Question from the linguistically challenged

[nmroberto]

Alrighty then.... how do you pronounce Pfalz?  Is it like false with a z  or ?

[nmroberto]

thanks, that what I thought but I don't speak German so I wasn't sure.

[uncletony]

The p is pronounced but only very slightly, making the f sound harder. The z sound is like ts in English.  "Faults" is sorta close phonetically.

[IvotB]

I would pronounce the P though. It is the start of the word, just as in the Bundesland Rheinland Pfalz. Now for me it is perhaps a little bit easier, because I start from dutch and not from english german. The P might be soft, but you can't leave it out in the pronounciation.

It's nice these language things. I'm not sure if everybody nows the BBC series Allo, Allo, where they give a nice (comic) interpretation of the way french and germans pronounce english.

And in reality if you are working a lot internationally in Europe we try to understand eachother in english, but you can almost always hear from what country somebody is.

regards,
Ivo

[Ian from Doncaster]

Ivo I encounter many business colleagues in Europe, the older generations usually have their home country accent when speaking English, whereas the younger generations usually have an American accent.  That's Hollywood for you, I guess!

[vincentm]

You're quite right. I noticed that too. I also guess Hollywood has something to see with it, mostly because now you can easily switch from local language to original american version. As for me, I have the feeling that American English is easier to understand than British English.

About Pfalz, you have to pronounce the P, like in the word Pferd (horse). The Z always sounds like Ts in German.

[rhwinter]

(...) you have to pronounce the P, like in the word Pferd (horse). The Z always sounds like Ts in German.

That's absolutely right!

Greetings from Richard, a German native speaker who also used to study German language and literature in one of his former lives...

[IvotB]

Ivo I encounter many business colleagues in Europe, the older generations usually have their home country accent when speaking English, whereas the younger generations usually have an American accent.  That's Hollywood for you, I guess!

Well, I'm not sure. I have the impression that there's also a relation between the accent and movies and television. If movies (films ) and television series are subtitled in stead of synchronised in one's own language, you will listen to a lot of american english in stead of UK english. In the Netherlands at school one definitely is learning the UK pronounciation and not the american one. I am always a little bit surprised when in the US somebody is asking me if I'm from the UK, because of my accent............. One thing is for sure: I will never master the first letters in the word the. Somehow that's just too complicated, so I try to hide it as much as possible.

I think understanding UK english is just as easy as understanding american english. I noticed however that there seems to be a major difference in conversation. A lot of my UK colleagues talk with a lot of anecdotes in their explanations, where american tend to be more direct in their conversation. Of course not as direct as the impolite way as most dutch tend to express themselves. So I'll try to be careful next time 


regards,
Ivo

[vincentm]

If movies (films ) and television series are subtitled in stead of synchronised in one's own language, you will listen to a lot of american english in stead of UK english

Exactly. Just because more movies come from the US than from the UK...I recently had the occasion to see again the TV series "The Persuaders", in english version this time. I definitely found Tony Curtiss easier to understand than Roger Moore, although I'm closer to UK and have never been in the US yet!

Moreover, there are regional accents as well. For instance, it's more difficult to understand scottish or irish people than English. But as you said, it's more a matter of what you're used to hear. Should you have a scottish English teacher, you will find the scottish accent is normal...it also depends on the age of people. When I hear american actors from the 50's or 60's, I have the feeling they speak pretty fast and are sometimes harder to understand than nowadays Americans.

[Ian from Doncaster]

Interesting about accents, especially the views of those who's first language is not English.  My partner is German, and as a child moved from Bavaria to the North of the country, where she claims she could hardly understand a word they were saying..

[Nigel Jackson]

Living in France, I don't speak bad French, but it seems as if the moment I open my mouth and before any words even come out, people here realise that I'm British and my first language English.

Best wishes
Nigel

[ALBATROS1234]

something that most people dont consider and may be part of the reason we have accents is the way a persons muscles develop in the mouth and tongue, and the way they are used to pronounce ones own native language affects accent. i notice that germans are very tight in the cheeks and tongue when they speak, and british do too, a least more so than americans which have a smoother more relaxed (lazier?) way of speaking.within america there are many accents. up north theres that chicago,michigan,north dakota thing.theres the new england accent, southern/hick , west coast etc. interesting topic.

[PrzemoL]

All this discussion of foreigners speaking English brought back a joke to my mind, concerning Poles speaking English incorrectly:

A Pole tells to an English:
- I think I have to polish my English (pronouncing polish as Polish)
and gots the answer:
- Your English is Polish enough.

I was lucky to be able to learn English since I was 6. My father made me take extra courses for long 12 years of my primary and secondary education because in those times English was not taught in Polish schools at all or only occasionally. I also had a good chance to practice my skills studying in Nottingham in 1990/91 academic year. And I was always more prone to British English than American. Indeed, sometimes it is harder to understand British, than American, but to my ears British is more, how to say it, noble (but with all due respect to Americans). It is a real pleasure for my ears to listen to British actors, e.g. in my favourite films by Peter Jackson based on Tolkien works.
With all this, I am still sure, I have a terrible Polish accent, which I cannot help, and I tend to think that even long years of practice will not change it 

[lcarroll]

   I have tremendous admiration for the "European' approach to second languages. In my experience most North Americans (I combine the citizens of the US of A and Canada Here) speak and understand, at most, a second language to varying degrees of competence, French in the case of Canadians and Spanish by Americans. This of course driven by demographic factors in each case. In my earlier years during Flying Training I was privileged to work with notably Dutch and some Norwegian and Danish students who undertook their basic Flying Training here in Canada under agreements between our countries. These Gents were comfortable in at least 3 or more languages in addition to their own and notably well educated in the culture of their neighboring countries. One individual from Holland that I became great friends with spoke fluent German, English, French, and Spanish, and could get by at a reasonable level in two other European tongues.
   I say this with some degree of regret for our generally (my North American view) short sighted regard for the benefits of greater participation in the "Global" community vis a vis communication and cultural understanding. I marvel at the ability of so many of our members to participate here so well in a second language and my compliments to all of you. Although I acknowledge that the close proximity of nations in the European Community drives a lot of this cultural awareness and participation  the modern "proximity" of all of our nations begs more awareness and knowledge on our parts here "across the pond".
   This may well be the effects of my morning coffee kicking in but I thought I'd leap up onto my soap box and state my personal thoughts here.
   Well done you Guys!
Cheers,
Lance

[drdave]

Two athletes at the Olympics.
"Are you a pole vaulter?" Asks one.

" no I am German, but how did you know my name?"