Hi all,
Today I want something resume about language using in Ohio and Illinois.
We had a lot of different contacts with different people during the week, we are staying in US.
At first we have the teachers, like Ruth and Debbie and Judy. The speak different English but - especially Ruth - very clearly.
I think, that it is not the problem to understand the people because of the slang. It is not a problem to understand the people. To tell the truth, I can not notice about the difference between the language of the people in Ohio and in Illinois. I know the difference between British and American English. And here are, like in Germany too, people, who speak more articulately then other.
So some times the pronunciation is a problem. For example Chuck speaks a very "American" English like "Rrarrarrarra". And the guide in Jungle Jims was very difficult to understand for me because of his mumbling and also because of the loud noises in the surrounding.
In Chicago we talked with a lot of people in shops, at the hostel reception, in the railway station, in information centers, in the streets, asking for the right way. It was not a problem to understand each other. May be it was necessary to inquire a second time, but this is very uncomplicated. The people are all very friendly. Often, when we started to open the city map the people stopped and asked "Do you need help?" We also visited a musical in Chicago about the band "Four seasons" , on the Poster was written approximately: "Please note, that the language will be used with some kind of regional slang". I think it was not not difficult to understand - may be not every word, but the context.
I think, that it is very helpful to be for a while in an other country, to hear the language in different colours and more and more better to understand this. The speed is not really the problem. In Chicago we were also in a special whine shop and the woman explained a lot of details and spoke very quickly, but very clear, and it was excellent to understand her.
A problem is also the vocabulary. Here would it be good, to find a way, to learn it fast and efficiently.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I am glad you experienced helpful people in Chicago. It is a good feeling to meet friendly people. The friendliness with strangers is one form of politeness that Americans use. The friendliness with acquaintances seems similar, but is sometimes mistaken for true friendliness, not merely politeness. When people from other countries learn that Americans use the same polite friendliness with acquaintances and strangers, they call Americans "shallow". True friendliness from an American person, which is not just being pleasantly polite, takes a long time to develop. I think this can be confusing for people who are not used to friendliness being merely polite.
ReplyDelete