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"UK people are especially hard for me to understand, and I guess the opposite is also true. Fixing the language if you don't practice it is either impossible or

"UK people are especially hard for me to understand, and I guess the opposite is also true. Fixing the language if you don't practice it is either impossible or requires a lot of time, probably I'll star to travel more." One very enjoyable way to improve at least understanding spoken English is to watch movies and (if you like that) tv shows. BTW, I agree that UK pronunciationS are much more difficult to understand (I wonder if that's only true for Italians, or for other foreigners too).

keiferski 13y ago
My guess is that foreigners are used to hearing American English from TV shows and movies, and thus find it easier to understand.
- danmaz74 13y ago
  Until very recently, Italian people were only commonly exposed to spoken English through music - and there a lot of UK there. Almost everything on tv is dubbed here (and not long ago there was no almost :)
- kroger 13y ago
  This is true. As someone who speaks English as a second language living in London, I can understand both "standard" American English and "BBC" British English very well. The problem is that in a London alone you are exposed to all kinds of accents, including Queen's English, Cockney, Scottish English, and Irish. This video is a good example of how a Cockney accents sounds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnjGNJ5JL8w http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnjGNJ5JL8w
- cmccabe 13y ago
  The UK was where English first evolved, and it seems like there is a lot more diversity in how it is spoken there. Fragments of older dialects that didn't win out still linger. The US was settled relatively quickly and there wasn't that much time for regional accents to evolve. There are a few recognizable ones, like the Southern US accent, but it's not as dramatic as something like a Cockney or a Scottish accent in the UK.
  - keiferski 13y ago
    Mmm, can't agree with you there. There are significant, noticeable differences between American accents. Boston, NYC, Western PA, the South, Texas, Midwest, and California all have very obvious differences, on par with the difference between Cockney and other UK dialects.
wowoc 13y ago
I am Polish and I confirm. I thought that my English is not too bad until I went for a short trip to London.

keiferski 13y ago

My guess is that foreigners are used to hearing American English from TV shows and movies, and thus find it easier to understand.

danmaz74 13y ago
Until very recently, Italian people were only commonly exposed to spoken English through music - and there a lot of UK there. Almost everything on tv is dubbed here (and not long ago there was no almost :)
kroger 13y ago
This is true. As someone who speaks English as a second language living in London, I can understand both "standard" American English and "BBC" British English very well. The problem is that in a London alone you are exposed to all kinds of accents, including Queen's English, Cockney, Scottish English, and Irish. This video is a good example of how a Cockney accents sounds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnjGNJ5JL8w http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnjGNJ5JL8w
cmccabe 13y ago
The UK was where English first evolved, and it seems like there is a lot more diversity in how it is spoken there. Fragments of older dialects that didn't win out still linger. The US was settled relatively quickly and there wasn't that much time for regional accents to evolve. There are a few recognizable ones, like the Southern US accent, but it's not as dramatic as something like a Cockney or a Scottish accent in the UK.
- keiferski 13y ago
  Mmm, can't agree with you there. There are significant, noticeable differences between American accents. Boston, NYC, Western PA, the South, Texas, Midwest, and California all have very obvious differences, on par with the difference between Cockney and other UK dialects.

wowoc 13y ago

I am Polish and I confirm. I thought that my English is not too bad until I went for a short trip to London.