Do you think we'd understand each other's accents if we were to meet?
By AmberLynn
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
United States
February 1, 2017 7:40pm CST
Here in this part of the US I think we have a higher percentage of Latino and Asian immigrants. I am able to understand what Latino's are saying (in english) all the time, and for the most part the same can be said for the Asians.
However, I have a family member who just does not understand what they are saying at all. We went out to eat tonight and twice he misunderstood our waitress. When she rang us up she asked if I'd like a receipt back and I declined. He pipes in about us having left the tip on the table.
I asked him what he thought she said, and he thought she'd asked me about a tip. He heard me say "no" and so wanted to reassure her one had been left.
Well if she had asked me about a tip I'd have felt inclined to NOT give one, going back to take the $5.00 off the table. However, she didn't say that and so I was a bit embarrassed that he mentioned having left a tip.
We have a lot of different nations here on Mylot. Britain (including Ireland and I think we had a Scot at one time), Indian, Phillippines, Canada.
Do you think we'd understand each other? I think I'd understand those from India if they spoke English, probably the Phillippines as well. I can say I'd understand Canada (even if they are from the French influenced parts).
I feel confident I could understand some Irish, but I know some parts of Britain (in it's entirety) drops the endings of words. I'm not quite sure I'd understand a cockney accent, but then again with time I think I could.
I'm from the Southern USA. I've been told by a friend, whilst talking on the phone, that I don't quite have the Southern Twang she'd have expected. In fact she detected some other sort of lilt entirely.
Were we all in a room together, do you think we could understand each other?
15 people like this
20 responses
@allknowing (132525)
• India
3 Feb 17
I have worked in a Swiss firm where we have had those whose native language has been German. I did not find it difficult at all to understand them. Indians as you know have a clear accent and most understand us. I do find it a bit difficult trying to understand those from the UK But no news channels have stumped me. Be it BBC or CNN They are clear as crystal
2 people like this
@allknowing (132525)
• India
3 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseum Strangely I could follow @Owlwings (UK) when he had posted a video clip with his speech. I uploaded one too with my voice
Skip navigation Sign inSearch Loading... Close Yeah, keep it Undo Close Watch QueueQueueWatch QueueQueue The next video is startingstop Loading... Watch Queue Queue __count__/__total__ Loading... Find out whyClose grouie SubscribeSubscribedUnsubscribe1818
2 people like this
@Orson_Kart (6587)
• United Kingdom
3 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseumhttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qWXwqEGdWLc
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
3 Feb 17
The first time I heard a Yorkshire (UK) accent, it took me a few minutes to accustom myself to it. I've never talked to a person from India face to face, but I think (as you say) i'd clearly understand them.
3 people like this
@infatuatedbby (94914)
• United States
2 Feb 17
For the most part, I do understand because my parents' speak with an accent sometimes. :)
2 people like this
@infatuatedbby (94914)
• United States
2 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseum
I also worked in a community with diverse nationalities and I've heard them all thick accents and after awhile I got used to it.
2 people like this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
3 Feb 17
@infatuatedbby I've not had the privilege of working in a community with so many different nationalities. I've come across British (including Irish), Latino, and some Asian but that's it.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
2 Feb 17
Being exposed to different accents, especially those thick with the tongue of their native lands, helps.
I've been around latinos a lot in the past. While I am no longer around them so much, I can still understand their accents.
2 people like this
@marguicha (220158)
• Chile
2 Feb 17
I write in a decent English. But my accent is horrible as I haven´r spoken English at all in over 50 years.
2 people like this
@marguicha (220158)
• Chile
2 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseum American English accent is quite different from the English accent too. I can see that watching Downton Abbey.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
2 Feb 17
@marguicha Yes, very different. We have very flat tones here in the US, not really enunciating as much or as well as those in Britain do.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
2 Feb 17
I am sure I could understand you. It's been ten years (or so) now but I used to work with a lady from Chile. Her English wasn't very good, so her accent was very thick.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (467585)
• Switzerland
2 Feb 17
I never had problems understanding what people said when I visited the United States, I was even able to understand the French Cajun spoken in Louisiana. I think you would understand what I say, nobody would have guessed that I was Italian when I was there. Most thought I was from Los Angeles, I do not know why.
2 people like this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
3 Feb 17
You had never visited the US or stayed extensively before? It's odd that people thought you were from LA. Maybe there are a lot of Italian's that live there? I wouldn't know, have never been to LA.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (467585)
• Switzerland
3 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseum For 20 years we have visited the United States 3 times a year. In 1995 we have lived 3 months in Los Angeles. No there are not many Italians who live in L.A., there are many (southern) who live in New York, but I am a northern and our accents are extremely different.
@Poppylicious (11133)
•
2 Feb 17
We have a lot of Poles and Lithuanians in my little corner of England. And then there's the fact that I work in a university town with a large teaching hospital which has a lot of foreign workers, mostly Filipino and Thai. We have a lot of students at college who aren't native English speakers, and some staff. Plus, I've been exposed to all sorts of Canadian and American accents through film and television. No problems for me!
I do however struggle with some English accents from England. I went to uni in the north east and they have very thick accents. It took me a good year or two to get used to it. The Birmingham accent is weird. The Scouser accent is a bit hit and miss. Manchurians too.
One of my students is Portuguese and in the five or so years she's lived here she's picked up a London semi-cockney accent, despite living in a little village nowhere near London.
I think that rather than accent, it might be the local slang most of us would have problems with!
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43914)
• Cambridge, England
3 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseum The people of Liverpool speak Scouse ('Scouse' is really the local dish - a kind of stew - and the name isn't English at all but comes from Germany - 'labskaus'). The Liverpool accent is distantly related to the Irish accent because many Liverpudlians came from Ireland. If you ever heard John Lennon and the other Beatles speak, that is Scouse!
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
3 Feb 17
What area is the Scouser accent? That is one I have never heard of.
1 person likes this
@Poppylicious (11133)
•
3 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseum Liverpool. I used to hate the accent but we have a tutor at work who comes from Liverpool and I could listen to him all day. *sigh*
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
2 Feb 17
Yes, it would be English words, but with their native accent.
2 people like this
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
3 Feb 17
@ms1864 I have heard DE, Pony, JJ, Dani and sugartoes. Except sugartoes all of them are easy to understand. 
I have heard Vanny too lol She speaks (in her words) Bhel Puri language. 
A mixture of Hindi, English, Marathi
I have heard Vanny too lol She speaks (in her words) Bhel Puri language. A mixture of Hindi, English, Marathi2 people like this
@shaggin (71911)
• United States
2 Feb 17
I have bad hearing and I am not sure if that is part of the reason for sure if not but I have a horrible time understanding people who have an accent.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
2 Feb 17
I have an ear that constantly closes up. It makes me unable to hear as well as I wish I could as well.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (71911)
• United States
2 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseum Hmm mine does that too it is weird I assume fluid or something covers the opening blocking the sound temporarily.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
2 Feb 17
@shaggin That's what I think. Does yours ever feel achy? Almost like an ear infection but not quite as severe? I really should go see an ENT. I imagine they'd suggest tubes though.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
2 Feb 17
I have a hard time understanding most accents.
I'll bet you that you won't understand a French speaking Canadian.. I've been to Quebec and my oh my!
Okay, so I got lost on my way to Ottawa.. my directions led me right into Quebec. Once I realized I was in Quebec I stopped off at a gas station to try to figure out my way back towards Ottawa. I was looking for the maps when the attendent spoke to me. At first he spoke in all French..
I took 5 years of French in high school, but I didn't catch 1 single word he said.
So as I'm staring at him dumbfounded he realizes I'm a tourist and starts speaking English.. but the accent is so heavy I could barely understand him...
Eventually I understood enough to find the road he was talking about, which led me straight into Ottawa, but from there my directions were no good because I entered from a different direction.. and this was back before cellphones..
I did eventually find my destination.. about 5 hours after I was expected to arrive.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
3 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseum Yeah, I drove over an hour out of my way before realizing my error, then it was over an hour back.. then I was lost as I came into Ottawa from the wrong direction. Eventually I called and got the right directions..
Once I finally got to my destination there was an earthquake!
I don't think Canada wanted me to visit!
I did go back again after that visit and all my subsequent visits were uneventful..
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
3 Feb 17
wow five hours!
You know, I hadn't really thought about it. I know Canadian French is different than the regular french, and it's stand to reason that slang (even in english) could cause some troubles with communication. Putting that on top of the Canadian accent + Fench Accent within... hmm, you're probably right.
I still can't get over the fact you were five hours late! wow.
@celticeagle (164229)
• Boise, Idaho
2 Feb 17
It depends. If they know the language and use it regularly.
@celticeagle (164229)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseum .....It would depend though. What language and so forth. What slang is used. Things like that.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
3 Feb 17
@celticeagle Atleast in this case, I mean speaking English.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
2 Feb 17
That doesnt' always make a difference. Sure it might help with pronounciation and even ennunciation but it doesnt' necessarily make their accent any less thick.
1 person likes this
@much2say (54866)
• Los Angeles, California
2 Feb 17
I live in Los Angeles - and so many cultures are represented here, so I think I can pretty much understand most people with any kind of accent. My dad has always had terrible English, so I've learned to have an ear to "decipher" from a very young age. It's funny though . . . I can mostly understand people when we are talking face to face . . . but on the phone I sometimes have trouble figuring it out.
@much2say (54866)
• Los Angeles, California
3 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseum Yah, perhaps talking too fast is what it is. I love my friend from Sri Lanka, but I just cannot understand her over the phone . . . it's embarrassing for me to keep asking her "What? What?" 
. I tend to be a listener too - being a keen listener definitely helps.
. I tend to be a listener too - being a keen listener definitely helps.@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
2 Feb 17
I think people tend to talk a bit faster on the phone than they mean to. That might have something to do with your struggle to understand phone conversations.
I've always been a listener, and so I suppose that helps me decipher what others can not.
1 person likes this
@sabtraversa (13893)
• Italy
7 Feb 17
I've never had the chance to travel or listen to different accents except on the internet (youtube).
I'm fine with standard American, British and Canadian.
English Canadian would be the easiest for me, they sound very clear to me.
Europeans are usually okay, as I'm European too. I sometimes have a hard time listening to Italian English accent, it makes me cringe and blush a little bit. Cockney would be kind of difficult for me too.
Strong African or Indian, meh, if they spoke slowly and clearly and if I did some double ear effort, I'd understand. They're cute accents, but too rigid or "rough" to be easily understood.
Eastern Asian accents such as Korean are the hardest for me. I heard interviews with North Korean defectors and needed subtitles.
The main problem is in the pronounciation, if a person manages to pronounce each sound the right way, accent comes second and doesn't usually have a huge impact. 
Europeans are usually okay, as I'm European too. I sometimes have a hard time listening to Italian English accent, it makes me cringe and blush a little bit. Cockney would be kind of difficult for me too.
Strong African or Indian, meh, if they spoke slowly and clearly and if I did some double ear effort, I'd understand. They're cute accents, but too rigid or "rough" to be easily understood.
Eastern Asian accents such as Korean are the hardest for me. I heard interviews with North Korean defectors and needed subtitles.
The main problem is in the pronounciation, if a person manages to pronounce each sound the right way, accent comes second and doesn't usually have a huge impact. 1 person likes this
@Orson_Kart (6587)
• United Kingdom
7 Feb 17
Can you say this out loud?
The Leith police dismisseth us
1 person likes this
@Orson_Kart (6587)
• United Kingdom
7 Feb 17
@sabtraversa It's a good un.
Leith is in Scotland, so you might find it easier if you try it in a Scottish accent.
Leith is in Scotland, so you might find it easier if you try it in a Scottish accent. 1 person likes this
@FourWalls (65700)
• United States
2 Feb 17
You're from the south, so I'd understand y'all. 
I had a sociology professor from Crete, and I took two courses from him. The first time I had a difficult time getting through his thick accent, but the second course I understood him fine because I became acclimated to his accent.
I had a sociology professor from Crete, and I took two courses from him. The first time I had a difficult time getting through his thick accent, but the second course I understood him fine because I became acclimated to his accent.1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
2 Feb 17
Funny how that works isn't it?
I think the further away we get from people with Latin Based Languages (either their first or second language) the harder it is for us to understand them.
@msiduri (5687)
• United States
2 Feb 17
I live in a part of the country that has a high immigrant population. I've worked with people from Vietnam, from India, from China, from Cambia, the Philippines and Mexico and South America. In general we've had few problems with communications. However, I confess. I'm a damn yankee. I cannot understand folks from the South East.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
2 Feb 17
I think I've struggled with New England accents in the past, but I've not been highly exposed to "yankee" accents really.
I'm in the south east, so you may or may not be able to understand me.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
2 Feb 17
@msiduri My brother in law is from Winsconsin haha.
It doesn't help when people mumble, or speak too fast for sure.
1 person likes this
@msiduri (5687)
• United States
2 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseum I'm originally from Wisconsin. I've never traveled much to the south east. I real there are dozens of accents. Some I get, some I need subtitles.
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
3 Feb 17
I have heard a couple of myLot members speaking at one point or the other. I was able to understand them except one. They have a very heavy accent. I am pretty used to hearing from my myLot friend from Australia.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
3 Feb 17
I'm glad you were able to understand them.
I think I'd be able to understand the majority of the people here, but heavy accents can make it difficult.
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
3 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseum Yeah thick accents can be difficult but once you get used to them they are easy to get too.
@owlwings (43914)
• Cambridge, England
3 Feb 17
I find that, as I grow older, it is becoming less easy for me to understand every word that even people I know well utter! I often have to ask people to repeat things or I find that I can get the gist of what was said but can't make out every word! Obviously, it's getting to the stage that I need a hearing test!
If people speak reasonably slowly and clearly, I can understand most accents and I would hope that most people would understand me, since I speak with a southern British (or 'standard English') accent with which many would be familiar through British radio, TV and movies.
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32638)
• Calgary, Alberta
2 Feb 17
When I was new in the call center customer service world, I struggled to understand American callers with Southern accent, African Americans who speaks in Ebonics and 1st generation immigrants with English as 2nd language. Eventually I get to adapt and learn to understand their accents. I struggled with people who have whispery voices though, regardless of their accent.
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32638)
• Calgary, Alberta
7 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseum Yeah I get accustomed to them because I needed it then because of my job. I dont struggle much with Southern accent anymore but modern slangs teens use confuses me.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
2 Feb 17
Yes, the whispery voices always get me. I have to ask these people to speak up or speak again. So you've become accustomed to many different accents it seems.
1 person likes this
@else34 (13516)
• New Delhi, India
3 Feb 17
It would not be easy for me to understand what an American or a Briton is saying if they talk fluently with their native accent.Recently I had a hard time understanding an American who had come to India.
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104628)
• United States
3 Feb 17
I agree. Speaking slower would be very helpful in understanding others.
1 person likes this
