Language teaching

[RawonaM]

What do you think: how much attention should be given to the pronunciation?  It's known that English speakers are used to different pronunciations, so it's not a problem for English learners, but what about other languages? How do people react to foreign accent in France, Germany etc?

[Amateur]

What do you think: how much attention should be devoted to the pronunciation?  It's known that English speakers are used to different pronunciations, so it's not a problem for English learners,

There is a very hard problem in aural comprehension of native English speakers by non-native ones. A few months ago, I used to meet an old Irish man. He said my English was good, but he could not understand why I could answer him only after he had repeated something like "Those trees are nice, aren't they?" four or five times. 

[RawonaM]

There is a very hard problem in aural comprehension of native English speakers by non-native ones.

Oh yeah, I know it very well. When the Irish talk in movies, sometimes I have to rewind a few times to understand what they say.
It's more inconvenient during real conversation — no rewind button.

[Drunkie]

During a real conversation you can always ask to repeat or (better) to rephrase.
Ability to comprehend an accent depends primarily on your amount of exposure to it.

[RawonaM]

During a real conversation you can always ask to repeat or (better) to rephrase.

Sense of humor?.. Imagine a conversation when each phrase is repeated.

Ability to comprehend an accent depends primarily on your amount of exposure to it.

No doubt.

[Drunkie]

Imagine a conversation when each phrase is repeated.

Sometimes, there's simply no other choice. It's better than no conversation at all.

[Elik]

I remember as an Irish woman told me: "I have no tools!"

Only after a long investigation I realized that she meant "towels"!

This is English. It sounds very strange to a Slavonic ear. That's where all problems start from.

[Seryj Slon]

What do you think: can this problem with English native-speakers be connected with the fact they learn forreign languages not so frequently like not-english-speaking people do?

[RawonaM]

can this problem with English native-speakers be connected

What problem?

learn forreign languages not so frequently like not-english-speaking people do?

Why do you think so?

[Seryj Slon]

can this problem with English native-speakers be connected

What problem?

The incidental problem, that is, in the scattered nature of different pronunciations in the English language. As far as I understood your post... 

It's known that English speakers are used to different pronunciations, so it's not a problem for English learners ...

learn foreign languages not so frequently like not-english-speaking people do?

Why do you think so?
[/quote]
For the reason that the English speakers just don`t need to learn foreign language, and studying any for them is like luxury. Unless it`s a profession or hobby, people don`t learn foreign language after relatively-successful exams. In particular English speakers.

[RawonaM]

The incidental problem, that is, in the scattered nature of different pronunciations in the English language. As far as I understood your post... 

By "different pronunciations" I meant mostly foreign accents. Speakers of any language (or of most languages) are used to local phonetic differences in the community.

[Rezia]

What do you think: how much attention should be given to the pronunciation? 

As much as to be enough for the ability to pronounce without rude mistakes that can cause misunderstanding.

[Drunkie]

Unless it`s a profession or hobby, people don`t learn foreign language after relatively-successful exams. In particular English speakers

People in general don't learn foreign langauges unless it is a profession, hobby, or essential for survival, regardless of their native language. English speakers are no exception.

[killer107]

Pure Englishmen don't need to learn foreign languages at all, because their native language is an international language. You can come to any country and you will have no problem to communicate by English.

[Amateur]

Pure Englishmen don't need to learn foreign languages at all, because their native language is an international language.

Not only theirs. Russian, French, Spanish, too.

You can come to any country and you will have no problem to communicate by English.

Are you sure?

[Radley]

Pure Englishmen don't need to learn foreign languages at all, because their native language is an international language. You can come to any country and you will have no problem to communicate by English.

Oh yes they often will have problems. Because the English spoken in England is by no means the English spoken internationally.

[Kelly]

That's funny! In many countries even those who know English usually display their bitchness, not speaking it at all! You can ask them something several times however no reaction follows. But if you pronounce their native word, they are about to fervently kiss you! Sorry for my running to extremes

[Radley]

The French you probably mean here, particularly Canadian French.

[Смайлик]

The French you probably mean here, particularly Canadian French.

I've noticed that if they think you are American or Anglophone Canadian, some Quebecois (?) aren't very friendly, but once they realize you are from another continent they become much more enthusiastic about helping you (even when you don't know French).     

[Radley]

I've noticed that if they think you are American or Anglophone Canadian, some Quebecois (?) aren't very friendly, but once they realize you are from another continent they become much more enthusiastic about helping you (even when you don't know French).

Yeah, that pretty much applies to France as well. They positively hate it when English holidaymakers come to France expecting that every one they come in contact with will speak English, and will pretend not to know any Egnlish at all. But when they see you're actually not from England, their English will improve dramatically

[apokalyptische Reiterin]

Our ex-teacher in German told us that if ,for instance, a person from Schleswig-Holstein and the other person from Bavaria would have a talk, they would barely understand each other.
About learning languages. Actually,we study "Hochdeutsch", but it is spoken only on TV and by foreigners. It can be also seen in books, newapapers, e. t. c. If you speak Hochdeutsch in Germany, people will understand at once that you're a foreigner

[Смайлик]

I think regional dialects aren't as pronounced in German cities as they are in the countryside.  So what you may hear in a city would come pretty close to standard German (with some local dialectisms depending on the geographic location), or so I read.  I've never stayed in a German-speaking country long enough to find out.  Anyways, there are plenty of people who live in Germany on this forum, maybe they will enlighten us.

[Tony]

Смайлик, you are defintely right. Because of higher population fluctuations towards and within the cities, the dialects (indegenous and those who have moved to the city) more and more vanish. This is typical for bigger towns, and not only in Germany, of course.

apokalyptische Reiterin, you are also right. I generally have a hard time with southern languages. I mean the languages, not the standard language with a local sound realisation.


Germany has been and often still is very repressive concerning local languages/dialects, though the Southern ones are left in peace whereas the Northern ones were suppressed for a very long time and they are still depicted as some folklorish stuff. This attitude goes back to the age of the famous "Hanse"¹ as Low German² had been the language you had to know, if you wanted to make money.
  Swedish still bears many Low German traces because many loanwords had entered the language at that time.


(¹ roughly from the Netherlands to Novgorod; my town (Berlin) also belonged to the Hanse, and was also Low German² speaking until the 19th century - but those days are over *sigh*)

(² the Low Saxon variant spoken in Germany)

[iopq]

I doubt any Slavic language speaker can learn proper English pronunciation, be it American, or English, or Australian, without growing up in that country. In that sense I am lucky.

[znatok]

I think it will be better when, we will have a language other than English as international, or may be, the English with corrupted pronunciation.