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Best foreign accent on Japanese? 2009/2/1 12:25
Do Japanese people like certain foreign accents on Japanese the way that Americans like the French accent on English? Which foreign accents on Japanese are considered the most attractive?
by Amerika-ben (guest)  

... 2009/2/1 17:27
Because Japan is not a land of many immigrants, Japanese people are not as familiar with accents as Americans. I have heard English, Chinese, Korean and Portuguese accents imitated on TV, especially English. But I don't think that most people are very familiar with other ones.

I personally find the Korean accent cute. But I am not Japanese.
by Uji rate this post as useful

no romance 2009/2/2 00:07
Uji's right.

And because of that, I can't really recall seeing immitations of people saying romantic Japanese things in foreign accents. I think the French accent image owes a lot to the cinema. French characters have been saying romantic things in English on screen for decades, but not Japanese.

Meanwhile, in Japan, foreign characters either speak in their local language, in English with an accent in which the Japanese can't tell right from wrong, or they just say simple things like asking directions in Japanese.

But I do think that Japanese in Korean accent have a romantic image at the moment just because of all the Korean actors and actresses who are making the "Hanryu Boom" here in Japan and saying romatic stuff on Japanese TV ads. Surely, the French people give a very romantic immpression, but they hardly say romantic Japanese things on Japanese TV.
by Uco (guest) rate this post as useful

thanks! 2009/2/2 05:57
Actually, as an American, I think there are certain accents which just sound interesting and some that grate on the nerves. Most people like British, Italian and French accents on English because of the sounds they tend to make when speaking English are cute. The Scandinavian accent on English is just funny because of its elongated and lilting quality. The Indian (Hindi?) accent English is just weird - it's not really cute or annoying. Asian accents on English are generally less melodious to American ears because they tend to speak in staccato. It depends on who's speaking, though, of course. A loud oba-san from any country can ruin any accent while a soft-spoken person can make most accents nice.









by Amerika-ben (guest) rate this post as useful

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