[Walderschmidt]

(08-15-2013 03:26 AM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  

I used to date a girl who's first language was German, and she doesn't like the way it sounds. She says, "it's not a nice language." She would say even when you're talking about nice things, it doesn't come off as warm as in other languages.

What other languages did she speak?

Which of them did she compare German to when she said that German was not a nice language?

Was she ethnic German?

Wald

[Sombro]

I have to say, German does sound nice when a woman is whispering it in your ear.

[la_mode]

(08-15-2013 03:27 AM)RichieP Wrote:  

yeah it's all relative and often depends on what you associate with that accent.

Spanish with an american accent might sound ugly to you, but I bet it sounds exotic and appealing to many people in, say, Peru...

German has a way of sounding nice to me. IMO when Germans express a positive sentiment in German it has it's own kind of warmth - very clean, cosy and deliberate. I have that same sense when they express a positive sentiment in English too.

It's all in the "ear" of the beholder.

Yes, but that is mainly because of perception of high status via being American.

I've been to Latin countries (Peru included) and the transfer of Spanish to English with Spanish accent just sounds a lot better than vice versa.

A Latin guy with a Spanish accent in English in the US can really work that to his advantage. I'm second-generation, but sometimes wish I had that "cool Latin guy accent". While I can speak Spanish fairly well, the "gringo" accent I have is enough reason for me not to unless absolutely necessary. A Latin guy with a gringo accent in Spanish can be the subject of fodder to most Latina women. A white American guy...then it's a neat thing.

Sort of like dancing, it's not expected a white guy be a good dancer, but if you're Latino and don't know how to salsa, it's a point against you with Latina women, unless they're completely Americanized.

[Brodiaga]

Strangely, in Russian, an American accent sounds better than many other accents including accents from some of the ex-USSR republics. It sounds kind of soft, easy to understand, though I've never come across any American who got rid of it completely and could pass for a local.

[Tytalus]

(08-15-2013 08:52 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

Strangely, in Russian, an American accent sounds better than many other accents including accents from some of the ex-USSR republics. It sounds kind of soft, easy to understand, though I've never come across any American who got rid of it completely and could pass for a local.

Huh, good to know!

[The Duke]

Argentinian's speak Spanish with a bit of an Italian accent. This is because they had a huge influx of Italian immigrants.

Similarly, America had a huge influx of German immigrants. American ancestry is more German than English. This makes me wonder if Americans speak English with a bit of a German accent.

[paninaro]

Well I guess there's 2 sides to this. An American speaking American English in a foreign country, and an American using an American accent to speak a foreign language (in a foreign country).

I've had compliments on both. For English, people say that the American accent is much easier to understand compared to Brits, Scots, or Aussies. Maybe people just watch mostly American films and TV shows, but anyway, they seem to find the American accent easiest to understand.

For speaking a foreign language with an American accent, I've found that a good DHV. Girls giggle in a "that's cute" kind of way, but also they know you're an English speaker. Kind of like if you hear a Russian speak English, you can tell they're Russian... but with a different connotation. I've found it works so well that I basically never bothered to learn the correct accent in foreign languages at all -- it's better to sound different.

I was with a wing once (a native speaker of the foreign language) and his opener was to go up to girls and tell them to speak with me as I had a funny accent (in their language, which I did). Worked like a charm!

[theArbiter]

Your question at the end of your original post and your title differ a tiny bit. Are you asking about American English accent transfer to foreign languages or the prestige of American English itself?

The reason you think English doesn't transfer well to other languages is because its phonology and intonation patterns are quite distinct compared to the other popular languages of the earth. Check out my thread that details some English speaker tendencies for some of these.

English speakers tend to freaking put stupid arbitrary stress wherever they want to and screw up vowels with a load of different sounds (that's because of our non-phonemic spelling and a high vowel inventory). Americans also tend to be more nasally, and not the pretty French/Portuguese deliberate kind either. Many times when I've asked foreigners how they think American English sounds, it involves exaggerating the nasal stuff.

German is pretty precise with its pronunciation and I feel that it is similar enough to many Slavic languages and even some Romance Languages (and Hungarian) that it probably isn't as pervasive (because it sounds like any typical foreigner). English, being a language that has deviated significantly from any other (Frisian, a cousin of Dutch, is said to be closest to English, but it's still pretty different even though they share some Germanic vocabulary in quite a precise way). Thus, I wouldn't say that it "takes the cake" for any classification.

German is thought by many to be "ugly", but I think this is just an assumption that one gets from hearsay. People with such an opinion have probably not heard what other languages such as Dutch and the varieties of Arabic sound like (not saying it's ugly, but Dutch does have many consonant sounds [anything close to the uvular fricative area] that many typically associate with "ugly").

Hope this offers some objective perspective, unlike many of the personal opinions here (not dissing on these, though).

[PoosyWrecker]

A conversation in Vietnamese sounds like a duel between two untuned banjos.

[la_mode]

theArbiter, it was a two-part question, although the first part was more of an observation.

A Latin guy speaking English with a Spanish accent, can sound very appealing (Antonio Banderas). An English guy speaking Spanish, well, it just doesn't have the same effect. Women giggle because they know he's trying, but it doesn't exactly sweep them off their feet. The only DHV is that he's American.

The second part was about the perception of the American English accent in other countries, and if it's seen as appealing in any other language. I really don't think it is.

[Duke Castile]

When I spoke English in Australia girls LOVED it the way girls love an OZ accent in the states.

My Aussie friend even had my GF do his voicemail for him because it "sounds international"

In the other countries I've visited people seemed to like the way I speak but I think it was more because of my voice and not my accent.

It was weird being in Vietnam and talking with these little feminine girls in English and then hearing them switch over to their abrasive native tongue. Sounded like two alleyway cats in a dust up.

[Kabal]

(08-16-2013 09:50 PM)Fisto Wrote:  

It was weird being in Vietnam and talking with these little feminine girls in English and then hearing them switch over to their abrasive native tongue. Sounded like two alleyway cats in a dust up.

Similarly, mainland Chinese girls (depending on where they're from) can have very rough native accents.

Although their cacophony is unappealing per se, at least they love softer, gentler-sounding accents--especially from an otherwise-masculine American.

Contrast game, I suppose.