Friday, July 30, 2010

Not just British or American... 21 Accents

It's safe to say that users of English as a Second language have for the most part learned English either from British or American English methodologies. In terms of listening and pronunciation, this means that in many cases, they learned from someone with a British or an American accent. And sure, some prefer the former, while others the latter. This might even apply to you.

But are there really only two accents in all of English? Hardly. First of all, there are many other English-speaking countries. Then, within each country there are many regional accents. In addition to that, just like you, people from all over the world speak English, often although not always with a distinct accent.

To get a taste of this, for today's post, we'll let YouTube accent trainer and actress Amy Walker walk you through at least 21 of them. The first 3 alone are only from London, mind you. So if your ears are ready, check out this entertaining video and see the many different ways to say, "Hi, my name is Amy Walker, I'm 25 years old and I was born in ...". Enjoy!



If you'd like, share your thoughts in the comments box below. Let us know which Amy Walker accents are easier for you? Which are more difficult? Which one did you like the most? And last but not least, can you guess where Amy Walker is really from?
(After you listened to it a couple of times, you may check the transcript posted in the "comments" section down below")

6 comments:

  1. Amy is great and I find this to be a great video.

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  2. Thanks, Anonymous. Glad you enjoyed the material!

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  3. BTW, we listened to it a couple of times and came up with this TRANSCRIPT. Hope it helps!

    1. Hello, my name is Amy Walker. I’m 25 years old and I was born in London, England.
    2. Alright, I’m Amy Walker. I’m 25 years old and I was born in London, wasn’t I?
    3. Yes, Hello. My name is Amy Walker. I’m 25 years old and I was born in London, England.
    4. That’s right. My name is Amy Walker and I was born in Dublin, Ireland.
    5. Hi, how are you? I’m Amy Walker. I’m 25. I was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
    6. Of course I’m Scottish. I’m a Walker, aren’t I? You know, Walker like the shortbread. It comes in a wheel tin with a title on it.
    7. Buon giorno. My name is Amy Walker and I’m from Italia.
    8. Guten Tag. My name is Amy Walker. I’m 25 years old and I was born in Berlin, in Germany.
    9. Hello, my name is Amy Walker. I was born in Prague which is called Praha in Czech Republic.
    10. Hello, my name is Amy Walker. And I’m from Moscow in Russia.
    11. Bonjour, je m'appelle Amy Walker. J'ai 25 ans and I was born in Paris in France.
    12. Hi, again. I’m Amy Walker. I’m 25 and I was born in Sydney, Australia.
    13. Yes, so I’m Amy Walker. I’m 26, sorry 27… 25. And I was born in Wellington, New Zealand.
    14. Good day, mate. I’m Amy Walker. I’m a true blue Aussie, mate. That’s right, I’ll always call Australia home.
    15. Oh, hi there. How are you doing? I’m Amy Walker. I’m 25 years old and I was born in Texas.
    16. Hello, I’m Amy Walker. I’m 25 and I was born in California, L.A.
    17. Hello, I’m Amy Walker. I’m 25 and I was born in Seattle, Washington.
    18. Oh, hello. I’m Amy Walker. I’m 25 years old and I was born in Toronto, Canada.
    19. What? ‘Cause I’m doing the thing! Sorry. I’m Amy Walker. I’m 25 and I was born in Brooklyn.
    20. Hi there, my name is Amy Walker. I’m 25 years old and I was born in Charleston, South Carolina.
    21. Oh, hello, my name is Amy Walker. I’m an actress, and a writer, and a singer, and a dancer. And I was asked here today to give you an example of the transatlantic accent I was trained in 1945. So this concludes our little program for you this evening. We do hope you’ve enjoyed yourself as much as I have. Thank you and good night.

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  4. I enjoyed it!!. But... I was waiting for the Sapanish's accent.

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  5. I think Amy was excellent, but she could have slowed down a bit. This is an excellent video to show the students diferences in the various accents.
    Great work! :-)

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  6. Thanks for your input, everyone! Glad you enjoyed it. Amy Walker's is very active in social media. Find her at:

    http://www.amywalkeronline.com

    You might want to tell her some of this stuff and she might seriously consider it. Thanks again!

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