# Do we sound "funny' too
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 30, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247 "2003-03-30T18:42:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@virtually\_yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/virtually_yours)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/1 "2003-03-30T18:42:27Z")
Hi don’t know if this was covered before but,do we sound as “funny” /strange to the chinese etc. when we talk as they sound to us? Is there a reliable way to gauge this?
Thanks. Virtually Yours
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/2 "2003-03-30T18:47:23Z")
I assume you mean when English-speakers are speaking Chinese. I would guess that yes, we do. Chinese has inflections that English doesn’t. From what I’ve heard, getting the inflection wrong can change the meaning of the word.
There are some Chinese-speakers on the boards, so I suspect they will be around presently.
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### Author:  [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/3 "2003-03-30T18:51:39Z")
This has been covered in a similar thread before, thought I don’t have the link. The question there was something like “What does English sound like to foreigners?”. In much the same way that English speakers can parody other languages without actually knowing them (lots of “-ong” and “-ee” for Chinese, lots of grunting “-ein” and “-in” for German, etc.), so can speakers of other languages parody English speakers. I don’t recall what the general cliches of English were, but if you want a funny example, watch the episode of the Simpsons when Apu tries to act “American”.
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### Author:  [@virtually\_yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/virtually_yours)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/4 "2003-03-30T18:51:44Z")
no I mean when we hear the chinese speak chinese,how it sounds strange, almost comical at times…
When they hear us speak english do we sound “that” strange or comical at times to them also.
virtually yours
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### Author:  [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/5 "2003-03-30T18:52:38Z")
To us Canadians, you Americans sure sound funny…😃
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### Author:  [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/6 "2003-03-30T18:55:37Z")
P.S.: Hey Johnny! You still on your coffee binge? 😉
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2003, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/7 "2003-03-30T19:04:20Z")
> [@](#):
>
> P.S.: Hey Johnny! You still on your coffee binge? 😉
Am I ever _not?_ Actually, I don’t really drink _that_ much coffee. I make a small pot in the morning which is good for two 14-ounce mugs. Then sometimes I’ll have a 20-ounce cup on the way to work. Then maybe two or three 14-ounce steins of coffee at work, if I make the strong stuff. Yesterday I only had the morning pot, plus a large caramel macchiato, a large coke, and a few glasses of iced tea. So as you can see, my caffeine intake is actually very modest.
**virtually yours** : I misunderstood the question. Sorry 'bout that.
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### Author:  [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/8 "2003-03-30T19:17:22Z")
**virtually** I will tell you this; my brother’s wife says that when he’s speaking Chinese he sounds like a little kid talking. And that yes, sometimes he makes her laugh ~ or she and her mom will exchange glances ~ so I’d say the answer to your OP is yes.
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### Author:  [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/9 "2003-03-30T19:46:25Z")
it doesn’t even have to be across languages. different accents on the same language is already ‘funny’
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### Author:  [@virtually\_yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/virtually_yours)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/10 "2003-03-30T19:55:48Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by NinetyWt \*
> \*\ ***virtually** I will tell you this; my brother’s wife says that when he’s speaking Chinese he sounds like a little kid talking. And that yes, sometimes he makes her laugh ~ or she and her mom will exchange glances ~ so I’d say the answer to your OP is yes. \*\*
I’m not asking that.I want to know if when a chinese person hears _english_ spoken for the first time ,how it sounds to them.
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### Author:  [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/11 "2003-03-30T20:18:07Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by omni-not \*
> \*\*To us Canadians, you Americans sure sound funny…😃 \*\*
Speak for yourself, “aboot” boy. 😃
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### Author:  [@mooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mooka)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/12 "2003-03-30T21:22:11Z")
Well, obviously foreign languages sound “funny” to you, and me too. For instance italian is very sing songy, german quite harsh, chinese has lots of hah, yow etc sounds in it.
Why is that? Well surely there are only 2 possible reasons. Either everyone has the same ears, and english is the only language which sounds normal. Every other language sounds “funny” until you get used to it. Or, the language you were brought up on (or know very well) sounds normal, and every other language that people aren’t used to sounds “funny”.
Which do you think it is? Do you think the sound of english is somehow hardwired into humankinds’ genes, or do you think you just become used to what you hear everyday?
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### Author:  [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/13 "2003-03-30T22:25:18Z")
This question has been done quite a few times:
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=119772](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=119772)
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=143054](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=143054)
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23804](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23804)
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### Author:  [@virtually\_yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/virtually_yours)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/14 "2003-03-30T22:44:39Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by DarrenS \*
> \*\*This question has been done quite a few times:
>
> [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=119772](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=119772)
> [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=143054](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=143054)
> [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23804](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23804) \*\*
Thanks ,that did it …Thanks again 🙂
virtually yours.
Virtually Yours
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### Author:  [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2003, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/15 "2003-03-31T01:13:21Z")
_This question has been done quite a few times:_
Well, OK, but I’ve still not seen a straight answer in the sense of:
German: “aakvizentlish maal gifoonden ferdrockenheight”
French: “awnvoo duh ploo duhvee haw wee yuh”
Russian": “splozh nee dah leeyek novot shpidankyesko”
Italian: “spitsanti dee mallosco peeyairi boochanto”
(UK English perceptions; apologies for any unintended obscenities).
What might a one-liner caricature of English look like?
The question goes way back: I understand the origin of the word “barbarian” was in the Roman view that anyone who didn’t speak Latin just went “bar bar barbar bar bar”.
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### Author:  [@NotMrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotMrKnowItAll)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2003, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/16 "2003-03-31T03:29:16Z")
Ok, while my info is not great, at least it will give an idea of what’s being asked. My pal, Hao( Chinese fellow), said that when he first heard English, he said it sounded like we were says
> [@](#):
>
> Da da da da da da da da
But reeeeally fast.
Hope that helps[sub]get chinese posters to shoot me down, etc[/sub]
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### Author:  [@slipster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slipster)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2003, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/17 "2003-03-31T05:59:25Z")
Nitpick: actually, it was the ancient _Greeks_ who got the impression that foreignhers were all saying “b-bar, ba bar bar ba bar b’ba bar bar…”
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### Author:  [@slipster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slipster)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2003, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/18 "2003-03-31T06:08:39Z")
Since I am myself a native speaker of English (well: a sort of English–I’m from St. Louis, Missouri), my personal impression may not have much bearing. I remember, though, as a kid hearing people from County Cork who had extreme accents and I remembering thinking that they all sounded like they were muttering about “armed robbery”: “armb rar ar ararbar ar rar bree barrar…”
At least one posters to a previous thread on this topic remarked that nonspeakers of English are sometimes struck by the hard emphasis on the “r” sound in English, so I suspect that to some foreigners, at least, the sound of English generally may be a bit like my impression of Corkers.
Incidentally, I recall that my great aunt, who was an Irish immigrant, used to tell my dad, whenever he said that his father had not had a noticeable accent, that my granfather’s west Cork accent was so thick that she had trouble telling what he was muttering about.
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### Author:  [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2003, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/19 "2003-03-31T06:44:45Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by raygirvan \*
> \*\*_This question has been done quite a few times:_
>
> Well, OK, but I’ve still not seen a straight answer in the sense of:
>
> German: “aakvizentlish maal gifoonden ferdrockenheight”
> French: “awnvoo duh ploo duhvee haw wee yuh”
> Russian": “splozh nee dah leeyek novot shpidankyesko”
> Italian: “spitsanti dee mallosco peeyairi boochanto”
> \*\*
😃
Swedish: “Foorgen splurgun de shpoordernboorg”
Northen Chineese: “zzheern ven shren ze baaaaaaa”
veitnameese: “bing din dong dun tin tay”
American: “yahw grahh wahr brarmble gardragder”
This may be of some help.
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### Author:  [@A1C\_Joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A1C_Joe)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2003, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-sound-funny-too/165247/20 "2003-03-31T07:24:54Z")
I had a Spansh teacher who said that to people who speak other languages, the English language sounds like the noise of a barking dog.
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