4 ms·
And natives still laugh when I pronounce a word wrong between the million others I say
by aledalgrande 6y ago
And natives still laugh when I pronounce a word wrong between the million others I say
- anderspitman 6y agoDo you feel like they're laughing in mockery to make you feel bad, or just because it sounds funny and they actually want to laugh with you and not just at you? I was in Sweden for the first time last year. Besides learning the proper pronunciation of my given name ("Ahndairsh" with a slightly hard "sh"), at one point I noticed the words "Hej hej" written on a bunch of things. I asked them what "hedge hedge" means, and they had a good laugh teasing me about it (it's pronounced "hey hey", and seems to mean about the same thing as the English). I laughed with them and it was actually a bonding experience with my new friends.
- aledalgrande 6y agoIt doesn't really matter why, as you always feel you are the "different" one, especially in professional environments.
- maest 6y agoThere's a small category of words, at least in British English, that act as a fairly effective shibboleth when it comes to identify non-native speakers. Usually names for places, but not only: Glouchester, Worcester, Worcestershire, leftenant etc
- pge 6y agoLots of place names in US that reveal not just non-native speakers but also native speakers that aren’t locals. Some that come to mind: Worcester, MA; Wilkes-Barre, PA; Versailles, KY; New Berlin, PA; and many others.
- egypturnash 6y agoHow you pronounce “New Orleans” can show not only whether or not you are a local, but which part of town you are from, and how old you are. I can think of at least four or five ways.
- axaxs 6y agoSame for Louisville, generally speaking. FWIW, I'm a 'lulvul' guy.
- 082349872349872 6y agoknowing which part of town you are from means I no longer have to ask where you went to school, but there's still more to know, like: What was your mama's name? Can you make a roux? (more seriously, New Orleans falls under my list of "civilised" places, because Carnaval/Fasnacht is still a thing there)
- olalonde 6y agoI'm a native French speaker and I never know how I'm supposed to pronounce French words and expressions used in English (e.g. Versailles, bon appétit, déjà vu, etc.).
- mikelward 6y agoDid you mean Gloucester and lieutenant?
- Koshkin 6y agoNatives, on the other hand, tend to misspell (like you did ‘lieutenant’).
- andrewshadura 6y agoWell, TIL, but apparently leftenant used to be an acceptable spelling a century ago.