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Because they only know English. Let me explain a bit. I’m a bilingual person, since I’m not living in a English speaking country and I’m 21. They’re saying that

Because they only know English. Let me explain a bit. I’m a bilingual person, since I’m not living in a English speaking country and I’m 21. They’re saying that switching accents are their defend mechanism or coping mechanism with serious situations. Well, when I say this i think I’m talking for most of the bilingual people, our defend mechanism or us “being playful” is adding some English words into the sentence or switching to English. So it is not something to be shocked

xxs 3y ago
>Because they only know English. We don't know that (and the article is quite low on the quality scale expected from Guardian). I speak three languages, and I don't see a reason to mix. Of course, you might be right, but also that's a one trick point. You will be called for being pretentious or just obnoxious.
- trasz4 3y ago
  Sometimes there is a reason to mix, when the word in one language doesn't quite match the meaning you want, but in another it does. Like, for example, in Polish "security" and "safety" are the same word ("bezpieczeństwo"), so it would become weird when you're talking about the difference between them. But I feel like this article is about something else. We don't think in terms of words, we think in terms of phrases, and when we remember those phrases it's not just their literal meaning, but also the context, and this can include the accent they were heard in. In the ideal world we'd just play the sample that we have in the head, but we don't have that yet.
- denton-scratch 3y ago
  > the quality scale expected from Guardian It's taken a tabloid turn (not just in terms of the page format). It's got noticeably worse, even in the last 6 months. It's packed with "listicle" articles ("10 reasons..."), and it's moving rapidly to the right, politically.
- eequah9L 3y ago
  I don't think it's anything "reasonable". Like, OK, there might be objective reasons why you need to clarify which technical term you mean by a word that has multiple meanings in your native language, and use (typically) English to clear it up. But I think most of the time it's just seen as hip, interesting, an extra flavor (flavour?). I do this occasionally -- sprinkle a foreign phrase here and there in my native Czech when I see that it fits and the other party might get it. More if I'm drunk. Some of my friends do it as well, in some social settings a number of jokes could be foreign language references. On the other hand, some people find it infuriating, as you note.
looping8 3y ago
But how exactly do they choose British accent instead of a Canadian one or an Australian one or whatever?
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- Izkata 3y ago
  Personally, I have no idea what makes a Canadian accent, and the only Australian one I can think of is over-exaggerated Steve Irwin. British accents on the other hand are pretty common in TV/movies.
  - denton-scratch 3y ago
    My solitary marker for a Canadian accent: "out" sounds like "boat". B ut I believe even that marker is restricted to central and western Canada. /me a Brit; used to have a Canadian boss (from Ontario).
    - ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
      Me: I watched Titanic the other night. Canadian: What's that about? Me: Yes, a big one and it sank.
      - mbg721 3y ago
        When Canada was founded, it was intended to be "Cnd", but the guy dictating the charter said "It's spelled C, eh? N, eh? D, eh?"
- naravara 3y ago
  A lot of British television is popular on streaming here, and there is very little Australian television. Canadian accents are largely indistinguishable from the generic American "TV accent" aside from a few specific sounds and vocabulary choices. If you go into the Boonies of Canada you hear more distinctive ones, but those are more like regionalisms, you don't hear them as much in the media.
BlackSwanMan 3y ago
[dead]

xxs 3y ago

>Because they only know English. We don't know that (and the article is quite low on the quality scale expected from Guardian). I speak three languages, and I don't see a reason to mix. Of course, you might be right, but also that's a one trick point. You will be called for being pretentious or just obnoxious.

trasz4 3y ago
Sometimes there is a reason to mix, when the word in one language doesn't quite match the meaning you want, but in another it does. Like, for example, in Polish "security" and "safety" are the same word ("bezpieczeństwo"), so it would become weird when you're talking about the difference between them. But I feel like this article is about something else. We don't think in terms of words, we think in terms of phrases, and when we remember those phrases it's not just their literal meaning, but also the context, and this can include the accent they were heard in. In the ideal world we'd just play the sample that we have in the head, but we don't have that yet.
denton-scratch 3y ago
> the quality scale expected from Guardian It's taken a tabloid turn (not just in terms of the page format). It's got noticeably worse, even in the last 6 months. It's packed with "listicle" articles ("10 reasons..."), and it's moving rapidly to the right, politically.
eequah9L 3y ago
I don't think it's anything "reasonable". Like, OK, there might be objective reasons why you need to clarify which technical term you mean by a word that has multiple meanings in your native language, and use (typically) English to clear it up. But I think most of the time it's just seen as hip, interesting, an extra flavor (flavour?). I do this occasionally -- sprinkle a foreign phrase here and there in my native Czech when I see that it fits and the other party might get it. More if I'm drunk. Some of my friends do it as well, in some social settings a number of jokes could be foreign language references. On the other hand, some people find it infuriating, as you note.

looping8 3y ago

But how exactly do they choose British accent instead of a Canadian one or an Australian one or whatever?

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Izkata 3y ago
Personally, I have no idea what makes a Canadian accent, and the only Australian one I can think of is over-exaggerated Steve Irwin. British accents on the other hand are pretty common in TV/movies.
- denton-scratch 3y ago
  My solitary marker for a Canadian accent: "out" sounds like "boat". B ut I believe even that marker is restricted to central and western Canada. /me a Brit; used to have a Canadian boss (from Ontario).
  - ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
    Me: I watched Titanic the other night. Canadian: What's that about? Me: Yes, a big one and it sank.
    - mbg721 3y ago
      When Canada was founded, it was intended to be "Cnd", but the guy dictating the charter said "It's spelled C, eh? N, eh? D, eh?"
naravara 3y ago
A lot of British television is popular on streaming here, and there is very little Australian television. Canadian accents are largely indistinguishable from the generic American "TV accent" aside from a few specific sounds and vocabulary choices. If you go into the Boonies of Canada you hear more distinctive ones, but those are more like regionalisms, you don't hear them as much in the media.

BlackSwanMan 3y ago

[dead]