When starting to study English, learners sometimes have to decide about the accent they would like to have. So, British or American?

* People tend to make judgements based on accents; so, we have to bear in mind that differences between the two accents exist. * The word accents is often confused with dialect. We use the word dialect to refer to a variety of language which is different from others, not just in pronunciation but also in vocabulary, word order and grammar. * Differences of accent, are pronunciation differences only.

* Was the most popular English Accent * Was spread around the world by television, music and cinema. * People say that is the easiest accent for most people * A noticeable characteristic is the /r/ called Rhotic

* Associated with the English of the BBC * Used by the middle classes in countries around London * Considered to be less understood globally * Associated with RP * Sometimes called the Queen’s English * Learned at a British school * Taught in coursebooks and dictionaries like Oxford and Longman

* Ortography * Puncuation * Pronunciatio: /r/

* Not much differences. * American English usually uses spelling such as: taveling, analyze, defence, etc. * British uses spelling such as: tavelling, analyse, defense, etc.

* American English requires periods and commas inside closing quotation marks * British rules, place them outside * American English also favors the double quotation mark

* RP is not rhotic: the letter /r/ is usually silent unless it is followed by a vowel * In American pronunciation the letter /r/ is always pronounced. * Differnces in the pronunciation of dipthongs and vowels

* You can choose the accent by preference * The easier to imitate * Which accent you are supposed to learn in English courses * Bear in mind that the goal of both accents is: the speaker has to be understood.

* In Argentina the majority learns RP * RP is the most acceptable * We start an English course and we have no option, teachers based learning on RP.

languages/english/american-british-accent- language-learning/ american-british.htm Roach, Peter: English Phonetics and Phonology.