What foreign- accents (in English) are most memorable ?

For me, they'd be Zizek's and Werner Herzog's.

i wonder why Zizek hasn't tried to make himself more intelligible.
----------- is his French just as bad ?

>>> Legendary director and actor Werner Herzog has revealed that his iconic German accent is “in some ways a stage voice”. The 77-year-old star told The Guardian that, after a career spanning more than 50 years, he has “found a voice the audience understands and likes”.

Greetings.

On 01/06/2022 15.58, henh...@gmail.com wrote:
> What foreign- accents (in English) are most memorable ?
>
> For me, they'd be Zizek's and Werner Herzog's.
>
>
> i wonder why Zizek hasn't tried to make himself more intelligible.
> ----------- is his French just as bad ?
>
>
>>>> Legendary director and actor Werner Herzog has revealed that
>>>> his iconic German accent is “in some ways a stage voice”. The
>>>> 77-year-old star told The Guardian that, after a career
>>>> spanning more than 50 years, he has “found a voice the audience
>>>> understands and likes”.

Herzog's accent is certainly memorable, but I would by no means
characterize it as likeable. On the contrary, I find it annoying to the
point that I will not watch any film he narrates. (I hasten to add that
it's not German accents in general that I don't like, as I've lived
quite happily in German-speaking regions for most of the past 20 years,
and hear German-accented English on a daily basis. It's something about
Herzog's delivery in particular that I can't stand.)

As for other memorable accents, Björk's has to be right up there. I'm
also no stranger to Icelandic accents and find Björk's English diction
to be idiosyncratic. I think it's rather charming.

I never heard Paul Erdős speak but I've heard from others that his
Hungarian accent (when speaking English) was quite distinctive. I think
it was his biography, "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers", that related the
story of how he learned English from a textbook, without the help of a
native- or even second-language teacher. With no one to correct him, he
got into the habit of pronouncing English words as though they were
Hungarian ones.

Regards,
Tristan

--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Tristan Miller
Free Software developer, ferret herder, logologist
https://logological.org/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Tristan Miller <psychonaut@nothingisreal.com> writes:
>Herzog's accent is certainly memorable, but I would by no means
>characterize it as likeable. On the contrary, I find it annoying to the
>point that I will not watch any film he narrates.

I am trying to learn to understand and speak (American) English.

For this, I try to find videos of talks in American English
(or podcasts and the like). I'm annoyed by any non-(American-)
English voice, because I'm afraid it might teach me a wrong
pronunciation and might also use some non-native wordings
with a reduced vocabulary.

So I'm not listening to speakers whose accent is not like
from a native speaker of American English, even when they
are speaking about some very interesting topic!

( Legendary director and actor Werner Herzog has revealed that his iconic German accent is “in some ways a stage voice”. The 77-year-old star told The Guardian that, after a career spanning more than 50 years, he has “found a voice the audience understands and likes” )

ive never found his accent annoying , but i can (now) see how it might be to someone...
because he's saying that he can lessen it (and sound more like Wolfgang Petersen) if he likes or chooses.

if you call yourself logologist , you'd be carrying (on) Mr.Eckler's torch

On Tuesday, June 7, 2022 at 12:13:36 PM UTC-7, Tristan Miller wrote:
> Greetings.
> On 01/06/2022 15.58, henh...@gmail.com wrote:
> > What foreign- accents (in English) are most memorable ?
> >
> > For me, they'd be Zizek's and Werner Herzog's.
> >
> >
> > i wonder why Zizek hasn't tried to make himself more intelligible.
> > ----------- is his French just as bad ?
> >
> >
> >>>> Legendary director and actor Werner Herzog has revealed that
> >>>> his iconic German accent is “in some ways a stage voice”. The
> >>>> 77-year-old star told The Guardian that, after a career
> >>>> spanning more than 50 years, he has “found a voice the audience
> >>>> understands and likes”.

> Herzog's accent is certainly memorable, but I would by no means
> characterize it as likeable. On the contrary, I find it annoying to the
> point that I will not watch any film he narrates. (I hasten to add that
> it's not German accents in general that I don't like, as I've lived
> quite happily in German-speaking regions for most of the past 20 years,
> and hear German-accented English on a daily basis. It's something about
> Herzog's delivery in particular that I can't stand.)
>
> As for other memorable accents, Björk's has to be right up there. I'm
> also no stranger to Icelandic accents and find Björk's English diction
> to be idiosyncratic. I think it's rather charming.
>
> I never heard Paul Erdős speak but I've heard from others that his
> Hungarian accent (when speaking English) was quite distinctive. I think
> it was his biography, "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers", that related the
> story of how he learned English from a textbook, without the help of a
> native- or even second-language teacher. With no one to correct him, he
> got into the habit of pronouncing English words as though they were
> Hungarian ones.
>
> Regards,
> Tristan
>
> --
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
> Tristan Miller
> Free Software developer, ferret herder, logologist
> https://logological.org/
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Greetings.

On 08/06/2022 01.54, henh...@gmail.com wrote:
> ive never found his accent annoying , but i can (now) see how it
> might be to someone... because he's saying that he can lessen it
> (and sound more like Wolfgang Petersen) if he likes or chooses.

Yeah -- the revelation that the accent is (at least partially) affected
makes it all the more annoying.

> if you call yourself logologist , you'd be carrying (on)
> Mr.Eckler's torch

Indeed. I had the pleasure of corresponding with him on a few
occasions. Shame that his successor has unilaterally suspended
publication of the journal rather than handing it over to a new editor.

Regards,
Tristan

--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Tristan Miller
Free Software developer, ferret herder, logologist
https://logological.org/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

On Wednesday, June 8, 2022 at 4:38:29 AM UTC-7, Tristan Miller wrote:
> Greetings.
> On 08/06/2022 01.54, henh...@gmail.com wrote:
> > ive never found his accent annoying , but i can (now) see how it
> > might be to someone... because he's saying that he can lessen it
> > (and sound more like Wolfgang Petersen) if he likes or chooses.
> Yeah -- the revelation that the accent is (at least partially) affected
> makes it all the more annoying.

> > if you call yourself logologist , you'd be carrying (on) Mr.Eckler's torch
> Indeed. I had the pleasure of corresponding with him on a few
> occasions. Shame that his successor has unilaterally suspended
> publication of the journal rather than handing it over to a new editor.
> Regards, Tristan

i never followed WW (Word Ways) closely, but you're right... he could 've let it continue, with another editor

you know how Pres. candidates suddenly get ethnic/folksy? -- Clinton sounding more Southern, or Reagan emphasizing his being Dutch/Irish ????

it just occurred to me now that ... Arnold-Schwarzenegger's accent is the same thing.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3141778/Arnold-Schwarzenegger-reveals-speak-perfect-English-keeps-talking-accent-fans-expect-it.html

>>> After 35 years of mangling the English language in his films, Hollywood superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger has claimed that he can speak perfect English after all.

And he says he only sticks with his barely penetrable Austrian intonations because it’s what his fans expect.

‘It’s now become such a big part of me, the accent, that people really enjoy it,’ explained the 67-year-old, whose latest movie Terminator Genisys opens in Britain on Thursday.