# Does this bother anyone else? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 16, 2002, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-bother-anyone-else/132456 "2002-10-16T03:57:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-bother-anyone-else/132456/21 "2002-10-17T16:46:50Z")
\*\*OP related question: \*\* Is this mostly an English language phenomenon? I just realized that I never do it in French. If I’m speaking to French friends I refer to English towns either with their proper French name (London, UK is “Londre”) or I use accented English usually stressing the syllables as if in French rather than English. How interesting. I’d never the thought of the way I did that before. What a strange double-standard! ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2002, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-bother-anyone-else/132456/22 "2002-10-18T02:42:10Z")
I have the same issue with whether I should “mispronounce” french words in english when I’m talking to english people (which is all the time now that I live in Ontario - can’t wait to return to Quebec). Generally, though, I tend to stick with the French. It’s more “me”, and half the time, I don’t even know HOW to go about mispronouncing some things! I work with someone named Karine, and eveyone calls her “Karen”, while I say it in French “KAH-rihn” (?). Although that’s not a big difference, so most people get it. I had to say the last name Normandin to someone the other day, and I said it in “french”, and then had to “correct” it for the other person as “nor-MAN-din” (as opposed to NOR-mahn-day" (kinda - I suck at phonetic spelling). I also have the issue with wines - living so close to the wine region, you’d think even the people at the vinyards would know how to properly pronounce Cabernet Sauvignon, or Franc. I HATE hearing “cab-ER-nay so-vig-NON”, or even worse, the shortened “Cab-Sove” , or “Frank” from someone trying to sell me the damn bottle! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-bother-anyone-else/132456/23 "2002-10-19T05:25:55Z")
My peeve (I hope) somewhat related to this is dubbing in movies - if the people in the movie are speaking non-English, and then we switch to English, can we have it in non-heavily-accented English, please? We get the point - a bunch of Russian sailors in a submarine are speaking Russian - they’re not speaking Russian-accented English. ---
**Author:** ![privard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e8c25b/32.png) [@privard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/privard)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-bother-anyone-else/132456/24 "2002-10-19T15:44:07Z")
Sometimes in different languages the tongue and mouth just seem to work differently. I try to be relatively correct when I use a foreign word in an English sentence, but for me, the comfort point in speaking and in hearing others speak is that it still sounds natural. If I have to stop the flow of the sentence and twist my mouth around some vowel that a native English speaker only comes out with when being punched in the stomach or a trilled RRRRRR, it just seems like I’m trying too hard–it’s not communication so much as showing off. I can hear other people who are more skilled at the languages say the same thing much closer to the real pronunciation and if it doesn’t sound unnatural, I don’t think they’re being pretentious. But when I hear someone say the word without making any break from normal English intonation and rhythm, that sounds pretty natural to me, too. I don’t think they’re ignorant–I just think, hey, they’re speaking English. ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-bother-anyone-else/132456/25 "2002-10-19T17:19:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gatopescado \* > \*\*Heres what bugs the snot out of me: Someone is speaking a foreign language, and instead of having a sensable, understandable translation, they have someone affect an accent (be it latin, or mid-east or whatever) that is so thick you cant understand it! Why the hell even bother with a translation when I cant tell what the hell is being said. I get the idea that the dude is speaking a foreign language already! Yes, I can tell he’s from somewhere else! I don’t need some stupid translation mimicking what this dude would sound like if he tried to speak English. Just tell me what he said in plain old normal talk so I can digest the idea behind it. > > There is just no need to do it! I notice this most on crap channels like Discover, History and other psudo-intellect outlets. > > * * * > > What the hell did he just say? \*\* I noticed this too, but I always attributed it to the fact that the professional translator was probably a native speaker of the language himself, hence the accent. I’ve noticed, to back that up, that people speaking languages like Spanish or French often have plain-English translators, but the less common languages have the accented translators. I think on channels like discovery and history where they’re often in really exotic locations, they probably have to hire a translator locally once they get where-ever they’re going. Well, it made sense to me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-bother-anyone-else/132456/26 "2002-10-19T17:36:03Z")
I’ve posted about this before, but it bugs the crap out of me when British and Irish football announcers insist on pronouncing the Spanish champions’ name (Valencia) as “Valenthia”. First because it’s just about the _only_ name they _ever_ try to pronounce correctly, and second because if they were really going to do it correctly it would sound more like “Balenthia” anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-bother-anyone-else/132456/27 "2002-10-19T18:21:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jinwicked \* > \*\*I noticed this too, but I always attributed it to the fact that the professional translator was probably a native speaker of the language himself, hence the accent. I’ve noticed, to back that up, that people speaking languages like Spanish or French often have plain-English translators, but the less common languages have the accented translators. I think on channels like discovery and history where they’re often in really exotic locations, they probably have to hire a translator locally once they get where-ever they’re going. > > Well, it made sense to me. 🙂 \*\* This is also what I think. **gatopescado** seems to be assuming that all interpreters are native English speakers, when it is more likely that they are native speakers of whatever language needs to be translated, therefore they speak English with an accent. I don’t think it’s an affectation. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-bother-anyone-else/132456/28 "2002-10-19T21:20:47Z")
How about non-Anglo reporters who speak perfect unaccented English, but switch to a so-thick-you-could-cut-it-with-a-knife accent when saying their own names? NPR’s Sylvia Pogioli (sp.?) is the worst offender, IMHO. You can almost hear her gesticulating with her hands (in the classic Italian stereotypical way) when she says her name at the end of a story. I guess people can say their own names however they like. I still think it’s weird when you have multiple “accents” used for different words within a single sentence. Pick an accent and stick with it. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-bother-anyone-else/132456/29 "2002-10-19T23:25:03Z")
hehehe, **masonite**. You reminded me of reporter Monica Armenta in New Mexico. She doesn’t look overtly Hispanic at all, but boy does it fly when she reaches her own name. “Good morning, for Channel 4 News I’m {all together really fast} MonicARRRmenta.” Oh, the silliness. At least she’s still better than meteorologist Robin Marshment, with her “three hand positions, always in the same order.” Anyway. In closing, I’d like to note that the “overpronouncing Spanish words” was mocked quite well on Saturday Night Live years ago, when hosted by Jimmy Smits. Watch for the rerun on Comedy Central. ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-bother-anyone-else/132456/30 "2002-10-19T23:37:14Z")
The rule around our house is that I’m not allowed to “overpronounce” (aka “pronounce correctly”) Spanish words when I’m ordering at Taco Bell. “Yeah, I’d like two chicken gor-DTHEE-tas BA-ja, and a coupla bean burr-EE-tos, and how’s about one of them ques-a-DTHEE-yas, and a small diet coke.” Okay, maybe she’s got a point about Taco Bell, but otherwise… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-bother-anyone-else/132456.md?page=1)