What's your mother tongue/ native language?

[pshrynk]

I have mostly a midwest accent. Think Eric Severeid. Some South Texasisms. ("Y'all might could do that."

[MickeyC]

Originally Posted by Johns1NOnly

That happens to me too..... nobody can place my accent, since its a mix of all the places i been. Cant wait to see what happens when i visit UK and australia.

You'll notice the Ausies talk fast, especially in the Outback. This is due, I expect, to the prevalence of flies.

[nrapallo]

Canadian IS another flavour, the best of both worlds (US & UK)!

Move over, Zed! Rock on, Zzzeeee!

[Wetdogeared]

Originally Posted by nrapallo

Canadian IS another flavour, the best of both worlds (US & UK)!

Move over, Zed! Rock on, Zzzeeee!

WDE.(Queen Zzzeeee!)

[vivaldirules]

I definitely speak U.S. English, but I prefer some of the U.K. spellings - particularly those which seem to be consistent with the pronunciations (e.g., neighbour, behaviour). But I like my z's, please.

[Daithi]

U.S. English is my mother tongue, but I can cuss in Spanish and Irish.

[Moejoe]

UK English here, with a healthy dose of Anglo-Saxon swear words, and just a pinch of bawdy language from time to time.

[desertgrandma]

You forgot ghetto English, and texting English.

Those are two completely foreign languages.

[mores]

If native language means the first language you spoke, then it is german. I then learned my father tongue (luxembourgish), and when I moved to canada, after a few years (and a very helpful english teacher who tought me the sound of the language I even dreamt and thought in english and didn't get identified as a non-native anymore.

Now, more than a decade after moving back to Austria, I struggle with my english, despite doing everything I can (movies only in original language, chatting up american citizens and refusing to help them improve their german ...) to keep it up.

Originally Posted by cassidym

You'll notice the Ausies talk fast, especially in the Outback. This is due, I expect, to the prevalence of flies.

[vivaldirules]

Originally Posted by Daithi

U.S. English is my mother tongue, but I can cuss in Spanish and Irish.

Now there's an interesting subject. I took Russian in college 30 years ago and saw a great list of Russian cuss phrases. One of them was so incredibly descriptive that I have never forgotten it (or used it, thankfully). But I hardly remember anything else about the language.

[Elsi]

Expressive language:

I speak US English with a deep south flavor. (No extra 'u' in there; we lengthen the words by making diphthongs out of normal long and short vowels.)

I write standard American English. I type at more than 80 wpm, but haven't taken a speed test lately. Error rates are higher these days than 20 years ago.

I sign in a pidgin of ASL and SEE. That's because I'm thinking SEE but know that proper ASL syntax doesn't use as many "helping" words. (American Sign Language and Signed Exact English)

Receptive language:

I read US, UK, Canadian, Australian, and Kiwi English.

I understand spoken English with a few exceptions. There are some accents which just cannot get through my internal filter. Particularly difficult for me to parse is English as a Second Language when spoken by someone from China. And there are some elderly gents in Berkshire that I just gave up on conversing with.

I understand "baby sign". Would love to spend more time conversing with deaf individuals to help me build my receptive skills.


Other:

In addition to English, I sing Latin, German, French, and Italian with reasonable pronunciation.

I know a dozen or so words in Spanish and German -- not even enough to make me comfortable as a tourist, though. I took several years of Latin and use that to help me decipher written Spanish when I encounter it.

[mtravellerh]

Ah. I am a mixed blessing.

My mother's Italian, my dad is native Luxemburger, so my mother tongue is actually Italian, but as I grew up in Luxembourg, I spoke Luxemburgish all the time.

[MickeyC]

I should have added, I also speak passable German. After I graduated from college (Go UCONN!), I landed a job at Daimler Benz in Sindlefingen, Germany working as what was known as a Practicant which loosely translated was practical application work for engineering students. Idea was to actually work on the assembly line before you started designing factory equipment.

It was fascinating and, I can assure you, that when you have to stick your hands in a large steel press and extract a piece of metal after it's been stamped; you learn German real fast!

Another interesting phenomena with that language I discovered is, the more beer you drink, the better your German becomes. Can't think why; must have to do with the hops.

[Ziguezon]

My first language is the Eastern/Maritime variant of Canadian English.

All those French, Scottish, Irish, and English settlers living in such close proximity for a few hundred years has resulted in some interesting dialects and accents.

In certain areas, you might hear all of the following in one day:

- What are you talking aboot?

- What are you talking aboat?

- What are you talking h'about?

[ravenne]

Originally Posted by cassidym

I should have added, I also speak passable German. After I graduated from college (Go UCONN!), I landed a job at Daimler Benz in Sindlefingen, Germany working as what was known as a Practicant which loosely translated was practical application work for engineering students. Idea was to actually work on the assembly line before you started designing factory equipment.

It was fascinating and, I can assure you, that when you have to stick your hands in a large steel press and extract a piece of metal after it's been stamped; you learn German real fast!

Another interesting phenomena with that language I discovered is, the more beer you drink, the better your German becomes. Can't think why; must have to do with the hops.

I hope to see you in the German forum, cassidym! We´d be very pleased
As for the beer: It certainly makes the tongue loose, but I think that´s not due to the hops but due to some other ingredients