04-04-2005, 08:54 PM
Don't know if this makes any headway on the "American accent", but I watched a small group of Japanese tourists patiently wait while their designated translator asked an American some questions. After the person answered and left, the tourists watched him go and then they began to laugh and each made distinctly "mocking" noises, which I took to be their general idea of how the American speaker sounded to them.
The noises contained a lot of deep "uh" sounds: buh, duh, wuh, etc., and were delivered at a fairly slow rate. I wasn't offended, but thought it interesting.
I think they were asking what his "favorite color" might have been... :wink:
The noises contained a lot of deep "uh" sounds: buh, duh, wuh, etc., and were delivered at a fairly slow rate. I wasn't offended, but thought it interesting.
I think they were asking what his "favorite color" might have been... :wink:
ature has its way of warning a person away from danger: The distinct black and white coloration on a skunk, the chilling buzz of a rattlesanke, a redneck handing you his beer and saying "Watch this!"