I’m still not sure what you mean but I’ll try to summarize my frustrations.
I was applying to teach English in France so I went to my French teacher`s place to get some application forms signed. She wrote that I had a Chinese accent even though I didn’t . I told her I was born in Canada and don’t speak Chinese well. But she said “i’m French with a French accent. You are Chinese with a Chinese accent.”
Her husband came down with a map of China and wanted me to point out where I’m from! I couldn’t convince them that im not from china
I got the teaching job anyway. Accent or no accent.
When I was in Quebec people would ask where I’m from. When I replied western Canada;, they would cont the conversation as if I said China. The next question was 'how long was the flight? China is far"
this doesn’t bother me, because using English is the most efficient choice for me. My Chinese is much worse than both of their English and my english.
my previous post is on this. In this thread, some posters are complaining that locals speak English to foreigners (or they are just asking why?), so I feel your situation is opposite. Locals speak you in local language even if you don’t understand. Does this make a sense?
I guess the family gathering would give me more frustrations than the bus situation.
Some of the old people here are dumb as brick shithouses.
Stubborn too.
God bless em.
Speaking to me in Taiwanese is OK if that’s all they know. My neighbor does just that, but adds guestures and tries to speak in mandarin. She tries to get people to translate too. But relentlessly speaking to me in another language is different. My sister in law said that they are just being friendly.
Sorry, amigo, but
“I went to Taiwan, and everyone there was speaking…Taiwanese!!!”
Is just, well…
If you dont want to be spoken to in english just learn the right tones for the greetings words and you will be good. its all about the tones
I think it’s not a problem of a language they use, but the lack of willing to communicate with you. I’d be annoyed by a relentless speaker who pays no attention to my reaction, regardless the used language.
WTF is wrong with those people?
I thought Canadians know better about respecting different culture, ethnicity, and languages.
Now, it seems that I’m wrong.
For the most part Canadians are open and wouldn’t make those assumptions. I think my teacher being in her 60s and being an immigrant made a difference.
The man in Quebec was also older ( around 70) and from a small town.
But i gotta say my experience in small Quebec towns were … interesting. (Quebec is a french speaking province in Canada)
A few times people would stop me on the streets and ask if i could speak French, or assume i am another Asian. Like one time someone yelled out of his car " are you the Asian who is selling that sofa?" (As if there is only one Asian … and that must be me).
When i went to visit my friend family they tried to kiss me on the cheeks (Its a French thing). I freaked out bc i didnt know what they wanted with me. They just whispered to each other “she’s Chinese”. But i think any canadian (not from Quebec )would find kissing strangers weird.
The funniest was when i was in a cafe with a friend and his brother went up to him and said “Phil, i didnt know you spoke English!” Phil told him it was me who spoke french.
I didn’t get angry in any of those circumstances (except for my teacher who wrote i had an accent on my application). I just thought it was funny. Those people were in small towns who hardly saw an Asian so naturally they thought we were immigrants from China.
How did you get the accent in Quebec when they speak French?
I am a French from France and I met people in Canada from the English parts where their English was easier for me to understand that the French spoken in Quebec.
They spoke slowly and clearly for me. I have had times when they didn’t adjust their french and i had to ask slowly “are you speaking French right now?”
It’s called joual. Very very different from international french
https://youtu.be/srB47x2XWCM
The more north you go the more the accent becomes incomprehensible. I learned my French in northern Quebec.
They sound super nasal and they say stuff like souper and icitte etc.
I have also met some people from Newfoundland and had to ask them slowly if they were speaking English to me right now
Here’s an example
https://youtu.be/m-r7YmQi85E
Ah the world would be a lot poorer without the accents…
Why do you need a recommendation letter from your “French teacher who is from France and speaks English with French accent” to prove that you can teach English in France?
She experts in the French language, not the English language.
It may make sense if she says that you speak French with certain accent. But it doesn’t make much sense for her to judge your English.
And you said you really don’t have Chinese accent when speaking English. So, suppose that you speak English with Western Canadian accent, which may be a preferable accent over any kind of Asian accents, there must be tons of other people who can prove that for you, right?
Having preferable accent is another issue, though.
Westerners like to make fun of Indian accent or Chinese accent, but they think Arnold’s Austrian German accent is cool, and they make the guy a movie star and a government official.
A bunch of double standard hypocrites.
Hnm. I never wondered why they would get her of all people to judge my accent. The application form she filled out for me had other questions too related to my personality and participation in class.
The language assistants that got hired (and subsequently became my best friends over there were a Peruvian born taiwanese, south african born east indian and canadian born Czechoslovakian. So the program didn’t seem to care what your origins were. As long as you speak the language and you can teach, you were in.
Plenty of folks in Newfoundland don’t even speak English until they go to school, their mother tongue is the Gaelic.
You should learn more about your country.
Are Canadians all like you, Mr. Rocket?
It may affect my willingness to visit Canada.
I had no idea. I am really bad at history and fall half asleep when anyone mentions history or politics. But i did visit Newfoundland and found i understood them unless they were joking around and decided to speak in their …ummm accent and phrases. They even had a newfie dictionary.