I have accent

[bosco]

I have talked to Microsoft Activation support people in India hundreds if not thousands of times because of my work. I've never had any trouble understanding any of them but one time I did have to ask for another assistant because he could not understand me and I got tired of repeating myself.

 

The people I have the most trouble understanding are recording artists. Does anyone really know all the correct words to "Louie, Louie"? I don't think the guys who sang it even know for certain.....

[warpedbored]

Perhaps you have a knack Curt. My wife says many people have a hard time understanding her English but I don't. I also seldom have a hard time understanding other Chinese people's English. Indian and Russian accents are difficult for me though.

[chilton747]

I have talked to Microsoft Activation support people in India hundreds if not thousands of times because of my work. I've never had any trouble understanding any of them but one time I did have to ask for another assistant because he could not understand me and I got tired of repeating myself.

 

The people I have the most trouble understanding are recording artists. Does anyone really know all the correct words to "Louie, Louie"? I don't think the guys who sang it even know for certain.....

They were wasted when they recorded it (go figure)

These are the words that my band sings:

 

Louie Louie, oh no

Me gotta go

Aye-yi-yi-yi, I said

Louie Louie, oh baby

Me gotta go

 

Fine little girl waits for me

Catch a ship across the sea

Sail that ship about, all alone

Never know if I make it home

 

CHORUS

 

Three nights and days I sail the sea

Think of girl, constantly

On that ship, I dream she's there

I smell the rose in her hair.

 

CHORUS

 

Okay, let's give it to 'em, right now!

 

GUITAR SOLO

 

See Jamaica, the moon above

It won't be long, me see me love

Take her in my arms again

Tell her I'll never leave again

 

CHORUS

 

Let's take it on outa here now

Let's go!!

[sawadee]

Thanks for all the inputs, esp. Lance, thank you so much for your advice, I hope I can work on my accent a little bit so people will understand me more easily. I found Asian people do have different accents, when we were in Thailand, my husband could not understand Thai people speaking English, but I did.

 

I am getting more used to the way people speak English in daily life, as well as the American accent. But sometimes I still fail: one night we were out to get some KFC(yes I like junk food), we were doing the drive-thru, the girl asked me if I need some silverware and I was dumdfounded. Assuming I understood her English, my husband did not help me. I was a little mad at him afterwards: how was I supposed to know that 'silverware' meant the 'plastic' fork and spoon. It is more proper to say 'plasticware' or 'tableware', isn't it?

 

Speaking of outsourcing, some companies do try to outsource their call centers overseas(say India), but it does not work out because of the communication barrier--it is hard to understand a foreign accent, and get understood. So those companies have to put their call centers back in States.

[izus]

my girl has minimal accent and not much of a britsh sound either.

just recently

at her job they told her she could no longer work for them after 6 months of service for them...

the reason was they could not understand her, i was so ticked i almost went over and gave them a piece of my mind.

she was transfered to a new department and obviously the boss didnt like her..

just told her to leave one morning out of the blue

Edited June 30, 2007 by izus (see edit history)

[bosco]

Perhaps you have a knack Curt. My wife says many people have a hard time understanding her English but I don't. I also seldom have a hard time understanding other Chinese people's English. Indian and Russian accents are difficult for me though.

 

 

I don't think I have a knack. I think a lot of people convince themselves they can't understand the moment they hear something that isn't "normal". Some people are just poor listeners. For some, it's a form of xenophobia. For other's it's an excuse to justify bigotry and racism.

 

I see something similar all of the time in my computer business. A very large percentage of people I encounter just turn off their ears the moment they hear any "tech" sounding word. People always ask what was wrong and then interrupt my response at the first "tech" word saying some lame thing like, "I don't understand and of that computer talk." If they'd give me two seconds to finish the damn sentence they would. Most would rather just have something to complain about.

Edited June 30, 2007 by Ling-Curt (see edit history)

[warpedbored]

Well I am definitely not xenophobic, I listen to my wife and our friends all the time and can understand them. I am one of the least bigoted people I know but I really do have a hard time understanding many of the tech support or phone service people from India. I would say I can easily understand about half of them. the other half is very frustrating, especially when you are having a computer problem and need help.

[JimandSarha]

I have a problem with understanding some people because I have some hearing loss from way too much rock and roll and working on Harriers when I was in the Marines. Between the jets and the music. I need to pay close attention, PARTICULARLY in areas with a lot of ambient noise. It doesn't help if people have an accent.

 

Or maybe people are just being jerks.

 

But you should give her some advice. Learn to speak up, from the diaphram and make sure to speak words as flat as possible.

 

Some dialects in China also seem to have more accent issues than others. At least for me.

 

Jim

[Zachary And Lychee]

As a man of many languages, I would recommend you start with learning the basics - start with your pronounciation of the alphabet. Listen to your husband say it and try to mimic. Usually with the Chinese, they pronounce the alphabet differently from americans. For example: Z is pronounced like "Zhay" by many Chinese whereas in america we say "Zee". Next move to numbers. In Chinese usually the "th" sound is pronounced as a "sr" sound where the person puts puts the tongue on the front roof of their mouth and rolls it back as they say it rather than sticking their tongue all the way out past their front of their teeth while pronouncing. Another one is the "r" sound. Chinese people are very used to pronouncing their "r's" like that in ÈË (ren) whereas Americans "grit their teeth like 'grrrrrrrrr'" when pronouncing. Start with the basics and get used to that. You'll notice a great improvement the more you focus on that.