Oftentimes you can hear students say, "I want to learn to speak American English.” So I would like to take a moment to talk about American English. Do these students want to learn a southern drawl like what might be heard in parts of Texas, Louisiana or Alabama? Or maybe they want to speak using the “no R” accent like they do in Boston, as in: “Pahk the cah” (park the car). Perhaps they would prefer to choose the Chicago style of English, or even the way the language is spoken in North Dakota as one could hear in the movie “Fargo.” Some linguistic experts suggest there are around 24 very different styles or dialects of American English. So which one is for you? Which one is the best? Is one of them better than the others? And what about British or Australian English? Don’t they even count?

I imagine the “American English” most students want to imitate is the one spoken by Tom Cruise and his friends in Hollywood. Thanks to the billions of dollars spent making and distributing movies around the world, this brand of English is probably the one most often heard by high school and university students. So should that be the ideal for Korean students to emulate? Should students strive to speak like Bruce Willis at all costs? And what if they cannot learn to imitate this version of English? In this global society, is it essential to be able to speak “California English” in order to succeed in business? If we think globally, what kind or style of English is being spoken?

I have traveled around the world, to about 30 different countries, and I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to all the languages and accents I heard. I learned to speak German and at one time could speak an Austrian dialect and imitate Swiss German. And today, my children love to hear me read stories in English using my “German accent.” To me, the diversity of all of the dialects and accents of English really makes for a more interesting and exciting existence. Imagine if everyone only spoke “Beach Boy English” like me. What a boring place the world of English would turn into. Maybe it would resemble a bunch of clones walking around, all dressed alike with the same hairstyles, speaking like machines.

To me, the diverse variety of spoken English one can hear throughout the world just adds a certain spice or flavor to the language. These days the city of Liverpool, England is mostly popular because of the soccer teams playing there. But the city has also been labeled, “The World Capital City of Pop” because it was the birthplace of The Beatles. As a life-long fan of The Beatles, whose influence and music shaped my life, I still love to hear interviews of any one of The Beatles, and enjoy the great Scouse accent they spoke… probably one of the coolest accents in the world. And if I talk with my New Zealander friends, I might hear them say, “Thanks heaps!” with their great Kiwi accent. These English dialects or accents from around the world help make up a part of the fascinating global English.

So why can’t Korean speakers also add some spice to that pot of spoken English? Is it OK to have a Korean accent when speaking English? I would say, “Why not!?” Why not allow some of your cultural influence to flavor your English a little bit? After all, if after 200 years of people speaking English in the United States, there is still such a marked influence in how that language is spoken, why can’t your few years of English speaking reflect your cultural and language influences? Sure, work on your pronunciation so you can speak clearly and can be understood, but don’t stress if people don’t mistake you for Johnny Depp when talking with you on the telephone.

Imagine if you will, a business transaction taking place between a Korean and a Russian; or between a German and an Indian. Must these people engage using only Hollywood English? I would guess that each one would speak with his or her own accent, based on his or her own language customs. But the transaction could still be successful and the two parties could still understand one another. I believe that understanding and being understood are the most important things for those communicating in English. So as a native speaker of English born about 7 miles from Hollywood, my advice is not to worry about sounding exactly like  Angelina Jolie, but to be willing to embrace the language, to learn to love the exciting accents and dialects spoken within it, and not to be afraid to go out and speak it with your own style and with your own imprint. Don’t be afraid to spice up the world of English a little bit. G’day mate!