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What does English sound like? I live in a very mulitcultural area, and I have come to appreciate the sound of languages that I don't understand. I can't really describe them very well. Hindi/Punjabi sounds kind of singsongy ... as does Cantonese. Japanese I recognize from the hard consonant sounds. Manderin has a lot of back of the throat sounds. Russian has a lot of 'sk' sounds. French tends to be a bit nasaly. Etc.
I often find myself wondering what English sounds like to someone who doesn't understand what is being said. I think that the best way to find out might be to be far enough away from someone so that you can still hear them speaking, but not make out what they are saying. Either that, or go to a place that has so many people speaking at once that you cannot focus on what is being said.
I may try it out and see what I come up with. Most of the time when I don't understand someone, I find myself straining my ears to catch stray words and guessing to fill in the gaps. I am going to try and not do that.
--Phae
I often find myself wondering what English sounds like to someone who doesn't understand what is being said. I think that the best way to find out might be to be far enough away from someone so that you can still hear them speaking, but not make out what they are saying. Either that, or go to a place that has so many people speaking at once that you cannot focus on what is being said.
I may try it out and see what I come up with. Most of the time when I don't understand someone, I find myself straining my ears to catch stray words and guessing to fill in the gaps. I am going to try and not do that.
--Phae
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