Sakura 1,509 Posted October 25, 2020 14 hours ago, Otokonoyama said: Sure, one can alter their accent to be better understood or to play a role, but they don't maintain the facade when they call their mum on the blower or stop by the old hometown. I once met a Texan who lived in Germany (moved there in his 30s) and spoke fluent English with a German accent. He had no idea that he sounded German. I met a Yorkshireman in rural Minnesota who moved to the Midwest in his 30s and sounded like a Minnesotan. I also knew a priest who despite being from Lancashire, went to school in his late teens in the south of England. His accent changed and despite working in Lancashire for most of his adult life does not speak with a Lancashire accent. On the other hand I knew of an American lecturer at the University I attended in England who despite lecturing in England for 30+ years hadn't changed his accent one bit. So accent change after 12 does happen, even fairly late, but not to everybody and the degree of change presumably also varies by individual. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yamanashi 3,988 Posted October 25, 2020 You all may be interested in this week's edition of "Japanology" on NHK. On a segment of "Japanophiles", Peter Barakan interviews a Buddhist priest named Gyoei Saile. He was born in Hamburg, moved to the U.S. at age eleven, and moved to Japan in graduate school. Of course, he speaks Japanese, but in the interview he speaks perfect American English with a German accent. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2032218/ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dingo 1,388 Posted October 28, 2020 On 25/10/2020 at 21:10, Yamanashi said: You all may be interested in this week's edition of "Japanology" on NHK. On a segment of "Japanophiles", Peter Barakan interviews a Buddhist priest named Gyoei Saile. He was born in Hamburg, moved to the U.S. at age eleven, and moved to Japan in graduate school. Of course, he speaks Japanese, but in the interview he speaks perfect American English with a German accent. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2032218/ Thanks for the tip, that was a fascinating video! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Getayukata 120 Posted October 28, 2020 40 minutes ago, dingo said: Thanks for the tip, that was a fascinating video! I agree. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. Thanks Yamanashi! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
