Thoughts on Online English Conversation: Should You Learn American or British English?
I originally spoke British English, but recently I have been consciously trying to learn American English. When I took a free online test that guesses your accent based on your origin, I found out that my accent is currently in a mixed state.
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Originally, my English leaned towards British English. I never pronounced the 'r' at the end of words, and my 't' was a glottal stop. I even used to make fun of friends by imitating exaggerated American English.
In fact, if it weren't for online English conversation, I don't think I would have dared to try learning American English. However, the personality of an online tutor I happened to meet was so charming that it inspired me to try American English.
I have realized a few things through this experience.
First, pronunciation is not just a matter of sound, but also relates to the psychological distance between you and the other person. By consciously taking lessons from tutors from North America, I have come to feel that the countries of the United States and Canada are much closer to me than before. Also, I think the American tutors' reactions clearly changed because my English changed, and they seem to have opened up more. My approach to media has also changed. In addition to the BBC and British reality shows, I have started watching American news quite actively.
However, I do not accept this change unconditionally. Since I started consciously incorporating American pronunciation, my English has become messy, and I even feel like my English has gotten worse. Moreover, I feel that American English comes out even when I am talking to British acquaintances these days. I sometimes wonder what will happen to my English in the future.
And interestingly, when I took free tests on sites that guess your accent online (Utell AI and Vocal Image), I found out that my English accent is a 'mishmash.' I wonder if it means that if you base your English on British English but use American R sounds, it becomes Scottish English. Also, I think maybe because I am forcing myself to broaden my vowels, Australian English and Italian English are coming out. In the end, it hasn't changed to American English as much as I thought.
Since this is the result after a year of working quite seriously, I might not be able to master American English at this pace, but I plan to continue because practicing pronunciation itself is fun.
What do you all think?
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