-What is your native language?
Greek
-What sounds represent English to you?
The 'a' as in 'take', the '-ing', the 'nd' as in 'wonder' and the 'nt' as in... 'can't'
-If you had to create a gibberish sentance to represent English, what would it be?
"Do portraining flakesorts enrave the bongos?"
-Do you think English is pretty, ugly, somewhere in the middle?
Somewhere in the middle. There are several languages I find prettier than English (French, German, Italian, japanese among these), but you can do worse (Danish for example - no offense!)
-How hard was English to learn?
Reading/writing was rather easy (learnt by reading books - mostly bad fantasy and D&D rulebooks. Too bad 'thee's, 'thou's are out of fashion). Speaking/hearing was harder, especially since no two teachers shared the same accent or idioms.
-Do we speak quickly or slowly compared to your own language?
Slowly
-Is English grammar (not spelling) intuitive to you?
If by intuitive you mean applying the rules without conscious thought, then yes. I've generally found german grammar more intuitive however, seeing it has quite a lot in common with older (now obsolete) forms of the greek language.
-What language does English sound closest to?
I'm not sure I can say. It's rather obvious it shares its roots with german and latin, but they are sufficiently different to tell apart.
-Do you like English?
I can't say I dislike it - we have a symbiotic relationship. I often find myself thinking in English (there are subjects where it just feels natural - programming and D&D for example), and I would feel crippled without English knowledge (what, no gamedev?!)
-What dialects/accents of English have you been exposed to?
American, Australian and several British accents. (When someone non-native speaker talks about the 'british' accent, they probably refer to the formal accent used by politicians).
-Are you able to distinguish between the different dialects/accents? Would you answer any of these questions differently for different accents or dialects? If so, please do so.
Yes and yes. We actually had a british teacher who could mimic different accents, and he was quite good too. During a lesson, this teacher would οφτεν change accents and it always took us by surprise! For a few minutes we wouldn't understand a word, and then we would slowly start to understand what he was talking about (he used a lot of idioms, too) - unless he went into Welsh territory that is (which as far as I'm concerned doesn't sound like English - or any other language - at all).
-Do you consider American English a different dialect from International, or are the accents and spelling just different?
I've always thought it's all about accents and spelling.
What does English sound like?
Quote:Original post by ThermodynamicsQuote:Original post by MaegaQuote:Original post by stake
Somewhat related to the post is the lati-fication of english. I wonder how this sounds to romance speaks. If you don't know what this means...basically traditionally students were taught a classical education with latin and greek as core subjects. Therefore traditionally in english the more technical or academically oriented text use much more words with latin roots compared to german roots. This is very prevalent in research and research papers. So to speak with latin terms sounds more educated in english. I wonder how many non native speakers recoginize this.
An example:
german root: the point was about 5 high
latin root: the measurement had an amplitude of approximately 5
That's being wordy for the sake of being wordy. The first sentence gets the message across fine.
I am inclined to disagree.
I tend to unconsciously bend my speech depending on the situation. Sometime longer words are more appropriate. Such language give a more exact meaning when it is required. Such as the difference between feeling sad and feeling remorseful. If a kid asked, I would tell them I was sad. If a judge asked, I would say I was remorseful.
My speech also reflects the dialect of who is speaking to me. I am decent with mid-western, Yooper, southern, and some east coast, but I have not had much experience with the west coast.
Sad and remorseful do not mean the same thing. Sad is just sad. Remorseful means you are sorry you did something.
In his example, the two sentences mean the same, only the second one is longer.
-What is your native language?
Finnish
-What sounds represent English to you?
th as in three
-If you had to create a gibberish sentance to represent English, what would it be?
If juu häd tu krieit ä tsibberish sentens tu ripresent inglish, wad wud it bi ?
-Do you think English is pretty, ugly, somewhere in the middle?
sounds fine to me :) but it is quite far from my language
-How hard was English to learn?
not hard at all, we hear it every day in TV :)
-Do we speak quickly or slowly compared to your own language?
I guess everybody can speak their language quite fast :)
-Is English grammar (not spelling) intuitive to you?
Doesn't matter ... I don't think speaking as terms of grammar.
-What language does English sound closest to?
No idea.
-Do you like English?
Yes
-What dialects/accents of English have you been exposed to?
Australian, British, US, Canadian, New Zealand, Finglish ... practically every different way of speaking English :)
-Are you able to distinguish between the different dialects/accents? Would you answer any of these questions differently for different accents or dialects? If so, please do so.
Yes
-Do you consider American English a different dialect from International, or are the accents and spelling just different?
Never thought about it.
Cheers mate !
Finnish
-What sounds represent English to you?
th as in three
-If you had to create a gibberish sentance to represent English, what would it be?
If juu häd tu krieit ä tsibberish sentens tu ripresent inglish, wad wud it bi ?
-Do you think English is pretty, ugly, somewhere in the middle?
sounds fine to me :) but it is quite far from my language
-How hard was English to learn?
not hard at all, we hear it every day in TV :)
-Do we speak quickly or slowly compared to your own language?
I guess everybody can speak their language quite fast :)
-Is English grammar (not spelling) intuitive to you?
Doesn't matter ... I don't think speaking as terms of grammar.
-What language does English sound closest to?
No idea.
-Do you like English?
Yes
-What dialects/accents of English have you been exposed to?
Australian, British, US, Canadian, New Zealand, Finglish ... practically every different way of speaking English :)
-Are you able to distinguish between the different dialects/accents? Would you answer any of these questions differently for different accents or dialects? If so, please do so.
Yes
-Do you consider American English a different dialect from International, or are the accents and spelling just different?
Never thought about it.
Cheers mate !
Quote:Original post by Fiddler
unless he went into Welsh territory that is (which as far as I'm concerned doesn't sound like English - or any other language - at all).
Well, if he was actually speaking Welsh, I can see why that wouldn't sound anything like English, because it's well, not. I don't find the Welsh accent hard to understand, though that maybe because I'm Welsh myself (minus any significant accent however).
Quote:Original post by DrakkconQuote:
And letters like 'W'or 'H'. What sounds are they supposed to represent anyway?
The "w" sound represents drawing your lips outward from a tightly pursed position while expelling air. The "h" sound represents exhailing.
More often than not an "h" is not pronounced, but rather modifies the sound of the preceeding consonant. So, "ch", "dh", "kh", "sh", "th", "zh" are all separate sounds from the non-modified version of the leading consonant. You're most liekly to run into "ch", "sh", and "th" and the other are usually used in transliterations of foreign or borrowed words.
There are siilar modifier letters in other alphabets, like the "b" in Cyrillic. Yet other languages insist on using diacritical marks for the same purpose (more often on vowels, but the good ol' Czechs have that nasty caron (hacek) thing over the r which even the Czechs can't pronounce right).
Ah, but I digress and for that I do apologise.
--smw
-What is your native language?
Swedish.
-What sounds represent English to you?
The 'l' and the non-trilling 'r' are what I feel are the most representative sounds.
-If you had to create a gibberish sentance to represent English, what would it be?
"Bew orge mo amelous fawl sti parling?"
-Do you think English is pretty, ugly, somewhere in the middle?
Depends on the accent, ranges from irritating to sympathetic. I'd say England has both the most beautiful and the ugliest accents.
-How hard was English to learn?
Can't remember .. I started learning it when I was around 5 and I've been exposed to it so much, so it's been pretty natural to me.
-Do we speak quickly or slowly compared to your own language?
Hmm, slightly slower I think. I've heard some native English speakers say they think Swedes speak quickly, but I'm sure that's partly because they are unfamiliar with the language.
-Is English grammar (not spelling) intuitive to you?
Yes.
-What language does English sound closest to?
Dutch, if I remember correctly there is some accent/dialect of it that sounds particularly close.
-Do you like English?
Since it's more or less the global lingua franca and I can speak it I'd say I like it. :p
-What dialects/accents of English have you been exposed to?
From countries where English is the official language?
Real life: generic American/Canadian accents, Texan, some Scottish one, various English ones, some Australian ones, some African accent.
TV/others: impossible to say.
-Are you able to distinguish between the different dialects/accents? Would you
answer any of these questions differently for different accents or dialects? If so, please do so.
I'm able to distinguish accents, if they aren't pretty close to eachother (like neutral Canadian vs American), but wouldn't neccessary know the origin. If I heard an accent and was told to place it into a specific region I'd be able to place it in a larger region like a country, whereas I'd only be able to take a closer guess with a few particular accents (eg. Alabama or New York).
-Do you consider American English a different dialect from International, or are the accents and spelling just different?
I'd guess that they are just different accents and spelling.
Swedish.
-What sounds represent English to you?
The 'l' and the non-trilling 'r' are what I feel are the most representative sounds.
-If you had to create a gibberish sentance to represent English, what would it be?
"Bew orge mo amelous fawl sti parling?"
-Do you think English is pretty, ugly, somewhere in the middle?
Depends on the accent, ranges from irritating to sympathetic. I'd say England has both the most beautiful and the ugliest accents.
-How hard was English to learn?
Can't remember .. I started learning it when I was around 5 and I've been exposed to it so much, so it's been pretty natural to me.
-Do we speak quickly or slowly compared to your own language?
Hmm, slightly slower I think. I've heard some native English speakers say they think Swedes speak quickly, but I'm sure that's partly because they are unfamiliar with the language.
-Is English grammar (not spelling) intuitive to you?
Yes.
-What language does English sound closest to?
Dutch, if I remember correctly there is some accent/dialect of it that sounds particularly close.
-Do you like English?
Since it's more or less the global lingua franca and I can speak it I'd say I like it. :p
-What dialects/accents of English have you been exposed to?
From countries where English is the official language?
Real life: generic American/Canadian accents, Texan, some Scottish one, various English ones, some Australian ones, some African accent.
TV/others: impossible to say.
-Are you able to distinguish between the different dialects/accents? Would you
answer any of these questions differently for different accents or dialects? If so, please do so.
I'm able to distinguish accents, if they aren't pretty close to eachother (like neutral Canadian vs American), but wouldn't neccessary know the origin. If I heard an accent and was told to place it into a specific region I'd be able to place it in a larger region like a country, whereas I'd only be able to take a closer guess with a few particular accents (eg. Alabama or New York).
-Do you consider American English a different dialect from International, or are the accents and spelling just different?
I'd guess that they are just different accents and spelling.
Heh, I'm from Friesland, Netherlands, and yeah, it is somewhat similar to English. Though nowadays it resembles Dutch closer than English, there's still various words that sound alike.
-What is your native language?
Dutch
-What sounds represent English to you?
-ing, -ish. Oh, and hot potatoes.
-If you had to create a gibberish sentance to represent English, what would it be?
Some Frysian gibberish probably. :P
-Do you think English is pretty, ugly, somewhere in the middle?
I'm fine with it.
-How hard was English to learn?
Quite easy. Reading lots of forums and listening to music and such helps a great deal. It's very omni-present. We're used to learning multiple languages here, anyway.
-Do we speak quickly or slowly compared to your own language?
A bit faster probably.
-Is English grammar (not spelling) intuitive to you?
Yeah.
-What language does English sound closest to?
Frisian.
-Do you like English?
Yep. Sometimes I don't know if I read something in English or Dutch. It's second nature by now.
-What dialects/accents of English have you been exposed to?
Australian, English, American, African-English...
-Are you able to distinguish between the different dialects/accents? Would you answer any of these questions differently for different accents or dialects? If so, please do so.
I can distinguish some dialects, but not name them when I hear them.
-Do you consider American English a different dialect from International, or are the accents and spelling just different?
I never gave much thought to separating them into dialects. In fact, I don't even know how the international version differs from the American version. :)
-What is your native language?
Dutch
-What sounds represent English to you?
-ing, -ish. Oh, and hot potatoes.
-If you had to create a gibberish sentance to represent English, what would it be?
Some Frysian gibberish probably. :P
-Do you think English is pretty, ugly, somewhere in the middle?
I'm fine with it.
-How hard was English to learn?
Quite easy. Reading lots of forums and listening to music and such helps a great deal. It's very omni-present. We're used to learning multiple languages here, anyway.
-Do we speak quickly or slowly compared to your own language?
A bit faster probably.
-Is English grammar (not spelling) intuitive to you?
Yeah.
-What language does English sound closest to?
Frisian.
-Do you like English?
Yep. Sometimes I don't know if I read something in English or Dutch. It's second nature by now.
-What dialects/accents of English have you been exposed to?
Australian, English, American, African-English...
-Are you able to distinguish between the different dialects/accents? Would you answer any of these questions differently for different accents or dialects? If so, please do so.
I can distinguish some dialects, but not name them when I hear them.
-Do you consider American English a different dialect from International, or are the accents and spelling just different?
I never gave much thought to separating them into dialects. In fact, I don't even know how the international version differs from the American version. :)
Quote:Original post by Drakkcon
-What is your native language?
Norwegian
Quote:
-What sounds represent English to you?
Z instead of S: Guys(guyz) and the "raait" sound(as in british: oh, right) also the "uurth" or norwegian "ørth" sound as in "earth".
Quote:
-If you had to create a gibberish sentance to represent English, what would it be?
prevet rawrawls bethigott moarmoar. [grin]
Quote:
-Do you think English is pretty, ugly, somewhere in the middle?
Love it - I prefer reading english.
Quote:
-How hard was English to learn?
Pretty easy - my dad is a native speaker.
Quote:
-Do we speak quickly or slowly compared to your own language?
A bit faster/same speed.
Quote:
-Is English grammar (not spelling) intuitive to you?
Yes, but sometimes it's a little wacky. [smile]
Quote:
-What language does English sound closest to?
I would say French or Dutch when I think about it.
Quote:
-Do you like English?
A bit more than norwegian [grin].
Quote:
-What dialects/accents of English have you been exposed to?
American english and british(I mostly speak a mix of the two). I've also heard Scottish and Irish accents and of course the norwegian accent which is kinda ugly [grin].
Quote:
-Are you able to distinguish between the different dialects/accents? Would you answer any of these questions differently for different accents or dialects? If so, please do so.
Yes to the first, and I dont like scottish very much.
Quote:
-Do you consider American English a different dialect from International, or are the accents and spelling just different?
In my opinion, american english is something different then british. But I am maybe not the right person to ask because I use the language every day(almost more than norwegian) [smile].
[Edited by - Samsonite on January 18, 2007 12:49:08 PM]
It's pretty amusing reading this thread :-) How many people have referred to "British English", as if it were monolithic? Every major town in the UK has its own accent and dialect virtually (even those bordering each other, the difference in accent between Bolton and Wigan is pretty marked), some are unintelligeble to fellow Brits (witness a thick Scouse, Geordie or Glaswegian accent).
This topic is closed to new replies.
Advertisement
Popular Topics
Advertisement
