Do Poles prefer US American or UK English language?

those structures exist in "american" english too..

I learned British English in school, but speak American English - a lot of native English speaking friends of mine all say that I speak with an American accent. I prefer it anyway because it's easier English and it just sounds nicer with cooler expressions. Proper British English has always a bit of "stiffness" over it. And Scottish English I at times truly have trouble understanding :) Welsh and Australian English sound a bit the same to me, albeit that the Australian accent sometimes tends to sound like the accent in (London-) Derry in Northern Ireland, which is about the most hideous English accent I have heard so far. Oirish English is distinctly different from British English, even when you have a perfect English speaking Irishman.

I especially like the accent they have in the Southern States of the US. "Y'all come back now ye hear?"

>^..^<

M-G (tiens)

MareGaea wrote:


YEAH! ;)

Maregaea wrote:


you're not alone.

MareGaea wrote:


agreed. most americans feel the same way. generally we think it's just plastic sounding, stiff, arrogant at times, but i still can really appreciate many things about British English. some of the expressions crack me up and some of them are just straight up fruity sounding.

What is British English anyway? There are so many different English accents in such a small area that to me it doesn't really matter anymore. Is it the way the queen speaks? Because I don't know anyone (Personally), apart from the royal family and politicians who speak like that, and that accent is awful.

I'm guessing it wont be long before International English becomes LOLZspeak "I can has cheeze burger" :P. I frequently seen non-native English people write like this now. It won't be long before people actually speak like that too.

There is such a thing as British English but not THE British accent as there are so many. As I've said before, some Poles prefer AmE and others prefer BrE.

I'm curious, when you teach English, do your students pick up your accent? (That is, assuming you have one ;-))

Not really, no. Again, it has to do with perceptions and they perceive Scottish accents to be strong. Mine really isn't unless I consciously trill my r's. I have quite a neutral accent and some Scots don't think I'm Scottish.

Wrong for the third time.

Clearly your exposure to Scottish Standard English is incredibly limited - you've never been there, and I doubt you know much more than the stereotypical Groundskeeper Willie accent.


Mile End English, I guess? ;)

Delphiandomine wrote:


funny, i keep saying the EXACT same thing to you often times when you comment about america. you've never been there, and i doubt you know much more than the stereotypical yada yada yada. see, even YOU agree that being there gives you grounds to comment.

i'm commenting about the scottish language OUTSIDE the country and it's usefulness in the ESL world, namely in Poland, and since I live here and teach english here, i can actually comment on the subject.

Delphiandomine wrote:


yep, just like everyone else's. 5.1 million people living in the far north of an island in the far north western part of Europe, you do the math.

ever seen a "Scottish English" school in Poland?

so since we're in the spirit of counting, YOU'RE wrong......uhmmm.....for the 2,302,938 time.

the more you write, the less i have to actually argue with you.

But you know nothing about it, therefore, you aren't qualified to talk about it.

Why the focus on utility, FUZZY? It gives identity and that counts to many people. Virtually all speakers of it can speak English too so why not have an extra string in the bow. Americans just don't seem to appreciate how big the accent and dialect aspects are for such a small island.

Delph and I could speak in Doric code and you wouldn't have a scooby.

seanus wrote:


go back and read my response to MareGaea's post and how Delph responded.

seanus wrote:


that's a completely ignorant statement.

seanus wrote:


and i could take you into the deep south in the USA and you wouldn't understand anything either. who cares.

For me American English sounds plain, unimaginative and common. Of course this is a clear generalisation as there are some american actors that I take pleasure to listen to, but on the whole there is much more going on for me in the British Eng . There is much more flavour and melody about it. Unfortunately it is harder to understand and mimic.

When u debate about his it looks to me like disputing about original and blue print. Both are actually the same.

Why this then?

Generally this wouldn't be a problem, but if your profession is based on providing English to a client (I'm not just a teacher*), then that client needs to know what they are getting for their money.

If we rephrase the original question to "Which English are Poles prepared to pay for? US or UK?" it becomes very relevant. There are many differences between UK and US, and it is unprofessional for a teacher or trainer or consultant not to make the client aware of both.

Unfortunately, in my observation, teachers from the US aren't aware of the UK-style systems, simply from lack of exposure (you won't learn them from Monty Python or Mr. Bean), whereas teachers from the British Isles at least have some idea of Americanisms, from the sheer number of films, TV shows and music that country produces. That's not to say a US teacher CAN'T teach UK English, it's just much less common.

* I'm not a gigolo, don't ask for my full-night prices

Because either your English isn't that advanced or you're not a language specialist.

Berlin, Vienna, Frankfurt, Bern... what's the difference it's all German?

There are lots of areas where the differences don't matter, and lots of areas where they do. IIRC they haven't been able to build speech recognition software that recognizes British and American accents yet...


Very true. That's why I only accept work where specifically American (or more generalized international) usage is acceptable or required.

I've turned down work that specifically required British norms because i don't know those norms well enough. I've gained some passive knowledge over the years (more than 90% of Americans probably) but there's still a lot of holes.

One example: some years ago I was approached to be a consultant in a computer generated speech project and was tempted until I found out that it was supposed to be based on British norms and there's just no way I could do that. I suggested that they contact a Brit I knew (who was also fluent in Polish, which was necessary).

Ur right.

There is no "competition" between those countries language wise. They know that if they speak it that they speak German. Punkt. Not counting of course those local dialects.

We call that Hochdeutsch.

I try my best to make people aware of the differences - many people are actually surprised to learn that there is actually a definitive American English dictionary, for instance.


Swiss German?

That's local dialect.

Quite a few of them can't speak hochdeutsch. Schwizerditsch has also infected their schools.


Alcohol does a great job bringing the southern drawl out, but it's just an accent, albeit a heavy one. Gullah on the other hand is a crazy dialect that 99% of English speakers can't begin to follow. My grandfather spoke it to us.

Hochdeutsch=German

Schwizerditsch=dialect of German

If sth else is in use, those are dialects and of course the regional different pronunciation(Hamburg, Munich. Vienna). In principle it's German.

@Matjasz,
American English sounds unimaginative to you because you've been exposed to poor English, obviously. If you listen to classic Hollywood dialogue with its snappy repartee or talk show hosts such as the lamented, late GREAT Mr. Jack Paar, TV news announcers like Cronkite, Collingwood, Swazey or Severeid.. I think you'd change your tune-:-))

@Sascha,
Was haeltst du von 'Denglisch'? What hold you from 'Denglish'? Just curious, because so much German guys talk like this, sounds but as British speech, or?

That's where you are wrong, FUZZY. I can understand a lot of cajun stuff. Try me!

It wasn't ignorant at all. Many are unaware of just how diverse it is, fact!

Do Polish speak English based on UK or USA?
Is it common for Polish to say "That's cool!"?

Poles learn British English but TVand music give the American influences

Depends where we learn our English, being on the internet writing/chatting with Americans or British or what movies from which country is most popular.

But in school we learn the British standard and the tests are of British English. Textbooks are usually Oxford and Cambridge