On language, accents and identity

[kahvi]

I had a rather interesting conversation with my sister in law the other night. We were discussing language and related subjects; among other things, the various forms of spoken English. My sister in law admitted a distaste for Norwegians (and, presumably, other non-native English speakers) attempting to affect a particular American or British

Comments

[hazeltea]

I think it's always best to strive to sound as native as possible, no matter what the language. If your own accent shows through, that's a natural occurrence, but I try not to sound too American when I'm not speaking English.

[kahvi]

Yes, I should think that would be the natural reaction for any language learner. It's interesting though; some years ago I was looking for Japanese language courses to download, and I came across an "American accent" course. I downloaded it out of curiosity. The intro mentioned that some ESL speakers are worried that they will appear 'pretentious' or sound fake if they attempt a regional accent. As the narrator explained, the opposite is usually the case, as you end up sounding much more natural if you affect a regional accent.

I thought it was an odd attitude, and I've never encountered anything like it until I talked to my SIL about it.

[world_of_tights]

I can't really comment on this because I can only speak my own language, and frankly you write it better than I do, Kat

[world_of_tights]

*learn a new language, that should read.

[kahvi]

Aw, thank you for those kind words. *blush*

we were ALWAYS encouraged to speak in the accent of the language we were learning, otherwise it was seen that we were mispronouncing the words

Well yes, exactly! While I agree that we should be more accepting of varieties of accents (some people learn these things more easily; my husband, for example, has an excellent English vocabulary, but says that he will likely never be able to cultivate a regional accent), that's not the same as saying we should actively encourage people not to sound like native speakers.

I know exactly what you mean about the repeating back thing; I'm a bit of a language chameleon like that, which makes it hard if I'm in a room full of people who speak different varieties of English. I keep thinking I'll end up sounding like Kryten! :|

I think you have a gorgeous accent, btw. :D

[eviltigerlily]

What you say makes sense to me. I don't have a Russian accent in English (my second language) or Hebrew (my third). I used to switch between British and American(ish) accent too. However, I've been immersed (mostly) in British culture in the past few years, so I'm stuck with the accent now.

I've had different reactions from people too from 'Wow, that's really good!' to 'Why are you pretending to be British?'.

[kahvi]

It's so interesting to hear people's experiences - I've never gotten the "why are you pretending to be British/American" thing before now. I can understand the argument, I suppose, but I really don't agree with it.

[sunny_bexster]

I think you speak with a Southern British accent and it sounds very, very natural. If I didn't know you, I'd assume you hailed from swinging London! :)

As for what a Mancunian accent sounds like, I'm stumped - Ben says I go very Mancunian when I go, quite frequently 'It's not funn-y!" - which is odd, given I'm half-heartedly imitating Craig when I do that.

You do a damn fine Scouse accent too! :)

[kahvi]

Thank you! And yes, that's what it sounds like to me too. I suppose that's probably because duckface is from London, and I've spent most of my time in the UK speaking to him and his friends until recent years. I would really, really like to sound more northern, but however much I try, I just seem to fall back in the that Estuary-esque pattern. I mean, I can imitate for example Scouse, but that's not the same as speaking it, if you see what I mean.

kms_726 may have told you that she and I nearly drove duckface mad attempting to have a conversation in Scouse. In his words "you have no idea how horrible you sound". I think he was embarrassed to be seen with us!

[kahvi]

Over here, we're certainly taught to speak British English in school, but of course, most kids learn from TV, music and films before they learn anything in school, and the accent they pick up there will usually be American. It's like that here too, but a lot of people will refuse to speak with an American accent as they associate that with negative qualities. Which makes me a bit sad. :/

I love the whole fusing language thing; I do that with Norwegian and English a lot! :D The person I used to work with had about the same level of English skill as me, and we'd switch back and forth between Norwegian and English. It's... enriching, in a way that I can't really describe.

I would love to learn some Irish!