What do different accents sound like to native speakers of foreign languages?

[kenandbarbie]

Just wondering what the perceptions are between native speakers of other languages?

I think the Cyprus accent is like a farmers one to Athens people in Greek, is that right?

What about say Mexicans and Spaniards? What do they think of each other's accents?

We were talking about this the other day. I find accents fascinating, I wonder what I sound like speaking French to a native French person , do I have a distinct accent the same as if it were the other way round?

At some point someone will come along and say they don't have an accent. Feel free to bong them on the head for me OP. Everyone has an accent.

I'm from the North of Italy (which is like the South of England) DM is from Milan and speaks with the Italian version a home counties accent. DH is from the Northern countryside and sounds like a farmer. Me, DBro and the cousins all switch between farmer dialect and 'home counties' Italian.

I speak Spanish conversationally and I can understand the Spanish from Chili much better than the Spanish from Spain.

Well apparently to French speakers, English speakers sound “cute”. Which surprises me because I find most English speakers speaking French quite cringey.

Camomila that is really interesting? Are there jokes about people from different Italian regions too?

Different dialects makes regional differences more pronounced I imagine?

This is so interesting, I also find it fascinating.
I'm bilingual, but didn't realise I spoke my second language with a very clear British accent until I heard myself on camera. Silly really, because when native speakers speak in English, I hear their accent so it would make sense!

I wonder if my french accent sounds Scottish to a French person? Presumably, yes!

My uncle is very good at foreign languages. He lived in Germany for a gap year. My mum went to visit him and was introduced to his friends. They couldn’t understand why his sister didn’t speak German as they thought he was German.

My Italian neighbour grew up in Wales but she's fluent and speaks Italian flawlessly with a proper Italian accent.

I speak Spanish and have lived in Spain. Spanish friends told me that English has a sing-song sound to them. Apparently I spoke Spanish with the local accent of where I lived way back when.

I was discussing this with an Italian friend just the other day. She said that she can distinguish different accents within Italy where there are a variety of dialects and the like but she can’t distinguish any other specific nationality from their accent speaking Italian except for Spanish. (So for instance she couldn’t tell an English person from an Irish one or a Danish one etc)

Lebanese sound dead sexy to Egyptians.

DS is bilingual and speaks English with a southern accent (learned from me, and I've moved around so it's a bit of a mix) and Dutch like a farmer as we live in Limburg.
It absolutely cracks me up when we're visiting places like Amsterdam, speaking English, and someone starts talking about us and he challenges them in perfect Limburgs dialect.
I can actually change my Dutch accent and can manage a bit of Nijmeegs, Brabants, Limburgs, and Vlaams. I can't do anything north of the A15.

What do Dutch people think about all those different accents?

@ Purpleelk How do you know about Lebanese sounding sexy to Egyptians? DD1 is studying in Lebanon right now and picking up Lebanese Arabic (to add to the Modern Standard Arabic she learned at uni). She'll be tickled pink that her new acquired accent is so seductive in Cairo! The main noticeable thing about Beiruti Arabic is the liberal insertion of English and French into every conversation, along the lines of 'hey habibi, ca va?'

I can speak German with a reasonably good Berlin accent, which is very working-class, a bit like Estuary English. The Berliners can just about hear a tinge of my English-Language background (but not which country I'm from exactly) but interestingly southern Germans and Austrians can't hear I'm a forriner, because they think all northerners speak funny anyway. 'Standard' German is closest to the accent from Hanover. Swabian German is utterly impenetrable to outsiders, a bit like Scots.

My old french teacher was from the south of France. When he retired our new teacher (who was English), told us off for our pronunciation claiming a southern french accent was the equivalent to scouse or Geordie ! I have no idea how true that is ??!!

We had a group of German exchange students arrive whilst I was in a German class. Our teacher started speaking to them in German but they all stood there silently and looking a tad confused. They couldn’t understand what she was saying! I can only guess that wherever she learnt German that it must’ve been in a strong regional accent?

My mum is Spanish, but has lived in the UK for over 50 years. She was born and lived in one area in Spain until she was 13, then moved to another area and lived there until she was 23.

Half a century later, when she meets a Spanish person, they still recognise exactly where she was born.

I can't speak Spanish, but I can recognise her accent, and also the accent of the area where my family now live. They sound like home to me, whereas other parts don't.

Mum has very strong opinions on other parts of Spain as well!

I haven't lived in Italy since I was little so I don't know much more than the stereotypes of:
North: Posh or some farmery bits, Milan has 'posh Milan' and 'cockney' Milan
South: Mainly offensive stuff! Like some people say of Northern English accents

Yes, the dialects use some completely different words with Italian grammar...so not as different as Gaelic/Welsh but maybe like Cornish/Norfolk.
Example:
English - sit on the chair
Italian - siediti su la sedia
Dialect - Setas giu su la cuadrega
(Excuse any terrible spelling, I never went to school in Italy)

Cornish isnt a dialect. It is a language with similarities to Welsh

I lived in Cyprus for a time and picked up the Cypriot dialect, it makes mainland Greeks cringe when I do it so i try to remember to speak Greek properly, i find it much less fun though.

Ah sorry SirVix my mistake, do many people still speak it?

So for instance she couldn’t tell an English person from an Irish one or a Danish one etc)

That’s interesting because normally I can tell where a non British person is from when the speak english. If they are French or Polish for example. I assumed everyone could?

When I learned French in school our teacher insisted we do what she modelled as a French accent (she is Belfast born and bred), I was convinced I sounded like Franck from father of the bride

Baroness

With your knowledge of Dutch accents and variants could you comment on something I’ve had different answers on?

Years ago I was told that Friesan is so close sounding to English (not that its words or structure are) that its speakers are sometimes misunderstood by Dutch speakers to be speaking English.

Is it true or is it cock?

@alansleftfoot French DP says this is true (after I explained about Scouse/Geordie accents).
However DP is Parisian and says that Parisians mock every other French accent.

I can’t hear any difference in accents in either French or English when French family/friends speak to me.
With the exception of DP who doesn’t have much of a French accent anymore unless he is saying English words while speaking French- but then he just sounds like he is mocking himself.

I seem to remember that Spaniards think Latin American Spanish speakers are loud and obnoxious? Might just be a stereotype! A bit like some US speakers sound to a UK English ear?

I grew up in Italy. I agree with @Camomila about the different areas. If you're from the north, you'll generally think southerners are loud and obnoxious. If you're a southerner, you'll find northerners are very proper. There are finer variations - for example the Tuscan accent is widely recognised for being the 'best' and most authentic. Also dead sexy to most! Apparently I've lost my original Italian accent now and just sound 'generic Italian'