イギリス英会話ブログ

One of the difficulties for foreign learners of English is that the language is spoken in so many countries that there is a wide variety of ‘correct’ pronunciations. You sometimes hear people trying to justify their belief that, for example, British English is more desirable than American English, or that Australian English is easier to understand than American English, etc.. Of course this is fairly spurious reasoning and totally subjective - the easiest pronunciation is simply the one that you are most used to.

It is only to be expected that most Japanese learners of English will speak with a kind of ‘Japanese’ accent. People who speak with a ‘native’ accent are usually those who have spent some years living in an English-speaking country as this is really the only way to pick up such ‘natural’ pronunciation. Nevertheless, Japanese learners sometimes get too hung up about pronunciation.

Clear pronunciation is, of course, important for effective communication, but one should not be overly concerned about sounding like a native speaker. Really all you can do while you are studying in Japan is to master the grammar and vocabulary, etc.. - as I said already, to get a truly ‘English’ accent you need to spend a good deal of time living abroad, after first learning enough language to be able to hold conversations.

I am always surprised how much pressure students put on themselves, or how much pressure mothers put on their children, to speak with a native accent. ‘First things first’, is what I say - learn the language and worry about pronunciation last.

For those who really want to try to get a native pronunciation, the only real answer is to go and live abroad for a while. If you cannot do that, then you can at least use the internet and practise listening using the wealth of materials available online. The BBC, for example, has a ‘learning English’ section on its web-site which is useful for listening practice, not to mention all the British radio channels you can listen to over the internet.

To get back to the first point - why do people prefer one kind of pronunciation over another? - it seems to me that this is really a subjective matter. I suppose we form some kind of emotional attachment to a particular country and desire to communicate with that country’s people. People then try to justify this feeling by saying things like, ‘British English is clearer than American English’, when actually their rationale is entirely subjective. It is interesting to note that learners from countries that have some historical grudge against, say, America, find it difficult to master American English.

It’s OK to prefer one kind of English over another, as long as you realize that your choice is a personal and subjective one. It’s no good putting pressure on yourself to adopt a particular country’s pronunciation as this will develop naturally over time according to which kind of English you get most exposure to. Let’s get this all into perspective and realize that pronunciation is a secondary issue - a luxury, if you like, that only those who can live abroad for a good deal of time can afford.