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The Joys of Speaking a Foreign language

I’m sure that you’re absolutely right about the technicalities , but @LeoRoverman also has a point. The fixation with how other nationalities pronounce aspects of English is a way of trying to establish English superiority. ”Those johnny foreigners can’t even pronounce a W properly”
Thanks, which for the same reason makes English speakers using foreign languages sound odd too. It’s the distinction between them and us, literally every where. Last time I visited Germany they heard auslaender immediately but not obviously.
 
Apparently it was because so few had actually spoken to a German that it was a best guess.
I think the best view was the scene in Battle of Britain? where the German Ambassador was talking to the FO, although you knew the ambassador was German there was a slight accent. Funnily enough the films made just after the war had less of a parody than the later ones and quite a few servicemen had probably spoken to Germans. LR jr had a mate who was German whilst at Uni who came from the Hannover region. He commented later that he sounded different to what he had expected.
 
W,U and V are derived from the same root; it's a bit of a myth that the Germans always pronounce W as a hard V; it actually seems to vary from listening to Germans.

There's also a good reason why W is called 'double-u'; it was just that originally.

Also, the letter W in Scandinavian languages is seldom used, but in Danish, V is often pronounced closer to W in any case.

There is a specific stave for W in the Elder and Anglo-Saxon runic Futharks (Wunjo), but none in the younger (Norse) Futhork. U (Úr), however is present and may well have been used in its stead.
Be honest though…the Danes are just taking the piss with their vowel swallowing and stødline.
I think they might be n league with the welsh.
 
Be honest though…the Danes are just taking the piss with their vowel swallowing and stødline.
I think they might be n league with the welsh.
It's easy.

1OGqjBf.jpg
 
Thanks, which for the same reason makes English speakers using foreign languages sound odd too. It’s the distinction between them and us, literally every where. Last time I visited Germany they heard auslaender immediately but not obviously.
My accent when speaking German confuses most native Germans/Swiss.
The Swiss mostly think I’m Dutch, and Germans hear the Swiss German rhythm and colour (I do NOT speak Schwiizerdütsch) but are aware that I’m not Swiss.
I guess that they don’t associate someone being able to pronounce “ch” properly with a native English speaker.
 
My accent when speaking German confuses most native Germans/Swiss.
The Swiss mostly think I’m Dutch, and Germans hear the Swiss German rhythm and colour (I do NOT speak Schwiizerdütsch) but are aware that I’m not Swiss.
I guess that they don’t associate someone being able to pronounce “ch” properly with a native English speaker.

You're Scots aren't you pal? Always thought it was pretty much the same sound in Scots or German, Loch/Wach, our bastard tongues give us a wee headstart auf Deutsch

As an aside, wach has a W sound pronounced as a V, as per earlier in the thread
 
You're Scots aren't you pal? Always thought it was pretty much the same sound in Scots or German, Loch/Wach, our bastard tongues give us a wee headstart auf Deutsch

As an aside, wach has a W sound pronounced as a V, as per earlier in the thread
There are certainly similarities….. Licht for light. But here’s a little ..Loch is for Lake I.e lac, whereas Loch is for Hole, whereas the German is Meer as in Mere. There are undoubtedly crossovers.
 
There are certainly similarities….. Licht for light. But here’s a little ..Loch is for Lake I.e lac, whereas Loch is for Hole, whereas the German is Meer as in Mere. There are undoubtedly crossovers.
I am Scottish and living in Germaland. I somehow do not sense your “Touchy Feely” Jockness getting away with it scenario!!

As described on many occasions “you sound like a drunk British person trying to speak Dutch”! Yep I should make more effort.

”Süüper Lecker!”
 
I am Scottish and living in Germaland. I somehow do not sense your “Touchy Feely” Jockness getting away with it scenario!!

As described on many occasions “you sound like a drunk British person trying to speak Dutch”! Yep I should make more effort.

”Süüper Lecker!”
Like you and @lastwalt, I often (well daily) get mistaken for a Niederländer even though I'm from Yorkshire. I take it as a compliment. Means I must be doing something nearly right!
 
Like you and @lastwalt, I often (well daily) get mistaken for a Niederländer even though I'm from Yorkshire. I take it as a compliment. Means I must be doing something nearly right!

I learnt my German at school in Yorkshire and then a year 'im Ruehrgebiet' before using it in East Germany. Most say I have a Berlin accent.
 
I learnt my German at school in Yorkshire and then a year 'im Ruehrgebiet' before using it in East Germany. Most say I have a Berlin accent.
Strange how it works out isn't it. Yorks - Ruhrpott - DDR = Berlin accent. I can only think that I've picked up my twang from Mrs dlrg (born in Pogum. A stones throw away from NL). Even though I live in, what is considered, an 'accent free region' (Hannoversche Gegend).
 
Strange how it works out isn't it. Yorks - Ruhrpott - DDR = Berlin accent. I can only think that I've picked up my twang from Mrs dlrg (born in Pogum. A stones throw away from NL). Even though I live in, what is considered, an 'accent free region' (Hannoversche Gegend).

I've posted this earlier but my revelation was close to the NL border when I realised the locals were speaking in the same way as my Yorkshire grandparents, who had never been overseas (nor to London). The Berlin accent isn't that odd; I lived there for three years. Which part of Yorkshire do you hail from?
 

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