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Accents? Do they throw you?


TheBigTEA

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I find that a lot of people that have English as a second language tend to pick up a quasi American accent, presumably from learning from films/television. There was a Norwegian guy on my course at uni who for weeks I couldn't work out whether he was American or not.

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I like hearing accents, but I do have trouble understanding with some languages, especially if its the first time I'm hearing it.

I have trouble with Indian accent. Southeast Asian accents, esp those in the Malay archipelago, tend to have harder accents. Me, I learned from watching American tv, the Phils being a former US colony.

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OT: I still struggle to accept that there are different accents within Australia. We use different expressions depending on where we come from (eg- there are different names for the same sized beer glass in every State) but I think we all the sound the same. Others disagree.

I could never learn to tell the difference between Australian accents, but everywhere I went, I was always told there were differences. I met a tour guide from NT who made fun of all the accents, but especially Sydney. I had a guy from Adelaide tell me his accent sounded more English than the other Australian accents, which I couldn't hear, but I could deal with.

For my accent, nobody can tell where I'm from. In London, I have this typical conversation with a stranger:

"Where are you from?"

"Here. All my life."

"No you're not, your accent isn't right."

"Oh, my mistake. I guess I'm not from here then."

When I was away as well, other English people could never guess where I was from. Even the people who would say "I can tell where anyone is from, just talk for a little while." couldn't guess where I was from. I can only put it down to Irish parents and a willingness to pronounce things correctly. As long as they don't have the letter T in there.

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I don't really notice accents in English all that much (ok, I can differentiate between a British upper class accent and the hardly intelligible rape of the English and Italian languages that Brad Pitt committed in Inglorious Basterds), so as long as I can actually understand them, I don't really react differently.

In German however I have to remind myself that people with a Saxon accent are not stupid and that the grunts and howls of Bavarian do not mean that civilization has not yet touched their land.

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I tend to not think about accents all that much, but if someone is already annoying me, or is an asshole, a douchebag or whatever, I find that the "wrong" kind of accent can multiply those feelings.

It doesn't really happen all that much with non-Swedish accents, but if someone from the south of Sweden is already annoying me, it'll just get worse because they're from the south of Sweden. Like, isn't it enough that they're already an asshole, they got to be an asshole from Skåne. Grr!

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I do have this weird tendency to think of American accents as 'tv' or 'movie' accents, which then throws me a little bit when I speak to someone with an American accent in real life. I have this little voice in the back of my head going "No, they're not acting. That is actually a real person".

Very odd. Don't know why that happens.

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When I first moved to the UK I lived in Devon. I used to try and explain to my then workmates the difference between a Kiwi and Aussie accent.

So I’d do both, and they’d look at me blankly and say: ‘We couldn’t hear any difference.’

I got round that by highlighting the difference between ‘fush and chups’ and ‘feesh and cheeps’. From that point on, every time my workmates had a few drinks, they’d yell ‘FUSH AND CHUPS!’ in the bar.

Not at all embarrassing.

That was at my second job in Devon. My first job was as a labourer in a building yard.

For the first week, I actually had to ask one of the other Kiwi guys there to translate for me, cos I couldn’t understand a word the Devonian guys were saying to me. And that’s despite the fact that my mother’s from Devon (although her accent was a wee bit posh).

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I don't really notice accents in English all that much (ok, I can differentiate between a British upper class accent and the hardly intelligible rape of the English and Italian languages that Brad Pitt committed in Inglorious Basterds), so as long as I can actually understand them, I don't really react differently.

In German however I have to remind myself that people with a Saxon accent are not stupid and that the grunts and howls of Bavarian do not mean that civilization has not yet touched their land.

Oh yeah. Forgot about THOSE! :leaving:

;)

In my elementary school class there was a black girl. She, or rather her parents were from Kenya, IIRC. She could talk my home town dialect - kölsch- fluently! That was really awesome. And it caused a lot of dropped jaws. :D

Not the least because almost none of the other kids, me included, could do it!

She is now a tv-presenter for a german kids-program. :)

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This kind of plays into my idea about why I have stereotypes for people with accents...not used to hearing them. I grew up in Wisconsin and never really traveled outside of the state.
That explains it, yes.

I've been told many times that I have a 'funny accent' and asked if I'm completely sure that I'm NOT Australian in any way. :stunned: But I don't (really) make any judgments about people based on their accents. I try my hardest not to anyhow.

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It doesn't really happen all that much with non-Swedish accents, but if someone from the south of Sweden is already annoying me, it'll just get worse because they're from the south of Sweden. Like, isn't it enough that they're already an asshole, they got to be an asshole from Skåne. Grr!

Classic, "old" Stockholmish (not the new kind, but you know, like people talk in old movies) can sound TERRIBLY whiny.

I have no idea what I sound like when I speak english, although I do know Os was like "Whoah, what the fuck kind of accent is that!?"

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I find that a lot of people that have English as a second language tend to pick up a quasi American accent, presumably from learning from films/television.

See now this is something I've always wondered about. The American accent to me always felt the least embellished, most basic of all English accents. It's also the least interesting to me for that reason. But see what also feeds into this belief is that when most Aussies and Brits sing...they sound American. Least to my ears. But as an American, of course I'm going to think that, y'know?

So Commonwealthers (and Southerners....sorry, no Yoopers)...do you consider the classic American accent a more stripped down version of your own? Or do you consider your own the most basic? Basically do you feel the same way about your accent that I feel about mine, or can we agree yours is more awesome?

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Brits singing to sound American is affectation, not stripped-down-ness. I consider standard Southern UK English to be the basic form (ie. the accent without the vowel-twangs you get from rural, or posh, or Northern, or Estuary); American accents are definitely accents.

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Brits singing to sound American is affectation, not stripped-down-ness. I consider standard Southern UK English to be the basic form (ie. the accent without the vowel-twangs you get from rural, or posh, or Northern, or Estuary); American accents are definitely accents.

Everything I was going to say, only better.

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I was told by an Italian friend of mine that he didn't consider me to have an accent.

Mine's Hertfordshire, so pretty standard Home Counties, southern English. There's very little embellishment or twang there to my ears at least. To me, even the most basic American accent has a slightly contorted twang to it, but that's because Home Counties English is what I'm used to.

I don't know that you can say any accent is really completely standard and basic, as it entirely depends on where you come from.

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Brits singing to sound American is affectation, not stripped-down-ness. I consider standard Southern UK English to be the basic form (ie. the accent without the vowel-twangs you get from rural, or posh, or Northern, or Estuary); American accents are definitely accents.

Your accent is quite distinct, young lady.

I, on the other hand, have no accent.

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I like most accents and have been around so many that I generally can understand what they're all saying just because I have had "practice". I grew up in PA being babysat by my Scottish grandparents every day while the 'rents were working. My boyfriend is French and I, several years ago, dated a guy from Poland.

I do tend to assume people who sound like hillbillies play banjo, shoot at anything that moves, and have an infinite number of trucks in their backyard. My bad. But the more I visit southern areas, the less I feel that way. I also question the intelligence of people who grew up speaking English and still have whatever accent that is where you sound like your playing a round of marbles in your mouth...

Kids with accents from anywhere in the UK or Australia get extra cute points.

I think the only accent that threw me was when I was in France visiting my boyfriend's family. His uncle has perfect English, but no French accent. He sounds like he's British when he speaks! I was extremely stunned at first.

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Your accent is quite distinct, young lady.

I, on the other hand, have no accent.

Precisely right, Greg.

We shouldn't let the Brits dissuade of what we know to be true. If we admit, we too have accents...it'll head us down the slippery slope of the Queen taking residence in the White House and Simon Cowell immediately losing all right to judge us.

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See now this is something I've always wondered about. The American accent to me always felt the least embellished, most basic of all English accents. It's also the least interesting to me for that reason. But see what also feeds into this belief is that when most Aussies and Brits sing...they sound American. Least to my ears. But as an American, of course I'm going to think that, y'know?

So Commonwealthers (and Southerners....sorry, no Yoopers)...do you consider the classic American accent a more stripped down version of your own? Or do you consider your own the most basic? Basically do you feel the same way about your accent that I feel about mine, or can we agree yours is more awesome?

You know what's interesting when Brits and Aussies do American accents? The total tone of their voice changes. Kate Winslet's becomes a bit higher, a bit more squeaky. Her actual voice is much lower. So does Claire Forlani, for that matter.

I've had to put on an English accent for plays before (both cockneyed and "proper"), but I don't think it changed the tonal sound to my voice, it was just me speaking with an accent. I wonder why that is? (And no wisecracks about Oscar-winning actresses vs me, please. :P) Is this just me?

Do we really sound high-pitched and squeaky to you guys?

Your accent is quite distinct, young lady.

I, on the other hand, have no accent.

Aww, Greggers. :lol:

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Precisely right, Greg.

We shouldn't let the Brits dissuade of what we know to be true. If we admit, we too have accents...it'll head us down the slippery slope of the Queen taking residence in the White House and Simon Cowell immediately losing all right to judge us.

I think you're safe. The Queen is used to much more commodious accommodation. You only have yourselves to blame for Cowell. If we had the power to bar him from the country, don't you think we'd have used it?

:wideeyed:

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