1. What accent do you speak in when you speak your native language? Don't tell me you don't have one, because everyone has an accent, even if it's the "standard" accent for the language in question.
Generic southern Dutch accent. If you're familiar with Dutch accents, you can tell I'm from the south, but that's it. You can't tell from which southern city I am, and I don't even speak the local dialect - I can understand it, but not speak it. I don't have a very heavy accent; it shows mostly in my pronunciation of the 'r' and the 'g'.
2. Do you mispronounce words because of your accent? I'm not talking about simple variant pronunciation. I'm talking about the way people in Boston say the word "career" like "Korea" and "Korea" like "career" (or, for example, the way Billy Joel sings about "Brender & Eddie" in "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" ).
No, I don't think so.
3. Do you speak any other languages fluently enough to have a distinctive local accent in that language? For example, my Moscow accent, my friend's Parisian accent when he speaks French, etc.
I'm starting to develop a very very light northern English accent. I live in North Wales, but most of my friends are northern English, and their accents are rubbing off on me. I haven't entirely lost my Dutch accent though - which makes for a very interesting mixture

People don't often guess I'm Dutch straight away - over the past 6 months, I've been mistaken for Australian, New Zealander, American, German, Swedish, and British (from Bristol, specifically. I thought that was rather hilarious)

I also tend to assume the accent of the person I'm speaking to, both in Dutch and in English. In Dutch, I notice when I do this, in English I tend to miss it, but people point it out to me (My friend Jonathan one morning: "Jenn, who have you been speaking to?" Me: "Ehm, just Steph, why?" Jon: "Ah, that explains the posh English accent then." ). It's quite amusing, but I try not to do it, because sometimes people think you're mocking their accent.
4. Are any of your accents "looked down" upon? (For example, Cockney or similar accents in England, Algerian accents in French, Caucasus accents in Russian, Long Island accents in American English, etc., etc., etc. )
Ehm...some people in the Netherlands, mostly westerners, look down on southern accents, but my southern accent is not heavy enough to be looked down upon.
5. As long as we're speaking about accents, are there any foreign accents which, when you hear your native language spoken in, turn you on/sound pretty ?
Frisian accent And Irish accents in English...come to think of it, Frisian accents in English as well
6. Are there any foreign accents which make your language sound awful?
*thinks* I'm not too fond of American accents. British are usually okay, and British people's pronunciation of Dutch tends to improve when they get drunk, which is amusing

In English, I hate Dutch accents. That might sound strange, coming from me, but I do. I'm trying very hard to lose mine
Okay, that's it. 'Twas a short survey.
'Twas a good one


Morgawse Sedai

Mornings happen to other people.

Passionate Heerenveen Fan

I survived Michigan 2004

This message last edited by Morgawse_Sedai on 4/25/2004 at 1:41:40 AM.

• Edit 1: 4/25/2004 1:41:40 AM