Do Kiwis think "American English" is sloppy?

[God-Man]

Simple question: do Kiwis (or Brits/Aussies for that matter) think "American English" is sloppy or poorly structured? (or maybe just poorly spoken)

[pleccy2000]

On the whole no - its jsut American English, I dont think its sloppy

[Brian]

I've never heard anyone say that. It's just an accent, and one they understand quite well because of all the TV and movies coming out of the US.

[Jacqi B]

Well, this Brit is often amused and sometimes perplexed by the grammatical structure of spoken 'American English'.

[TheNaylors]

I wouldn't say it is any sloppier or any poorer structured than the way that many English people speak (IMHO). Regions have become so diverse and accents are getting stronger with their own terminology that it is almost like another language in places.

There ain't many of us that speak the Queens English no more ya know! Apparently only 2% of Britons speak with Received Pronunciation in it's pure form according to Wikipedia

But then again...it seems as though the queen is losing it too http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1080228.stm

Julie

[Jacqi B]

There ain't many of us that speak the Queens English no more ya know! Apparently only 2% of Britons speak with Received Pronunciation in it's pure form according to Wikipedia

But then again...it seems as though the queen is losing it too http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1080228.stm

Julie

I'm surprised its as high as 2%! Not only the queen but other 'posh people' sound 'less RP' than they used to. There was a series of programmes on over Christmas showing interviews with famous 60s people (actors, etc) done in the 60s and them now. The change in the accents was amazing.

[JandM]

Yes, American English is familiar world-wide because of advertising and entertainment. For those of us from elsewhere, I'd guess it's just 'different', but recognizable as what it is. It is a blanket term, though - there's a big diversity of accents and structures used within the US, just as there is for British English or NZ English.

Why would you think other nationalities would think it was sloppy?

[gil]

I may well have missed your introductory post god-man - are you in linguistics? A lot of your posts seem to centre on pronounciation

[BkyMonster]

The only person I had complain about anything I've said was a rather stuffy psychiatrist who kept correcting my pronunciation and telling me the way he said things was right because kiwi english was the purest form.

[God-Man]

Why would you think other nationalities would think it was sloppy?

That's what I've heard once or twice in the past (can't remember where), thus prompting me to wonder how other english-speaking countries viewed American English.

One thing I remember is that someone I know who learned English at a school in another country then came to the US, and couldn't understand anybody. (because the language was far faster/sloppier than spoken in class) That's probably just a bad-apple example though...

I may well have missed your introductory post god-man - are you in linguistics? A lot of your posts seem to centre on pronounciation

Nope, just a soon-to-be Kiwi... who has run into one or two language-related issues. (like how to pronounce Waiheke, where I'll probably live)