Do You Understand British English w/o Subtitles?

I’m just curious, but do American people or people in other English speaking countries (except for the UK) understand what the characters are saying in movies or series where they speak British English?

I’m a native Japanese who was born and raised in Japan, yet I prefer to watch anime with Japanese subtitles. I recently watched Harry Potter movies and I’m wondering if people can really understand English with a different accent than their own.

I’ve been learning rather American English in school, so I hardly understand when people speak English with a quite strong British accent... (as well as other strong accents. I can understand English with a strong samurai accent tho XD)

If you’re an English speaker and not from the UK, can you understand everything what the characters say in Harry Potter movies without subtitles?

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

Pretzel · 61-69, M

for me the hardest of the UK accents is either Scottish or Welsh

oh and sometimes the subtitles don't help when they use their slang (American slang is different) and I have to google what they mean even when I read the words.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@Pretzel There really isn't a single Scottish accent. The speech in Glasgow is markedly different from that in Aberdeen.

Pretzel · 61-69, M

@ninalanyon ahh. my ear isn't tuned to it yet. I can hear a few different accents from England - that's interesting.

funny how regional dialects vary - we have it in the US as well.