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Most African Americans are mixed race/multiracial, NOT black.
They vary (I would say the Williams sisters for instance are pretty much just black) but a lot of blacks will get offended if you suggest that...even some blacks who are as pale as snow will insist they're black. I met an man who looked white but identified as indigenous, even if he was like less than 1/8 aboriginal probably.
Well, it didn't matter whether or not she actually had an accent - she was bitching about Vietnamese people, which is racist. If you're going to be racist, you're going to go off of stereotypes - especially offensive ones. That's why she did that... the irony being that she's Chinese American herself, and people use the same thing to denigrate Chinese people.
^ and this is true, too. Go over to East LA, and you'll get people who are second or third generation American, but still have an accent, because the community is still filled with people who are immigrants with accents. If grow up in an area where everyone goes "tch!" with their teeth and then, "maaaan" with a raised lilt from the second "A" to the end before starting a sentence where they're complaining about something, you'll probably start doing that. If you say it "wrong," you'll be corrected till you say it right.
My ex who was Vietnamese-American moved to the US when she was a little kid and used the back of her palate when pronouncing some words; even though she'd spoken English since she was four, she still got some of her pronunciations from her family. Also, when she said, "oh my god!" she'd pronounce it "oh my gaah!" like her mom; if she'd what me on the shoulder and say "shut up!" she'd pronounce it, "chut up!" even though she didn't have an obvious or perceptible accent.
Hell, thanks to my family being from Sweden, I pronounce the first "A" in Jaguar like the "E" in "egg," so it's more like "Jaeguar" like when my grandparents or dad said it, even though I have a weird Boston/California accent thing going on otherwise (for instance, I say "dude" like a Bostonian, i.e. "dewd" rather than "duuude"). It's interesting how these things trickle down through generations.
It's the same way we now have African American Vernacular English. People lived in their communities and spoke like their peers around them so many Black Americans have a distinct way of speaking passed down through the generations. the same is happening with Asian and Latino Americans.
This is very interesting, because I live in Melbourne which has these super-Asian enclaves (some are like 75% Asian, where more English is the minority language, most people are born overseas.etc). I lived in one and even hear a lot of young Vietnamese speaking Vietnamese among themselves, I didn't think we still got a lot of immigrants from Vietnam though. Anyway, I met a Cambodian Australian girl (actually on this forum, but I haven't heard from her in ages) who was born here but still had a pretty foreign sounding accent! I was quite surprised. I mentioned this but I hope I didn't offend her because she stopped replying to my emails .
But yes, it's not uncommon among Lebanese too...it depends on your upbringing and how insulated you are in that community. I wasn't even born in Australia but am more integrated than someone like her. English is the only language I know, and my upbringing was more westernised (Singapore/Malaysian background).
It varies by region. In places like texas, people tend to assimilate more. Places like California and Washington tend to make it easier for immigrants to maintain their cultures.
Also, what you described is what happens when you have a large enough community. The people in those communities get to know each other as kids before they start school. they learn how to speak by interacting with their immediate neighbors first. When they get to school, it becomes obvious that they speak differently and for some, it can cause them to withdraw to where their comfortable. if the community is large enough and there are 100's of others like it all over, that culture and language become a second, alternate language and culture. This is what happened with Spanish in California and Asians are now the fastest growing racial group in CA so it will be interesting to see which culture becomes dominant among them.
It varies by region. In places like texas, people tend to assimilate more. Places like California and Washington tend to make it easier for immigrants to maintain their cultures.
Also, what you described is what happens when you have a large enough community. The people in those communities get to know each other as kids before they start school. they learn how to speak by interacting with their immediate neighbors first. When they get to school, it becomes obvious that they speak differently and for some, it can cause them to withdraw to where their comfortable. if the community is large enough and there are 100's of others like it all over, that culture and language become a second, alternate language and culture. This is what happened with Spanish in California and Asians are now the fastest growing racial group in CA so it will be interesting to see which culture becomes dominant among them.
Yes, in fact this girl's first language was Teochew (she was Chinese Cambodian), and she spoke it at home. Her English was fluent, of course, but still definitely sounded quite foreign. It's funny I had a Singaporean accent until I started school but now I no trace of it at all.
Let me take you into a Vietnamese community next time you're here.
I haven't met many Asian Americans, mind you...one girl from SF, Chinese American but 3rd-4th generation who sounded totally American...um, met one Canadian of Asian background who just sounded Canadian. My cousin from Singapore has lived in the States for quite a few years and is beginning to sound quite American.
Likewise, some places here are absurdly ethnic haha...
^ most Asian Americans I've met however speak just like any other American.
Well, a lot of it depends on where specifically they're from in the US.
One of my friends who's Chinese-American who grew up in Boston has a slight Boston accent, because that's what she grew up around; another friend of mine who's Chinese-American grew up in Greenwich, CT and he speaks almost perfectly neutral English. Most of the girls I was with who were Chinese-American had fairly neutral, Valley Girl-ish accents, and it's been said that thanks to the media in the US, that is becoming the default vernacular with this generation. I knew one girl who was Chinese/Japanese who spoke English, like, ohhhh my gawwwd.... hahaha... that's like, sooooo funny? You know, she sounded tooooootally like a blonde chick from Huntington Beach and stuff. Because... yeah.
However, these guys all grew up in areas which were either predominantly white, or were a fairly even mix of multiple ethnicities and races. If you meet a Viet from Westminster, which is a heavily-Vietnamese ethnic enclave near Long Beach in Socal, you'll notice that while a lot of what they say is fairly standard Socal, some things do have a palpably Vietnamese pronunciation - "oh my gaah!" versus "oh my god!" is a common one... R's in general tend to get dropped and move to the upper palate. I think it's kind of cute Of the two Viet girls I've been with, one was from Westminster and the other spent her early years in Texas and Lousiana, where she was made fun of for being Asian, kept to herself, and adopted her parents' accents.
Well, a lot of it depends on where specifically they're from in the US.
One of my friends who's Chinese-American who grew up in Boston has a slight Boston accent, because that's what she grew up around; another friend of mine who's Chinese-American grew up in Greenwich, CT and he speaks almost perfectly neutral English. Most of the girls I was with who were Chinese-American had fairly neutral, Valley Girl-ish accents, and it's been said that thanks to the media in the US, that is becoming the default vernacular with this generation. I knew one girl who was Chinese/Japanese who spoke English, like, ohhhh my gawwwd.... hahaha... that's like, sooooo funny? You know, she sounded tooooootally like a blonde chick from Huntington Beach and stuff. Because... yeah.
However, these guys all grew up in areas which were either predominantly white, or were a fairly even mix of multiple ethnicities and races. If you meet a Viet from Westminster, which is a heavily-Vietnamese ethnic enclave near Long Beach in Socal, you'll notice that while a lot of what they say is fairly standard Socal, some things do have a palpably Vietnamese pronunciation - "oh my gaah!" versus "oh my god!" is a common one... R's in general tend to get dropped and move to the upper palate. I think it's kind of cute Of the two Viet girls I've been with, one was from Westminster and the other spent her early years in Texas and Lousiana, where she was made fun of for being Asian, kept to herself, and adopted her parents' accents.
Vietnamese in particular seem the least likely to integrate. Like there are still old Vietnamese refugees who've been here since the 70s who barely know much English. It really is a sort of ethnic ghetto. I haven't really encountered such foreign sounding accents among the local born in Perth. Pretty much everyone born in Australia, regardless of their background, sounds Australian here. Only in Melbourne was I surprised to find people born here who sound somewhat foreign. There aren't communities that are SO 'ethnic' as over there.
That's not necessarily true. Many immigrant communities in California often retain accents even if native born as the often learn their native language first. This is true among Vietnamese, Mexicans and some other groups. If they don't live in a community of their culture then the accent and often the language becomes diluted but it's entirely possible for them to maintain it. California makes it very easy for immigrants to maintain their cultture, especially when it comes to language. For example, one can get a drivers license as long as they know enough English to understand raod signs. the test itself is available in at least a dozen languages as are other state services. Therefore,many may not start learning English until they start grade school and even then, they often pick up the accent from their peers of the same ethnic group.
That's true all over the country. Here in Central New Jersey, lots of American-born Indian kids have pronounced Indian accents.
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Of the two Viet girls I've been with, one was from Westminster and the other spent her early years in Texas and Lousiana, where she was made fun of for being Asian, kept to herself, and adopted her parents' accents.
