Talking Language

Both. Another factor is that as an English speaking foreigner, you really have to make an effort to speak and practice Dutch here. Dutch people, including myself will speak English to foreigners sort of automatically. When somebody speaks Dutch badly we’ll switch to English. So most foreigners stick to English.

6 Likes

I can actually hear the accent your talking about in ny head. :blush:

My sister’s husband is from Finland. His parents mainly speak Finnish but they speak Swedish with us and she sounds exactly like you’re trying to describe. I love it.

I’m trying to convince my sister and her husband to teach their baby Finnish but they don’t want to because they are going to live in Sweden.

I think that’s a shame. Despite the fact that they don’t give him an extra language for free they also makes it harder for him to conversate with his grandparents and being a part of his own heritage.

Me and my husband has though our kids all the languages we know and use. (So now they know how to curse in four languages, :joy:)

5 Likes

Are there different ways in Finnish to say, 'My husband is being a pain in the ass!?

2 Likes

Oh I missed that bit from the article. But still it’s a lot of variations. And this article was published in 2011, I didn’t Google any further on what the situation is today, but it is so sad, like you said. But it’s good that they’re working on preserving the languages.

2 Likes

Sure. Most common is an eye roll and face palm LOL

2 Likes

One thing that I find fascinating (more about accents than language itself) is that children I know that grow up abroad, but with an English parent, often speak with American accents. I think it is because their Nannies, care givers learn English via TV shows that are American. Happy to hear other theories though. It just shows how much influence the day to day has, and how little parents do.

I have watched 2 children at school go from having very strong accents to sounding like they were born in this town within a year (one was a Ukrainian refugee with very little English).

3 Likes

That makes a lot of sense. I have never spoken a foreign language for long. The locals normally take pity on us.

3 Likes

There are these hand unicorn things I learned about also.

1 Like

That happened to kids I used to baby sit whose parents were Australian. No accent other than American whatsoever.

2 Likes

You hit a nail in the great here. I’ve travelled a bit in Asian countries and it’s very common that if a kid has an English tutor, the tutor is American. Teaching English is prolly an easy way to make extra money is you’re an American overseas.

Also, many countries don’t use voice actors for foreign tv shows but subtitles instead. Just imagine how much stuff is produced in places like Hollywood! And then there’s the whole gaming scene.

2 Likes

Oh and I forgot to add that I’m born and raised in a small village on the country side of Västergötland.

We don’t speak “proper real Swedish here” either.

For example
Real Swedish (Risksvenska)

  • Please move- Var snäll och flytta dig lite.

Our version: Flôa

Real Swedish (Rikssvenska)

-Slob- Lortgris

Our version- Bôôshôlk

:joy:

Our Å, Ä, Ö sounds a bit different.

Just as our L and Rolling R’s
Over here we tend to Roll them hard like in the south of Sweden in the beginning of words, but softer like the normal rolling R in the middle or end of the same word.

It’s completely understandable if you live here :joy:

I feel sorry for the tourists or people who comes from other countries and are supposed to learn Swedish from our locals.

5 Likes

My mom was mostly raised in Mexico and she has no detectable accent. Every now and then I can hear something really subtle but it is pretty wild that she doesn’t have any Mexican accent. She says it wasn’t a concerted effort either. Same with her 5 siblings. They all spent some time in American schools but she started school here not knowing any English. Then went back and forth a couple times to each country.

Meanwhile my grandmother didn’t speak English hardly at all and my grandfather’s was stilted but passable.

5 Likes

I was just about to go to sleep, but I thought I’ll just Google this one thing. So, according to Wikipedia, turns out there are more speakers of this language!! Hah!

But I gotta say, I love the fact that in that language, it’s called Nuumte Oote “True Voice”.

4 Likes

That ia fascinating how accents work. My Mum is a Cockney (Londoner) and doesn’t sound it all, but if she says a specific ‘London’ phrase she sounds totally different. It is like that phrase hasn’t been used enough to take on her Hertfordshire accent.

4 Likes

Hey! Thanks Milele! That’s encouraging! I also thought that the name was interesting, it kind of pulled at my heartstrings.

3 Likes

It really is interesting. My husbands half siblings live in northern Florida and their mom is from Michigan, opposite end of the country in the north with a distinct northern accent. Her kids have the cutest southern drawl! Their dad is from Florida but even he doesn’t have that heavy of an accent.

2 Likes

Oh, one that we tease my mom about is her pronunciation of Disney. She days Diss Nay. which is definitely a Mexican/Latin one. It’s so cute though :joy:

3 Likes

Aaaah, that sound lovely. Also the southern drawl :blush:

My cousin emigrated to Australia 30 years ago and her accent has no place. We think she sounds Australian, and they think she sounds English :grin: She said she had to make a concerted effort not to correct her children when they pronounced things ‘wrong’ for the English (e.g. yow-gurt not how we say it yog-urht)

4 Likes

I bet she feels stuck in the middle. I’m so glad she chose that path for her kids, as difficult as I can imagine that would be! Good for her.

2 Likes

Yes, I can imagine it is very strange for her. A lot of my identity is probably formed from my voice, accent and she doesn’t have that.

There are a few ‘celebrities’ that come from my town and I always feel at home when they are on TV. Their voices just feel familiar.

2 Likes