Comments | lifftchi: distinctive manner of oral expression.

lifftchi

distinctive manner of oral expression.

Jan 14, 2010 13:09

Every so often people will comment on how slight my accent is, and I'll usually go "what accent?" because of course I think the way I speak is perfectly and entirely normal. (Because, as my cat would say, Ich bin AmerikanerBut I have noticed one pair of sounds that I can't seem to make correctly and unambiguously: Alan vs. Ellen. Do you pronounce ( Read more... )

Comments 10

slave_to_anime January 14 2010, 23:33:09 UTC

You don't? Hmm, interesting. But yes, you do admittedly have a slight accent, now that I think about it. :/

Hasn't someone written a quiz about this before?

lifftchi January 15 2010, 00:46:16 UTC

Oddly enough, it was right last time I took it, but now claims I'm from the midlands. Maybe I took a different, more accurate quiz.

(The comment has been removed)

lifftchi January 15 2010, 05:54:56 UTC

Yeah. I'm thinking that I need to change my place of articulation to get those sounds to come out differently. I mean, I don't think it's a matter of stress accent or timing. Maybe the "al" is more palatal or something.

I'm telling you, it's the smile anonymous January 15 2010, 05:41:12 UTC

I know a few other second generation Japanese guys who smile all the time. I don't think it's a Japanese accent... it's a 'smiling man' accent. It gets especially distinctive when you are irritated or angry (but, of course, still smiling.)

Oh, yeah, the 'air of inflapability' that the smile gives you? anonymous January 15 2010, 05:44:07 UTC

only lasts until someone has been around long enough to tell when you are actually, ah, flapped. at that point the smile doesn't help.

Re: Oh, yeah, the 'air of inflapability' that the smile gives you? lifftchi January 15 2010, 05:52:01 UTC

Yes, but you are like some kind of flapping factory. Also, I eventually decided to play up my irritation a notch, in hopes of increasing productivity.

Re: Oh, yeah, the 'air of inflapability' that the smile gives you? anonymous January 16 2010, 01:25:48 UTC

And did it work? I mean, playing up the irritation?

Thread 6

ohgeezlouise January 17 2010, 21:38:49 UTC

I vaguely remember during some linguistics class the teacher saying something about how if you don't hear certain sounds when you're younger, you'll grow up never hearing the distinction between the sounds. Maybe like Alan and Ellen.