# Take a regional accident. Have the speaker say things in another language. Stir. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487 "2005-12-20T18:28:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/1 "2005-12-20T18:28:37Z")
Hilarity results. Well, I just read the following, and it gave me the funniest thoughts. > [@anu-la1979](#): > > Hindu, but only moderately devout. > > Which is to say that I believe in all the basic principals but don’t fast and chant that much. Hunger is an overrated form of devotion and seeing as I’ve lived in N.A. most of my life, Hindu slokas from my mouth sound silly. Now, that I heard it, I hunger for more details, and/or other posters tales of people speaking one language, while retaining the accent of their home country. Texans speaking understandable Japanese that nonetheless has a twang? German tourists speaking Taiwanese? What examples do people have? Oh, and while I am looking for real life examples. I would also take any examples of this as it relates to entertainment mediums. ---
**Author:** ![BlueLine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@BlueLine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueLine)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/2 "2005-12-20T18:30:53Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > Hilarity results. > > Well, I just read the following, and it gave me the funniest thoughts.Now, that I heard it, I hunger for more details, and/or other posters tales of people speaking one language, while retaining the accent of their home country. > > Texans speaking understandable Japanese that nonetheless has a twang? German tourists speaking Taiwanese? What examples do people have? Oh, and while I am looking for real life examples. I would also take any examples of this as it relates to entertainment mediums. Extremely common. 1 example - I went to Germany with a girl from Deep South Texas… and she spoke grammatically perfect German with a HORRIBLE Texas twang. It was hilarious when not embarrassing. Happens all the time, is, in fact, natural in a way (although not desireable). ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/3 "2005-12-20T18:49:25Z")
Another quite famous example is Sean Connery speaking Russian with a strong Scottish accent in _The Hunt for Red October_. Hours of amusement for a first-year Russian class. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/4 "2005-12-20T18:51:47Z")
French with a Texan accent. It’s as horrifying as it sounds. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/5 "2005-12-20T19:00:02Z")
I was accused by my college French professor of being the only student he ever had who spoke French with a Southern accent. Living in Hawaii, I had a friend who was the daughter of Japanese immigrants. She was born and raised in Texas. People would do a double take the first time they heard her speak - she looked so typically Japanese, and it is much more common to hear a Japanese accent in Hawaii than a Texas accent. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/6 "2005-12-20T19:26:46Z")
My uncle teaches English to Italian kids, with his broad gruff Irish accent. I really want to hear how these kids speak English. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/7 "2005-12-20T19:31:52Z")
My in-laws were from eastern Europe, learned English as adults and had/have a strong accent. People in the southern U.S. had a terrible time understanding them and vice versa. What was funnier was their attempt to immitate a southern accent. Indescribable. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/8 "2005-12-20T19:46:56Z")
One semester I was in a German class with kid from Geogia. (the state, not the country). The twang was funny enough, but what was REALLY funny was watching the contortions the other students (me included) would go through trying not to laugh out loud. About every week or two somebody would get a fit of the uncontrollable giggles. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/9 "2005-12-20T20:38:15Z")
I have a japanese friend whom we sometimes try to get to talk like a cowboy. Just imagine a cute little japanese woman saying “boy howdy,” it’s pretty amusing. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/10 "2005-12-20T22:35:33Z")
I used to work with a woman who was born in China and learned to speak English in the deep south. I love the earthiness of the Canton acent; I also love the smoothness of the Southern-belle voice, but I couldn’t understand half of what this woman said. Then again, I shouldn’t talk, since it is impossible for my Texas tounge to pronounce the Spanish rr. I’ve tried ever since I was corrected when saying my state senator’s name (“Senator Bad-d-d-d-d-dientos’ office is at…”), but at my best I speak Spanish about as well as Peggy Hill. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/11 "2005-12-20T23:07:57Z")
I have an acquaintance who was raised by his Chinese parents in New York and speaks Chinese w/ a Lawn Guyland accent. Sounds musical to me, but then I don’t understand Chinese. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/12 "2005-12-20T23:54:37Z")
My Indian languages are actually the first languages I learned, then French, then English. But after I started going to public school they took on first a French accent, later a Canadian accent, and finally some sort of generic American accent (we moved around). Most people can’t really place my accent…they just say it sounds foreign but I don’t speak Marathi or Konkani with a proper Indian accent anymore. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/13 "2005-12-21T00:04:54Z")
The school I teach at is remarkably multilingual: we have over 60 nations represented and many more languages than that. MUCH hilarity results from swapping accents. For example, one of my students (who has no accent, normally) enjoys speaking school-room Spanish with his Grandfather’s Gudjrati accent. I have another student who exagerates her Hispanic accent when rattleing out the Bosnian cursewords she has learned from her friends. And I have another student who happens to be Nigerian but speaks unaccented English unless he is stressed, at which point he develops the oddest American/Nigerian/British kluge of an accent. That’s less funny beucase it isn’t intentional, but it is odd, and it makes it impossible for him to conceal his nerves from people who know him! ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/14 "2005-12-21T00:21:06Z")
> [@cornflakes](#): > > Then again, I shouldn’t talk, since it is impossible for my Texas tounge to pronounce the Spanish rr. I’ve tried ever since I was corrected when saying my state senator’s name (“Senator Bad-d-d-d-d-dientos’ office is at…”), but at my best I speak Spanish about as well as Peggy Hill. A request for a straightdope answer…is it true that rolled-Rs are in part due to genetics, and that some people cannot create them? ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/15 "2005-12-21T01:47:15Z")
I speak with a Texas accent, but have studied phonetics quite a bit, and tried mightly not to let it influence my pronunciation of foreign languages. Nevertheless, I’ve been told that I speak Russian with a definitely Novgorodian accent. Whether this is due to my Texas background or not I cannot say. > [@](#): > > A request for a straightdope answer…is it true that rolled-Rs are in part due to genetics, and that some people cannot create them? No. Every person with complete, functional oral anatomy is physically capable of producing them. It took me years, but I can say them perfectly now. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/16 "2005-12-21T07:00:35Z")
At my old English school there was an accountant who spoke pretty good English with little more than the standard Japanese accent, until we went out to a karaoke bar together. For some reason, once he started singing he developed an unbelievably thick Australian accent that just came out of nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/17 "2005-12-21T07:08:09Z")
I said, “Liberdad! Vive la Revolucion” with a deadpan Midwestern accent tonight. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Stentor\_2.5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@Stentor\_2.5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stentor_2.5)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/18 "2005-12-21T07:21:51Z")
When I went to Dublin it was always interesting when the Asian immigrants I met spoke with an accent somewhere between Asian and Irish. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/19 "2005-12-21T12:12:06Z")
The Moscow Boys Choir sang some Spanish, and it was very interesting: Feh-lyeesh Nyah-vidyahd. (So was their English: syeven svans a’ svimming." ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487/20 "2005-12-21T12:34:05Z")
One of my Brazilian wife’s cousins married a fellow from Scotland who works in the shipyards around Rio. He has a very strong Scottish accent when speaking Portuguese. Of course, it didn’t really help much if we switched to English: his accent in our fine language was still a challenge to my ears. I felt bad for his wife, who will from now on be incorporating an opaque accent (to many) in the English she learns. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-regional-accident-have-the-speaker-say-things-in-another-language-stir/336487.md?page=2)