How to Speak with a British Accent

Queen's English as we all know, has a very formal tone to it, which makes the accent quite interesting. If you wish to learn the British accent, you might find yourself in quite a salad of accents. This accent is not the same everywhere, it differs in every country of Britain, may it be England, Scotland or Wales. The accent in these three countries varies quite a lot but within England itself there are subtle nuances in the accent, which after a while are easy to identify.

The British Accent
Before learning the accent, it is necessary for you to know how to speak English fluently, as the British English demands that. Even though the accent may vary, there are a few things that you must pay attention to.

Emphasis
The British accent has certain words which are emphasized more than the others in a given sentence. For example, consider this sentence, "Where is your car?' In this sentence remember to emphasize the words 'your' and 'car'. Emphasis on the correct words is the beginning to get the accent right. Generally the last word in the sentence is heavily emphasized, especially while asking a question.

Do Not Roll Your Tongue
Remember the British do not roll their "Rs". A small way to not roll your Rs is, don't let your tongue touch the palate and then try saying "British". This will help you learn how exactly the word must sound in a British tone. When you say this word you will also realize that the Ts are also not being pronounced. No rolling the Rs and silencing your Ts. This is not true in all the cases but yes when the 'T' comes somewhere in the middle of the word it is not pronounced. However if a word ends with T, always pronounce it.

U sounds like eew
While in an American accent stupid sound like 'Stoopid' in a British accent, it would be 'stewpid'. Most of the words which are pronounced with 'oo' in the American accent, become 'ew' in the Brit accent.

Extension of Words
In many parts of Britain you may observe that certain words are exaggerated. For example, a word which sounds like 'a' as in apple would sound like 'aa' as in the word, park. Park itself will become 'ph-ark'. Also a car would become 'cah', far would become 'fah' and so on.

A Few Funny Facts
When you are learning to speak British English, it is also important to know the different words or phrases used in the English language there. When traveling to counties such as Yorkshire, do not be surprised if you are referred to as, 'love' (more often pronounced as LAUVE). When asked, 'You alright, love?, do not take it literally, the other person just wants to know how you are, or if you need any help. The Scottish accent may sound a little different, a person who is having his lunch, may just end up saying, 'I'm having me dinnuh!', which in that part of the world is not wrong. Finally, 'Cheers' is not just used to toast, in most parts of Britain, it is a synonym for thank you.

Tips to Get it Right
If you really want to know how to develop a British accent, just do these few things regularly.

• Listen to British radio stations. Listening to a radio helps you concentrate on the accent and there won't be any visual distractions.
• Watch British films regularly and you will definitely get the gist of what the accent is all about.
• BBC is the best source to learn your accent. Watch BBC news and learn the accent as well as keep your self updated about the happenings there.
• There are a few people who provide accent training, you could try that as well.

These tips will surely get you somewhere. With these guidelines do not expect to fit into the Brit crowd, after all they are the 'Stiff Upper-lip' population. So unless 'fish n chips' is your staple diet and obsessing about European football your religion, learning the accent just for kicks should be your motive.