 #61 (permalink) Fri Nov 21, 2008 14:57 pm Reducing a foreign accent |
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| Torsten wrote: |
| Hi Jamie, did you experience many such situations when you worked in Czechoslovakia? I mean did people often stare at you and listen to your accent more than to what you were saying? |
Yes. Supposedly I sounded like a native-born Czech who had left the country in early adolescence and had forgotten a lot. People in that country not only are aware of foreigners' speech but also of the speech of people who had lived away for a long time, which is an awareness English speakers don't have. Friends claimed that often, although I spoke clearly and usually correctly, some sales clerks and other people would be so occupied with trying to figure out what I was -- a foreigner or some kind of odd Czech -- that they just ignored what I said and didn't answer my questions. Several times it happened to me that salesladies figured out that I was a foreigner, grabbed me by the arm, led me around the shop, and wanted me to talk in front of other members of the staff. What I experienced was nothing, however, compared to the attention an African gets if he can speak the language. A person like that will be a spectacle everywhere he goes.
But yes, very frequently they pay no attention to what you said, because they're so occupied with examining how you said it. |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 5334
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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