of Britcoms that air on PBS are older (Are You Being Served?, etc), so there could be an issue with production values. I found that the sound on older British shows can be a bit muffled, and laugh tracks seem very loud relative to the dialogue. Also, the sound quality or character seems to change depending on if a scene is indoors and shot on video, or outdoors and shot on film. Was there more RP in older Britcoms compared to newer shows? Do newer Britcoms adhere to the old “video indoors, film outdoors” standard? ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/72 "2009-12-04T05:29:55Z")
I was married to an Englishman for many years, and once in a while, if I wasn’t listening to him closely, would have to ask him to repeat something before I could understand it. I think the main reason I found some of the things he said difficult to understand was that he emphasized different syllables than most Americans would. For the most part, though, I had no trouble understanding him, his family, or most of the people we encountered when we visited England. I did have a great deal of difficulty understanding the dialogue on _Eastenders_ when I used to watch it, though, and would constantly ask him to translate. I found out that the more I watched it, the easier it became to decipher the dialect. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/73 "2009-12-04T07:13:04Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > My friends in NZ will still confound me but they speak very clearly. Usually it’s a matter of pronouncing words. And we speak really fast. If you think the English speak faster than Americans (particularly southern states folks) then Kiwis are generally as fast again. Best bit of business advice ever on speaking to Americans from my Dad (with years and years of export experience dealing with people all over the world) “Slow down your talking, and avoid contractions”. One software place I was working we got this young woman from down country with quite a strong North Island “country kiwi” accent who spoke extremely rapidly (even for us locals). She went on-site with a client in the US. Stood up in front of a room full of the client’s staff and launched into a presentation. Dumbfounded looks all around. After a bit someone stopped her and said “We just love your accent… but we have absolutely no idea what you are saying”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/74 "2009-12-04T08:08:25Z")
It takes a bit of exposure to be able to understand a new accent, even in the same language. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/75 "2009-12-04T09:16:09Z")
I used to love the British TV show “Good Neighbors” but there were HUGE amounts of dialogue I couldn’t understand due to incomprehensible accents and rapid-fire speech, not to mention the rhyming slang. Some years later, I would watch it on videotape, and even backing it up repeatly, I still couldn’t make out half of what the two leads were saying, particularly Felicity Kendall (thank goodness for neighbor Margo, who spoke very clearly). One of these days I’ll have to find it with closed captioning for the accent-impaired. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/76 "2009-12-04T09:34:28Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I used to love the British TV show “Good Neighbors” but there were HUGE amounts of dialogue I couldn’t understand due to incomprehensible accents and rapid-fire speech, not to mention the rhyming slang. Some years later, I would watch it on videotape, and even backing it up repeatly, I still couldn’t make out half of what the two leads were saying, particularly Felicity Kendall (thank goodness for neighbor Margo, who spoke very clearly). One of these days I’ll have to find it with closed captioning for the accent-impaired. That might be a dialect/slang/vocabulary issue, e.g. like “rubber” meaning “eraser” in British English. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/77 "2009-12-04T10:03:30Z")
That’s weird, the program being described was called “The Good Life” in the UK. Didn’t realise they’d changed the name for US distribution. (Mmm, Felicity Kendall was yummy.) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/78 "2009-12-04T10:51:13Z")
**jjimm** , I don’t know if it was done with all of them, but apparently (some of) the Harry Potter books got “translated” from British to American (biscuits became cookies, for example). I had to read that article several times to verify that yes, it said what I was understanding. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/79 "2009-12-04T10:51:21Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Its been twenty years, but I still can’t understand Geoff Boycott. > > “They bOOwled aht aour lout with a fare degri ov pay ce”. > Should be illegal IMO to speakin any “accent” but RP. > > Towtally rong. Shud be 'Ung 😕 Geoffrey Boycott doesn’t even have a strong accent. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528/80 "2009-12-04T11:05:55Z")
> [@TheFatKid](#): > > Or I could call you “Flower”. Whatever’s cool for you. Call me sugar tits. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-clear-well-spoken-english-accent-really-difficult-to-understand-for-some-americans/519528.md?page=5)