mrsronweasley | (no subject)

I was a bad girl yesterday and didn't get to those emails. I apologize. Today isn't looking too good either, because I have a ton of research to catch up on. *sigh* Silly work, getting in the way of emailing. Sheesh.

Anyway... Soon, at some point. No, really!

You know what's a really hard word to pronounce in English? "Community". Actually, in American English. I can hear in my head how the 'n' is supposed to sound in this case, but when I'm saying it fast, as I tend to, it sounds like I've got a cold. I hate that. Up until then, the hardest word to master was "party". Do Americans have ANY idea how difficult that word is?! I used to avoid saying it. I've gotten better, though.

The reasons I bring all this up is that I don't know if I really have an accent or if it's all in my head. Sometimes I'm told that my English is perfect, and other times I'm asked where I'm from, because they weren't sure what kind of accent I have. I'd hate to think that I have a strong accent, because that means that I know no language perfectly - I have a slight accent when speaking Russian, I know I do. I'm better than most kids that left young, but still - it can't be perfect, simply because I've been immersed in English for so long. And I think in English, and have for a couple of years now. It takes me a while to think of a perfect Russian phrase for something, and I actually have to strain myself sometimes when talking with my family, especially my mom, because she picks out every mistake I make. That's kind of disheartening. Hmmm.

Oh, well.

I've noticed this school has changed in the year I've been away. All of a sudden I'm seeing pseudo-punkish people all over the place. How odd. Never used to see them, except for this one kid with a mohawk. I saw him again this year, and even made his acquaintance and found out how his mohawk stays up. Haven't seen him since, though.

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1. Yo, quit stressing. Whenever you can is fine.

2. You have an American accent to my ears, with occasional Russian vowel sounds every now and then. I suspect I only hear the latter cause I'm looking for them, though. Also, it's cute. :P

(And, it's not like English natives don't make mistakes too. It's simply impossible to know a language completely and utterly - language just doesn't work like that. Everyone could improve their English/whatever language if they spent all their time at it. You speak English well enough to understand high-speed coloquialisms and to pass as someone with English as their first language, read it well enough to get At Swim, and write it well enough to produce writing that is fabulous and funny and intelligent. You're doing great.)

*hugs and snuggles and pouncey goodness*

1. Yo, quit stressing. Whenever you can is fine.

Ok. :)

2. Well. Hmmm... Russian vowels, huh? That's interesting, because I make a conscious effort not to have any of those. My tongue is getting lazy, though. ;) Oh, well. I guess that can stay...not like it's going anywhere.

It's simply impossible to know a language completely and utterly

Oh, I know. I just...well, I mean, when I was in Russia, I at least didn't have any sort of accent. My tongue did its job well enough that it wasn't that I had an accent, I just mumbled sometimes. But now I do have an accent - in English. And with Russian, I have a slight accent (which is unacceptable to me, though understandable), AND I have difficulty actually articulating myself in it. Sometimes it just upsets me, you know? Oh, well. :)

*hugs and snuggles* I miss you, sweetie.

But absolutely everybody has an accent. It's just Americans who think they don't. :D

And I miss you too, dangnabbit.

It's a shame I don't drink anymore, because then you won't be able to hear *my* accent. It only comes out when I've had one or two, or I've been working at camp.

I think you told me about this once...wait...so what kind of an accent would YOU have? This is amusing me more than it probably should... ;)

You have next to no accent. Every once in a while, I'd be able to pick something out, but like Katie said - it's cute and kewl! Besides, I don't think I've met a single person who lives in/near New York that doesn't have some sort of accent.

And "community" and "party" are odd words, now that you point it out. Unless I'm trying to speak very clearly, both "T"s come out as "D"s - "communidee" and "pardee". For the longest time, I had trouble with "thief" and "human being". The worst was "washing" or "Washington DC". I was born there - I should be able to pronounce it, right? Nope. It was "Warshington" for me. I'd think this was my mother's Texas/Arkansas/Idaho accent (she still can't distinguish the two sounds), but my dad (a DC native) pronounces it that way too. I'm still conscious of sounding northern when I say "Wah-shington".

Wow. I rambled. But I guess I'm just trying to say, you shouldn't worry about it. We all have our "community" and "Washington". :)

Besides, I don't think I've met a single person who lives in/near New York that doesn't have some sort of accent.

HA! True. New York is accent central - either a New York accent or a foreign one. It's quite fascinating.

And YES, those damn "D" sounds!! And they're not quite "D" sounds, either - they're so tricky, and underhanded, and it's quite frustrating. It's very hard for Russians to do, because that sound isn't a straight-forward Russian sound. I hear it, and for the past two or so years, have even been able to pronounce it. But it slips every now and then and I end up sounding all weird.

"Wah-shington", awww, you're so cute. "War-shington" - I can see how that would be easier. Like saying "I saw-r it." Have you heard people do this? They do it a lot in England, actually. It's wrong, but so easy to do. Language...endless possibilities. :)

americans talk loud. you talk soft and sweet, like milla jovovich. We use harsher sounds, because our language and our culture is harsher. yr not harsh. I get asked all the time where I'm from (I've been accused of having British/Minnesotan/whatever accents), so I'm just like "North TX, yo. D41145 r3pr4z3n+z" or something.

It took me the longest time to learn to say 'together'. 'Party' is difficult for me too, but the hardest word I can remember at the moment is 'vowel'.