Why do world people seem to speak English so fast and

[Hotteok]

in a manner quite hard to comprehend or catch up with?

Of course, if you are a native speaker of English, you may not realize the difference but

witness friends I’ve talked or listened to always speak in a very easy and slow way..

But when I listen to people from other fields, like movies, music or game

not like I don’t get any of what they say but some times it’s quite hard to understand.

Sometimes they even seem to mumble or crush(?) their pronunciation

as if they are deliberately trying to speak so fast and in an ambiguous, unclear way.

 

Is it just me because I’m Korean or is this a kind of trend? in English speaking countries?

 

[Katty]

It could be the witnesses have more empathy for people speaking a different language. I had a similar experience in working in service with the Spanish group. The Witnesses would speak pretty slowly, but the householders would make me dizzy in trying to keep up, and I always heard Dominicans speak fast and don't use the complete word, which always made me nervous in following along with the conversation haha.
Regional dialects can make a difference too. There are regions in America, where people speak more slurry, or with a twang, and regions where people speak really fasts. I find in south Louisiana, people speak pretty slow. Where my David is in the UK, people generally speak fast, although, in the North where he is, people seem to speak a bit slower than a typical Brit. London people seem to speak pretty fast.

Also, there are so many accents. I find Witnesses in all language reasons make an attempt to speak the language better and not succumb as much to regional accents, although we all do have some kinds of accent. If you hear my fiance and I talk and pay attention, you'll see we pronounce our words differently, and where he's from, they say "brush me teeth", where we pronounce it "brush my teeth". 

[Bek]

Timothy, it is believed that English has 160 dialects and close to 200 accents. So it is natural for learners of English to have some difficulties understanding native speakers. Even native speakers themselves struggle understanding other native speakers. There are a few YouTube videos of Americans not understanding some Australians and others. 

 

You just need to get more practice listening to various standard accents and you will be alright after some exposure. Personally I don't think that native English speakers speak fast. Of course, there are some exceptions, but in general, it is much the same as in your or my native language. 

 

As for the mumbling and slurring, yeah, that can be a problem, but again if you have been exposed to various accents, you should be able to guess what is meant. 

 

The important thing is to focus on standard English and not to worry about regional varieties.  

 

 

 

 

[carlos]

Well, I have noticed that it's much easier to understand the talks in the broadcasting than most movies or tv programs out there. I guess the brothers make an effort to speak clearly and slowly and to use words everybody can understand. I guess that's not what they speak like in their daily lives.

[Bek]

19 minutes ago, carlos said:

Well, I have noticed that it's much easier to understand the talks in the broadcasting than most movies or tv programs out there. I guess the brothers make an effort to speak clearly and slowly and to use words everybody can understand. I guess that's not what they speak like in their daily lives.

It is true that English on TV can be harder to understand.

 

The reason why it might be easier for us to understand brothers is because we have heard them many times and are familiar with the subject matter, terminology and their style of presentation. But I believe that they sound like that in real life too. 

 

Take, for example, Br. Geoffrey Jackson who fronted today's GB update. I think he is Australian or at least has some hints of an Australian accent, but to an untrained ear he may sound more like a Brit. He may have lost his native accent due to living in the US for long. I don't think he would deliberately try to tone down his accent for when he is on air. I think it is just the way he sounds now at all times. 

 

 

[carlos]

31 minutes ago, Bek said:

The reason why it might be easier for us to understand brothers is because we have heard them many times and are familiar with the subject matter, terminology and their style of presentation. But I believe that they sound like that in real life too. 

 

Take, for example, Br. Geoffrey Jackson who fronted today's GB update. I think he is Australian or at least has some hints of an Australian accent, but to an untrained ear he may sound more like a Brit. He may have lost his native accent due to living in the US for long. I don't think he would deliberately try to tone down his accent for when he is on air. I think it is just the way he sounds now at all times. 

Different accents add variety and are nice to listen to when they are not so thick they are hard to understand. But it's a good practice for speakers, as well as in field service, to make an effort to pronounce words clearly, opening your mouth well, not omitting the word endings and so on. The use of regional terms and colloquial expressions can add flavor to your talk when the audience is local, but it's better to avoid them when you are addressing an international audience or friends who are not native in the language. I think GB members and their assistants are a very good example of that.

 

Your example with Geoffrey Jackson is very good. Usually I have a hard time understanding Aussies (and Kiwis!) . Yet I can understand brother Jackson's talks very well. It's not just that his accent is soft, he also speaks more slowly and vocalizes more clearly when he's giving a talk. Probably in his everyday speech he speaks clearly too, but I'm sure he speaks faster and uses many more colloquial words.

[bohemian]

well, ‘am blethered!  wots so ‘ard bout t’English language?  wunce tha gets thi mind rahnd it it meks perfect sense.

na then, them poncie southerners.... they dunt talk right cos they’re so posh.

If all on us spok Yorkshire, like we’re gunna in t’new system, all on us wud get on reet well.

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

Bro Jackson does have an accent based on the Australian one. However he spent sometime on the Pacific Islands, and that has added another layer.

This may also have taught him to speak clearly and slowly to those in the islands, as English may not have been their primary language.

{He has quite a unique way of saying his father's name. That could be why he gave a talk on pronouncing the divine name some years back.}

Old (Downunder) Tone

 

 

 

 

[carlos]

3 hours ago, bohemian said:

well, ‘am blethered!  wots so ‘ard bout t’English language?  wunce tha gets thi mind rahnd it it meks perfect sense.

na then, them poncie southerners.... they dunt talk right cos they’re so posh.

If all on us spok Yorkshire, like we’re gunna in t’new system, all on us wud get on reet well.

My first experience with British English, many years ago: We flew to Liverpool, rented a car and drove north to the Scottish Lowlands. We stopped halfway for lunch somewhere along the M6. I ordered our food and then I asked for a coke (pronounced as coak). The waiter couldn't understand me for the life of her. After several tries I said: "A coca-cola?". She said: "Ah, a cook."

 

A couple days later we are in a restaurant in Edinburgh. Remembering my previous experience, I order a "cook". The waiter says disconcerted: "Do you want me to go to the kitchen and bring the cook? Is there any problem with your order?" I say: "No, I just want a coca-cola". He said: "Ah, then you want a coak."

[Hotteok]

I was in Aus buying stuff and a clerk said something do you need a baag? (As in Far)

It took me a while to know it was bag. 
Endearing accent they have
 

 

[CHecker]

8 hours ago, bohemian said:

well, ‘am blethered!  wots so ‘ard bout t’English language?  wunce tha gets thi mind rahnd it it meks perfect sense.

na then, them poncie southerners.... they dunt talk right cos they’re so posh.

If all on us spok Yorkshire, like we’re gunna in t’new system, all on us wud get on reet well.

Chris, this cracked me up! Helped me to practice my Irish (or was that Scottish?) slang!!! 

Thanks much, do it again so I can 'hear' more 😅😅😅😅😅

Edited September 5, 2020 by bagwell1987

[Bek]

12 hours ago, bohemian said:

well, ‘am blethered!  wots so ‘ard bout t’English language?  wunce tha gets thi mind rahnd it it meks perfect sense.

na then, them poncie southerners.... they dunt talk right cos they’re so posh.

If all on us spok Yorkshire, like we’re gunna in t’new system, all on us wud get on reet well.

It is all clear when it is written, but when you listen to it, it is very hard to understand. I have found this video of the Yorkshire accent. Let's see if native speakers can understand him. 😁

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScELaXMCVis

 

 

 

Edited September 5, 2020 by Bek

[bohemian]

1 hour ago, Bek said:

It is all clear when it is written, but when you listen to it, it is very hard to understand. I have found this video of the Yorkshire accent. Let's see if native speakers can understand him. 😁

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScELaXMCVis

 

 

 

One or two of the words were unknown to me - he’s from. bit more North than me - Vale of York and into the Dales.  But I could follow the conversation quite easily. 

[Thesauron]

Whatever language you speak, it is common to slow down a bit if you think the one you are speaking to does not fully comprehend your language. It seems like a psychological thing. However, when you speak to another native speaker, you might speed things up a bit. Some, though, are slow speakers by nature.

[Hinata]

11 hours ago, carlos said:

I say: "No, I just want a coca-cola". He said: "Ah, then you want a coak."

 

Lesson Learned: Order pepsi next time.

 

[friendlyone]

2 hours ago, Bek said:

It is all clear when it is written, but when you listen to it, it is very hard to understand. I have found this video of the Yorkshire accent. Let's see if native speakers can understand him. 😁

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScELaXMCVis

 

2 hours ago, Bek said:

 

 

 

I'm originally from across the Pennines in Lancashire. I could understand most of what was being said in that video clip, but even for me I found myself filling in words I didn't quite catch.

 

As has already been mentioned there are lots of dialects in the UK. When it comes to Scottish and Irish it can be even more tricky for an English person. Geordies in Newcastle, Scouse in Liverpool, Brummie in Birmingham, Cockney in parts of London....the list goes on.

 

Having said that, I remember visiting a congregation in Las Vegas some years ago, and in conversation with one of the brothers I mentioned I'd love to go to the deep south some time in the future. I said that I'd probably struggle to understand some of the locals, and he replied that I wasn't alone, he too would struggle, and he's an American! 😀

[Amygdala]

I have a friend in Canada who would often speak English in abstract, along with humour, and ending sentences with a little bit of friendly sarcasm. Now people where English is a second language (ESL), would be totally confused by him and what he meant. He also comes from the prairies which perhaps may have contributed to this "Canadian" English.

 

I also grew up just at the end stages of "valley-girl" talk that was popular at the time, of course influencing how peers communicated back then. Actually speaking in proper English at that time may have come across as perhaps snobby or you would think someone had a superiority complex.  Actually when we were in Canada last year for 6 weeks in the summer, I ran into sisters who I grew up with, and I kind of chuckled that the one sisters still talks in a valley-abstract type manner. She is a successful pioneer and runs a small business, but I almost felt like it was a trip back to the past!

 

When I moved to Germany, I met German brothers and sisters in the English congregation who spoke such eloquent and proper English. Some were university educated and had studied languages, so it was normal for them to speak this way. When I tried to speak my natural, abstract, and even somewhat lazy or fast way, I was often told by the local brothers they had no idea what I said. Including my German husband. 😅 So I adjusted. Just like we learn from our theocratic schools to be "clear and understandable."

 

When my husband gave a speech at an international engineering work conference in Naples, Italy back in 2009, there were various speakers invited to give talks. It was quite eye-opening for me to listen to people around the world speak English. For me, the Americans were easy to understand, but I had challenges when someone had strong accents, for eg. an Italian speaker's accent almost camouflaged his English, then a Japanese man enthusiastically gave his presentation where you just really didn't understand what he was saying, and I remember the confidence, even cockiness of an Australian speaker. At the after dinner, we sat next to the Japanese man, and I asked him a general question, and he just looked at me and shook his head that he didn't understand me, and I spoke very slowly and clear. I also learned that the gentleman at our table from Wales is very much not English.

 

With movies, I kind of equate it to my Canadian English, so generally movies are not a problem for me...but not necessarily from my friends here. I have definitely become more English-aware since moving to Germany, and that you can't take for granted simplified English, because someone might ask you why you said something in that way, and take that "English" expression literally, though not meant to....for eg. Idioms.

 

Don't worry, one day we will all speak one language, and understand any nuances or jokes behind the communication.

 

[friendlyone]

I can generally understand Americans better than I can Canadians.

 

I struggle most with New Yorker's dialect.

 

And talking about sarcasm, I don't think many Americans get the British person's use of it, it's lost on them. 🙂

 

Still, I envy the fact that non-Brits can often speak not only their native language, but English as well. And sometimes their English is exceptionally good.

 

I only speak one language, that's because we tend to expect everyone else to speak our language.

Edited September 5, 2020 by friendlyone

[CHecker]

Look up Smaht Pahk on youtube, I couldn't copy the URL on my phone. That's total Bostonian! I find that accent irritating 🙂

[Bek]

Here is a funny video of an American and an Australian struggling to understand a Scot. 😅 Please note: the Scot uses the "F" word once. 

 

 

 

[Amygdala]

That Scottish guy totally reminds me of someone I know from Scotland! 🤣

[friendlyone]

On 9/4/2020 at 5:30 PM, carlos said:

Different accents add variety and are nice to listen to when they are not so thick they are hard to understand. But it's a good practice for speakers, as well as in field service, to make an effort to pronounce words clearly, opening your mouth well, not omitting the word endings and so on. The use of regional terms and colloquial expressions can add flavor to your talk when the audience is local, but it's better to avoid them when you are addressing an international audience or friends who are not native in the language. I think GB members and their assistants are a very good example of that.

 

Your example with Geoffrey Jackson is very good. Usually I have a hard time understanding Aussies (and Kiwis!) . Yet I can understand brother Jackson's talks very well. It's not just that his accent is soft, he also speaks more slowly and vocalizes more clearly when he's giving a talk. Probably in his everyday speech he speaks clearly too, but I'm sure he speaks faster and uses many more colloquial words.

Geoffrey Jackson's story is here, giving his life history -

 

 

[carlos]

On 9/5/2020 at 1:07 PM, Lieblingskind said:

I have a friend in Canada who would often speak English in abstract, along with humour, and ending sentences with a little bit of friendly sarcasm.

Lourdes, what do you mean by "abstract" here? You used that term a couple times but I am not sure what it refers to. Could you please give one example or two?

[Amygdala]

No problem. Some like to be clearly understood when they speak, whereas others find that perhaps too black and white, and prefer to use abstract wording or idioms or different ways to express an idea.

[Amygdala]

We have meeting in a few minutes, so can't give you any examples right now, but it also is connected to temperment communication styles - for eg. Meyer Briggs. Some may be a "j" and see and communicate in a "judging" perspective, whereas someone may be a "p" or perception and see the world as not necessarily so black and white. Are more comfortable with the unknown with making personal value statements vs. logical ones.