What does English sound like?
- Thread starter Just Joe
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Your funny. huk huk.Wadders said:
OP: The videos of people imitating english sound kind of like Russian mixed with French, with a east-coast-like accent.
When I was first deployed to baghdad, I ran into a group of servicemen from the UK. One was a scotsman, one was Irish, one was welsh, and one was simply english (london if I recall correctly). They were all smoking so using my keen powers of analysis I determined that one of them probably had a lighter. Seeing as we were on the same side and all I figured they would be happy to let me borrow said lighter without much trouble. As luck would have it, they happily met my request and we engaged in a brief, idle conversation.fix-the-spade said:
I asked the group how they were doing and received the expected response of "can't complain" (or at least that is very generally what I think they said). Most of the conversation was between the irishman, the englishman and myself. Eventually, the welsman decided to join in the conversation.
Now, I'm not a linguist, but what he was saying at least roughly approximated english. In reality, it sounded as though someone stuffed a large ball of dirty socks into the mouth of a scottsman and then had him talk while said scottsman was being kicked in the groin by a buffalo. I looked at the welshman a bit confused and then confessed that I had no idea what he had said. He rolled his eyes and repeated himself a little more loudly and a little slower so that my pathetic american ears might have an opporunity to divine meaning from the bizarre noises he produced. Again, while it sounded like english may have been involved at some point, it sounded as though the sock gagged scottsman being kicked in the groin was simply a bit angry. This went on for a few more passes until the scottsman, clearly annoyed at my inability to communicate, said "He said 'so how are you doing?'". A bit ashamed that I could not make out such a simple message I gave my reply and the welshman responded yet again. The process continued back and forth and eventually we decided to part ways before there was an international incident born from an inability to communicate between soldiers from nations who speak roughly the same language.
It later occured to me that if a scottsman, who aren't particularly reknowned for their eloquition, was having to translate, something must be horribly wrong indeed.
To foreign people it must be weird as hell. I'm pretty sure our syntax is backwards compared to a lot of other languages.
To me, I might be thinking about it too much. When I stop and listen, it starts sounding less like words and more like funny sounds that I don't know why I understand. I should really stop thinking about it.....
To me, I might be thinking about it too much. When I stop and listen, it starts sounding less like words and more like funny sounds that I don't know why I understand. I should really stop thinking about it.....
I was about to say that I take this as offense, and then I realized that I think people with hilarious southern accents sound stupid compared to people with northern accents, so I guess in a sense if you look at the migration of people it went UK to Northern US to Southern US.Spaceman_Spiff said:
Nothing went wrong, you just encountered the Valleys accent. I've had 21years practice and there's stil moments when the Welsh and Scot's speach completely throws me.Eclectic Dreck said:
Well, I'm not teaching yet, but I can say that due to its phonetical properties English (well, American English anyway) sounds kind of relaxed and laid-back, and it rolls off your tongue without much effort. However, if you listen closely there is more often than not an undercurrent of determined authority, a sort of tone which signals (even when spoken softly) that the speaker expects his demand for a reaction/response to be met.MaxTheReaper said:
Strange, I hear/read that a lot, that German supposedly sounds angry. Being a German myself, I suppose I find myself at the same disadvantage as English native speakers regarding the original question of this thread. It is probably due to our language emphasising the pronounciation of hard consonants, and plosives in particular.
Still, when spoken without nervousness or agitation, German sounds... well, not exactly serene, but not aggressive, either. It kind of gives the impression of a mellow businessman. Probably a lousy comparison, but it's the best I can come up with. ^^°
It's technically impossible to not have an accent (everyone has one, even if you were born in space and learned the language by yourself you would still have an accent).Satin6T said:
As for the English language, like most other languages it's 'sound' can change depending on what part of the world you're observing and who you're observing. There's always a correct spelling but the pronounciation is up for debate.
Gladly, my good countryman. And you know why? Because it's true. The language IS the same, it's just a heavily developed dialect in Austria. Even Saxons and Frisians have to accept that fact. (Now, the kind of German spoken in the Swiss is a somewhat undecided matter among linguists.)Skeleon said:
Come to think of it, if those Frisians happen to be speaking Plattdeutsch, they (unlike Austrians) can indeed claim they're using a different language altogether.
