Poll: English/ British?

[bobknowsall]

Well, I suppose the various English, Irish, Scots, Welsh accents etc are all British geographically so I would say either is correct, just depends how specific you want to be.

Ah, I think you mean the Northern Irish. Wars were fought over the Irish being part of good aul' Britannia.

No, I mean Irish. Britannia =/= British Isles

You see, here in Ireland we refuse to use the term "British Isles" in the Dail. It's considered something of an insult, for reasons I'm sure you can understand.

 

[thylasos]

The one everyone thinks of is either RP English or Fulhammy Public School English.

 

[Red Right Hand]

As an American who's never met someone from the U.K., and I've been having trouble lately deciding whether to refer to it as an english accent or a british accent. Which one do you tend to say?

If they're English then they have English accents. There is no such thing as a "British" accent.

 

[The Harkinator]

Theres loads of accents in GB so the people are British and the accents can be from a wide range that includes Welsh, Scottish, English, Geordie, Scouse, Glaswegian, Irish (northern), Cockney and many many more.

 

[Geekosaurus]

It really doesn't matter. It'd be like saying 'he has an American accent.' In fact, that's an even broader statement.

 

[Zipa]

Depends people forget that the UK is made up for 4 small countries so to speak
Ireland
Wales
Scotland
England


Since I personally live in England I would refer to myself as having a English accent.
Most people outside the UK would say I have a British accent because to them we sound very much alike. I know some Americans that can't tell my accent from another part of the country which sound different. Im in Lincolnshire (second largest county of England) and the other person was from Oxford, two very different accents.

 

[El Poncho]

When someone says British Accent I assume they are talking about the stereotypical English accent, although there is so many accents it's hard to narrow it down.

Just don't say a Scotsman has an English accent or vice versa

 

[oldskoolandi]

Neither are particularly preferred. Most people prefer the specific locality they're from, from what I've seen. You want to know who really hates British people? British people. Not in a particularly malicious, nasty sort of way[footnote]Most of the time.[/footnote], but Mancunians don't want to be associated with Liverpudlians and no one really cares for the Welsh[footnote]This is just a joke for demonstrative purposes, I swear.[/footnote]. And people from Leeds just sound silly.

British covers more area, so you're less likely to piss off the Welsh or Scots if you muck up. However, people tend not to take well to being "put into boxes" by others, it's better to let people self identify.

Oi, I'm from Leeds

 

[stockvillain]

It's like calling someone from Alabama American, but some one from Texas Texan and implying he is therefore not American.

I didn't sort through all the posts yet, but Texans generally prefer being called Texans. They like to remind everyone else that they were once their own country. Also, if you are ever in Texas, they want to make sure you are aware of your location at all times. Every other business / signpost / water fountain seems to be required by law to say "Texas" or "Lone Star" in clearly visible lettering on it. Hell, car dealerships even carry special "Texas-edition" versions of vehicles.

Sorry for the rant there. Texas is weird.

 

[Red Right Hand]

Well, it's probably like saying "American Accent," since both the Brits and the American are dialects with so many different dialects. TV makes it sound like every American speaks the same exact way, however, that's mainly the North Eastern sub-Dialect. Considering you're culturaly ignorant of their dialects, and they ours... Perhaps just say British, and they American? Isn't it kinda hard to recognize the dialects from other countries if you've never been, let alone been all over them.

That would be true, however, in America you're dealing with different states which all make up the same country. It's a lot more complicated in Britain in that you have four different countries who are all fairly desperate to be distinguished from the others. That's why it's so insulting to say call a Scotsman English or a Irishman Welsh. That in part, is why I believe that people should do away with this misconception of a "British" accent.

Also, as to your other point, is it really that hard to tell the difference between Scottish, English, Irish and Welsh accents? Maybe it is because i've lived in Britain my whole life, however, the difference between all of the accents is like night and day for me.

 

[trigger1992]

English, for the same reason everybody else has said. I would also say it goes as far as to the country, not just the language. Eg I'm not British, I'm English, because I'm from England. Otherwise it's like calling everyone in the USA a Texan

 

[Mike Laserbeam]

If you're OK with me saying you have an American accent, I'm fine with you saying I have a British one.
As I myself couldn't name anything other than a Texan or New York (Stereotypical, of course) accent then I suppose I'll let people off if they don't use the term "English", it's the same level of accuracy - sort of - that is to say, I don't go into details about your states, you don't have to go into details about ours!

However if you could identify accent based on where in Britain they come from, say down to County level (Other than Liverpool, too easy), I would be very impressed!

 

[Spongebobdickpants]

Is it an american accent or texan accent or a floridian accent.answer that and you've got your answer.

 

[Link Kadeshi]

Also, as to your other point, is it really that hard to tell the difference between Scottish, English, Irish and Welsh accents? Maybe it is because i've lived in Britain my whole life, however, the difference between all of the accents is like night and day for me.

Well, I don't have an issue with differentiating between them, though the Welsh I don't hear often, and at the moment cannot even remember what it sounds like. However, some people will call a Scott Irish, and vice versa.

Can you tell the difference between a Brooklyn accent and a Queens accent? Boston accent? Seriously, it gets crazy. The situation between our States, and your Countries is not that dissimilar, really. Every state has their own accents, and withing, accents on those accents.

 

[T8B95]

Seeing as there's no such thing as a 'British' accent, you'd be safer going with English, though as mentioned even that's wrong since there is no specific one.

Thank you.

My dad has a friend with a Cockney accent, and it sounds very different from my bud's London accent.

 

[Spoon E11]

Just say british they will like you less than if you get it local and more importantly right. But they will have you much more if you get it wrong.

 

[Woodsey]

Well, if you mean an actual English accent you should say English.

If you just mean people in general then call us British. I call myself British, personally.

 

[Continuity]

As an American who's never met someone from the U.K., and I've been having trouble lately deciding whether to refer to it as an english accent or a british accent. Which one do you tend to say?

That depends very much on whether the person you're describing considers themselves to be "English" or "British", these days most British citizens born in England consider themselves English rather than British, mainly because the empire collapsed and the rest of the union despise the English.
I however consider myself to be British first and foremost as I'm a 4th generation child of the Empire, my father was born in India and my great grandfather went to India as part of the British Raj government.

Besides, if we have ever had such a thing as a national accent/dialect it would be BBC English or Queens English, which is what was spoken though the Empire and taught in public schools.

As England itself doesn't have a definitive accent i would say that "British accent" would be more accurate, where British would refer to the Empire rather than the isles as such.

 

[Red Right Hand]

Also, as to your other point, is it really that hard to tell the difference between Scottish, English, Irish and Welsh accents? Maybe it is because i've lived in Britain my whole life, however, the difference between all of the accents is like night and day for me.

Well, I don't have an issue with differentiating between them, though the Welsh I don't hear often, and at the moment cannot even remember what it sounds like. However, some people will call a Scott Irish, and vice versa.

Can you tell the difference between a Brooklyn accent and a Queens accent? Boston accent? Seriously, it gets crazy. The situation between our States, and your Countries is not that dissimilar, really. Every state has their own accents, and withing, accents on those accents.

My main point here is that I don't have a problem with people calling my accent Scottish. I don't have any issue if they don't recognise that i'm a glaswegian rather than just a Scot. However, I don't like people saying that I have a British accent because it's not the accent of my own country.

Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying that all accents in america should be referred to as just "the American accent". I just think that, there still is an American accent, because that is the accent of one country. Whereas the British accent is the accent of 4 countries so it doesn't really work.

EDIT: I do understand that there are many different accents and dialects in the states, its just that all of those accents are still a part of the American accent.

 

[PAGEToap44]

I'm Scottish, and whenever I talk to people from outwith the UK they make sure to note my Scottish accent, not British. If someone mentions you've got a British accent, chances are you're from the south of England, which is only a quarter of the UK roughly. I was talking to an American friend with another friend from the outskirts of London, and it annoyed me to no end that she kept referring to him as British but me as Scottish. It's like calling someone from Alabama American, but some one from Texas Texan and implying he is therefore not American. That's not the best example but it proves my point.

So I'd go for the more geographically accurate English accent.

The above is a good guide for foreigners. Many British people tend to be really touchy about their accents, myself included. I'm Scottish and if someone calls me English I can't restrain myself from correcting them. I find it rather offensive, I shouldn't, but I do.