I’m a very fast reader. They tested me in school and I had a way above average reading speed.
Same here . . . my classmates say I read freakishly fast. And when I'm re-reading something for the gajillionth time, I can just glance down the page and be actually reading. It scares people watching me, apparently.
Although I use British English spelling, my accent is actually slightly American. Most people who meet me in real life, assume I’m American unless they know me or I correct them. Even Americans think I’m American – apparently I sound like I’m from one of the northern states. One guy once swore I came from North Dakota. I’ve tried to shake the accent, but no luck so far.
What Americans think of as a Wisconsin/Minnesota/Dakotas accent is actually what we would think of as a slight Scandanavian accent. Minesota especially, but also Wisconsin and the Dakotas, were settled by the Norwegians, and as the Midwest is very sedentary, there's echoes of the accent down the years. I've even picked some of it up, though I learned to talk in New York. But most of my talking has been done in Wisconsin, so . . . yes. (Who knew that pronouncing our "oar" instead of "hour" or "are" branded you as a "stereotypical Scandanavian-accented Wisconsin-person"?)
Complimenting me on my English is always a winner with me. I’ve worked very hard on it and thus am pleased if it shows.
I never know when I can compliment people on their English. When I complimented Giulia on her English, she told me that her (Polish) mom was an English teacher. So she grew up with a mom speaking Polish and English to her in Italy . . . Ever since then, I've tried to be more cautious. But your English is very good. I was quite surprised when I found out that you weren't a native speaker.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2004-04-02 07:37 pm (UTC)Same here . . . my classmates say I read freakishly fast. And when I'm re-reading something for the gajillionth time, I can just glance down the page and be actually reading. It scares people watching me, apparently.
Although I use British English spelling, my accent is actually slightly American. Most people who meet me in real life, assume I’m American unless they know me or I correct them. Even Americans think I’m American – apparently I sound like I’m from one of the northern states. One guy once swore I came from North Dakota. I’ve tried to shake the accent, but no luck so far.
What Americans think of as a Wisconsin/Minnesota/Dakotas accent is actually what we would think of as a slight Scandanavian accent. Minesota especially, but also Wisconsin and the Dakotas, were settled by the Norwegians, and as the Midwest is very sedentary, there's echoes of the accent down the years. I've even picked some of it up, though I learned to talk in New York. But most of my talking has been done in Wisconsin, so . . . yes. (Who knew that pronouncing our "oar" instead of "hour" or "are" branded you as a "stereotypical Scandanavian-accented Wisconsin-person"?)
Complimenting me on my English is always a winner with me. I’ve worked very hard on it and thus am pleased if it shows.
I never know when I can compliment people on their English. When I complimented Giulia on her English, she told me that her (Polish) mom was an English teacher. So she grew up with a mom speaking Polish and English to her in Italy . . . Ever since then, I've tried to be more cautious. But your English is very good. I was quite surprised when I found out that you weren't a native speaker.