"From a linguistic standpoint, it actually makes a good deal of sense, as maintaining an accent or dialect perfectly is exceptionally difficult and becomes more so the longer it is done. Most people would cease to exert the effort if they knew they didn't have to. "
I'm sorry, but that's one of the silliest things I've read on this site. As a US native who has spent much time in Germany, I can tell you that, having adjusted my German accent to the people around me, nothing could be LESS natural than suddenly reverting to a broken, heavily-accented speaking style. People who master foreign languages well enough to pass as natives do not have to make a continuous effort to put the accent on.
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I agree 100%, as a US native who speaks fluent (but not perfect) French, with an accent that is detectable but still slight enough to be unidentifiable. French people can tell I am not French, but they can't tell what I am—they can't tell that I am an anglophone, let alone an American. Once you learn how to speak correctly, you don't unlearn it. The troper who wrote that has no idea what they're talking about—they've obviously never studied a foreign language.
Edited by Saboteuse
In fact, I think the silliest part of that statement is this: "maintaining an accent or dialect perfectly is exceptionally difficult and becomes more so the longer it is done." On the contrary, maintaining an accent becomes LESS difficult with practice.
Previous Trope Repair Shop thread: Misused
, started by storyyeller on Jun 28th 2016 at 12:53:08 AM
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