So true , many people laughed from my accent yet they don't know I speak 7 languages, and they speak only one . If you don't speak a second language at least , you don't know nothing about your own language.
If someone says "I'm sorry" because they're struggling to find the right words I always say "It's OK, your English is much better than my (insert language here).
Idk, I saw about 5 minutes of Swamp People and I don't think they know any other language. Just broken English. It's so bad they needed to subtitle it.
that Americans have a "special need" to be remind of this is pathetic
in a European English-speaking country, no matter how thick your accent is, they know you could be a nuclear physicist whose native language happens not to be English
That was my experience when I moved to Australia, many moons ago. I encountered a lot of skepticism about my professional (medical-physics) knowledge/skills as my English was very basic and my accent strong. Never mind I spoke fluent Portuguese, French and German. BTW the accent is still strong
heh I actually teach pronunciation to Mexican immigrants specifically because of this issue, I'm better at this than most things because I'm passionate about it
I've joked that the "short i sound" is worth $3 an hour more ("finished" vs "feeneeshed" when being asked in a restaurant)
wow. I had an eye-opening experience when I was in the Netherlands just witnessing the way Dutch people treated Indonesian and other (non-white) people, like my brain was channeling, "they could be much more educated than you but speak with an accent"
Very true. I once met someone who only spoke broken French, same as me, but we tried to get along in broken Italian and broken Spanish. The person spoke three other languages fluently, just not the ones I spoke. 😂
This was me when I arrived in Australia many moons ago … I couldn’t possibly know physics because of my strong English accent. Never mind I was fluent in Portuguese, French and German. By the way, the accent is still here … will always be.
Same here! I am French, living in UK. I have come across so many people who do not speak other languages & do not understand why I still have an accent! :)
This is SO true. Americans need to get off their high horse. People who speak more than one language tend to be more intelligent, for obvious reasons. If I ever heard someone berating another person for their bad English I'd ask them what other languages THEY could speak. Guaranteed shut down.
True that!
One that I really don’t understand-
When people place a pronoun after the subject:
My sister she is a veteran. It’s like saying my sister my sister is a veteran- tv shows, newscasters …
I don’t get it!
What do you call someone who know knows three language languages?
Trilingual.
What do you call someone who knows two languages?
Bilingual.
What do you call someone who knows only one language?
American.
Yes! Thank you!! Too many Anglophones are unaware that they are among the least bilingual. I come from an area with a francophone majority. When a group of us meet, we speak french. As soon as an anglophone arrives, the language switches to english to accommodate them. And if we don’t…
We are accused of being disrespectful. The opposite is also true. I appreciate when anglos make the effort to speak french so I do not tolerate anyone who would mock them
As an American visiting Paris this week, speaking very basic French, I appreciate this. People have generally been kind and patient with us (my husband and I). We’ve had a wonderful visit. ❤️
While in a line at the grocery store (you know “groceries the word Trump came up with….) I asked a woman criticizing another women in line for her broken English how many languages could she speak because the ridiculed woman could speak at least two which is impressive. She shut up immediately.
that is awesome - I grew up in a home with someone who spoke English as a second language so accents usually don't get in the way of me understanding the ESL speaker - but - I never looked at it like that -
Sometimes I wonder if "clear international English" should be taught in schools in the English speaking world. The ability to make yourself consistently understandable to a B1 learner of your language is a really useful life skill
Comments
in a European English-speaking country, no matter how thick your accent is, they know you could be a nuclear physicist whose native language happens not to be English
Americans are especially ignorant in this way
I've joked that the "short i sound" is worth $3 an hour more ("finished" vs "feeneeshed" when being asked in a restaurant)
🙏
the most mutually-respectful people I have ever been around are the Thai people (not necessarily Bangkok but everywhere else)
immediate reflection on how opposite it is here
No truer words ever spoken.
One that I really don’t understand-
When people place a pronoun after the subject:
My sister she is a veteran. It’s like saying my sister my sister is a veteran- tv shows, newscasters …
I don’t get it!
Grazie💙
Obrigada💙Agradecida💙
Merci💙🤗💙
Trilingual.
What do you call someone who knows two languages?
Bilingual.
What do you call someone who knows only one language?
American.
and felt envy.