| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8] > | Off topic: Pronunciation that makes you cringe (inwardly) Thread poster: Cilian O'Tuama
|
|---|
Swedes tend to pronounce my first name Chris as Crease, which is disturbingly close to both the English word Grease and the Swedish word Gris which means Pig. Am I allowed to cringe (inwardly or outwardly) at that pronunciation without being an ignorant racist bigot?
| | | | matt robinson 
Spain
Local time: 16:46
Member (2010)
Spanish to English
| Some think this is funny too... | Dec 14, 2022 |
Tom in London wrote: Lingua 5B wrote:
.... I did not have the time to stop and "cringe inwardly" "cringing inwardly" is a very British thing. The British do everything inwardly. They consider it bad form to express anything outwardly. in Italy, this British teacher of English would mock their Italian students behind their back..... To the British, all foreigners (be they Italian or anything else) are stupid and must be made fun of. The mere fact of being a foreigner is hilarious. They think this is one of the funniest things that have ever been done on television: https://tinyurl.com/k244qxc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNKn5ykP9PU
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 17:46
Member
English to Turkish
| Joey Barton and his so-called 'French accent' | Dec 14, 2022 |
I remember British people making more of this back in the day, and apparently they still think 'it's hilarious' for reasons I've never been able to fathom.
Can a Brit or French person tell me if there is anything in this guy's speech, accent, mannerism, gestures etc. to indicate that he's 'putting on a French accent' or even adapting his speech to the local environment (if that makes sense?)
In short, why do British people find this ... See more I remember British people making more of this back in the day, and apparently they still think 'it's hilarious' for reasons I've never been able to fathom.
Can a Brit or French person tell me if there is anything in this guy's speech, accent, mannerism, gestures etc. to indicate that he's 'putting on a French accent' or even adapting his speech to the local environment (if that makes sense?)
In short, why do British people find this so funny?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dovfYaQoPoY ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 16:46
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| Definitely has French mannerisms | Dec 14, 2022 |
Baran Keki wrote: I remember British people making more of this back in the day, and apparently they still think 'it's hilarious' for reasons I've never been able to fathom. Can a Brit or French person tell me if there is anything in this guy's speech, accent, mannerism, gestures etc. to indicate that he's 'putting on a French accent' or even adapting his speech to the local environment (if that makes sense?) In short, why do British people find this so funny? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dovfYaQoPoY
Non-verbal language, the lip pouting seems French. To me it's not funny at all.
Is he in fact native English who speaks English with French accent and mannerisms? I don't know the background, maybe that's what they find funny.
I saw this before, native English people speaking their native language with the accent of a local non-native country. This transition is not unnatural.
[Edited at 2022-12-14 13:55 GMT]
| | |
|
|
|
Kay Denney
France
Local time: 16:46
French to English
Lingua 5B wrote: Kay Denney wrote:
Another one is "idea", they never seem to get that the a is not purely decorative. Trouble is, I'm then left wondering why they're mentioning "ID". You can know from context they are mentioning idea, not ID.
I've been confused by this, precisely because no, it wasn't obvious from the context.
| | | | | I try not to be critical of the way non-English speakers pronounce English | Dec 14, 2022 |
... but I was amused at the weekend by a German programme on pets, which carried out a product review. The product concerned was a "Treat Launcher" which aimed, rather unsuccessfully, to throw treat for dogs to retrieve. Everyone on the programme referred to it as a "Treat LOUncher", which is logical given the standard German pronounciation of "au".
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 16:46
French to English
Lieven Malaise wrote:
Anyway, I couldn't care less about the accent of foreigners trying to speak my language. I'm always pleased and impressed if they are able to conversate in my language, thick accent or not.
And that's the whole difference between someone who speaks a language that isn't a lingua franca and a native English speaker.
I worked for ten years as an ESL teacher and not once did I ever make fun of any of my students, however much I may have cringed inwardly, no matter how painful it is to hear my language being treated so roughly.
On the other hand, I tried very hard to learn my partner's native langauge (spoken only in his small country, so there are very few resources for learning it). His family don't know about the concept of cringing inwardly (obviously, they're not English). Instead they all creased up with laughter any time I tried to speak, even when I didn't make any mistakes. I felt like I must have made some really embarrassing mistake like asking for a sex toy when I actually wanted a pen. But it was just so weird for them to hear a foreigner speaking their language. The upshot was that I stopped making any efforts, because I don't like being the object of ridicule.
This topic may be slightly politically incorrect, but we English are surely entitled to discuss our language and what foreigners and/or native speakers do to it? There have been plenty of immensely popular threads showing funny signs in Chinese hotels, surely they would be every bit as politically incorrect?
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 16:46
French to English
Ice Scream wrote:
Swedes tend to pronounce my first name Chris as Crease, which is disturbingly close to both the English word Grease and the Swedish word Gris which means Pig. Am I allowed to cringe (inwardly or outwardly) at that pronunciation without being an ignorant racist bigot?
The first time I had to pick up a residence permit in France, I was waiting until closing time, because I didn't recognise my name as pronounced by the French woman calling me for my appointment.
| | |
|
|
|
| I never imagined Joey Barton would make it onto ProZ… | Dec 14, 2022 |
Baran Keki wrote: Can a Brit or French person tell me if there is anything in this guy's speech, accent, mannerism, gestures etc. to indicate that he's 'putting on a French accent' or even adapting his speech to the local environment (if that makes sense?) In short, why do British people find this so funny? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dovfYaQoPoY
Well Joey was a Marmite character, a prankster, and had a northern accent normally, so he’s just having a laugh I imagine, but it’s not a very convincing French accent. It isn’t exactly full Allo Allo.
Steve McLaren turning Dutch was another one people laughed at.
| | | | | Well........ | Dec 14, 2022 |
There is a TV commercial on French TV for Burger King (the MacDo rival). Unfortunately the person speaking the words Mmm Burger King manages to pronounce the final 'r' of Burger but somehow misses obtaining an 'r' sound on the middle 'r'. So it ends up sounding like Bugger King.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 16:46
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
writeaway wrote: There is a TV commercial on French TV for Burger King (the MacDo rival). Unfortunately the person speaking the words Mmm Burger King manages to pronounce the final 'r' of Burger but somehow misses obtaining an 'r' sound on the middle 'r'. So it ends up sounding like Bugger King.
This reminds me of a Pink Panther movie starring Steve Martin who tries to pronounce (obviously in the role of French inspector Clouseau) 'I would like to buy a hamburger'. Apparently that scene is based on a true story then.
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 17:46
Member
English to Turkish
| Never understood McLaren one either | Dec 14, 2022 |
Ice Scream wrote:
Well Joey was a Marmite character, a prankster, and had a northern accent normally, so he’s just having a laugh I imagine, but it’s not a very convincing French accent. It isn’t exactly full Allo Allo.
Steve McLaren turning Dutch was another one people laughed at.
I always liked Barton, very intelligent and a surprisingly articulate chap considering his background, not a great footballer though...
| | |
|
|
|
Heinrich Pesch
Finland
Local time: 17:46
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
| Input from afar | Dec 14, 2022 |
One dear person always says Marsh Mallone instead of mallow. And moussé instead of mousse. And "what do recommendate?"
| | | | Marina Steinbach
United States
Local time: 10:46
Member (2011)
English to German
Heinrich Pesch wrote:
One dear person always says Marsh Mallone instead of mallow. And moussé instead of mousse. And "what do recommendate?"
I would politely set it straight.
Carpe Diem Et Noctemque
Marina
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 16:46
French to English
Marina Monica Steinbach wrote: Heinrich Pesch wrote:
One dear person always says Marsh Mallone instead of mallow. And moussé instead of mousse. And "what do recommendate?" I would politely set it straight. Carpe Diem Et Noctemque Marina
oying
...except that some people take it badly, no matter how polite you are. It can be very annoying to have your speech corrected when you're not in "English lesson" mode.
Then you get accused of being an arrogant grammar nazi, gatekeeping the lingua franca, and before you know it you're being held personally responsible for all atrocities ever committed by imperial Brits.
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Pronunciation that makes you cringe (inwardly) | Anycount & Translation Office 3000 | Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.
More info » |
| | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
