The Friday Five
Aug. 20th, 2022 05:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
supernutjapan1. Can you impersonate anyone famous?
No. I get too self-conscious :D But I can use various voices when I read to little kids.
2. Can you do any accents other than your own?
I can speak English like a Japanese person.
3. Do you have a strong local accent?
No. I am Canadian whose both parents spoke Canadian English, and was educated at an American school in Japan for most of my schooling. My English is very generic and without much accent at all imo. Years ago, I had an interview at a model/talent agency and they got me an interview for a voice part in a national English language program. They first listened to me read normally, then asked me to read with my own "dialect"... but I had been reading with my own dialect and didn't really know how to react to that LOL Which is what made me think that my "dialect" is not pronounced. Canadian English has shorter vowels than American English but the only other thing I can think of is the "eh?" At that time, though, possibly because of how my parents talked, I tended not to slur my words - I said, I want to... instead of I wanna etc. Since then, I've been using a textbook in my classes that places importance on understanding slurred language and uses it a lot in the songs and chants, so I encourage my students to use it in class and use it myself so they can be used to spoken English.
As to my Japanese, it is also native level with regard to accent. I guess you could say it is a heavy Tokyo accent which couldn't be mistaken for any where else, but is also standard Japanese and not distinctive. People mistake me for a Japanese person on the phone so when I am talking about myself as a teacher of an English class, I have to qualify that I am a native Canadian.
I thought it might be fun to record my voice reading excerpts from some stories. You can tell me what you think about my accent in English/Japanese :D
4. What's your favorite accent?
I don't really have a "favorite" accent. I think my own accent is the easiest to understand. It takes time to get used to other accents, like Australian or British. I don't have trouble with Asian accents. My husband has trouble understanding the Indian accent but I don't particularly.
5. If your family hated your current partner, would you ditch him/her or carry on with him/her despite the protests?
Hate is a strong emotion. I would at least try to figure out why they hate him and consider if that would be a viable reason not to go out with him. If it's just a personal preference type of thing, then I would ask them to put my happiness first. But if I was head-over-heels, I may not be able to react rationally as above and just end up going out with him without considering their warning. I have never been in such a situation so I don't know.
No. I get too self-conscious :D But I can use various voices when I read to little kids.
2. Can you do any accents other than your own?
I can speak English like a Japanese person.
3. Do you have a strong local accent?
No. I am Canadian whose both parents spoke Canadian English, and was educated at an American school in Japan for most of my schooling. My English is very generic and without much accent at all imo. Years ago, I had an interview at a model/talent agency and they got me an interview for a voice part in a national English language program. They first listened to me read normally, then asked me to read with my own "dialect"... but I had been reading with my own dialect and didn't really know how to react to that LOL Which is what made me think that my "dialect" is not pronounced. Canadian English has shorter vowels than American English but the only other thing I can think of is the "eh?" At that time, though, possibly because of how my parents talked, I tended not to slur my words - I said, I want to... instead of I wanna etc. Since then, I've been using a textbook in my classes that places importance on understanding slurred language and uses it a lot in the songs and chants, so I encourage my students to use it in class and use it myself so they can be used to spoken English.
As to my Japanese, it is also native level with regard to accent. I guess you could say it is a heavy Tokyo accent which couldn't be mistaken for any where else, but is also standard Japanese and not distinctive. People mistake me for a Japanese person on the phone so when I am talking about myself as a teacher of an English class, I have to qualify that I am a native Canadian.
I thought it might be fun to record my voice reading excerpts from some stories. You can tell me what you think about my accent in English/Japanese :D
4. What's your favorite accent?
I don't really have a "favorite" accent. I think my own accent is the easiest to understand. It takes time to get used to other accents, like Australian or British. I don't have trouble with Asian accents. My husband has trouble understanding the Indian accent but I don't particularly.
5. If your family hated your current partner, would you ditch him/her or carry on with him/her despite the protests?
Hate is a strong emotion. I would at least try to figure out why they hate him and consider if that would be a viable reason not to go out with him. If it's just a personal preference type of thing, then I would ask them to put my happiness first. But if I was head-over-heels, I may not be able to react rationally as above and just end up going out with him without considering their warning. I have never been in such a situation so I don't know.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-20 07:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-21 03:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-21 03:48 am (UTC)I think you have a pleasant voice and an easy accent. I do not know Japanese, but the ease of effort is unmistakable… but of course- you have two first languages :).
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Date: 2022-08-21 08:07 am (UTC)Your mentioning "two first languages" reminded me: one time in elementary school, our class was asked what each of our first languages was. My mom always told me that my first word was "abunai" meaning danger in Japanese, so I told them Japanese was my first language. They then went on to tell me - I think a teacher called me to her office afterwards because I remember sitting with her alone - that my first language was the language of my parents, which was English, and that Japanese was not my first language. I couldn't understand the logic of that LOL
To be honest, my knowledge of Japanese is not quite that of a native adult - just my accent and spoken language. I hate official documents and avoid having to read them as much as possible. It takes much longer for me to read a Japanese book than in English.
Even though I did pass the highest test of the Proficiency Exam right out of university and am an experienced translator, it is nice to be able to fall back on the "I'm a gaijin(outsider), sorry." excuse sometimes:P
no subject
Date: 2022-08-22 11:27 pm (UTC)This made me ponder a bit.
By that same logic (of what your teacher said), my first language should be Farsi (that's the language my parents spoke)- but it really isn't. I can read, speak and write Farsi, but not as well as English.
It always struck me how I used to get complimented more for my proficiency in English, more than my 'white' peers... I guess it comes from the same place (only expressed differently) as your teacher's... and I am not sure how I feel about that. Haha.
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Date: 2022-08-22 11:43 pm (UTC)Here is the article.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_language
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Date: 2022-08-22 11:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-23 12:32 am (UTC)Yes, I agree. Hence we make peace with being an outsider (gaijin) looking in :).
This aspect is now so much part of my personality that I do not know if I would have been any different had I grown up in a different circumstance/ environment.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-23 02:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-21 10:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-21 11:48 pm (UTC)