| A témához tartozó oldalak: [1 2] > | Poll: In my second language, my accent is Téma indítója: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "In my second language, my accent is".
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It used to be that Brazilians took me for a native speaker. My husband and I spoke Portuguese exclusively at home. But that was a long time ago and I would be less than honest if I claimed that I'm still that good.
Spanish, not so much, even though I started learning it in 8th grade. I think the only way to gain near-native mastery is to be forced to speak it all the time because the people around you don't know any other language.
[Edited at 2017-10-02 08:38 GMT]
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I speak French fluently with a strong Belgian accent after 30 years in the francophone part of Belgium.
| | | | | could be better | Oct 2, 2017 |
I have lost a bit of it.. but it seems good
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Swedes think I'm Norwegian, Norwegians think I'm Swedish
| | | | neilmac
Spanyolország
Local time: 03:05
spanyol - angol
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As far as I know, my accent in Spanish is quite good, although often still recognisable as foreign. It varies, for example if I spend a weekend with English-speaking friends, my Spanish might suffer on a Monday morning. However, even years ago, I could sometimes get away with being mistaken for a native Spanish speaker, but from a different region.
And apparently my Scottish accent gets stronger when I'm dictating with Dragon, much to my friend's amusement...
| | | | Jan Truper 
Németország
Local time: 03:05
Tag (2016 óta)
angol - német
I'm native German, but when I was living in the US, people often assumed that I came from South Africa.
| | | | | Passable to natives' ear, horrible to mine | Oct 2, 2017 |
I can hear my Italian accent every time I speak English. I'm really fluent in it, but I do hate my non-native accent and I would honestly trade one of the languages I speak to be mistaken for a native Brit (but non from the Newcastle area, sorry -hahah). A friend of mine told me that my pronunciation improves when I speak slowly, though.
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| Depends who's listening | Oct 2, 2017 |
Some people spot it at a hundred paces, others have to be told. It helps also if they don't see me, since my non-Spanish appearance is a bit of a give-away. I personally hate hearing what to me sounds a very less than perfect accent when I have to be recorded.
Ah, and another thing that distracts people from the faulty accent is speaking the language very well!
| | | | Carla Catolino
Olaszország
Local time: 03:05
Tag (2008 óta)
olasz - angol
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At first people talk to me, but after a few minutes into a conversation they ask me if I am American (I am Canadian and not American but in Italy everything from that side of the ocean in American)! My kids sometimes make fun of me because I have some difficulty in pronouncing certain words! For example, one word wold be "periodo" and this comes out in my Canadian accent....they laugh and try to get me to pronounce it the right way!
| | | | Jack Doughty
Egyesült Királyság
Local time: 02:05
orosz - angol
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Az Ő emlékére: | Opposite problem to Noni's | Oct 2, 2017 |
I am told my accent is very good, and so it should be after spending 35 years listening to it as my main job. But on the other hand, I have only very rarely had occasion to speak it, so I am by no means fluent in speaking it.
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japán
Local time: 10:05
Tag (2011 óta)
japán - angol
People in Tokyo think I'm from Osaka. I can also switch accents, as well.
When I lived in Toyama, somewhere with a heavy accent like in Yorkshire, people thought I was born there.
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What makes an accent "good"? Surely, that's a subjective thing. I mean, I love to hear English spoken with a French accent. In fact, I love to hear all accents.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spanyolország
Local time: 02:05
Tag (2007 óta)
angol
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| 15 years in France didn't do much good for my accent | Oct 2, 2017 |
I was taught French at school by native English speakers. My family visited France very regularly but only for short trips so, although I was well aware of how poor my teachers' accents were, I never picked up a good accent myself. By the time I went to live in France I was 38 years old and it was much too late. My son has an accent that's part Midi and part Breton (where he lives now) and zero English, but mine's still 95% London/Surrey with some Midi tweaks (such as the odd extra syllable).... See more I was taught French at school by native English speakers. My family visited France very regularly but only for short trips so, although I was well aware of how poor my teachers' accents were, I never picked up a good accent myself. By the time I went to live in France I was 38 years old and it was much too late. My son has an accent that's part Midi and part Breton (where he lives now) and zero English, but mine's still 95% London/Surrey with some Midi tweaks (such as the odd extra syllable).
OTOH I started Spanish at 55 and, while I'll never be very fluent, my accent is not supposed to be too bad, due to hearing it spoken mainly by native speakers. It isn't consistent though as I've had teachers from three different regions of mainland Spain and I live in the Canaries, where there's a very different accent and quite a few different words. ▲ Collapse
| | | | R. Alex Jenkins
Brazília
Local time: 22:05
Tag (2006 óta)
portugál - angol
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| For others to decide | Oct 2, 2017 |
I live in the north of Brazil, and people often comment on my accent and ask where I'm from. There's something about the way I look and speak that attracts attention, but that's also because there aren't too many gringos in my neck of the woods, in Belém do Pará.
Normally I'm OK with it, but occasionally someone will say "you've been living here HOW long, and you still have an accent", which I think is pretty rich coming from someone who doesn't even speak half-fluent English, and... See more I live in the north of Brazil, and people often comment on my accent and ask where I'm from. There's something about the way I look and speak that attracts attention, but that's also because there aren't too many gringos in my neck of the woods, in Belém do Pará.
Normally I'm OK with it, but occasionally someone will say "you've been living here HOW long, and you still have an accent", which I think is pretty rich coming from someone who doesn't even speak half-fluent English, and if I'm in a particularly bad mood I'll remind them of how strong the Latin American accent is to the native English ear.
I think I speak really well and very fluently, but I do accept that I have an accent that comes from the throat. It will never change and it's what identifies me as English around the world. My kids think it's great too and will often speak Portuguese with a deeply affected language just to wind me up. It's pretty funny and I laugh along with it.
YO GOS-TA-REE-YA UM CO-PO DAY MARACOO-JAH ▲ Collapse
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