Which English Accent Is Easiest for You to Understand?

[Amara]

To non-native English speakers:

Which English accent is easiest to understand

Australian accent
American accent
Canadian accent
British accent
Scottish accent
Irish accent
Kiwi (New Zealand) accent
Indian accent
Other accent (please specify)

[Glen]

Great question, Amara. Spanish-speaking friends of mine say the British is easier, because in it the consonants are emphasized more than in the American.

[zuma022]

For me I'd say:

Canadian
American
NZ/Australian
British
Irish
Scottish

But probably depends what you are around the most. I was exposed to a lot of American TV when learning. The Canadian is very similar just pronounced more carefully and without the southern or east coast accents. British really depends, the Queen's English is fine, but some northern or more working class accents are much more difficult for me.

[JPablo]

I think it depends totally on what you get more use to hear... Last time I flew with British Airways I was shocked at my inability to understand what the flight attendant was saying... until I got used to it...

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by zuma022

For me I'd say:

Canadian
American
NZ/Australian
British
Irish
Scottish

But probably depends what you are around the most. I was exposed to a lot of American TV when learning. The Canadian is very similar just pronounced more carefully and without the southern or east coast accents. British really depends, the Queen's English is fine, but some northern or more working class accents are much more difficult for me.

It's true that the general Canadian accent is quite similar to the general US accent. However, Canada also has some regional varieties of English that are as extreme as some of the accents from the southeastern US or the coastal areas of the northeastern US: the two that are most pronounced are the the French-influenced English in bilingual towns in Quebec, especially in the Eastern Townships, and the stereotypical accent of Newfoundland.

The regional accents in the US are also more varied that it might seem from US films and television. While it's true that US regional accents are often classified into 3 groups (northeastern, southeastern, and everywhere else), each of these groups consists of dozens of smaller regional accents that tend to share a relatively small number of features but still have significant differences in both pronunciation and vocabulary. Urban areas such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia are notable for having distinct accents between individual neighborhoods, although some of those differences have become less strong over the past 50 years.

[Asma]

American
British

[Elaina]

British
American

No matter how hard I try, I cannot understand the Australian accent....

[Amara]

Sorry, the title should be "easiest" not "easier."

[zuma022]

Originally Posted by wrholt

It's true that the general Canadian accent is quite similar to the general US accent. However, Canada also has some regional varieties of English that are as extreme as some of the accents from the southeastern US or the coastal areas of the northeastern US: the two that are most pronounced are the the French-influenced English in bilingual towns in Quebec, especially in the Eastern Townships, and the stereotypical accent of Newfoundland.

The regional accents in the US are also more varied that it might seem from US films and television. While it's true that US regional accents are often classified into 3 groups (northeastern, southeastern, and everywhere else), each of these groups consists of dozens of smaller regional accents that tend to share a relatively small number of features but still have significant differences in both pronunciation and vocabulary. Urban areas such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia are notable for having distinct accents between individual neighborhoods, although some of those differences have become less strong over the past 50 years.

I completely agree that Canada has regional accents and slang as well, however I find even the strongest Newfoundland accent much easier to understand than say an African American person from New Orleans. And I think also with the Canadian you are much less likely to be exposed to a strong regional accent as compared to the US. The large majority of Canadians seem to have very similar accents whereas in the US, you can tell their origin much easier, at least to my ears
While I certainly agree there are strong regional variants and a Boston and a Long Island accent for example are very different, I couldn't pick one over the other for easier understanding. I find most of the east coast and southern variants equally as hard.

[Awaken]

Some of the thick Irish/Scottish stuff is near impossible for me to understand as a native English speaker. I have no issues with most of the normal British English. Thick Australian can be pretty tough as well, but it isn't as bad as some of the Irish/Scottish.

So even though you didn't ask me since I am a native speaker:

American - minus Boston and Cajun (Louisana area)
Canadian
British
Australian
Irish/Scottish
Jamaican - some parts are so hard to understand like certain Cajun dialects.

[ROBINDESBOIS]

In general I understand American and Canadian better. British accent is Ok but as sb said before some accents are just impossible to be understood.

[Amara]

Originally Posted by ROBINDESBOIS

In general I understand American and Canadian better. British accent is Ok but as sb said before some accents are just impossible to be understood.

ROBINDESBOIS,

What is your native language?

[Premium]

I was born & raised and europe so i´d go with the british accent. I can´t even differ Canadian and American accent.
As Jpablo said, it really depends on what you are used to hear.

[poli]

Much depends on the speaker. Very clearly spoken English from India or Jamaica is as easy to understand as Oxford or Harvard English.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Premium

I was born & raised and europe so i´d go with the british accent. I can´t even differ Canadian and American accent.
As Jpablo said, it really depends on what you are used to hear.

differ:1) differentiate between 2) tell the difference between

hear: hearing (used to + noun, in this case a gerund)

Originally Posted by poli

Much depends on the speaker. Very clearly spoken English from India or Jamaica is as easy to understand as Oxford or Harvard English.

That's a bit of a truism - and I've never heard very clearly spoken English from either place.

[poli]

Originally Posted by Perikles

That's a bit of a truism - and I've never heard very clearly spoken English from either place.

Where, Oxford and Harvard?

[Villa]

Originally Posted by Amara

To non-native English speakers:

Which English accent is easiest to understand

Australian accent
American accent
Canadian accent
British accent
Scottish accent
Irish accent
Kiwi (New Zealand) accent
Indian accent
Other accent (please specify)

I like this question Amara. Sin embargo/However the so called American accent can be divided into many sub dialects/accents. For example it is probably easier for an American who speaks standard American English to understand a British accent than a southern rural accent. We also have the Cajun dialect accent of Louisiana. It sounds like a southern accent along with a French accent. In Maine there are also Americans who speak English with a French accent. We also have Ebonics a dialect/accent from American Blacks.

Any way I think it would be easier for somebody to understand our California accent. jajajajajajajajaja...That's laughter in Spanish. jajajajajajajajajajajja...

[caliber1]

There's also the Midwest accent which follows closely to a Boston accents. My mom is from Minnesota and I say some things the way she pronounces it just because its how I heard her say it. For instance "sorry". I would say most in my part of the US would say it with an "aw" sound where as I say it with an "oh" sound. Accents are definitely interesting things though.

[irmamar]

Non-native English speaker speaking English.

And if the speaker must be a native English speaker, I prefer RP English.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Non-native English speaker speaking English.

And if the speaker must be a native English speaker, I prefer RP English.