How to Speak in a British Accent

How to Speak in a British Accent: 10 Steps 

Tips

• Also, one of the words in English which shows very easily which accent someone has is "Water". In Britain, it would sound more like "war-tah". In the U.S., it sounds more like "wa-der".

• When you say "at all" pronounce it like "a tall" but with a British accent.

• As well as accent, watch out for slang words, such as lads or blokes for boys and men, birds or lasses(in the north of England and in Scotland) for women. Loo for the toilet, but bathroom for a room you clean yourself in.

• When in doubt, watch Monty Python or Doctor Who. Watching Harry Potter can help too.

• With some very strong regional accents, there is a tendency to replace th with a ff - "through" may sound like "froo", and "birfday" for "birthday." Billie Piper of Doctor Who speaks this way.

• Always use British English words if they are different to US English. The British tend to be protective about the differences. In particular, use "rubbish" and "tap", not "trash" and "faucet". Also, it's good (but not essential) to say "schedule" with "sh_", not "sk_" but you must learn how to say "specialty" with 5 syllables, not three (as spe-ci-al-i-ty).

• As with any accent, listening to and imitating a native speaker is the best and fastest way to learn. Remember that when you were young you learned a language by listening and then repeating the words while imitating the accent.

• Listen to British peoples talk. It will improve your vocabulary.

• As a child, your ability for the ear to process different frequencies of sound is greater, enabling you to distinguish and reproduce the sounds of the languages that surround you. To effectively learn a new accent, you must expand the ability of your ear by listening over and over to examples of the accent.

• It is easier to learn accents by listening to people. A formal British accent can be heard on BBC news, where it can frequently be heard. Formal British speech is more deliberate and articulated than American, but as with newscasters everywhere, this effect is deliberately exaggerated for TV and radio broadcast.

To read the 10 steps, click here.