Do you then to slang when chatting with overseas guests or friends?

Interesting way to look at it. People who try to imitate an accent are people who have no confidence. Well, at least, it sheds some light towards why they do it!

That is a good way to communicate effectively. But do you also adopt a certain accent when you talk to different people from different countries? I noticed that many of my friends tend to try and adopt a different slang and accent when taking to their Caucasian friends. Then use another accent when speaking to their Chinese and Taiwanese friends.

i don't believe putting on an accent. why do i want others to think i come from some where else? however, i did have people mistaking me to have been educated overseas. i don't know why but i guess it's the efforts i put into pronouncing my words. it doesn't matter where the people come from, i do my best to articulate my words carefully. to me, being understood is the most important thing. as for putting on an accent, i leave it to people who are less confident about themselves.

My sentiments exactly! It sounds so un-natural when you try to imitate an accent. If you happen to do it and still speak clearly, it is still tolerable. It is when you know that fella, and he doesn't slang or use an accent on normal days, but uses it when he is with foreigner friends, that is what amuses me. And the way that person slurs his words to try and imitate the slang or accent, makes the whole conversation session, well... just unbearable.

Yep! Yup! Yep!

Yeha yeah!! The more they are trying to impress his foreign frenz or whoever, the more they are actually um-impressing themselves in front of us.. lol =D IT's like an insult to themselves, for they dun respect their own local kind of speech in the 1st place.. haha =D

Yeah, I totally agree with you. Every country has their own unique slang and accent. It is when you meet up with people from different countries that you will notice them. And some people, I do not know why, try to imitate those accent and slangs when they meet up. Making it sound so un-natural and fake when they try to be different. Thanks for sharing.

ha ha ha ha ha... those "forbidden" words and phrases are probably the easiest to pick up. And also the fastest to learn among the whole language. And it appears to be the same for all languages or dialects! Interesting, isn't it? Thanks for sharing scarlet_woman.

ha ha ha ha ha... point noted. Been a long while since we chatted. How are you getting along? Yeah, sometimes slangs cannot be avoided due to our difference in the grasp of the common language. In this case, English being the communicating medium. Accent is a whole different thing altogether. I guess I did not make myself clear in the beginning of the post. When I was posting, I was having the intention to speak about accent. Cos each of us, grew up in different countries and cultures, the way we speak and pronounce the different phonetics is different. That results in the different accents when we try to pick up another language. So the question is, do you try to imitate a different accent when talking or chatting with your foreign friends?

Try to imitate different accents? Sometimes, I have enough trouble just trying to understand certain accents. LOL Some people from Great Britain or Scotland have accents so thick that there is no way I can understand them! Where I live now, in Virginia, some people have a northern accent while most have a southern accent. I can, thankfully, understand both. Being raised in Maryland, I have more of a northern accent but have been told by people from farther north that I have a slight southern accent. I guess that is why I can understand both so well. I don't try to imitate any accents, however. I speak the way I speak, although I know that my "southern accent" is growing stronger because of living around so many others with a southern accent. It's not a conscious thing, it's subconscious. There is one specific word here that is spoken quite differently by different regions. The word is "want". People from the deep south pronounce it "wont". Some even spell it that way. That used to confuse me but, from communicating with more and more people thanks to the wonders of the internet, I'm getting used to certain accents and am able to understand them better. Still, I speak the way I speak and don't try to imitate a different accent than the one I have. Now, as to how I'm doing, I'm actually doing a bit better these days. I was put on a new medication which has just come out on the market specifically for fibromyalgia and I can honestly say that my mood is much better these days. I'm also able to do more before I hurt so badly that I have to sit down. I suppose nothing will ever get rid of all the pain, but this new medication seems much better than anything I've taken before with no apparent side-effects, so I'm quite happy. I'm still fighting with Social Security over my disability case, though. It's quite insane at this point. My hearing before the judge was over 6 months ago and I still have received no word from them other than "the decision is being processed", and that was over 3 months ago! I'm about to send my seven-year-long nightmare story to dozens of the larger newspapers across the country in the hopes that some will publish it, embarrassing our Social Security system. There is no reason for them to deny me over and over, then make me wait forever for what should be a guaranteed approval. I want our government to come up with a good explanation for making me, and so many others, to wait so long to get what we have actually already paid for! (We pay into our Social Security system with every paycheck... part of what we earn goes to them specifically for the time we can no longer work, so it is already our money, but they simply refuse to give it to us.) It is causing great financial (and emotional) hardship to me and all the others just like me who have been waiting to be approved for disability. I hope I will be able to make a change in our system here and get people the benefits they need and rightfully deserve. So, how have you been? I hope you are doing well!

Woah... seems like you got your hands pretty full there! It is good to hear that you are getting relief from your new meds. At least you have one less worry. (referring to the pain) Trying to go against the legislation is like throwing an egg (you) against a rock (the legislation). If you are not too careful about it, it may back fire on you. Then again, your laws on freedom is very much more liberal compared to where I am from. Wishing you all the best in your quest for a fairer deal on social benefits.

I guess some slang is unavoidable when speaking to people from different countries. My original intend was to discuss about accent. Guess I got carried away with my typing. Well, we all grew up speaking different languages. As such, our grasp of the phonetics are slightly different in different languages. And when we try to learn another language, we will naturally bring this grasp of phonetics we know all our lives into that new language. My question is, do you try to change your accent when you are speaking in a foreign tongue when chatting with your foreign friends?