How can I express my ideas and improve my pronunciation?

[Bennie]

– Hi, Bennie.
– Hi, Jack. What is up?
– How about our new project? Is it going smoothly?
– It…
I paused and thought about how to speak out my ideas. What’s wrong with my tongue? Nothing but two English pronunciation systems, one for American English, and the other for British English.
I have to face both of them every day because I work in Motorola – a U.S. enterprise, and want to study in Oxford University in U.K. During daytime, I talked with my boss and customers in AE that sounds more active, decisive and even powerful; however, I would like to listen to BE program such as BBC World Service at home and follow it. At last I lost and frequently got confused in pronunciations.

[Conchita]

First of all, welcome to the forum, Bennie!

You've raised an interesting point there. Especially since your situation must be shared by many (whether or not you find this comforting). You seem to be afraid of acquiring an American accent, because of wanting to study in the UK later on.

Trying to control your accent all the time must be like swimming through mud. Perhaps you should just stop worrying about it and 'let yourself go'. Maybe you'll find that your way of speaking and pronouncing will naturally and eventually adapt to your environment as you go along.

I’d even venture to say that, if your American accent isn’t deep-rooted (and what of it anyway?), you should get an English twang soon enough after you move to Oxford.

Good luck in your projects!

[Bennie]

Ms. Conchita,
Thanks for your advice.
The pronunciation problem has annoyed me for a long time, and I bought many dictionaries to solve it; unfortunately with different phonetic symbols, those dictionaries made me more confused and spoiled my interests in English.
I won’t control my accent any more, and an idea is more important than the voice to claim it after all.
Best regards,
Bennie

[Conchita]

Have you tried audio dictionaries like:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ ?

Some pronunciation tips:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/multimedia/pron/index.shtml

Here are a few interesting articles to read and listen to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/china/learningenglish/

Try to do a lot of listening, if possible on a daily basis.

[Englishuser]

Hi Bennie,

Welcome to the forums.

You said:

[Bennie]

Hi Conchita,
Thanks for your advice. I will try them every day.

Hi Englishuser
I am sorry that I haven’t heard of British URP accent. Would you give me any detailed explanation, or even a sample? And I can suggest my boss to try this one…Just a joke!

[Alan]

Hi Bennie,

Despite EU's obsession with this weird accent he calls URP, I think the accent is not relevant. Choose the one you feel at home with and stick to it. It's the way you deliver an accent that counts.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Words, words, words...

[Yankee]

Hi Bennie

The fact is the majority of non-native speakers of English never completely master any "native" accent. If your native language is Chinese, then more than likely, your accent in English will always sound at least a little bit Chinese. What's important is that you pronounce words clearly. I think that even if you ended up using a mixture of standard British and standard American pronunciation, your "accent" could be clear.

I remember a reporter who used to be on CNN. She had a very definite American accent, but she also pronounced some words the British way (the word schedule, for example). I assume this was a result of the fact that she worked in London for quite some time and had unconsciously adapted some of her pronunciation. She was not hard to understand even though her pronunciation was a mixture of BE and AmE.

Amy

[Englishuser]

Hi Bennie,

You asked:

[Englishuser]

Hi Alan,

You wrote:

[Englishuser]

Hi Amy,

What exactly do you mean when you say that "most non-native speakers never completely master any native accent"? Surely it is possible to speak with for instance a foreign-tinged General American accent.

Englishuser

[Yankee]

I think you know what I mean, EU.

[Englishuser]

Hi Amy,

What about other forum members? Are you sure every one of them will understand what you mean?

Englishuser

[Yankee]

Yes.

[Torsten]