Growing Like Fingernails

[Nuno]

Re: What a neverending debt.

Btw yuki, this is an example of one of the better accents of Norwegian IMO. Ignore the guy in the duet, I'm talking about the woman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG7Tg16_1Ss

Both have Western Norwegian accents though. And yeah, this sounds really different compared to Eastern (regular) Norwegian. I think Norway is one of the countries with the most diverse accent spread in the world. It has its origin in old times when towns were divided by mountain ranges and had little to no contact. We have accents that sound completely broken, but are only used by a very, very small faction.

 

[yukihime03]

Re: What a neverending debt.

The accent influence factor is actually really interesting. During our mod meet in Belgium, I was seriously influenced by goldb's British and to some extent blai's. I started mixing up my default American accent, mostly because it was fun at first, but after a while I did it automatically, speaking a sort of mix. It was really strange and I was surprised no one mentioned it. However I basically reverted right away after they both left. I can speak both no problem, but since American English is more normal here (although we are taught British English in terms of writing.....) I landed there.

American English is so much more common, huh? It's funny that American accent is mostly the default accent for people who is fluent in English. I really want to be able to talk more in British accent, but people won't be able to understand since it's not that common. (But we're also taught British English for writing here... ) I have a friend whose default accent is British and I sometimes have difficulty understanding her English.

---------- Post added at 09:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 PM ----------

Ah, so then it's sort of a pidgin or creole anyways. Interesting. But I think all languages can be like this. English is sort of a hodgepodge anyways.

LOL, so it's even worse than someone who learns a foreign language elsewhere. My grandfather once told me how some of his service-mates who went to Japan were taught Japanese by a younger woman and when they would go out and try to speak with locals they would laugh and make fun of them because they were all burly men from the Navy, but spoke like a Japanese woman

 

[Nuno]

Re: What a neverending debt.

Was I joking? lol

You think Anax doesn't have an accent? I'd say he is one of the more fluent non-English speakers I know, but I still notice an accent.

Of course you were

To me Anax sounds pretty much like a regular American. Maybe he has gotten better since last you talked, maybe not. I recall he got several comments in Belgium for his fluent American too. I think from Nicole and perhaps Tiff.

 

[phio_chan]

Re: What a neverending debt.

I can be that way on my own, I was just poking fun. But no, I've seen you do the same thing to her and I think it's cute and even admirable.

......

I know people like to treat me like a punching bag, but some people, and I mean SOME people consider me intelligent and well-spoken

Aww, really?

Why? Don't tell me you have Chinese blood too.

Could it be, Dorakun....

You don't?

Nope. Parents didn't give any. I bet you still do?

I actually want to learn to play gamelan but the class was only available for our kouhai in high school.

Hoo, I didn't expect that coming from you.

The accent influence factor is actually really interesting. During our mod meet in Belgium, I was seriously influenced by goldb's British and to some extent blai's. I started mixing up my default American accent, mostly because it was fun at first, but after a while I did it automatically, speaking a sort of mix. It was really strange and I was surprised no one mentioned it. However I basically reverted right away after they both left. I can speak both no problem, but since American English is more normal here (although we are taught British English in terms of writing.....) I landed there.

That's interesting. I'm also easily affected with accent and language. My hometown has their own language and accent, different from where I'm staying for uni now. So when I got home it'd be weird at first, then I'd change my way of speaking, return to uni place, and change again. XD

But other people don't think so. :| Every time I try to correct someone's grammar/pronunciation, they always give me either panic expression or eye-roll.

Neither for me. For me it's.. acceptance. /a halo on her head

 

[yukihime03]

Re: What a neverending debt.

I guess it depends on the time and place. But since you are her friend and do it for the right reasons, hopefully, then yes it has more worth than just annoyance

I think it would be different if you were both native English speakers and insisted on correcting her English.

Panic expression?

Yes. Because I tend to have this auto-correct mode when listening to my friends' presentation. Because we're in English major, of course we have to speak English all the time in class. But then, some of my friends is still bad in pronunciation. I get annoyed easily when I recognize a mistake in pronunciation so I will unconsciously say the correct pronunciation right there and then (I swear I'm not consciously doing it, I just blurt it out without thinking). Because my friends are in the middle of presenting, of course they get panic.

Those exist too. It's odd. I still think if there are enough years there can be at least some notable difference though.

Amazing, huh? I have a friend like that. We came from the same city, moved to this place at the same time, and spent the same amount of time living here (5 years), but I started to talk in local accent just in three months and until now, she's still talking in our birthplace's accent.

 

[Nuno]

Re: What a neverending debt.

I am more amazed at people whose accent will never change no matter where they are and how great the influences around them.

This is so incredible, I agree. I don't understand how you live in a country for 20 years and still sound like a broken record. Every time I am in Portugal, I work on perfecting my accent to sound exactly like a Portuguese. I pretty much think I sound completely normal, but I bet a Portuguese can pick up a wrong tone here and there. But in general I hate sounding too "unskilled" in speaking a language, and thus work on my speech a lot when I find new challenges. If I notice that a word I spoke in e.g. Portuguese sounded out of the ordinary, I will reflect and practice on it until I make it click.

American English is so much more common, huh? It's funny that American accent is mostly the default accent for people who is fluent in English. I really want to be able to talk more in British accent, but people won't be able to understand since it's not that common. (But we're also taught British English for writing here... ) I have a friend whose default accent is British and I sometimes have difficulty understanding her English.

Weird, huh? I recall my English teacher in Junior High spoke American English, and was nagging at me for mixing the two up when I was writing. I felt like she was being unfairly strict with me and giving me lower grades (4/6) than I deserved when I was better than anyone in my class at actually talking and understanding English. Then I decided to blow her mind when we had a Shakespeare roleplay (Hamlet) and pull off a nearly perfect British accent. After that she only gave me top grades... luls.

 

[yukihime03]

Re: What a neverending debt.

Btw yuki, this is an example of one of the better accents of Norwegian IMO. Ignore the guy in the duet, I'm talking about the woman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG7Tg16_1Ss

Both have Western Norwegian accents though. And yeah, this sounds really different compared to Eastern (regular) Norwegian. I think Norway is one of the countries with the most diverse accent spread in the world. It has its origin in old times when towns were divided by mountain ranges and had little to no contact. We have accents that sound completely broken, but are only used by a very, very small faction.

Oh? Sissel Kyrkjebø? I know her. I actually like to listen to one of her songs: Lær Meg Å Kjenne, and I've learned how to sing it.

 

[xi0]

Re: What a neverending debt.

Of course you were

To me Anax sounds pretty much like a regular American. Maybe he has gotten better since last you talked, maybe not. I recall he got several comments in Belgium for his fluent American too. I think from Nicole and perhaps Tiff.

I merely meant that I can tell he isn't American. Maybe not at first listen, but I can tell. Maybe because I'm American, I don't know. I actually know a Greek girl who's exactly the same way.

......



Aww, really?

Your friend is trying to save you the embarrassment and you facepalm here...pssh . Sort of reminds me of people who wish to improve their English by talking with me and then get annoyed when I correct them because something is wrong or sounds funny to my ears ...ungrateful




That was funny...nice one

 

[Doraku]

Re: What a neverending debt.

I know people like to treat me like a punching bag, but some people, and I mean SOME people consider me intelligent and well-spoken

English and Spanish. But they can't be compared really, I would take some time to get my bearings if I was dropped in Madrid and had to fend for myself

You? Intelligent and well-spoken?

On a serious note, I have to agree that actually you're really smart and well-spoken, but I assume that people are more familiar with your funny persona.

I see, I think it is important to learn Spanish especially in the US. I wonder is that true that the majority of American who is interested in learning another language is declining because they speak English?

LOL, so it's even worse than someone who learns a foreign language elsewhere. My grandfather once told me how some of his service-mates who went to Japan were taught Japanese by a younger woman and when they would go out and try to speak with locals they would laugh and make fun of them because they were all burly men from the Navy, but spoke like a Japanese woman

No, not really. Japanese is heavy with nuances, and the way you address yourself is very important. Bahasa, on the other hand, does not really similar to Japanese in terms of making differentiation between a "man" language and a "woman" language. The problem with Bahasa is quite difficult to be taught to foreigners is because we do not consciously learn the grammar and most daily use of this language is heavily influenced by slang words. You may be able to speak formal Bahasa, but that sounds really, really weird, since even the state officials do not stick to rigid Bahasa grammar when they are speaking in front of public.

 

[xi0]

Re: What a neverending debt.

Yes. Because I tend to have this auto-correct mode when listening to my friends' presentation. Because we're in English major, of course we have to speak English all the time in class. But then, some of my friends is still bad in pronunciation. I get annoyed easily when I recognize a mistake in pronunciation so I will unconsciously say the correct pronunciation right there and then (I swear I'm not consciously doing it, I just blurt it out without thinking). Because my friends are in the middle of presenting, of course they get panic.

LOL, you do it while they're in front of class? Oh geez...

Amazing, huh? I have a friend like that. We came from the same city, moved to this place at the same time, and spent the same amount of time living here (5 years), but I started to talk in local accent just in three months and until now, she's still talking in our birthplace's accent.

Maybe because you made a conscious effort? Maybe your unconscious effort sufficed

 

[yukihime03]

Re: What a neverending debt.

......

Nope. Parents didn't give any. I bet you still do?

I do have it. Liu Ki Ye, if I'm not mistaken. I only know how pronounce my Mandarin name, but not how to write it.

Hoo, I didn't expect that coming from you.

Really? I do like traditional musical instruments.

That's interesting. I'm also easily affected with accent and language. My hometown has their own language and accent, different from where I'm staying for uni now. So when I got home it'd be weird at first, then I'd change my way of speaking, return to uni place, and change again. XD

I used to be able to change accent twice in a day.

Neither for me. For me it's.. acceptance. /a halo on her head

acceptance? Hah. more like eye-roll.

 

[Nuno]

Re: What a neverending debt.

Oh? Sissel Kyrkjebø? I know her. I actually like to listen to one of her songs: Lær Meg Å Kjenne, and I've learned how to sing it.

I'm not shocked, but this is surprising. How well do you think you sing it?

 

[yukihime03]

Re: What a neverending debt.

This is so incredible, I agree. I don't understand how you live in a country for 20 years and still sound like a broken record. Every time I am in Portugal, I work on perfecting my accent to sound exactly like a Portuguese. I pretty much think I sound completely normal, but I bet a Portuguese can pick up a wrong tone here and there. But in general I hate sounding too "unskilled" in speaking a language, and thus work on my speech a lot when I find new challenges. If I notice that a word I spoke in e.g. Portuguese sounded out of the ordinary, I will reflect and practice on it until I make it click.

For me, I sound very much like an American when I'm speaking here. But when I go to Singapore, my English turns bad. Dunno why.

Weird, huh? I recall my English teacher in Junior High spoke American English, and was nagging at me for mixing the two up when I was writing. I felt like she was being unfairly strict with me and giving me lower grades (4/6) than I deserved when I was better than anyone in my class at actually talking and understanding English. Then I decided to blow her mind when we had a Shakespeare roleplay (Hamlet) and pull off a nearly perfect British accent. After that she only gave me top grades... luls.

LOL~ When I'm talking to my lecturers here, I use American accent because some of them are real American and the rest also talks in American accent. Only when I'm fooling around or as in your case, practicing a play, that I use other accents. Mostly British or Italian. As for writing, I tend to use British since that's the one I've been taught since I was a kid, except when I'm writing for my lecturers.

---------- Post added at 09:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:25 PM ----------

Your friend is trying to save you the embarrassment and you facepalm here...pssh . Sort of reminds me of people who wish to improve their English by talking with me and then get annoyed when I correct them because something is wrong or sounds funny to my ears ...ungrateful

You understand my feeling!
Listen to him, phio!

 

[xi0]

Re: What a neverending debt.

You? Intelligent and well-spoken?

On a serious note, I have to agree that actually you're really smart and well-spoken, but I assume that people are more familiar with your funny persona.

I see, I think it is important to learn Spanish especially in the US. I wonder is that true that the majority of American who is interested in learning another language is declining because they speak English?

You know, I'm don't really consider myself the type to respond favorably to insults from someone after their heart ...............

I'm not going to try to make sense of it. I'll just chalk it up to being cool enough to be treated like this way. Remember, something can't be offensive if it's funny

We had a choice in Middle School between French and Spanish. I think some places offered more. Then in highschool it expanded to German, Latin, and Japanese. But I went to public school, some private schools might offer more.

I don't know if it's declining, it's required for at least a few years in the schools I went to. But the necessity to learn different languages here isn't high compared to other places in the world.

No, not really. Japanese is heavy with nuances, and the way you address yourself is very important. Bahasa, on the other hand, does not really similar to Japanese in terms of making differentiation between a "man" language and a "woman" language. The problem with Bahasa is quite difficult to be taught to foreigners is because we do not consciously learn the grammar and most daily use of this language is heavily influenced by slang words. You may be able to speak formal Bahasa, but that sounds really, really weird, since even the state officials do not stick to rigid Bahasa grammar when they are speaking in front of public.

I wasn't intending to compare the two, but interesting to know.

But it's true that slang can get in the way of any foreigner understanding a different language. I've heard the same thing for native-Spanish speakers I've talked to. But it sounds like it's even more so with Bahasa.

 

[phio_chan]

Re: What a neverending debt.

Weird, huh? I recall my English teacher in Junior High spoke American English, and was nagging at me for mixing the two up when I was writing. I felt like she was being unfairly strict with me and giving me lower grades (4/6) than I deserved when I was better than anyone in my class at actually talking and understanding English. Then I decided to blow her mind when we had a Shakespeare roleplay (Hamlet) and pull off a nearly perfect British accent. After that she only gave me top grades... luls.

Hee~ I'm glad none of my English class had some kind of performance like that, I can't be bothered with the accent.

But my organization has a regular English Club session, and last time we did "British Club" instead. Talking in British accent is so strange and kinda hard. :P

Your friend is trying to save you the embarrassment and you facepalm here...pssh . Sort of reminds me of people who wish to improve their English by talking with me and then get annoyed when I correct them because something is wrong or sounds funny to my ears ...ungrateful

Huh? What? It's not that I'm not grateful. Just your choice of words...

You? Intelligent and well-spoken?

On a serious note, I have to agree that actually you're really smart and well-spoken, but I assume that people are more familiar with your funny persona.

MUAHAHAHA. I agree.

No, not really. Japanese is heavy with nuances, and the way you address yourself is very important. Bahasa, on the other hand, does not really similar to Japanese in terms of making differentiation between a "man" language and a "woman" language. The problem with Bahasa is quite difficult to be taught to foreigners is because we do not consciously learn the grammar and most daily use of this language is heavily influenced by slang words. You may be able to speak formal Bahasa, but that sounds really, really weird, since even the state officials do not stick to rigid Bahasa grammar when they are speaking in front of public.

Exactly. Even hard for them to interact with us as well because we are not used to the formal Bahasa, thus hard to give proper reply to help them studying. Instead we teach them informal Bahasa, haha~

What?

I do have it. Liu Ki Ye, if I'm not mistaken. I only know how pronounce my Mandarin name, but not how to write it.

Nice. The meaning?

acceptance? Hah. more like eye-roll.

No, it is not. It's truly a halo.

 

[xi0]

Re: What a neverending debt.

You understand my feeling!
Listen to him, phio!

Oh my god...I can die happy now

phio, your friend is looking out for you. Be a better friend

---------- Post added at 09:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:29 AM ----------

Huh? What? It's not that I'm not grateful. Just your choice of words...

You don't think she's cute or admirable?

You're a monster in an angel's disguise

 

[yukihime03]

Re: What a neverending debt.

LOL, you do it while they're in front of class? Oh geez...

Yeah. Not only in class though. Every time I hear a mispronounce (except when I'm dead tired and don't give a damn about pronunciation). That's why my friends say it's auto-correct. I do it unconsciously.

Maybe because you made a conscious effort? Maybe your unconscious effort sufficed

I don't know. It's not only that I can speak its accent, but I'm also fluent with the language. Just in three months.

 

[Nuno]

Re: What a neverending debt.

Oh my god...I can die happy now

phio, your friend is looking out for you. Be a better friend

---------- Post added at 09:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:29 AM ----------

You don't think she's cute or admirable?

You're a monster in an angel's disguise

Oh no, it's happening again!!

 

[phio_chan]

Re: What a neverending debt.

Oh my god...I can die happy now

phio, your friend is looking out for you. Be a better friend

Okay, okay. [SIZEPT=1]I don't believe that's what she meant but anyway... teehee~[/SIZEPT]

You don't think she's cute or admirable?

You're a monster in an angel's disguise

Um, no. I think she was cute when we blew that small little ant at the edge of paper together, but I've seen her other deeds.

Probably. But if I am one, this dear friend of mine is definitely one as well.

---------- Post added at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:32 PM ----------

Oh no, it's happening again!!

What?

 

[xi0]

Re: What a neverending debt.

Yeah. Not only in class though. Every time I hear a mispronounce (except when I'm dead tired and don't give a damn about pronunciation). That's why my friends say it's auto-correct. I do it unconsciously.

I think if you worked on not doing it in class people would be more appreciative

I don't know. It's not only that I can speak its accent, but I'm also fluent with the language. Just in three months.

You're better at it than her I guess? You applied yourself in that regard, you made it matter to you *shrugs*