Global languages

[koalathebear]

I was having lunch with Papa Koala today and as usual, our lunch was accompanied by much hand-waving, debate and discussion. As the restaurant owner brought us our coffee (I asked for two ordinary coffees and he brought us two flat whites :), he paused and said:

"I just HAVE to say something!" Then he paused and said: "It's just amazing. The

Comments

[jazmin22]

What? That's strange...Ok, perhaps it is because I have lived in US, mostly in places with a certain level of urbanization, but I can say pretty readily that I have never expected someone that looks Asian to a certain accent. Even though when I was younger, my family was not as...well off as we are now and lived in areas where immigrants and the like were abundant. So, I should maybe expect an Asian accent really...but I don't. *shrugs* :) Actually I tend to not expect any particular accents from anyone. I think I must have trained myself not to because I am afraid of looking stupid in my reactions.

[coneycat]

Actually I tend to not expect any particular accents from anyone. I think I must have trained myself not to because I am afraid of looking stupid in my reactions.

I'm from a smallish city with a bunch of universities, so I am in a similar situation: it's a multicultural community with a lot of people from other countries, but I still try to default to expecting everyone I meet to be just as Canadian as I am.

I admit, I might be thrown if I met a person of Asian descent with a strong French-Canadian accent, but I like to think I wouldn't be a jerk about it. Koala, I'm impressed that you had the wit to be amused!

[jazmin22]

I lived in several larger cities when I was younger, but know I live in a small-but rapidly growing area, a lot of people have been moving here and we also have a university. It's really becoming a much more diverse area, and I have noticed that I am not nearly as surprised people who have lived out here all their lives and experiencing all this, um, cultural change at an older age.

Koala, I'm impressed that you had the wit to be amused!

I second that.

[koalathebear]

I guess I was amused because he was impressed by something I found completely unimpressive :D It's like when people tell me my English is very good, I'm always kind of: "Gawd I should hope so." :)

[coneycat]

Do you ever say, "So is yours"? ;)

[koalathebear]

I have on occasion but people get so offended that I don't anymore ;)

[coneycat]

And the fact that concerns you proves what a decent person you are...

[koalathebear]

I suppose it depends where you are. I remember feeling quite bemused the first time I saw a Chinese-looking person speaking Italian. She'd clearly been born and raised there and that was weird for me but only for a couple of seconds. Presumably it's just what you're used to. In the end, language is purely a matter of learning so our appearance is irrelevant, it's just what we learnt and where we grew up.