Categories: words, translation
Date: 21 August 2007 10:19:06
The Lödgerin, a nurse, is on nights this week. I was getting my breakfast when she came home looking tired.
“I'm off to bed now,” she said. “Where I will be as snug..as..a..bug..in..a..rug,” she enunciated carefully. The Lödgerin does not have a strong German accent at all (when she speaks English that is...It is pretty strong when she speaks German but that's only to be expected) but there are certain sounds she finds tricky in particular places.
Earlier this summer I was on holiday near Barcelona with my extended family. The caretaker came to our accommodation to make sure everything was all right. His English was excellent; fluent and grammatical but with a very, very strong Spanish accent which meant you had to listen very carefully. He stunned my mother and me by using the word “plunger” (we were talking about a cafetière) and we commented on his wide vocabulary. He replied that he had spent 25 years in Australia [waves: g'day Australian readers!] which is why his English was so good. Suddenly, and I cannot give you a good reason for this, I felt disappointed that his accent was still so strong and his English somehow didn't seem as impressive anymore.
Whatever the reason for this disappointment, the same “rules” (whatever they are) do not seem to apply to the French. I have a French friend who has lived in Britain for over 20 years and whose accent is still very strong. She was recently having some building work done and was commenting on how incredibly helpful British tradesmen were....up to the point of tripping over themselves to carry out her requests. I'm afraid, gentle reader, that I felt compelled to point out that I doubted I would have received quite the same attentive service. Sometimes a strong (read: sexy) foreign accent can have its advantages. Perhaps I should get this friend to phone the roofer who has been so elusive all summer?