| Hi, I'm a real English person, from England (not from London) . I totally agree about all of this, and all of the sentiments expressed by Salvatore.
We say that "English is easy to learn, but hard to master" and I often wonder how people in the world manage to learn it and speak with confidence when using it, they have my admiration and respect. I have an opposite (but complimentary) perspective to Salvatore, since I spent a few years living in Europe as the only English person amongst my colleagues and friends. At the start of this period, I quickly learned that no one could understand me. My pleasantries and greetings were met with confusion no matter how slowly I spoke, even to American colleagues. I realised that the English language I had learned was only applicable to the immediate area where I had grown up. This is true of most regions in the UK, you can travel 20 miles from any location on a map in Britain and find the local people speaking in different and sometimes incomprehensible dialects and accents, or using strange words to describe people (like "duckie" or "hen"). I quickly learned to modulate my accent, speak slower and more deliberately. In later life I moved back to the area from where I grew up and, although people could easily understand me, they often asked me where I came from (since my modulated accent was unfamiliar to them). Now I have "two modes", one is my incomprehensible native drawl, and the other is much easier to understand and clearer but requires me to concentrate much more. The difference between these two modes (for me) is that it is much easier to be jovial and extroverted in my native drawl. Whereas I'm much more professional and uptight when using my modulated language, even in social settings. I now grimace, and even translate, when English colleagues are speaking to non-native English speakers and make zero attempt to improve their use of the language. I wonder how they interact with people when on holiday, do they just shout louder and point at things? How embarrassing. |