jacobsaunders Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 13 hours ago, David Burgess said: One cool thing about the US is that most of the population understands most of the English regional or immigrant dialects, whether they be sourced from German, Spanish, French, Italian, Swedish, African, Chinese, Japanese, pompous British, or whatever. It probably has to do with the limited vocabulary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin swan Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 8 hours ago, PhilipKT said: This is very interesting but I’ve never heard an English version I couldn’t understand. Australian English is quite simple. INDIANS speaking English can be quite difficult to understand, however. Okay here are a couple to start with .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsUvcjk8J5c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjTIFkWJctY Quote Link to post Share on other sites
outofnames Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 10 hours ago, PhilipKT said: This is very interesting but I’ve never heard an English version I couldn’t understand. Australian English is quite simple. INDIANS speaking English can be quite difficult to understand, however. That takes some practice, yes. I work for a multinational and have many Indian colleagues....both here in the US and India proper. After awhile, understanding English with a thick Indian accent becomes easier than you may think. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PhilipKT Posted February 4 Author Report Share Posted February 4 6 hours ago, martin swan said: Okay here are a couple to start with .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsUvcjk8J5c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjTIFkWJctY Boy that’s a minefield, I have to admit that that would be a little bit difficult to follow I thinkBoy that’s a minefield, I have to admit that that would be a little bit difficult to follow I think Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Violadamore Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 18 hours ago, PhilipKT said: INDIANS speaking English can be quite difficult to understand, however. I have no problem understanding them, having worked with a number of them for decades, and also learned some Hindi and Tamil from them. This comes in handy when some scammer in Hyderabad or Kolkata, etc., calls me claiming to be from Microsoft, or the IRS, or whatever. Once I've heard their opening spiel, I unleash a few choice phrases, and when they're thoroughly frothing, I hang up on them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uguntde Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 On 2/3/2021 at 8:07 PM, Flattmountain said: lol yep. And of all languages I could have chosen to get credit for in school, I did Norwegian. I would love to spend a few years there, but Germany probably has a more reputable maker history isn't it funny?? I had a friend sent to Germany speaking mandarin Chinese! If you want the most reputable maker history you need to learn Italian. French or German come second, maybe German even third, at least in the value of instruments. Although some of my favorite makers were from Germany, like Winterling and Gärtner (Joseph Joachim had one of his). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uguntde Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 10 hours ago, martin swan said: Okay here are a couple to start with .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsUvcjk8J5c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjTIFkWJctY And Germans speaking English? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flattmountain Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 4 minutes ago, uguntde said: If you want the most reputable maker history you need to learn Italian. French or German come second, maybe German even third, at least in the value of instruments. Although some of my favorite makers were from Germany, like Winterling and Gärtner (Joseph Joachim had one of his). yes ma'am/sir! The closest I've gotten is latin though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David Burgess Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 7 minutes ago, Violadamore said: I have no problem understanding them, having worked with a number of them for decades, and also learned some Hindi and Tamil from them. This comes in handy when some scammer in Hyderabad or Kolkata, etc., calls me claiming to be from Microsoft, or the IRS, or whatever. Once I've heard their opening spiel, I unleash a few choice phrases, and when they're thoroughly frothing, I hang up on them. I've tried doing verbal battle with the phone scammers, but they seem to enjoy that. However, the victory is mine, since I can get profitable work done while exchanging insults with the scammers, and they can not. The more time of theirs I can waste (which also reduces the time they have to attempt to defraud others), the happier I get. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Violadamore Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 10 hours ago, martin swan said: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsUvcjk8J5c When was David last in that area? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PhilipKT Posted February 4 Author Report Share Posted February 4 13 minutes ago, Flattmountain said: yes ma'am/sir! The closest I've gotten is latin though. A Latin professor friend of mine sneered that Italian is just wrong Latin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flattmountain Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 Just now, PhilipKT said: A Latin professor friend of mine sneered that Italian is just wrong Latin Latin did come first... so it can lay claim to authenticity Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Violadamore Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 9 minutes ago, David Burgess said: I've tried doing verbal battle with the phone scammers, but they seem to enjoy that. However, the victory is mine, since I can get profitable work done while exchanging insults with the scammers, and they can not. The more time of theirs I can waste (which also reduces the time they have to attempt to defraud others), the happier I get. To elicit the maximum response, you have to be familiar with the culture..........that's all 'I'll say about it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
violguy Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 3 hours ago, Flattmountain said: Latin did come first... so it can lay claim to authenticity Romanian appears to be quite close to a mixture of Latin, Italian, and Euro Spanish. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flattmountain Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 1 hour ago, violguy said: Romanian appears to be quite close to a mixture of Latin, Italian, and Euro Spanish. I have not focused much on southern European languages outside of Classical Latin lol, so I'll have to take your word for it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bill Yacey Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 On 2/3/2021 at 12:50 PM, Flattmountain said: Oh my! Gaelic is almost as difficult as welsh. I am progressing even more slowly in that area. however, I know a great many Irish drinking songs... Drinking songs are good. They are universal in the fact that after enough drinks, the lyrics can't be understood, no matter what language they are sung in. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
palousian Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 On 2/3/2021 at 11:50 AM, Flattmountain said: however, I know a great many Irish drinking songs... I have been around Irish traditional music most of my life, and while there are many songs in Irish, of course, and MANY Irish drinking songs, I don't believe I know of a single Irish drinking song in Irish. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin swan Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 13 hours ago, Flattmountain said: Latin did come first... so it can lay claim to authenticity Are you sure? One hypothesis is that Latin is a mercantile language formed out of various earlier languages, including early Romance languages we now think of as Italian or Italian dialects. I wouldn't want to make pronouncements about Romanian either. Its common ground with various other European languages is more likely to do with a more ancient and "ur-origin" than to do with Romanian "borrowing" from other languages ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flattmountain Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 10 hours ago, Bill Yacey said: Drinking songs are good. They are universal in the fact that after enough drinks, the lyrics can't be understood, no matter what language they are sung in. that can sometimes go the other way around... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flattmountain Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 9 hours ago, palousian said: I have been around Irish traditional music most of my life, and while there are many songs in Irish, of course, and MANY Irish drinking songs, I don't believe I know of a single Irish drinking song in Irish. lol no I don't sing these in Gaelic. my great grandfather was in the navy, and he would sing many of those, including 'Blow the man down'. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flattmountain Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 3 hours ago, martin swan said: Are you sure? One hypothesis is that Latin is a mercantile language formed out of various earlier languages, including early Romance languages we now think of as Italian or Italian dialects. I wouldn't want to make pronouncements about Romanian either. Its common ground with various other European languages is more likely to do with a more ancient and "ur-origin" than to do with Romanian "borrowing" from other languages ... no one can be entirely sure... but as it was spoken/written in roman times thats all I have to go on that subject. My preference has always been germanic and north germanic languages. As for Romanian, I have no comments on that subject. I know nothing about it and I was merely quoting someone else. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dimitri Musafia Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 On 2/4/2021 at 3:45 AM, PhilipKT said: This is very interesting but I’ve never heard an English version I couldn’t understand. Australian English is quite simple. INDIANS speaking English can be quite difficult to understand, however. I have to agree. Once I missed a connecting flight through Heathrow (their fault) and BA put me up in a Radisson for the night. Problem was, I had to get there. So, voucher in hand, I went to two guys who looked like ushers outside T3. Here's the conversation: Me: "Hello, do you know where I can find the bus for the Park Hotel?" "Of course, sir, where did you park your car?" "I didn't park my car, but I need to go to the Park Hotel." "Very good sir, where did you park your car?" The exchange went on for a while, fruitlessly, but I eventually found the bus stop on my own, otherwise I'd still be there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bill Merkel Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 On 2/3/2021 at 9:45 PM, PhilipKT said: INDIANS speaking English can be quite difficult to understand, however. In my experience they're teaching differential equations which relegates the accent to a minor difficulty. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David Burgess Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 On 2/4/2021 at 4:50 PM, Violadamore said: When was David last in that area? Shame on you for failing to recognize me in the video. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rue Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 I've worked/hung out with a lot of people from all over. East Indian accents are fine as soon as you adjust your hearing to account for the lilt/musicality of how English is spoken (which sometimes changes where the emphasis on the syllables end up). That...and you also need to adjust for a couple of sounds that don't come naturally. My office partner can't manage a 'sh', so 'she' sounds like a mangled 'see'. My parents, German immigrants, couldn't pronounce 'th' for the life of them! So 'teeth = teet. Moth = mot. When the 'th' sounds more like a 'z', zen zere was no problem. ...and apparently I can't make the 'pt' sound. So in Polish, bird is 'ptak'. Not 'tak' not 'p-tak', just ptak. LOL. I can't even hear what I'm saying wrong. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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