Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Have you ever been mistaken for a native speaker of your second (or third, etc.) language? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you ever been mistaken for a native speaker of your second (or third, etc.) language?".
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Rarely now, but when my husband was alive and we spoke Portuguese at home and with friends, many people mistook me for a native speaker. | | | Assumed rather than mistaken | Aug 15, 2018 |
It does not always occur to people that I am not a native speaker, until I tell them. I am sometimes asked where I come from, and they guess an area they don't know. They are often surprised when I say I am from England. A former classmate told me at a school reunion recently that I sound just as I did 50 years ago (speaking English) - is that good or bad?? | | |
Rarely now that I’m back in Portugal, but when I lived in Belgium I used to visit Paris quite often and people there mistook me for a native speaker from the North of France… | |
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neilmac Spain Local time: 22:51 Spanish to English + ...
Quite often. But whenever I go back to the UK, my Scots accent gets stronger and it takes me a while to become more "Spanish" upon my return. | | |
Not a lot, not rarely. But it depends on the language. Never happened (and is never going to happen! ) in English. Used to happen in German. Happens quite a lot in Russian. But it depends as much on the person listening as on the person speaking. My Russian is by no way that of a native, but I came to the conclusion that it is so unusual to Russians that a foreigner speaks their language more or less colloquially that they can't b... See more Not a lot, not rarely. But it depends on the language. Never happened (and is never going to happen! ) in English. Used to happen in German. Happens quite a lot in Russian. But it depends as much on the person listening as on the person speaking. My Russian is by no way that of a native, but I came to the conclusion that it is so unusual to Russians that a foreigner speaks their language more or less colloquially that they can't believe it when it happens. I also wonder if the Soviet area melting pot makes them more open to regarding people speaking a fluent Russian with a strong accent and/or some mistakes as natives... Again about "the person listening": I happened to be mistaken for a German by some "common Germans", but I also remember a translators powwow in Munich: I'd been here for a while when a fellow translator joined: I only said a couple of words to greet her and she said straight away: "you're French!" Er... I must admit I was a bit piqued She was herself French, so maybe it was something else that let her guess, my way of moving/dressing/acting or whatever, but nonetheless: she was a much more attentive listener than "a common German". ▲ Collapse | | |
Americans tend to assume I’m British, Indians (living in India) will simply not believe I am not British until I’ve shown them my passport, whereas elderly (!) English people think I’m from South Africa or Zimbabwe. Londoners often place me somewhere near Sweden, but since I don’t look Swedish, they end up asking where I come from - only the nosy ones Only those brought up speaking both French and English guess I’... See more Americans tend to assume I’m British, Indians (living in India) will simply not believe I am not British until I’ve shown them my passport, whereas elderly (!) English people think I’m from South Africa or Zimbabwe. Londoners often place me somewhere near Sweden, but since I don’t look Swedish, they end up asking where I come from - only the nosy ones Only those brought up speaking both French and English guess I’m French, especially now I don’t speak English every single day and am more likely to say things like "semi marathon" instead of "half marathon". ▲ Collapse | | | Thayenga Germany Local time: 22:51 Member (2009) English to German + ...
The Dutch find it hard to believe that I'm not American (so do quite a few Americans, too). A few years back an American friend of mine brought along one of his Irish friends. When one of my German friends joined us, knowing very little English, she and I spoke German, whereupon the Irish man seriously and in all honesty asked: where did you learn to speak such good German? | |
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Laura Nagle (X) United States Local time: 17:51 French to English + ... Occasionally | Aug 15, 2018 |
When I meet native speakers of French, they sometimes think I'm a native speaker with an accent they can't quite place. Having spent time in several regions of France and a few different cities in Québec, I think my spoken French is a real mish-mash of influences at this point, which suits me fine! | | | Jan Truper Germany Local time: 22:51 Member (2016) English to German
As a German living in the U.S.A., quite a few people assumed that I hailed from South Africa. | | | R. Alex Jenkins Brazil Local time: 18:51 Member (2006) Portuguese to English + ... Sometimes, but very rarely. | Aug 15, 2018 |
As a native English speaker living in the north of Brazil, I sometimes get curious questions along the lines of "you're not from around here, are you?" in the usual Brazilian warm and friendly way, which never offends me. I've been asked if I'm from Argentina, Uruguay, Italy, USA - people can't quite grasp my accent, but they know I'm not "from around here". However, if someone I know well criticises my accent, I sometimes retort with "you should hear yourself, mate", which can be quite rude. Th... See more As a native English speaker living in the north of Brazil, I sometimes get curious questions along the lines of "you're not from around here, are you?" in the usual Brazilian warm and friendly way, which never offends me. I've been asked if I'm from Argentina, Uruguay, Italy, USA - people can't quite grasp my accent, but they know I'm not "from around here". However, if someone I know well criticises my accent, I sometimes retort with "you should hear yourself, mate", which can be quite rude. The fact is, certain languages do not transition well into others, and the later you learn to speak a foreign language the more pronounced your accent could be. That's what makes us who we are though, and I can still identify a Scandinavian, German, Portuguese, French, Australian, American accent, etc, at the swish of a lamb's tail. There's nothing wrong with that.
[Edited at 2018-08-15 15:41 GMT] ▲ Collapse | | |
And as a northern Italian, having picked up the local accent. Unlike other native English speakers I know, who still sound as though they just arrived .... But some people have a facility for assimilating the language. I have an Indian friend who has lived in Manchester for 40 years and sounds just like a local, whereas her husband has not. | |
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Vanda Nissen Australia Local time: 07:51 Member (2008) English to Russian + ...
Sophie Dzhygir wrote: I also wonder if the Soviet area melting pot makes them more open to regarding people speaking a fluent Russian with a strong accent and/or some mistakes as natives... Yes, that is correct. Generally, Russians are tolerant to different accents especially when your grammar is good. I have a distinctive Slavic accent but people mostly think I was born in Poland (including Polish Australians when I speak Polish). | | | Mario Freitas Brazil Local time: 18:51 Member (2014) English to Portuguese + ...
This used to happen a lot when I studied in American schools (1979-1986) and when I worked in Canadian companies (2008-2013). Since I quit WorleyParsons in 2013 and became a full-time freelance translator, it never happened again. | | | Reverse mistake | Aug 16, 2018 |
Thayenga wrote: A few years back an American friend of mine brought along one of his Irish friends. When one of my German friends joined us, knowing very little English, she and I spoke German, whereupon the Irish man seriously and in all honesty asked: where did you learn to speak such good German? Oh, yeah, I had that too! Some years ago, I used (as a hobby) to go on tour with a Russian choir, and I would make several speeches along the show to explain who they are, what they sing, and so on. At the end, people would come and congratulate the singers, and not rarely did they congratulate me for my so good French. Er, sure ! I think it happened in other situations too. The mindset of the listener is very important. When you're in a setting where the listener has a reason to think you might be a foreigner, they sometimes begin to believe they hear a foreign accent in your talk - whereas there's none. | | | Pages in topic: [1 2] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Poll: Have you ever been mistaken for a native speaker of your second (or third, etc.) language? Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
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