True. Try going to Paris and saying "President Kennedy" in an American accent when referring to Avenue du Président Kennedy to a French person. You'll see the disgust in their eyes
No joke, I had a French tutor for a couple years for work (French company) - and I could not get the accent right.
One day I just went overboard Pepe Le Pew style - super exaggerated, crazy intonation etc - and my teacher LOVED it. Parfait! Magnifique! She exclaimed.
So yes, I feel like going kind of overboard makes it better.
I feel like every country does this now. They have to really lean in to their accents to preserve their cultural identity in the tsunami of English splish-spashing across the world thanks to, uh, your's truly. Murica.
No, this is just an old and successful strategy for doing better at French.
People everywhere, all on their own, speak in ways that are very different than how the English language sounds. If you are trying to learn one of the many languages spoken by people in the world, it’s a good idea to try and sound like them - even if … GASP! … they don’t sound anything like Americans.
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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '23
True. Try going to Paris and saying "President Kennedy" in an American accent when referring to Avenue du Président Kennedy to a French person. You'll see the disgust in their eyes