English accents versus Spanish accents
Which is worse to learn for for second language learners. English accents or Spanish accents
I think Spanish isn't that bad for accent wise.. even as a learner there is not too much difference between most of South America and Spain, English is actually probably worse. I was at a Spanish speaking forum and someone was asking if he should go to England to learn English.
I am a native English speaker and have no problem with English in most countries, however I can hardly understand a word from someone native to England. People from Newfoundland.. almost worse. Some parts of the US are bad as well like in Louisianan where allot of Creole is used. Some is just funny to me..go rent the movie "Fargo". I thought it was a joke at first, but they speak that way in Fargo South Dakota.
I like the Australia accent and the Scottish accent.
Even here, from province to province there are subtle differences.
Not sure if this is English or Irish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKloG5xyhKM
Fargo
10 Answers
We in OZ do not have an accent ! We speak quite a refined type of English .
Albeit interspersed with a few hundred or so epithets of a slightly indelicate
nature , and we are known to use a few thousand idioms and phrases which
may send the local Vicar into paroxysms of funk , if not early dementia.
I can visit prison establishments world wide and be understood completely ,
why this is so always eludes me , I have always taken it as proof of the purity
of the Aussie sound , our dulcet tones reverberate around every establishment
of incarceration and penal colony on earth , with cries of " pull yer head in ya mug "
or "Ya flamin great drongo Richard cranium " Nos enseñan al mundo del idiomas inglís. 
There are massive differences in accents in England. Even places just a few miles apart have slightly different accents. I suppose you have to be local to a particular area to notice, within a 10 mile radius of where I live (Sheffield) there are, at least, 4 different accents.
The main difference between English and Irish accents is we pronounce all our Rs and they don't eat black pudding for breakfast... by which I mean they usually say "uh" where there's an R, but it depends on the part of England. Where as for example Boston people say "ah" where there's an R. Boston accents are the best!
A friend who used to live in Glasgow, Scotland, says that Glaswegians have a strong and difficult to understand dialect, which sometimes is a mixture of English and Gaelic. However, he told me that after a little time their accent was a pleasure to listen to. Also he said that locals were very proud of their accent and they said that if you understand the Glaswegian accent then you will not have any problem in understanding any English accent in the world.
I think it's best to learn the accent of the people you are going to be communicating with most.
For Spanish - English , for Mexicans-U.S would make sense but really most people don't get to choose whose accent they learn from. Whoever is teaching them will have the most influence.
I have noticed that accents have been softening all over the world , probably due to
the advent of electronic communication and international travel.
Even in England the strong accents ofLiverpool and Newcastle are not
nearly as prominent as they were 50 years ago . And here in OZ only the
old guys like me have that old bushy accents , we are becoming more
international and blending in , maybe more boring also , it will be a shame
if we end up all sounding like automatons . 
I live in Gloucester, the original one in the UK, only a few miles away is the Forest of Dean. The accent there is very strong, historically the area was quite isolated so developed its own dialect as well as a unique way of pronouncing standard English. Although I live so close by I find it difficult to understand someone with a strong Forest accent.
My own accent is reasonably neutral, my parents came from different areas and I went to a private school. But I am always surprised to here a distinct emphasise on the r sounds, characteristic of the area, if I hear my own voice recorded.
As for Spanish accents I am only familiar with the area around Barcelona which doesn't help as many have Catalan as a first language.
After making this post I was a little concerned that I might offend some people, but I really find the ways people use their language very interesting. Without these differences, the world would be a much less interesting place.
If I offend anyone, it is not intentional
I should mention that I love that show shameless.
Some low brow Canadian humor would be a show called the "Trailer Park Boys"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZbygmWKpP8
I can tell they are from some place in Ontario.
This is an example of someone from Newfoundland, also in Canada
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_CM63zSWTE
The interesting thing is that when you are some place where everyone has a specific accent, it stops being an accent and it is just normal
Some places here have had their accents change as well for something more American, possibly mine too.
It kind of makes me wonder.. who decides what is normal. What makes one regions accent better than another?
I suppose if the differences were too strong, it would evolve into another language and make communicating difficult which is a big purpose for language.
its better to learn english in the states, because you will be understood everywhere. but when you learn it somewhere else, people have a harder time
I think English accents are harder to learn than Spanish accents!!!! I've been taking Spanish for 5 years, and I can understand the basics if not the details of Spain Spanish and a few different South and Central American Spanishes. My friends, however, are mostly from South Asia and have a TERRIBLE time with English! My best friend learned British English in Sri Lanka, and now lives in the southern USA. He's on year three here and he still has lots of trouble with the dialect, another friend has been here since she was 6 years old, has no discernible accent, and still has trouble with the local English. English is definitely harder!
