The Student Room Group

Do you still get surprised when...?

Someone from an ethnic minority (for however long they'll still be called that) speaks good English?

I myself am from an ethnic minority but I still get super surprised when someone starts speaking English well without an accent. When they're older, not my generation. People seem surprised when I speak though...

Like my uncle got married to someone, who's ethnicity isn't white British and she speaks without an accent and quite well and I just found it weird.

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Reply 1
Original post by L'Evil Fish
Someone from an ethnic minority (for however long they'll still be called that) speaks good English?

I myself am from an ethnic minority but I still get super surprised when someone starts speaking English well without an accent. When they're older, not my generation. People seem surprised when I speak though...

Like my uncle got married to someone, who's ethnicity isn't white British and she speaks without an accent and quite well and I just found it weird.

Do you know what a European accent sounds like?
Mate I got more confused than surprised when people who are from Newcastle/Liverpool talk to me I thought they were speaking in a different language lmao.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 3
Ummm no.
Not really unless they're 40+
Original post by arfah
Do you know what a European accent sounds like?


Depends where they're from in Europe, no?

Original post by fnatic NateDestiel
Mate I got more confused than surprised when people who are from Newcastle/Liverpool talk to me I thought they were speaking in a different language lmao.


Lmao, I dunno, my face is just like :eek: when I see dark Asians speaking English
Original post by ldsbabe
Ummm no.


Just me then lol
Reply 6
Original post by L'Evil Fish
Depends where they're from in Europe, no?



Lmao, I dunno, my face is just like :eek: when I see dark Asians speaking English


Just me then lol

I'm from Holland, I've been told I have a European accent:s-smilie: Trying to find out what that is exactly
English is practiced/taught more in other countries e.g. France, my French exchage spoke excellent English at 16 and after time at a French lycée I found that languages, especially English, have a much higher focus in foreign countries than MFLs in England. Such a shame :frown: (not sarcasm btw I love languages)
YES! I thought I was the only one (I felt a bit bad because it seems a little racist, singling out other ethnicities and getting surprised when the don't fit the stereotype) but in London there were a lot of 30+, 40+ people with a clear British accent, I don't know why I got so surprised but I'm from Ireland and we hardly had any immigrants since about only 10 years ago.
Well no?
Depends in what area you're from I guess


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Original post by L'Evil Fish
Depends where they're from in Europe, no?



Lmao, I dunno, my face is just like :eek: when I see dark Asians speaking English


Just me then lol



I see the point you are waking, but nowadays everyone speaks English apart from LEDC's in Africa and parts of South America.

Funny time - once I was on the aeroplane and talked in basic chinese(or tried to) to a chinaman, to which he responded, "Dude, I am from Birmingham" - cue my awkwardness and trying to avoid him whilst at departures lmao
Original post by arfah
I'm from Holland, I've been told I have a European accent:s-smilie: Trying to find out what that is exactly


Hmmmm... My friend had a Dutch accent and it was definitely obvious she had one.

Original post by pseudonymegg
English is practiced/taught more in other countries e.g. France, my French exchage spoke excellent English at 16 and after time at a French lycée I found that languages, especially English, have a much higher focus in foreign countries than MFLs in England. Such a shame :frown: (not sarcasm btw I love languages)


I think we should be taught MFLs from primary school. But I mean countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, less so China.

Original post by AlexKay99
YES! I thought I was the only one (I felt a bit bad because it seems a little racist, singling out other ethnicities and getting surprised when the don't fit the stereotype) but in London there were a lot of 30+, 40+ people with a clear British accent, I don't know why I got so surprised but I'm from Ireland and we hardly had any immigrants since about only 10 years ago.


:lol: same!

I can imagine it more surprising in Ireland. Do you know any ethnics (probably not pc) with Irish accents?
Reply 12
Not really, unless they're 60+. I know plenty of people just shy of that age who were born and bred here.

People do find it surprising that I have a "regular" accent, though it's largely justified as I grew up abroad. :horse:
Original post by fnatic NateDestiel
I see the point you are waking, but nowadays everyone speaks English apart from LEDC's in Africa and parts of South America.

Funny time - once I was on the aeroplane and talked in basic chinese(or tried to) to a chinaman, to which he responded, "Dude, I am from Birmingham" - cue my awkwardness and trying to avoid him whilst at departures lmao


Lol that's funny

Old Africans with no accents is surprising to me too...
Reply 14
I don't find it very surprising or weird, I do think it's a great thing however. I really appreciate well-spoken individuals (I love the pure, well-spoken, proper English accent), I aspire to become like them one day. I'm not a native speaker, and although I don't have a strong accent (certainly no detectable regional accent at that), it's immediately obvious that I didn't speak the language since birth but rather acquired it later on in life. Sentence structure, tone of voice, pronunciation, grammar and variety in vocabulary can certainly do with a huge improvement.
Original post by Stinkum
I don't find it very surprising or weird, I do think it's a great thing however. I really appreciate well-spoken individuals (I love the pure, well-spoken, proper English accent), I aspire to become like them one day. I'm not a native speaker, and although I don't have a strong accent (certainly no detectable regional accent at that), it's immediately obvious that I didn't speak the language since birth but rather acquired it later on in life. Sentence structure, tone of voice, pronunciation, grammar and variety in vocabulary can certainly do with a huge improvement.


I think we're in need of some vocaroos.

When I read, I put on* this English accent... When I speak it's a lot welsher

*when I say put on, I don't mean to, its just how I read
Reply 16
The only thing that gets is when someone looks like they have never been in England before but then speak perfect English and with a English accent.
Original post by L'Evil Fish
Lol that's funny

Old Africans with no accents is surprising to me too...


I don't have an accent thankfully, but when talking amongst Americans I can kind of hear it - sounds a bit cool tbh haha

Mostly Hispanics and Indians have the heaviest accents with English not being their first language if you see what I am saying :u:
Reply 18
Original post by fnatic NateDestiel
I see the point you are waking, but nowadays everyone speaks English apart from LEDC's in Africa and parts of South America.

Funny time - once I was on the aeroplane and talked in basic chinese(or tried to) to a chinaman, to which he responded, "Dude, I am from Birmingham" - cue my awkwardness and trying to avoid him whilst at departures lmao

Unless you were on a plane from China, that was pretty obnoxious of you... :eek3:
Original post by 8472
The only thing that gets is when someone looks like they have never been in England before but then speak perfect English and with a English accent.


Looks like? How do they look?:tongue:

Original post by fnatic NateDestiel
I don't have an accent thankfully, but when talking amongst Americans I can kind of hear it - sounds a bit cool tbh haha

Mostly Hispanics and Indians have the heaviest accents with English not being their first language if you see what I am saying :u:


Some accents are cool though.

Hispanics sound cool though anyway, and they can speak Spanish so all is well.
Indians... Nah

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