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If you're in, say, Japan, where most people know a bit of English, it's important to be able to break yours so they understand you better. Even more so, being a

If you're in, say, Japan, where most people know a bit of English, it's important to be able to break yours so they understand you better. Even more so, being able to speak broken Japan-flavored English would be perfect if your goal is to convey a simple message by any means. Most tourists don't realize accent and pronunciation could make a word unrecognizable to non native speakers.

sebmellen 5y ago
To give an example of the difference: "Robot" in standard middle American would probably yield a confused stare. "Roboto" pronounced like an overly effusive Italian would most likely be understood.
- eatonphil 5y ago
  That was my experience too. I got into a taxi with my wife and I tried to make sure he took credit card. I asked "credit card" in as clear English I could. The driver was confused. Tried again. My wife asked "curedito cado" and he said yes immediately. (Caveat, wife is Korean but Korean transliteration of credit card is not that same as Japanese.) I thought people would understand clear, slow English (I assumed after school they'd most pick up from American/British movies?) but I guess after a while they only hear the local transliterated version of words. Or only remember that version? I don't know.
  - YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
    Nothing to do with Japan and Japanese, but in my experience the way that consontants sound in most English accents makes them hard to identify correctly for most non-native English speakers. And the same goes for French also - except in French the vowels also are weird. But now that I think of it, actually, so do the English vowels. "eoouhw" for "o"? What? Other European languages have idiosyncratic pronounciations of consonants, and Danish in particular is unpronounceable and undecipherable by anyone but the Danish (Source: my friend learns Danish and says the Danish have telepathy, which is apparently a standard joke in other Scandinavian countries with languages derived from Old Norse. Also :P). What makes English consonants sound weird to my Greek ears is the way they are always a bit... airy? An "r" is an "aahh'r". An "s" is an "ehssss". A "d" is a "dheeh". And so on. In Spanish, "r" is "RRRR", "s" is "SS" and "d" is "D'". And so it is in Greek and in Italian also. And in most Balkan or slavic languages, etc. The Germans say "krchhh'" when they want to say "r" but OK, it's German, they don't mean you no harm. The French say "erggh'", I guess, I can't really do it justice in writing. But try imagining how it is to be a native of a non-Indoeuropean language and trying to understand the airy consontants and drawn-out vowels of English. Hell. Or, well... 'eohll. Speaking of the French, guys, I speak French since I was 2 and I also speak English. I assure you, they are not supposed to sound the same. Please believe me. (big :p in this comment, OK?)
    - bonoboTP 5y ago
      Yes English has this round, airy, flowy, smeared out, rolled-together pronunciation, most vowels are diphtongs, they are not constant but take an "arc" when pronounced. Consonants are often aspirated as well,or dropped or reduced. Many other languages are much more straightforward.

sebmellen 5y ago

To give an example of the difference: "Robot" in standard middle American would probably yield a confused stare. "Roboto" pronounced like an overly effusive Italian would most likely be understood.

eatonphil 5y ago
That was my experience too. I got into a taxi with my wife and I tried to make sure he took credit card. I asked "credit card" in as clear English I could. The driver was confused. Tried again. My wife asked "curedito cado" and he said yes immediately. (Caveat, wife is Korean but Korean transliteration of credit card is not that same as Japanese.) I thought people would understand clear, slow English (I assumed after school they'd most pick up from American/British movies?) but I guess after a while they only hear the local transliterated version of words. Or only remember that version? I don't know.
- YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
  Nothing to do with Japan and Japanese, but in my experience the way that consontants sound in most English accents makes them hard to identify correctly for most non-native English speakers. And the same goes for French also - except in French the vowels also are weird. But now that I think of it, actually, so do the English vowels. "eoouhw" for "o"? What? Other European languages have idiosyncratic pronounciations of consonants, and Danish in particular is unpronounceable and undecipherable by anyone but the Danish (Source: my friend learns Danish and says the Danish have telepathy, which is apparently a standard joke in other Scandinavian countries with languages derived from Old Norse. Also :P). What makes English consonants sound weird to my Greek ears is the way they are always a bit... airy? An "r" is an "aahh'r". An "s" is an "ehssss". A "d" is a "dheeh". And so on. In Spanish, "r" is "RRRR", "s" is "SS" and "d" is "D'". And so it is in Greek and in Italian also. And in most Balkan or slavic languages, etc. The Germans say "krchhh'" when they want to say "r" but OK, it's German, they don't mean you no harm. The French say "erggh'", I guess, I can't really do it justice in writing. But try imagining how it is to be a native of a non-Indoeuropean language and trying to understand the airy consontants and drawn-out vowels of English. Hell. Or, well... 'eohll. Speaking of the French, guys, I speak French since I was 2 and I also speak English. I assure you, they are not supposed to sound the same. Please believe me. (big :p in this comment, OK?)
  - bonoboTP 5y ago
    Yes English has this round, airy, flowy, smeared out, rolled-together pronunciation, most vowels are diphtongs, they are not constant but take an "arc" when pronounced. Consonants are often aspirated as well,or dropped or reduced. Many other languages are much more straightforward.