4 ms·

I have no problem with non-American accents, but I find hers to be awful (incidentally, I also can't stand Charlie Boorman's). I don't care if you dislike my a

I have no problem with non-American accents, but I find hers to be awful (incidentally, I also can't stand Charlie Boorman's). I don't care if you dislike my accent, either, as they're an acquired taste.

foldr 16y ago
If you really think that some accents are "awful" (whatever that means), I suppose you're entitled to your opinion, but it's rude to express that opinion. People don't have much control over their accents.
- georgieporgie 16y ago
  > but it's rude to express that opinion. That's your opinion, which I find quite rude. > People don't have much control over their accents. Er, people have complete control over their accents. It's not a disability, or a skin color unfavored by popular culture. It's a manner of speech. And it's often cultivated.
  - foldr 16y ago
    >Er, people have complete control over their accents No, they don't. Some people can imitate accents which they don't speak natively, but many people can't do this well at all. E.g., how many Americans can do a good impression of a British accent? Not many. If you've ever tried to do an accurate impression of an accent that you don't speak natively, you'll know this. Also, it's quite unlikely that the woman's accent is cultivated. It's a pretty ordinary English accent. For this reason, saying that you don't like someone's accent is roughly as rude as saying that you don't like some other quasi-permanent-but-pretty-much-insignificant part of them. You can express your opinion if you want, but it's rude and insulting to do so.
    - georgieporgie 16y ago
      > Some people can imitate accents which they don't speak natively, but many people can't do this well at all. E.g., how many Americans can do a good impression of a British accent? You're confusing "can't" with "not willing to commit the time." Accents are like learning a language -- if you want to rid yourself of an accent, you can. But most people don't. > You can express your opinion if you want, but it's rude and insulting to do so. Look, I'm sorry that you're personally offended by my comment that I can't tell if her speech is due to an accent or a speech impediment, but that's your own problem. There was no value judgment in my initial statement whatsoever, you projected it.
      - foldr 16y ago
        >Accents are like learning a language -- if you want to rid yourself of an accent, you can. No, that's false. People who learn a language past the age of ~13 never achieve native-like phonological competence. (I.e., they always have a "foreign accent", to some extent.) It's also pretty absurd to suggest that people ought to invest large amounts of time attempting to switch from one English accent to another, just because some people are accent snobs. >Look, I'm sorry that you're personally offended by my comment that I can't tell if her speech is due to an accent or a speech impediment, but that's your own problem No need to apologize, I was just pointing out that it's offensive. You can then consider whether or not you want to cause needless offense when you make similar comments in future. Depending on who you choose to offend, it may or may not become your problem as well as their problem.
        georgieporgie 16y ago
        > People who learn a language past the age of ~13 never achieve native-like phonological competence. You're just making up tautologies. You'll find that people over the age of "~13" are not forced by their surroundings to commit 100% to learning a language. You'll also find differences between individuals. > It's also pretty absurd to suggest that people ought to invest large amounts of time attempting to switch from one English accent to another Never said ought, please stop putting words in my mouth. > No need to apologize, I was just pointing out that it's offensive Note that I wasn't apologizing for offending you, rather I was feeling sorry for you that you find offense in a statement which had no judgment in it.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]

foldr 16y ago

If you really think that some accents are "awful" (whatever that means), I suppose you're entitled to your opinion, but it's rude to express that opinion. People don't have much control over their accents.

georgieporgie 16y ago
> but it's rude to express that opinion. That's your opinion, which I find quite rude. > People don't have much control over their accents. Er, people have complete control over their accents. It's not a disability, or a skin color unfavored by popular culture. It's a manner of speech. And it's often cultivated.
- foldr 16y ago
  >Er, people have complete control over their accents No, they don't. Some people can imitate accents which they don't speak natively, but many people can't do this well at all. E.g., how many Americans can do a good impression of a British accent? Not many. If you've ever tried to do an accurate impression of an accent that you don't speak natively, you'll know this. Also, it's quite unlikely that the woman's accent is cultivated. It's a pretty ordinary English accent. For this reason, saying that you don't like someone's accent is roughly as rude as saying that you don't like some other quasi-permanent-but-pretty-much-insignificant part of them. You can express your opinion if you want, but it's rude and insulting to do so.
  - georgieporgie 16y ago
    > Some people can imitate accents which they don't speak natively, but many people can't do this well at all. E.g., how many Americans can do a good impression of a British accent? You're confusing "can't" with "not willing to commit the time." Accents are like learning a language -- if you want to rid yourself of an accent, you can. But most people don't. > You can express your opinion if you want, but it's rude and insulting to do so. Look, I'm sorry that you're personally offended by my comment that I can't tell if her speech is due to an accent or a speech impediment, but that's your own problem. There was no value judgment in my initial statement whatsoever, you projected it.
    - foldr 16y ago
      >Accents are like learning a language -- if you want to rid yourself of an accent, you can. No, that's false. People who learn a language past the age of ~13 never achieve native-like phonological competence. (I.e., they always have a "foreign accent", to some extent.) It's also pretty absurd to suggest that people ought to invest large amounts of time attempting to switch from one English accent to another, just because some people are accent snobs. >Look, I'm sorry that you're personally offended by my comment that I can't tell if her speech is due to an accent or a speech impediment, but that's your own problem No need to apologize, I was just pointing out that it's offensive. You can then consider whether or not you want to cause needless offense when you make similar comments in future. Depending on who you choose to offend, it may or may not become your problem as well as their problem.
      - georgieporgie 16y ago
        > People who learn a language past the age of ~13 never achieve native-like phonological competence. You're just making up tautologies. You'll find that people over the age of "~13" are not forced by their surroundings to commit 100% to learning a language. You'll also find differences between individuals. > It's also pretty absurd to suggest that people ought to invest large amounts of time attempting to switch from one English accent to another Never said ought, please stop putting words in my mouth. > No need to apologize, I was just pointing out that it's offensive Note that I wasn't apologizing for offending you, rather I was feeling sorry for you that you find offense in a statement which had no judgment in it.
- deleted 16y ago
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