AIBU to ask if you should adopt the accent when speaking in another language?

[WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll]

Every time I hear a British person speaking a foreign language to a native speaker of that language, it makes me irrationally wince when they make no attempt to use a more native-sounding accent. I was always taught at school and college that you should use an authentic-sounding accent and hearing a Brit speaking fluent 'forrin' but in a very British accent sounds to me as though they aren't really trying.

However, this never seems to happen the other way around - and this doesn't seem weird to me at all. Regardless of how flawless and even idiomatic their English is, it's still always very clear from their accent that they ARE actually French, German, Spanish or whatever. And why wouldn't/shouldn't it be?

The only exception that I can think of is when I heard Morten Harket on the radio a little while ago, and I didn't know that it was him at first, as he sounded so very much like a native Brit - but then he might have lived here for a long time.

A Cockney wouldn't adjust their accent when speaking to a Scot or a Geordie. A woman wouldn't feel the need to lower the pitch of her voice in solidarity when talking to a man. And could it be seen as mockery or even cultural appropriation if they did? What about English people learning Welsh - should they try to emulate the accent too?

Any thoughts? Am I just being Anglocentric and/or patronising? Forriners with an alternative perspective on it particularly welcome!

Of course, if you are speaking a foreign language you should adopt the accent as much as you can, as you are (presumably) trying to speak it as well as a native speaker and to be understood. The problem is, quite a lot of (at least British and possibly other nationalities too) people find this difficult as they don't have an "ear" for it. They can learn the words but they don't notice their pronunciation is not as that of a native speaker. I don't think it means they aren't trying. Apparently, learning English is very difficult so they do well to speak it and a bit of an accent isn't a problem really as long as everyone can understand them.

A Cockney wouldn't adjust their accent when speaking to a Scot or a Geordie

Of course not. They’re speaking the same language. Different languages are pronounced in different ways. You adopt the accent so your words sounds as they should.

Also, if you are learning a tonal language (Chinese dialects, Thai, etc), if you DON'T use the intonation (accent) of the locals you might well be saying something different from the phrase you think you are as you will be stressing the wrong syllables and changing the meaning. There are loads of anecdotes on line from ex-pats in Thailand and similar places about how they asked for produce in the markets and found they were saying something inappropriately rude by mistake and causing consternation or hilarity.

If your accent is too strong then the native speaker won't understand.
It helps to try pronounce words as correctly as possible. It'll probably depend on the language as well as some have completely different sounds to English.

You can never get rid of your accent when speaking a foreign language unless you've been brought up bilingual.

I think it's great if Brits abroad are trying to speak the local language it's better than just speaking louder in English.

We were having a conversation about this yesterday. Our neighbour is German and has lived here for about 30 years but you can still tell she is German. Doesn't upset me at all.

I think two things, firstly there's a difference between accent and letter/vowel/syllable sounds (whatever they are called). Sometimes if you don't even try to make the right sounds no one can understand diddly shit. Accents are different. Many English language learners, learn the American twang. My Dh is Brazilian, he can do a pretty good American or British accent but neither would pass as native and thankfully he doesn't do this outside the home. He is happy with his foreign accent but at least he makes the right letter sounds. Most Brazilians try to do an American accent and it sounds utterly ridiculous. Funnily enough a lot of them actually think they would pass as Americans. Over the age of 17 it is almost impossible to hide a foreign accent. Even younger people struggle unless they are completely immersed.
Also Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese etc people find it harder to make the sounds in English and vice-versa, but are much better at doing it in languages similar to their own. The same is true of say English, Dutch , Swedish and German. I certainly feel less self conscious saying words in German than I do in French.
I think many people feel more comfortable keeping their accent and saying the words. People in live abroad are a different matter. I can't stand hearing native English speakers who live in Brazil butchering Portuguese, it just grates on me. Have an accent, sure but at least make an effort. Tourists are different.

Difficult because how many people from another country speak English in a scouse/Yorkshire/cockney accent? . They still maintain their own accent, you can tell a French person speaking English from someone from Leeds. However, I get your point that it sounds absolutely ridiculous attempting to speak Spanish in any British accent.

Moving around the British isles I found I had to modify my speech slightly if I was to be understood comfortably. So I'm all for adapting.

Having said that I can't really roll my rs in Spanish and tbh I no longer try.

I don't understand the question. British people speak French with a British accent. French people speak English with a French accent.

Very few people manage to speak languages without knowing where they are from and sound like a native speaker. What is the problem here?

No matter how much you try to emulate the accent you will always have your native accent, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

I think you need to attempt to get the sounds similar but its ridiculous to expect to be able to get accents perfect

I think most people do try, but they aren't very good at it.

Perhaps it's because I work in London, but I hear people speaking English quite badly with a very strong foreign accent, which is often incomprehensible, very frequently indeed.

Morten Harket is definitely the exception, not the rule.

I think you should try to pronounce things correctly and try to use the correct accent but the latter is far harder than the former! As someone else has previously said, if you've not been brought up bilingually or at least been totally immersed for several years, it's unlikely you'll ever sound like a native even if you are very fluent. There's something about how the brain learns to hear different languages and intonations that develops in childhood, and if you don't learn a language by the time that part of the brain "sets" you won't be able to hear the subtle differences that make you sound different.

Some people are better at picking up local accents than others - I have found myself at various stages of life accidentally copying certain accents in certain words from others around me. I'm reasonably good at languages but very out of practice now so sound definitely British when speaking French/German. My sister is very similar, and she now lives in Germany and tells me that people tell her she sounds almost German. Weirdly, if I speak to her on the phone (in English) she often sounds German, because most of the people she speaks English to most days are German, so she's picked up some of their mannerisms! After a day or two at home she's back to the old West Mids twang though.

There is a big difference between pronouncing words correctly (or as close as you can, it is eg very difficult for English people to pronounce certain foreign r's correctly) and having the right accent in the language.

I speak fluent German but have a terrible English accent that makes me cringe. But I can't do anything about it, it's the way I speak! Although when I lived there, if I could avoid a couple of sentences without obvious r's in them I might get people thinking I was from the far north of Germany before they finally twigged I was British.

My husband speaks pigeon German but can mimic most accents (not Liverpool) so can sound far more authentically German when speaking German than I can. Which is very unfair.

Very few people manage to speak languages without knowing where they are from and sound like a native speaker This is true. Some people can really take on the accent but most can't. Sometimes you can if the accent of the local area is a strong one - eg I had a German friend who spoke English with a very convincing Irish accent after a couple of years in Dublin and there are more than a few Premier League footballers who pick up a local accent when living here.

I think it's rarely a case of not trying.

It is extremely difficult to lose your accent entirely in a foreign language, especially if you learn as an an adult, and especially if the language contains many sounds different to your own. It can also be difficult to even hear and identify the differences between sounds (or tones) in other languages if they don't exist in your own, let alone make them.

As long as the accent and pronunciation don't inhibit communication and understanding I don't see the issue.

I think it's not so much putting on an accent, it's getting the right pronunciation. So, the different 'u' sound in French which doesn't have an English equivalent, or pronouncing the Spanish 'r' or 'rr' which is different to an English 'r'. I speak a couple of European languages with apparently a good accent according to native speakers so they can tell I'm not native but can't quite tell where I'm from, I don't have an English accent.
For foreign speakers of English I think it depends on the language. Dutch people always seem to have a great accent, and Scandinavians, whereas French/Italian seem to have stronger accents.
But I think it's great when anyone tries to speak a foreign language and they make the effort to do so. That's always appreciated. I like accents.

DD1 was taught French by a Spanish woman who'd studied at university in Glasgow. Her accent was something to hear!

I was brought up in Northants but live in South London. Dh has a strong S.London accent. I speak a bit like him when I'm with his family. My side of the family say I speak a weird combo of "Lahndan" and rural Northants. I never win! I work with people from around the world and I accept that some of them speak perfectly good English but their "native" accent can be too strong to anglicise. But that is also how I identify them when they ring me by phone.

I studied French for years and years and studied there. When I try and speak it now, 20 years later my accent is shit and I sound very British. Even when my accent was good, people still knew I was British. Even when British people speak French beautifully I can still tell they are British, 99% of the time. I can also identify Spanish or German people speaking French, and tell when native French speakers come from parts of African or the Caribbean. I can tell whether someone is from Northern or Southern France. There are just different accents, the important thing is trying to make yourself understood.

You just need to be understood: intonation counts for a lot. Make no attempts and you'll miss the mark.

Happened to me on holiday this year : helpful railway worker couldnt understand the destination I wanted to go to. I said the city in too English a way mangling both the vowels and intonation. I find it too in my city when trying to help foreign language speakers, some are just producing words too far away from the target!

You’ve reminded me of my French teacher at school who spoke French with a strong scouse accent.

I think there is a difference in deliberately saying the foreign words as someone might read them phonetically in English and in trying to emulate the correct way as used by native speakers.

If by using the accent you mean trying to pronounce the words correctly then obviously, why would you not, surely no one will understand you in France say if you pronounce pain like “ow that hurts”? If you mean some how achieving accentless fluency in a language you started learning after age 12 I really think it’s asking a bit much.

It is difficult.
I know people who you would never guess were foreign when they talk. On the other hand, majority is like myself. There is no way I could pass as a native with my accent. I tried really hard, but only thing I achieved was being really nervous and self doubting when talking.
So now I don't give a fuck. I am happy, it doesn't take me god knows how long to say a sentence and people do get used to it pretty quick. I dare to say that I am fluent in English (with some grammar issues though) and can speak as fast as native, but I sound like I've just moved here, not a decade ago.
It does cause a lots of funny moments. Like I can't say "count" in the middle of sentence when talking fast 😂

If you're speaking to a person in their language it should definitely sound as they speak. With their accent. However nothing makes my toes curl like hearing people say a word during a normal English conversation. And using an accent, watching Great British Bake Off where they just say the French word in a French accent. Terrible! French people don't say English words in a london or Birmingham accent in the middle of their sentences

As we have regional dialects, so do other languages.

yes i have heard chinese people with brummie and scouse accents. as a card carrying southerner, it was astounding to me at first, but of course, if someone is going to come to this country and learn a language, they will learn the pronunciation from what they hear.

I lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil for a couple of years and learned Portuguese there. I had a Paulista accent. Had I been based in Salvador, I'd have sounded like a Baiana. they had different accents/vocab/sayings.

while there, one of my colleagues had enormous fun introducing me to a guy he knew, and letting us both conduct the meeting in full portuguese before realising a good hour in that we were BOTH english :D

As it was, when back home in the UK, I made friends who were all from the south east of brazil - all with very strong distinctive accents. Spending time with them, my accent shifted a bit. It's gone back now but does get some influence nowadays more from Porto whenever I spend time there.

I had heard of someone very posh upper class once returning from her Gap Yah having learned fluent French. Turns out she had learned the equivalent of cockney dialect.

being able to make the sounds like a local/native is about the muscles in our mouths, we have to make the tongue and mouth make different shapes and positions to get the accents right. some of us have more flexible muscles than others. Some people have mouths that just won't do decent accents. I think it's down to flexibility and genes perhaps. some cant roll their tongues, some can't twist, it's genetic, so why not flexibility and ability to make your mouth make the positions and shapes needed to get a word to pronounce a certain way over another.

I do further think that some languages create a set of muscles that have more difficulty in being flexible than others.