I always wonder what mixes of languages other than american english sound like. Like, i know what a french guy speaking english sounds like, and I know what a german guy sounds like speaking english sounds like… but I wonder what a german guy speaking french sounds like? Or spanish, or chinese?
Spanish is my second language, and while I know I speak with an accent (try my best to sound andaluz, but there’s no hiding the kiwi sometimes), I can recognise some accents - Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Sevilla, Granada, Madrid are some distinct ones I’m familiar with, hearing non-natives speak fluently with a slight foreign accent, or hearing someone you know as an English speaker break out excellent Spanish is wild. I worked with a Lithuanian woman once who spoke fluent Spanish but kept her Lithuanian accent, even down to the way she would punctuate her sentences, she was terrifying in 3 (or more) languages.
I’m trying to learn Spanish, I understood almost everything Gwyneth said, and almost nothing the interviewer said. Not sure if it’s word selection, but non natives always deliberately fully pronounce each word which makes it so much easier to hear.
Yeah Gwyneth does speak very clearly and slower than a native in this interview, although fluently and with a Madrid/Toledo accent. You’ll get there with the interviewer and natural native speakers in general, it’s just about regular exposure to the speed and omissions.
The main features of the accents are very similar, I believe. I’m Brazilian, and one of my friends has been living in Belgium for a couple of years now. She’s starting to speak Portuguese with a French accent now, it’s very funny. Last time she was here, some street vendor even mentioned that she speaks very good Portuguese for a foreigner.
I’m having trouble finding a video of a German speaking Chinese with an accent. I found this, but i don’t get the feeling that his accent is too strong: https://youtu.be/OlAsL3Cd-yc
Thank you for all of this! The first one (german accent speaking french) sounds exactly like i’d expect actually. However the opposite is harder for me to tell what language he’s even speaking at times (he seems to go back and forth? I heard a “tres bien” in there).
The woman speaking Spanish just kind of sounded like an american lady speaking spanish to me 🤷♂️ she could just be better at suppressing her native accent though.
I always wonder what mixes of languages other than american english sound like. Like, i know what a french guy speaking english sounds like, and I know what a german guy sounds like speaking english sounds like… but I wonder what a german guy speaking french sounds like? Or spanish, or chinese?
Spanish is my second language, and while I know I speak with an accent (try my best to sound andaluz, but there’s no hiding the kiwi sometimes), I can recognise some accents - Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Sevilla, Granada, Madrid are some distinct ones I’m familiar with, hearing non-natives speak fluently with a slight foreign accent, or hearing someone you know as an English speaker break out excellent Spanish is wild. I worked with a Lithuanian woman once who spoke fluent Spanish but kept her Lithuanian accent, even down to the way she would punctuate her sentences, she was terrifying in 3 (or more) languages.
I’m trying to learn Spanish, I understood almost everything Gwyneth said, and almost nothing the interviewer said. Not sure if it’s word selection, but non natives always deliberately fully pronounce each word which makes it so much easier to hear.
Yeah Gwyneth does speak very clearly and slower than a native in this interview, although fluently and with a Madrid/Toledo accent. You’ll get there with the interviewer and natural native speakers in general, it’s just about regular exposure to the speed and omissions.
The main features of the accents are very similar, I believe. I’m Brazilian, and one of my friends has been living in Belgium for a couple of years now. She’s starting to speak Portuguese with a French accent now, it’s very funny. Last time she was here, some street vendor even mentioned that she speaks very good Portuguese for a foreigner.
I did some digging:
German accent in French (has German mixed in at times, sorry): https://youtu.be/j8mwxLoBWhE
For completeness: a French accent in German: https://youtu.be/HrkXPr1DiRw
A German speaking Spanish (I assume with an accent) (the female voice) https://youtu.be/yIoXoEeg6AM?t=359
I’m having trouble finding a video of a German speaking Chinese with an accent. I found this, but i don’t get the feeling that his accent is too strong: https://youtu.be/OlAsL3Cd-yc
Thank you for all of this! The first one (german accent speaking french) sounds exactly like i’d expect actually. However the opposite is harder for me to tell what language he’s even speaking at times (he seems to go back and forth? I heard a “tres bien” in there).
The woman speaking Spanish just kind of sounded like an american lady speaking spanish to me 🤷♂️ she could just be better at suppressing her native accent though.