ТЕКСТ НЕ ПОЛНЫЙ! OXFORD ACCENT ( By D. Balsden) The Oxford accent exists, but it defies definition. It is not, as the French think, the kind of English which is spoken within a twenty miles radius of the city. Indeed, it is not an accent at all, but a manner of speaking. In particular it is a manner of pausing in your speech, of pausing not in the end of sentences, where you might be interrupted but in the middle of sentences. Nobody, it is to be hoped, will be so rude as to interrupt you when you are in the middle of a sentence. So pause there, to decide what your next sentence is going to be. Then, having decided, move quickly forward to it without a moment’s pause at the full stops – that is the Oxford accent. Do it well, and you will be able to talk forever. Nobody will have the chance of breaking in and stealing the conversation from you.