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> the lack of an accent Everybody who speaks has an accent. > many people who are native English speakers have terrible accents (ie Texan, Scouse, Scottish, e

> the lack of an accent Everybody who speaks has an accent. > many people who are native English speakers have terrible accents (ie Texan, Scouse, Scottish, etc etc) In your opinion. How good or bad a native speaker accent is is entirely subjective. If you have trouble understanding Texans, Liverpudlians, or Scots, that's your problem, not theirs. I'd also cut foreigners who master English, especially English language novelists, some slack.

gridlockd 7y ago
> If you have trouble understanding Texans, Liverpudlians, or Scots, that's your problem, not theirs. It's actually far more their problem than that of anyone else. Disregarding problems of understanding, many accents have negative connotations, especially those considered rural. By contrast, speaking "Oxford English", one would not have trouble being understood by virtually any English speaker, nor would there be any negative connotations except maybe being considered "posh".
- ShinTakuya 7y ago
  Not true at all, my Japanese friends who learned some variant of American English struggle with accents such as Oxford English.
  - gridlockd 7y ago
    I wasn't considering non-native English speakers in my remark. I can see how even a subtle difference in accent could make a difference here.
- DonaldFisk 7y ago
  And there's a reason for that: regular exposure to RP speakers in broadcast media. If you're a native speaker who's never met anyone with a particular regional accent, you might have trouble at first, but you'd soon "tune in" to their accent, as long as they spoke clearly in Standard English. It would be a lot more effort for them to change their accent.
- gridlockd 7y ago
  Downvoters: You're not actually making the world a better place by downvoting comments that describe a reality you don't like. I don't like it either. Don't shoot the messenger.
  - dang 7y ago
    Please don't break the site guidelines by going on about downvotes. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
mruts 7y ago
It's definitely their problem if more people who speak English don't understand them than do.

gridlockd 7y ago

> If you have trouble understanding Texans, Liverpudlians, or Scots, that's your problem, not theirs. It's actually far more their problem than that of anyone else. Disregarding problems of understanding, many accents have negative connotations, especially those considered rural. By contrast, speaking "Oxford English", one would not have trouble being understood by virtually any English speaker, nor would there be any negative connotations except maybe being considered "posh".

ShinTakuya 7y ago
Not true at all, my Japanese friends who learned some variant of American English struggle with accents such as Oxford English.
- gridlockd 7y ago
  I wasn't considering non-native English speakers in my remark. I can see how even a subtle difference in accent could make a difference here.
DonaldFisk 7y ago
And there's a reason for that: regular exposure to RP speakers in broadcast media. If you're a native speaker who's never met anyone with a particular regional accent, you might have trouble at first, but you'd soon "tune in" to their accent, as long as they spoke clearly in Standard English. It would be a lot more effort for them to change their accent.
gridlockd 7y ago
Downvoters: You're not actually making the world a better place by downvoting comments that describe a reality you don't like. I don't like it either. Don't shoot the messenger.
- dang 7y ago
  Please don't break the site guidelines by going on about downvotes. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

mruts 7y ago

It's definitely their problem if more people who speak English don't understand them than do.