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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| kevingreece Newbie United States Joined 3825 days ago 12 posts - 20 votes Studies: Greek | Message 1 of 11 22 May 2014 at 4:15am | IP Logged | ||
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Yesterday I had a conversation with someone on Skype and I had a lot of difficulty understanding what was being
said to me. Today I had a conversation with someone else from italki and I could understand a large amount. Has anyone had this experience? Maybe the first person talked quicker or had a much different vocabulary than the other person? It's frustrating and confusing because I felt like I hadn't gotten anywhere with the language one day, to find out the complete opposite the next! I suppose it all depends on who you talk to, right? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| hjordis Senior Member United States snapshotsoftheworld. Joined 4982 days ago 209 posts - 264 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Spanish, Japanese | Message 2 of 11 22 May 2014 at 7:24am | IP Logged | ||
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A couple of years ago I had two roommates from Brazil and Peru, and they told me that I
was easy to understand, unlike some people. I also find that depending on what I'm listening to I can either understand a lot or absolutely nothing. It could be that you're used to that dialect or it could be the vocabulary or pace or how clear they speak. Although I think I slur my words a lot, especially when I'm tired xD. It could even be that you were having an off day. Some people are also better at adjusting the way they speak to suit the situation than others, so it's possible the second person was doing that for you, even without realizing. Was this in Greek? I don't know how advanced you are, but I suggest listening to as many different types of audio that's within your ability, or just slightly above, as you can. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| eyðimörk Triglot Senior Member France goo.gl/aT4FY7 Joined 3895 days ago 490 posts - 1158 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French Studies: Breton, Italian | Message 3 of 11 22 May 2014 at 8:29am | IP Logged | ||
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I suspect that anyone who has ever spoken their target language out there in the real world (VoIP included, but not the safety of classrooms) has experienced this. Heck, I suspect that people who've never so much as tried to learned a second language experience this all the time when meeting people who speak their own language differently.
Just last night I was over at my parents' house for supper and they told me about the Gotlander who approached them while they were campaigning (EU election) outside of the grocery store, and he seemed friendly but neither of them had any idea what he said. These are well-travelled people. My father has lived pretty much everywhere (except the islands, which includes Gotland) in this country. Both of my parents have studied English, French and German in school in addition to their native Swedish. They're still not immune even in their native language. And it's not just a regional accent thing. Also last night they mentioned that they had my brother write down some complaints for them because "I just don't understand what he's saying when he's upset". That's from the woman who raised him. He doesn't become a raving lunatic or anything, he just mutters, changes his pacing and maybe he becomes slightly more prone to skipping things. That's enough. 6 persons have voted this message useful | |||
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6705 days ago 4250 posts - 5710 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 4 of 11 22 May 2014 at 10:31am | IP Logged | ||
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Haha! I'd love to hear a sample of that guy's speech! I've heard all kinds of weird assumptions about how Gotlanders (should) speak. A handful speak pure Gutamål (which comes in two varieties), many speak rural Gotlandic (again, that may vary according to the parish, but I wouldn't suggest that there are 92 distinguishable ones). Others have a Gotlandic prosody but use spelling pronunciation (e.g. standard endings - some people on the local radio speak like that). Others have adopted a Rikssvensk prosody (this makes me cringe). Some were born here but don't have any trace of Gotlandic accent. So, which category did the guy in your example belong to? Edited by jeff_lindqvist on 22 May 2014 at 10:36am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| kevingreece Newbie United States Joined 3825 days ago 12 posts - 20 votes Studies: Greek | Message 5 of 11 22 May 2014 at 3:18pm | IP Logged | ||
Yeah. I would say that I'm B2. Lately I've been listening even more to a variety of things. I think it's helping me a lot. I'm beginning to notice a big difference in my comprehension. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| eyðimörk Triglot Senior Member France goo.gl/aT4FY7 Joined 3895 days ago 490 posts - 1158 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French Studies: Breton, Italian | Message 6 of 11 22 May 2014 at 8:53pm | IP Logged | ||
I seriously doubt that he spoke Gutamål in Skåne, if only based on the fact that I don't know a single Skånska-speaker who can't emulate standard Swedish if they want to (with varying degrees of success, mind you; I've never been able to pick up the "Swedish R" myself) and when they're willingly approaching strangers for a friendly chat they usually want to. In order to be quite poorly understood in Skåne he probably just needs to speak a less articulated and faster than Babben. And if he hasn't adapted his prosody for TV/radio, well, that might just be the clincher. Mind you, we're talking about a stranger coming up and speaking a few sentences to you before walking on, which doesn't give you time to adapt. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6705 days ago 4250 posts - 5710 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 7 of 11 23 May 2014 at 12:20am | IP Logged | ||
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OK, then I suppose he was a generation older and possibly grew up on the countryside. Even kids who grow up in rural areas nowadays rarely have a thick Gotlandic accent. I don't speak any of the fake-ish accents (Rikssvensk prosody or spelling-pronunciation), and have nevertheless been asked where I'm from (a couple of mainlanders, and even one Gotlander). The diphthongs and the prosody should be a dead giveaway, but obviously one has to have a super-retroflex-R and other rural features before a mainlander would even think you're from the island.
Oh, the humanity. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| eyðimörk Triglot Senior Member France goo.gl/aT4FY7 Joined 3895 days ago 490 posts - 1158 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French Studies: Breton, Italian | Message 8 of 11 23 May 2014 at 10:02am | IP Logged | ||
You'd probably have to be Babben before this "mainlander" thought you were from the island, unless you told her. ;) I'm notoriously bad at placing Swedish dialects. I've been known to think people with German accents are "northerners" (as in, north of Växjö, not as in Westbotnians, whose prosody is distinctive enough even for me). 1 person has voted this message useful |
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