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I notice that when I speak to Japanese people (I live in Tokyo) that I subconsciously simplify and slow down my English, and even occasionally imitate their Eng
by presentation 5y ago
I notice that when I speak to Japanese people (I live in Tokyo) that I subconsciously simplify and slow down my English, and even occasionally imitate their English errors; but when I speak with other native English speakers I naturally pull out loads of slang and speed up significantly. I also notice that my friends don’t always do that naturally, and so my Japanese friends confide that they didn’t understand much of what my friends were saying. I wonder if I’m more attuned to that since my own parents weren’t native, 100% fluent English speakers (I definitely dumbed things down for them, too).
- bluGill 5y agoI most noticed this when it didn't. I met a Swedish girl traveling in the US, and it turned out we were going the same way so I gave her a ride. She seemed perfectly fluent so I didn't think of simplifying my speech and used an unusual word which confused her.