Hi, Butterfly,



Here are pictures of Capetown. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Town

Ask her the same questions you would ask someone from Hawaii or Alaska ---
how are the schools?
have you seen any good movies lately?
how long does it take in an airplane to get here?
. . . .

Maybe your guest speaks more than one language.
It is ok to ask about her language. She might speak Afrikaans as well as English-- which comes originally from The Netherlands.

M

Thank you Mari! Pretty pictures. It looks more urban than I imagined it. I had no idea about the languages. You are right, maybe she speaks more than English, maybe that's why she has an accent? I will ask her. I've always thought it would be neat to be bilingual. Both my maternal grandparents speak French. I took French in school but have forgotten most of it. The other questions are good, too. Thanks!

Ok. Um, No. She most likely speaks English as mother tongue. She probably also speaks Afrikaans and may be fully bilingual, but that would not be the reason for the "accented English" - it is only a regional difference.... like a Boston accent.

I say this based on the fact you said she sounded sort-of Australian to you at first. S. African English speech does have similar sounds to Australian speech... they are different, but much closer to each other than they are to ANY accent in the US!)



~ waves ~

I had an great uncle who grew up in south africa and had the neatest sounding british accent...at least that is what I remembered. I like europian accents...so sophisticated and usually more educated, multi lingual etc.
bizi

That's cool Bizi. One of the guys next door to me my sophomore year was from S. Africa, totally cool accent. We would sometimes hang out with a few others in our lounge and watch Carson when the frat folk were off getting drunk. oops... dating myself here.

more recently when i visiting a friend there was a housemate from S. Africa, i find the accent quite soft and pleasant. It is British-based as you noticed. Even with all the diversity between US accents, the US vs UK differences so very pronounced (no pun intended) that each often lump the others all together.

Speaking of accents, do you ever watch The Closer with Kyra Sedgewick? She sounds really "genu-WHINE" to me ...... it was quite a shock when i learned she's from New York! LOL. I'd love to hear from a Atlanta native if her accent is as "dead on" as it sounds to me.

~ waves ~

Dear Waves,
never watched it.
hope you are doing well these days.
(((((HUGS)))))
bizi

Sorry,

I messed that up.

Thanks Waves for correcting me.

M

Dear Mari

Actually, I was not trying to correct you at all!

I did not see anything messed up in what you posted!

It was this specific comment by Butterfly, in particular the last part, that elicited my response to her:

It is possible this person speaks English as a second language, but the fact she sounds "sort of Australian" suggests otherwise to me. Simply asking about other languages is fine.

I was more trying to say, from a social point of view, that in conversation, it I think it best not to "link" the perceived accent to speaking other languages. I would not even ask if English is her first language, but instead let the other person offer that information if they feel like it.

I say this because these things might not always go over well. Some people are not sensitive about such things, but others are. In the latter cases, it may not be obvious - a person might give a polite/good-natured reply even if they feel put off.

~ waves ~

Waves,


I understand. I apologize.

M

Dear Mari...

oh dear. I don't know how I have still managed to leave you with the impression there was something wrong / to apologize for.... but i assure you, there isn't. Please don't worry!!! you are fine. all your posts are fine - and very informative! information is always helpful!



~ waves ~