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Penny_Black
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jun 17, 2009
Age: 34
Posts: 35
Location: Speakeasy
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 Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 6:39 pm Post subject: Aspies with Accents? |
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Communication has always been an issue with me. It became an even larger one when I moved to the USA with a Scottish accent. It makes me cringe when I have to talk to people I don't know. They are often taken aback when they hear me talk. Their reaction makes me blush  and feel uncomfortable. Most of the time they don't understand a word of what I say and their eyes glaze over and either just nod and smile or repeat what I just said in my accent.
Does anyone else have this issue? And if so have you conquered it? I get really frustrated to the point where I am afraid to ask questions or make phonecalls...P.S I also have issues with telephones and talking to people. |
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Aimless
O Fleshy And Ambitionless
Joined: Apr 02, 2009
Posts: 3420
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| Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 7:02 pm Post subject: |
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| I think the Scottish burr is one of the nicest accents to my American ears. It may be that these people are too embarrassed to admit to you that they can't understand you and choose to cover with a smile and a nod. I don't see why people can't use some good natured cooperation with each other.There are no right or wrong accents. You may have to speak more slowly to give them time to catch up. As far as repeating what you just said in your accent, that just sounds rude but it might be because they're flustered. |
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wigglyspider
squirrel frustrator
Joined: Apr 24, 2009
Posts: 1172
Location: USA
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| Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:05 pm Post subject: |
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I haven't really been somewhere where this has been a problem. XD;
Hmm.. maybe if you change the way you speak just a little, like shift some pronunciations a bit and bring it closer to an American or even a sort of British accent, people would be able to understand it better.
I was recently watching the extras for a movie, and two actors had very extreme and sort of opposite accents and couldn't understand each other, but for their characters they had to talk in a neutral British accent, and they talked to each other off camera that way too because it allowed them to understand one another.
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elderwanda
Lemon Zing
Joined: Nov 18, 2008
Age: 42
Posts: 1417
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
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| Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:40 pm Post subject: |
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I don't think this problem has much to do with you being an aspie. When my husband first came to the US from England, he got the same reaction. I think a Scottish accent is generally harder for Americans to understand, but my husband's accent (as well as his choice of words and the way he phrases things) really used to take people aback. It wasn't one of the accents that Americans are used to hearing on television. Waitresses would get all flustered and confused when he asked if they had any savoury pies or clotted cream, or other things that Americans aren't accustomed to.
He's still got a bit of an accent, but it's not as noticeable. After a while, you naturally pick up the speech patterns of people around you.
I think it's something you just have to put up with for a while. When I was in England, I was amazed at the variety of accents, within such a small geographical area. In the US, there are different accents, but not nearly so much. We just aren't used to hearing a lot of it, and it's a novelty to hear something "unusual". (I watch mostly British TV now, so I've gotten accustomed to a wide variety of accents that I didn't used to be able to understand.)
In fact, I remember working at a pizza place, and getting really nervous when a guy came in and started to place an order with an English accent, because I was afraid I would embarrass myself by not understanding him. That was just me being a jittery nutbag. |
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CockneyRebel
Mick Avory, ISFJ Sweet Pea
Joined: Jul 18, 2004
Age: 35
Posts: 31313
Location: Somewhere between 1964 and 1984, on any given day.
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| Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 12:00 am Post subject: |
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I can relate. I get the same reactions from people. I also have the added challenge of having to deal with lazy listeners. I work with a quite a few of those lazy listeners. I have to wait a couple days and tell somebody who will listen and understand me, when I tell them that there are shards of glass in Wal-Mart receiving, or leave it up to one of my co-workers to discover them and tell the person who's in charge of the litter crew, the next day.
It comes in handy when a driver pulls up to me in their car and asks me for directions. I just tell them that I've just moved to the Vancouver BC area from England, two weeks ago, and than I get off easy. :O)
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ARW_AS
Sea Gull
Joined: Mar 22, 2006
Age: 22
Posts: 221
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
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| Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 4:12 pm Post subject: Re: Aspies with Accents? |
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| Penny_Black wrote: | Communication has always been an issue with me. It became an even larger one when I moved to the USA with a Scottish accent. It makes me cringe when I have to talk to people I don't know. They are often taken aback when they hear me talk. Their reaction makes me blush and feel uncomfortable. Most of the time they don't understand a word of what I say and their eyes glaze over and either just nod and smile or repeat what I just said in my accent.
Does anyone else have this issue? And if so have you conquered it? I get really frustrated to the point where I am afraid to ask questions or make phonecalls...P.S I also have issues with telephones and talking to people. |
Whereabouts in Scotland are you from?
I myself am from an affluent Aberdeenshire suburb so my accent is quite mild, meaning I don't usually have problems as regarding my accent. |
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Henriksson
Procrastination Embodied
Joined: Nov 24, 2008
Age: 18
Posts: 2554
Location: Sweden
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| Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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Änd jo Skotts fink jo häv itt bäd... 
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"Purity is for drinking water, not people" - Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. |
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Michjo
Phoenix
Joined: Mar 05, 2009
Age: 25
Posts: 1020
Location: Oxford, UK
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| Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:12 pm Post subject: |
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| I tend to slowly copy and imitate the people i interact with on a daily basis without realising. My accent for this reason is a bit mixed/bastardised. |
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Last2Know
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: Feb 02, 2009
Posts: 51
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| Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:12 pm Post subject: |
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I love the Scottish accent. I sometimes do have a hard time understanding it if the person is speaking fast, so I get a little embarrassed myself because I keep having to say "I'm sorry, what?" But I just love listening to it.
One problem I do have that I wonder if it's related to Asperger's is I am very susceptible to picking up on accents. I was raised in New England so I have your "average American accent", but even when I am talking to someone with an accent (especially British or Southern US) I am practically mimicking them within minutes. It's HORRIBLE! I am very musically-inclined and I have perfect pitch, so it's got to be related to that. I'm really not mocking, it's like I just get sucked in to the rhythm or the lyricism of the speech. Just thought I'd throw that in to the discussion. |
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Aimless
O Fleshy And Ambitionless
Joined: Apr 02, 2009
Posts: 3420
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| Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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speaking of mimicking, I was walking with a friend with an injured leg and was embarrassed to discover myself limping. What was that about no empathy again?  |
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ryan93
Velociraptor
Joined: Apr 16, 2009
Age: 17
Posts: 491
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| Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:42 pm Post subject: |
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I have a crazy accent, It's part flat-irish adult accent, part "dublin" jippo accent, part Birmingham accent. It's mostly the britishy accent, depends on my mood 
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anon0915
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jul 04, 2009
Age: 34
Posts: 30
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| Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:57 pm Post subject: |
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not unless you consider my drone monotone an accent
Scottish accents rule. run with it.
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Skilpadde
Phoenix
Joined: Dec 08, 2008
Posts: 740
Location: Norway
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| Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 8:29 pm Post subject: |
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| elderwanda wrote: | | I don't think this problem has much to do with you being an aspie. When my husband first came to the US from England, he got the same reaction. I think a Scottish accent is generally harder for Americans to understand |
I'm not a native English speaker, but I find Scottish English very hard to understand. Sorry, Penny_Black. |
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Maggiedoll
Loon
Joined: Jun 05, 2009
Age: 25
Posts: 2125
Location: Maryland
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| Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 9:06 pm Post subject: |
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| elderwanda wrote: | | In fact, I remember working at a pizza place, and getting really nervous when a guy came in and started to place an order with an English accent, because I was afraid I would embarrass myself by not understanding him. That was just me being a jittery nutbag. |
When I worked in a pizza place, there were very few other Americans working there. Mostly it was Greeks and Turks. (interesting combo, huh?)
Oddly enough, apparently I didn't seem American either. People would comment that they were sure I wasn't from the city and that I might be from another country.. this was all of like three miles from the hospital where I was born. |
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Penny_Black
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jun 17, 2009
Age: 34
Posts: 35
Location: Speakeasy
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| Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:00 pm Post subject: Re: Aspies with Accents? |
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| I am from a place called Carnoustie on The North East Coast. Perhaps 1hr or 2 south of Aberdeen. My accent isn't that broad and I have lived in the US for 8 years. I try and pronounce things with an american accent so make things a little easier for myself and for others. I still act like a rabbit caught in headlights when people pick up on my accent and start asking me if "I am from Ireland". |
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