LL-L "Accents" 2005.02.22 (08) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 22.FEB.2005 (08) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
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From: Ben Bloomgren <ben.bloomgren at asu.edu>
Subject: LL-L "Accents" 2005.02.22 (04) [E]

I love the Indian accents. I like to have some fun with the representatives
at call centers in India who don't want you to know where they are. I'll
hear an Indian, and I'll say, "Namastay." They don't know what to do with
that.
Ben

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From:  Jo Thys <Jo.Thijs1 at pandora.be>
Subject: LL-L "Accents" 2005.02.22 (04) [E]

> From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Accents

> To get back to Sandy's initial question, is there actually something *in*
> Northern Ireland accents that makes them sound strident, something
> phonological?  Or, to repeat my proposal, is it just another matter of
> mental association, such as "People of Northern Ireland are
> aggressive/trouble/threatening, while people of the rest of Ireland are
> friendly/fun/non-threatening"?

Hei all

I'd like to mention another possibility. Maybe the (rest)Irish accent
speakers themselves are better in frustration reduction, by the
semantics/pragmatics of the Irish language, which are also applied in
English. If i'm informed right, Irish doesn't have a concept for 'no' (nor
for 'yes'), while this 'no' can induce a lot of frustration. This could make
them a lot more succesfull in calming down frustrated callers. Some time ago
I heard a sortlike statement about Limburgians making good politicians
because they say 'ja' when they mean yes, and say 'jaja' when they mean no.
It was meant as a joke but could contain some truth.

Groeten

Jo Thys

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