Is English My NATIVE Language?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 11 чер 2024
- In this stream I will address all the speculation about my accent and whether or not I'm a native speaker of English! :)
00:00 Pre-stream
01:14 "PAUL IS GERMAN OR SOMETHING!"
04:45 Is English my native language?
9:36 Speaking clearly for the audience
13:47 Living in a foreign country
15:43 Teaching EFL
16:46 Interference from other languages?
19:40 Reciting a script on camera
20:46 Being an introvert
22:47 Insomnia
25:57 Neurodivergence?
33:33 Social confusion vs language learning
36:29 Summing up (the main point)
37:43 Hanging out with the chat
54:13 Language memes
1:00:27 Bye!
"Are you sure you're canadian?" Is such a wild thing to say. Like yeah. If someone says theyre canadian. I think theyre sure
I can understand why this would boil his piss - it would boil mine. Not the "Where are you from?" question - the _Are you sure? / No you can't be!_ reposts he then gets! The guy is a goldmine who is educating the rest of us and he should not have to put up with these sorts of reposts, should he?
"People keep asking me if I'm _sure_ I'm Canadian and I haven't really had an answer. But now? YEAH, I'M THINKING I'M CANADIAN."
Didn't Dame Edna once ask k.d. lang the same question in a very ironic manner. "How did you know for sure that you were completely Canadian." k.d. laughed out loud and played right along with her. I almost gather that people who don't think Paul sounds Canadian perhaps haven't been exposed to a lot of speakers from Western Canada. His accent sounds very distinctive to me. Maybe people aren't accustomed to careful speakers anymore.
What if a Canadian identifies as an American?
@@SaturnineXTS You might expect a bit of hybridization, depending on the circumstances. Paul's pronunciation reminds me a little of actress Beverly Owens's. She was born in Golden, BC, which is actually not far from Calgary, AB.
He’s clearly from middle earth
Paulbo baggins
@@forkes1886nice to see someone who speaks quenya!
He's rocking that Gondor accent.
@@gabor6259 😂
Can some of you guys stop he's literally telling the truth you're just ruining it also he's not from middle earth i'm going to poop my pants if you do that again
It's the clear, complete enunciation, AND your volume and stress levels do not vary nearly as much as most people's. I think it is the volume and enunciation together to give you the clipped "robotic" tone. The extreme accuracy gives you the foreign vibe because good students do that too.
To some extent that might be the audio compression and hard limiter I use while recording, to make sure my voice doesn't get too quiet or too loud. But I'm also making an effort to speak up, so my voice doesn't fizzle out and get too soft (even if the audio compression keeps it from sounding too quiet). I don't know if my volume is normally that consistent.
@@Langfocus Just for fun you should do a few sentences the way you would talk to family or your friends.
If it makes you feel a bit better, seeing the notification for this livestream shocked me; I thought "wait, his first language isn't English? You've gotta be joking!". Didn't realize these comments were so frequent on your videos. Always assumed you just were speaking clearly and at worst had an interesting local accent from Canada; as a Pennsylvanian you always sounded Canadian to me. Thanks for the interesting dive into how you speak, and for all the interesting videos over the years!
This! He always sounded anglo Canadian as all heck to me! From the US here as well, so maybe as his neighbors who speak a variety of North American English we hear perhaps more clearly the small differences but understand the similarities then too.
I'm not from the US nor a native English speaker, and when I first started watching this channel I had no idea where he was from or if he was a native speaker, but once I learned he's from Canada, I just assumed he had a more particular, maybe rural, accent (most of the exposure to canadian culture I've experienced has been through Hollywood actors and stuff like that, so the canadian English I've heard is much more similar to what we hear in American media, I've not been as exposed to the variety of accents that there are there). But I never doubted that he was canadian.
@@Alfonso162008 That's super interesting. I remember staying at a B&B place in Kitchener, ON years back. We drove from Michigan across and we were on our way to Toronto to see a friend. Anywho, The host almost sounded Irish in a way but still very 'North American' too. She was apparently from the Kitchener area though. It seems like there are some rural or regional accents in Canada that can sound rather distinct, especially Newfies lol.
Never was in any doubt that Paul is a native English-speaking Canadian. (This is coming from an Aussie who's spent half his life in the US, so my ear is fairly well attuned to North American accents.)
I am from Chicago and I agree! Paul just sounds like an average west coast Canadian to me.
When people think of Canadian accents they might think of Ontario (Toronto) for example which might affect how some people view Canadian English, but there is more accents in Canada then just the ones in Ontario.
Same, not an Aussie but from the US and grew up all across it. Never once thought he sounded anything other than Canadian lol
My first thought when I first heard you some years ago was, "Now there's an experienced ESL/ EFL teacher." Like you, I've lived in Asia for years and modify my (originally broad Australian) accent without even thinking when with non-Aussies. Most people's first guesses for my nationality are southern English or German
I thought you were German in the English video, but you sound Canadian here. I just discovered your channel this evening.
I’m with you. I spent 12 years working in countries where many of my colleagues didn’t speak English well. So I very quickly learned to throw away my broad Australian accent, which noone coukd made sense of, and started sounding like an English speaking moon man in an attempt to be clearer. It worked better than the broad Aussie.
I'm from the US south and heck, other Americans couldn't understand me sometimes when I was a kid. I started working on some "pan American" speaking habit for people to understand me better. I still have an accent, but I speak with intention and thought.
My daughter learned English off of me this way and people think she's British!
yeah, same. having said that, i'm now in NYC, and the fact that people here don't understand me makes me want to sound MORE Australian. it's not even like i have an especially strong accent-i'm from Melbourne, and i spent a few years in London in my early 20s, so its pretty neutral. nevertheless, a lot of the time people here hear my accent for the first time and look at me like i'm speaking Chinese. it makes me want to be all like, "YEAH G'DAY CUNT I'M A FUCKEN AUSSIE NOW PASS ME A FUCKEN DURRY".
😊am Australian also, left at 26, returning 28 years later, happen to be in china right now however. Same deal. Began with a typical Aussie accent. I deliberately mellowed it out when vowels when living in nz. Now English Australians and nz’s are often unable to place me correctly. The vast majority of the world’s population that speaks English can however understand me, which was the point of my deliberate accent softening. Communication is being human and being human is communicating. Removing as many impediments to it as possible is a good thing in my book.
@@hair2050 oh i totally agree. it's just something about the "Excuuuuuuse me?: i get every time i open my mouth here that brings out the brat in me lol
I always assumed you were a non-native English speaker, I just never cared enough to give it a second thought. Instead, as a long time viewer, I've always enjoyed and appreciated your content. In this era of UA-cam Quitting, I really hope you don't burn out but continue to create awesome videos. Long-belated THANKS
May I know why you assumed he's non-native? There are 0 aspects to his way of speaking that make him stand out as someone whose native language isn't English, as far as I'm concerned (he also looks like he's fully English but honestly idk).
@@anonymousbloke1 to me personally what stands out the most is the intonation of certain words, such as the way he says "audience" at 9:38. We kind of goes up a little bit an extra time, I guess? I don't know how to explain it properly haha but it kinda sounds like he's stressing the first AND last syllables.
@@anonymousbloke1I think it's his overly precise enunciation and pronunciation
@@anonymousbloke1 I work with a lot of Germans, Dutch and Scandinavians who speak English much better than the Americans, English and Irish on the team. Every aspect is superior: enunciation, conjugation and a lack of conversational "lazy speak" used in formal presentations. Oddly enough, the Canadians tend to fall in the middle, better than the other native-English speakers, but not as good as the Europeans. Also, there a few word pronunciations that tend to identify someone from Canada or Michigan UP that I haven't heard, or maybe just missed.
@@aleewade4162 >much better
They make more of an effort, you mean. That doesn't necessarily mean "better", especially since they highly likely still have foreign accents when speaking English
Years ago, I briefly wondered where you’re from, because of your careful articulation. Then you said “about”. 😀
I always thought you were a native English speaker who was simply speaking as clearly as possible so, great job! And thanks for sharing; I'm an introvert too and I totally get that part. People don't think that I am but it's simply because I've had years of experience talking with clients, colleagues and guests.
I like the way you speak. I hear your speech as elegant and slightly formal, like many academics, which I find aesthetically pleasing. The most important thing is that you are never boring. I actually watch your videos from beginning to end without losing interest, which is partly because of the subject matter but also has to do with the way you sound. For the record it has never occurred to me that you were anything other than Canadian and a native speaker!
Thanks, I'm glad you like my videos, and I'm glad it's partly because of the way I speak. :)
That comment about the awkwardness of social interaction falling away when you’re speaking another language really resonates with me. I’m glad you said it, because I’d noticed it with myself but not been able to explain it up till now
As a long term subscriber, it was nice getting to know you more Paul😊 I think we all have traits that make us unique, no reason to label oneself which could turn negative. As long as we're contributing we're doing our life's calling.
Your part about neurodivergence kind of freaked me out because it sounded like you were talking about me! Great video.
A lot of people hear about it and think it sounds like them. With closer reflection on your life, you can consider whether it’s really a possibility (if you feel like it’s important to do that).
Just an add on to what Paul has said here, and hopefully not unsolicited discussion it is simply that I this is all very familiar for me as well (including the people asking about my speaking patterns) so I am somewhat personally invested in the discussion, it doesn't really matter. The label of disability has always annoyed me as I think it leaves out the nuance of the spectrum. If you care about the way you sound, I have found researching pronunciation in the context of acting/accent lessons to be quite useful in adapting your speaking patterns to be 'more normal'. Interestingly though, I find speaking in a different language to be quite similar to when I speak English (my native language). I currently live in France and speak French daily but when I first moved here and began to speak, it was more difficult because I had my normal social anxieties in addition to the anxiety that my French was being spoken poorly and I would be misunderstood. This has dissipated some as I grew more confident with my language ability but it is simply moving to the same place as English.
Also, a side note that I am curious about, is whether others have a fixation on being understood accurately. I think this is always a concern of mine and I feel like I choose my words carefully because I am afraid that if I don't then I may be misunderstood.
@@neomeo1045 I also try to choose my words carefully so that I am not misunderstood
My wife and I are both software engineers. One of our adult children has an ASD diagnosis, and we strongly suspect that both of us are also neurodivergent in some way. For all the years that I’ve been a big fan of your channel, my assumption has been that you have ASD. To me, it is as obvious as the day is long because the similarity with my child is too great. So, while your reveal doesn’t surprise me even slightly, I do welcome it. Thanks.
If there's one thing I'm sure I've learned from having a rock-solid ASD diagnosis at age 4, it's that those that aren't too handicapped by the condition rather easily know their peers.
Sometimes it sadly is through rejection or bullying by "neuro-normative" children/adolescents, but there's just this unspeakable vibe for me. If he's not part of the spectrum then I'm questioning reality itself.
all the best people are always revealed to be autistic in the end, lol
I am an autist and love linguistics, it is one of my special interests
You're killing it man, keep up the good work.
Thank you, Mick!
You're a good man, Paul. I too had asked you once a long while ago (4 or 5 years +) where you're from as I couldn't place your accent (I am British English). I can tell how much this must be a wind up. Can I offer you an unreserved apology for my part in your gears being ground like this. You're a good man, Paul. Don't give up. You have a fantastic output which is educative and informative. Sorry for your trouble
Don't worry, it's not that big of a deal. It's just a bizarre experience to be a public figure (if I can call myself that) and read what people write about you. Imagine being able to read people's minds and hear everything they're thinking about you. It's like that.
north Germany bordering with Denmark is right where the Angles and Saxons came from , spot on! :D jokes apart, as an Italian, not even an English native speaker, I am puzzled by all these questions. People who have never exited their own courtyard I presume.
I am American, and Paul just sounds like an average West Coast North American (USA/Canada).
This one resonated with me. I wonder exactly which sounds it is that triggers this DK/DE border association, because I have it too.
Paul I'm a big fan and a subscriber . Living in GTA but originally from the Midwest in the US. I'm also a former linguist, studied several languages and was a professor for 10 years . I moved to Canada 20 years ago. Only two people ever identified me as a non-Canadian speaker, because my Midwest state borders Canada. Your points are great and I have recommended this video to an ESL teacher/friend. I NEVER assumed you were a non-native speaker... but I always suspected your ARE a teacher.
When I first started watching your channel I thought you were from Minnesota or thereabouts. I wasn't far off.
I appreciate the honesty in the conversation about having autism / autistic traits. It's totally okay to not know! I wouldn't be terribly surprised if you did either after hearing you explain ways in which you relate to autistic people's experiences
ftr I'm also neurodivergent (diagnosed ADHD with possibly some autistic traits as well)
Im very happy to have you as member of the internet polyglot community.
You put well researched videos that almost makes me like grammar:-)
Greetings from Sweden
I hade another "strange" thought that you pronunciation was because of you're parents where native danes but now you explained it to be 4th generation it's to farfetched 😊
This has been a fascinating lesson in both linguistics and psychology. I share the same sleep problem, so that part was gratifying for me to hear. I also share some of the same psychological features. I can understand why many people guessed Montreal or Ottawa Valley, since English-speakers in that region often speak with a slightly exaggerated enunciation. If you speak to some random person in Ottawa, it's a fifty-fifty chance whether English or French will be their primary language, and people enunciate in this way to maintain clarity. It's no surprise that the region has produced a lot of actors, radio personalities, and lawyers. I am French-English bilingual, from Northern Ontario, and noticed this long ago when visiting that region. I also maintain some "northern" mannerisms that raise eyebrows in Toronto --- these are often archaic pronunciations no longer used in urban Canada, the influence of French, or sometimes influences from Cree and Ojibway. If I say "ice cream" or "peanut butter" I don't sound normal to most people around me.
I think people think you aren't native because you almost only speak in a formal ultra-clear way with a neutralised accent on this channel, something people may associate with a non-native who is superior in commanding English, e.g. a German teaching English in a German university.
Btw I think your last video on the journey adopting RP is so interesting. So creative. Seen people faking another accent but not analyzing and improving on it step by step. You're such a big geek! HAHA
It’s kind of funny, I’ve been watching your videos for years and I’ve never thought you sounded “non-native”😅
To me, (Californian) you sound North America. You just have an interesting way a speaking. You enunciate very clearly.
Exactly!! I guess some comments are from some sad trolls who are bored and don't have anything else better to do
+1, never doubted that he was Canadian at all
Annunciate or enunciate ?
@@frosty_brandonSame. He sounds like most people you’ll run into on the streets of our cities and towns
He enunciates like a Japanese person I’d say. Wouldn’t surprise me if he was from Okinawa.
"a different type of Canadian" Like yer made of chocolate or something jaja
Thanks for likin my comment Paul but ... turn off yer phone, go to bed!! ;)
I love your English, it is very easy and clear. Greetings to you from Iraq 🇮🇶🇨🇦
Paul I appreciate your taking the time to connect personally with this community, YOUR community. It has been enjoyable getting to know you better through this chat, and the added insight into your personality makes all your videos even nicer to watch. I did not realize the amount of effort you put into your words, and the discussion around neurodivergence was eye-opening and relatable. Thank you and I wish you much continued success.
I’m introvert as well and I can so relate to under-sleeping. My brain also just keep working on its own if something exciting happened back in the day, learning, communicating with a bunch of people etc 🤯
I think it's because the Canadian accent sounds so close to the US accent but yet is not the same, so it creates an "uncanny valley" effect
When you having trouble falling asleep, you can do a few things to increase the chance. Here are some things that you can try:
1) Try to have a better timing of your stresses. Your stress should be at daytime. Try to calm down in the evening. Get things done at daytime and don't stress yourself in the evening, if you can't manage everything. Turn off your smartphone, computer and TV in the evening. I know that's difficult. But disconnection is a way. Especially when your mind stops you from falling asleep. Also meditation can help. Any kind of meditation would do. Even if it's just going for a walk.
2) Get enough light around the day. Best would be sunlight. But like stress turn it down in the evening. Blueblockers at night, if you can't change your habits.
3) Get enough exercise at daytime. You don't need to become an athlete. But something is always better than nothing. Try to see it like that: Your brain evolved to fulfill your physical needs. Not the other way around. Your body needs to be moved.
4) No food minimum 3 hours before you go to bed. Same applies to drugs (coffeine included). Unless you need to take some medication in the evening.
5) When you want to be able to get up earlier, it's no good idea to go to bed earlier. You need to stand up earlier, even if that means that did not get enoug sleep for that night. You can only catch up on sleep. But not sleep in advance.
6) Try to stay consistent in your sleep schedule. Don't wake up early one day and sleep in the other. Your sleep schedule should match with your circadian rythm. If you want to find out your true circadian rythm, get on camping holiday for at least two weeks and disconnect.
7) Try to find out if it's only not enough time or even sleep quality. Sleep quality can be an indicator of illness (e.g. respiratory failure) or psychological problems. If it's sleep quality consider professional help.
8) Don't take it too seriously. Not enough sleep is certainly not good for your health. But sometimes it's just the way it is. Don't stress yourself about it. Do it step by step.
9) If none of the above helps, start a sleep diary, where you list your stresses around the day, when you ate your last meal, when you went to bed and when you stood up. It can give you a hint of what you can do differently.
Good luck, man. I know it's not easy. I have almost the same symptoms like you.
pretty good advice lol
Personally after watching your chanel for many years I would say your content and the way you present it pronunciation-wise was a huge help for me, when I was just tipping my toes into english speaking enviroment. Back then I'd been struggling to find eglish content which would be clear to the point where there isn't much of my effort to keep up with the pace (i. e. pausing a video every now and then to replay), yet which is not boring and primitive, up until I stumbled upon your chanel. Thank you a lot for your work!
I understand about the enunciation thing. My normal accent is a British, East Midlands (Lincoln) accent. However, when I'm speaking in public to an audience, especially one that is made up of people who are not from Lincolnshire, I deliberately speak with a clear RP (Received Pronunciation) accent. It perhaps sounds too perfect, but I'm enunciating my words in order to be clearly understood by people who would not otherwise understand my normal Lincoln accent. When I'm speaking to someone whose native language is not English, my RP accent is even more pronounced. It's very common in Britain to have two accents or dialects (code-switching in your own language)
Same here from another yellowbelly or does being born in Lincoln make me an Imp?
I really appreciate it when British people to their best do speak in RP, because I have some slight hearing loss and I've had trouble with most accents. When I was in the army as a teenager, I had trouble understanding Southern American English. It was always a huge sigh of respect when "Southern folk" (as they call themselves) speak in a more neutral accent and I'm sure they could see the relief on my face.
I thought RP was way out of fashion now
There's a Scottish video game youtuber (Ai and Games) that in a recent video mentioned how his Scottish friends tease him a bit for tempering his accent in his videos, and for a few lines went "full Scottish" and it was surprising to hear the difference!
@@williammullikin2076 By RP, I don't mean a 'posh' accent, I mean an accent which is regionless and classless. Lincolnian and RP were the only 2 accents I learned growing up. I'm 63 now, so what am I going to do if someone doesn't understand a Lincoln accent? I guess I could talk louder.........
Your accent for me is the best, you speak clearly, I can understand everything that you speak. Two or three days ago I have showed your accent to my fiance to exemplify a clear English accent
Funny ! I'm French and always thank that you were from somewhere in the Americas (yes, I almost know nothing about English American accents) but for sure, not European.
As a French it's obvious that you're not European, and I've always appreciated your efforts of pronounciation ! It was clearly for us, this 'neutral accent'
PS: it's amazing for your kid! Native English Speaker and native Japanese speaker ! Great job and good luck, it's hard to teach to his family. And I think that the introvert part, somehow I felt it through your work, is hard when your audience is from diverse horizons. I like this vibe, for me it's a perfect balance between the personal and the professional. You're the first I followed, years ago. I learned a lot with you, in English which is now m'y Lingua Franca, so because you use a kind of RP pronounciation, I learned to learn grammar etc. in English. So thank you a lot !
Specifially aaall your work about dialects (don't like this word, but...) as Jamaicain, especially Moroccan! Really impressive.
And I think you may be on the spectrum, but without any problems of communication : sciences are discovering what it is. I felt it a bit too, but, do you really care ? Haha, it's a good thing if you're okay with that, and your analytic way of teaching us makes me think it is a possibility. But, don't listen people about that, especially because people will talk about your family, your son or I don't know. It is your private life. I talked about it only because YOU talk about it before, hope I wasn't rude. Thank you again' for all your work
Learning languages has been a really useful way for me to overcome my own communication deficits, because it gives me a baseline, and an opportunity to ask questions that might otherwise be considered inappropriate.
For example, in Japanese culture, its considered rude to decline an invitation directly. Instead, you have to stutter and stammer for a few seconds until the invitation is revoked.
As opposed to English speakers, who will often decline, by making an excuse. Learning this, blew my mind.
Your delivery works fine. You just seem very deliberate about your word choice, what you want to say. Love the channel.
Been following your channel for a few years, and though you do a superb job, I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one to have found your accent peculiar. Your English is perfect, but affected maybe by the fact you are a teacher/communicator. And still in a very unique way. Keep it up.
As an American who's spent half his life in foreign countries, taught ESL, and speaks several languages, I think your situation is not unusual. Linguists and those hyper-focused on syntax, grammar, and pronunciation tend to do the same thing with their own native language. I've gotten the same reaction from Americans when I visit the States, like "why do you speak so strange". In my case, I almost never use English overseas and I lose contact with the latest slang, mannerisms, and changes to the language. You just kind of fall back on the "bookish" language.
Hi Paul, whatever people say, please don't change your accent. 🇨🇦 I understand you perfectly. Not only is your pronunciation super clear to my ears, but you also use simple English to explain complex concepts, which proves you are a born teacher.
I am one of the 80% viewers whose native language is not English - it is German im my case, and for me your content is perfect.
I am a language enthusiast, without any formal education in linguistics etc. but I keep learning.
You can't tell if somebody is a native speaker or not. Let me tell my experiences. I work for an IT company. More than half of my workmates were not born in Germany. 🇩🇪 One of them is originally from Morocco 🇲🇦, he came to Germany in his twenties, but now speaks German better than the average native. No joke, I am serious. I think sometimes he expresses himself in an "overly" clear way, so it might sound a little too formal in certain situations. Same goes for one of our secretaries. She is from Poland 🇵🇱, she also came to Germany in her twenties. Most people in the company are not aware of her accent because actually there is no "real" accent. However, languagewise I am a terrible perfectionist 🧐, so I notice her sometimes unusual way of pronouncing word endings. Yes, I can be evil. 😈... To most people it just sounds like she might be from another place in Germany. Such assumptions are not far-fetched: There are dozens of dialects here even within small regions. Basically every village has its peculiarities in vocabulary and pronunciation.
My kids say it is uncool to use so many emojis, but hey, they spice things up.
Keep up your good work, Paul! 👍
As a non-native English speaker and resident in a country where it is not common to speak English on a daily basis, your English is the best I have ever heard. It's a teacher's perfect English.
Thanks for being you and thanks for creating Langfocus! Love your videos Paul.
Awesome video Paul, very open and honest of you to take this discussion and bring it into light with some very good points made.
🇺🇾 People often ask me where I learned Spanish even when it's my native language.
It's most likely because I sound acoustic and I tend to choose words that aren't that common in everyday speaking, I tend to be "too precise" with the words I use.
To me, it's important because body language and prosody are not things I take into consideration without actively thinking about them 🤷
I've also been asked if I'm Welsh a couple of times when I speak English, for that I have no clue why 🤷
Love your content, I've watched your channel for years and years and I never get tired of it. Never change 🫀
My parents just have two extremely different American accents haha. I feel I'm in the same position as you in terms of the social simplicity of language learning, and in terms of having an international community I speak with. Your channel is always a joy
Respect to you for responding so politely and calmly to "Are you sure you're Canadian?"! and other insensitive questions and remarks. I'm British, but many people don't think that English is my first language because of the way I speak and the fact that I speak several other languages, which British people obviously can't do (please note my British sarcasm). For the majority of my adult life, when I have spoken English, I have spoken to non-native speakers. Hence, I speak slowly and clearly and I am very aware if I use a colloquial expression or an expression specific for the UK. I believe that choosing my words carefully when speaking English to non-native speakers has made me a more articulate speaker of English in general, for both native and non-native speakers.
I never doubted you were a native anglophone, and I even speculated you were from north of the border before I saw a video where you said you were Canadian. I just figured you were annunciating a little more because you have an international audience. Glad to know my intuition was right.
I always knew you were a native speaker who lived too long abroad! 🤣 Coming from a Canadian TESOL teacher abroad! I myself have had to pronounce words like "bag" with the same vowel as "cat" even though I grew up with a diphthong for "bag, tag, etc."
I am Australian and have develpoed an accent for my European and Asian friends. I can understand you using this claer speach for the non native English speakers. I was at a dance class in Berlin once and the teacher had an unusual accent. By the end of the class her accent changed to her natural accent . She came from Glasgow. This teacher was using the same clear English approach as you and I.
I have a partner who's Canadian (from Ontario), and I can definitely hear certain inflections and vowel pronunciations (particularly the short "o" sound) in your voice that sound very Canadian to me.
I've noticed this as well. His long "o"s are also less diphthongized, in "I don't know. Go" etc.
I'm an American EFL teacher, and when I first stumbled upon your channel years ago, I admit that I too thought that English wasn't your first language. After hearing a video where you said you were Canadian, I tried to analyze why I thought that. To me now, it sounds like you are a native speaker, but speaking through clenched teeth. You also speak out of the right side of your mouth, but not your left, like Popeye the Sailor. If you watch yourself speak, you have a dimple on the left cheek (your left) and not the right. I assumed it was a physical issue, like dental work or something worse, a stroke. I'm sure this is why I noticed something different than the standard Canadian English accent.
Great stream! I only caught the tail end of your stream, I'm going back and watching the VOD now. Interesting to know your parents aren't first generation immigrants-I knew your first language was English, but your accent sounds quite reminiscent of some of my second generation Canadian friends.
If I had to identify what sounds "non-native" about your accent, I'd actually point to the way you pronounce your vowels. A standard North American accent is typically described as being very relaxed and open, but the way you pronounce vowels sounds a lot more closed off, comparable to a traditional RP accent.
The combination of tight, closed-off vowels and overenunciated consonants gives the impression of a Dutch or German accent.
I always thought that you sounded like you maybe have an accent too that suggested you possibly had another language as your first, but then thought maybe it’s because you’re juggling so many languages that it’s bound to affect it somewhat. But it doesn’t matter, your skill for languages is amazing and I love your channel. You’re brilliant, keep it up!
My dead sir Paul,
First of all, I would like to warmly thank you for the efforts you put into your UA-cam channel. I have been following you for years and through your channel I have learned a lot.
After watching this video, I found myself similar to you in many things and I knew I was not alone in this world. I feel afraid of others. The space in which there is no trace of human could make me feel so comfortable. Talking to people requires a lot of effort from me. I should avoid talking to Wayne. I prefer writing to direct communication through speech.
About your accent, I knew from the beginning that it was from North America. Even before I knew your nationality!
Personally, I have learned a lot of words and concepts through your clips "videos' here on UA-cam. Today I speak English well, clear and understandable words. Most of the people are confused about my nationality where I'm live. But no one is able to know where im from exactly. Why, well, I'm learning English from different sources, improving my skills in the communication and writing and speaking as well, most of my sources are from America or Canada or Europe (except British).
In the end, I would like to tell you to keep going. You are doing us a great service.
So that I am always happy with the videos that you publish in a clear, useful, important and educational way.
(If you want to translate this video to Arabic language, I will be so happy to help you) because I did understand each word and sentence, without facing any problems).
Thanks a lot
My greetings
I mean, you do sound Canadian to me but you look too Danish/Dutch/ German to me 😂😂😂
Same 😂
He has danish in him
Only Native American Canadians look Canadian 😂😂😂
@@surfboarding5058ok?
Calgary Canada checking in. Hey Paul I have been watching your videos over the years. Always super accurate and interesting. I have thought the way you talk can be somewhat exaggerated but I have always chalked that up to the precise and accurate nature of your style of delivery plus some aspects of individual personality to me you always come across as a language teacher that often over enunciate somewhat but I have never once thought u were a non native speaker 🤣 it’s funny having to defend it so much but inquisitive minds want to know so that’s understandable. To be fair a lot of your viewers we have a strong interest in linguistics so your words and way of speaking is going to be dissected to a higher degree plus we all like to guess at where someone’s accent is from so I get why some ppl would venture a guess if they did not previously know. To me you sound 100% Canadian you just enunciate like an ESL teacher because you provide highly accurate linguistic content so that style of speaking matches the content but I have never thought you are a non native speaker 🇨🇦
My favorite East German UA-camr 😂 jk, I'm American and never thought you sounded foreign
I'm so glad that you made this video. I've been watching you for years and always wondered what the deal was with your accent. I don't doubt that you are a native speaker or English from Canada, but it is good to have an open conversation about it. Now there is no doubt and my curiosity can now be quelled. 😊 I don't think the vast majority of people mean any offense with their questions, but like me were just curious. The answers you gave make sense, but I hope you can recognize why so many people ask the question.
Fascinating video, thanks for sharing such personal thoughts
When I started learning English actively around 2-3 years ago, I was really enjoying your videos (and am still enjoying) and really the way you speak which was really clear and I understood almost everything. I struggled with understanding native accents back then so you really helped me with it
Are you sure you're not from North Narnia?
But on a serious note, I'm a linguist and I think I pegged you as Canadian very quickly. You're exactly right about people with an international social sphere having very adaptive accents
I also assumed that you have some Slavic language influencing your accent, and I thought you were a simultaneous bilingual. The reason for that is, I think I can hear a close back unrounded vowel when you speak, in some of the places where I would expect more of a schwa from English speakers . We have that sound in Turkish, and I know Slavic languages have it too. But I didn't know you spoke Japanese on a daily basis, and well, Japanese has that sound too. So I think you might have Japanese influencing your accent a bit (even the staccato might be from that? : )
Love your videos, thank you for the great content!
His facial features are like Baltic people.But his accent sounded normal to me.I thought that he is a latvian or estonian who lives in canada for a few generations.
Thank you for sharing such personal topics!
wow you're a fantastic teacher. it's really interesting to get an explanation of how you communicate, sorry people keep doubting you
Hi Paul. Thanks for the video. To me you just sound like a Canadian and I really enjoy your videos as I enjoy learning about other languages. Keep up the good work and don't get distracted by people doubting you or where you're from originally. You're awesome.
And your channel is one of the most interesting channels I know. I usually don’t comment much, since I usually watch it on tv. Today, I did :-) I don’t watch every video, since I have very many subscriptions, but many.
You have a fine speaking voice and enunciation, sir. I've been a follower of your awesome channel for a while, now, and love your content. Hello from Miami!
I agree with the other American - you sound like you are enunciating extra clearly. I enjoy your content bc i have a linguistics degree that I don't use in real life. Keep up the good work!!
OMG...what you said about how speaking in a foreign language helps to dialute the social confusion...just gave me an epiphany! Could that be why I prefer English (and other foreign languages) over my native language?! I haven't been diagnosed as neurodivergent (yet anyway) but I do posses many of the telltale signs of being on the spectrum. To obtain control over social situations through language barrier makes a lot of sense. Thank you for the insight. Really gave me something to think about.
As a Norwegian, I have no problems hearing that English is your mother tongue. I can also hear that you speak specifically with a Canadian accent, but this is something I have learned, among other things, via UA-cam videos. Unfortunately, I have never been to Canada and have only met a few Canadians. The fact that you speak clearly for the sake of the context is both natural and sensible. This probably also applies to other linguistic examples in your videos. Your Norwegian participants also spoke unnaturally clearly and distinctly, but they were also very easy to understand, which is the purpose of the videos. I have watched your videos for many years and thank you for the useful learning and entertainment.
Dear Paul, huge thanks for sharing! Many things you describe when you were talking about neurodivergency are typical autistic traits: special interests, a focus on learning, difficulty understanding social situations as well as learning about small social clues intuitively, and a slightly different way to speak. Also, ASD and ADHD are often diagnosed together. That could explain why you feel distracted.
I think you could benefit a lot if you got the opinion of a professional wether you fulfill the criteria for ASD. As you've said, autistic people are cool because they can think in very abstract ways and they like logic and patterns (which are abundant in languages). Much love from someone who is in a similar process!
Paul , the best thing which works for me, for helping go to sleep quickly, (and so that my mind doesn't keep going) I watch videos about chess, or sudoku, or maths problems or something, those are kind of boring topics to me, but also at the same time they're kind of interesting. They're the kind of videos where it's the perfect balance between boring and interesting, like I don't need to pay my full 100% attention (for example, a kurtzgesagt video where it's a lot of condensed information and if you don't pay attention for 5 seconds then you've missed a lot of important stuff and can't follow it anymore) and they're not chaotic or crazy videos, they're just calm. But they're just about interesting enough to barely hold my attention so that my mind doesn't wonder off onto some other stuff. And not too interesting where it makes me go like wooow I need to know more I need to go binge watch all their videos and stay up all night watching them. So that's what I mean by the perfect balance of boring+interesting lol. Maybe this would work for you too, cause the way you described yourself is pretty much 100% like me
Also to add to this, Ted talks, podcasts, gaming speedrun livestreams, etc can also fit in to the category of boring + interesting. But I guess for each person it's different. I'm from England but also no one thinks I'm English because they say I have some kind of weird accent. I spent many years in mexico, croatia, and russia and my wife is russian (and doesn't even know english) so that's probably got something to do with it lol
You got me into language too mate. Don't stress too much about what people reckon of your accent
I'm pretty sure no other native speaker would have doubted you were also a native speaker. It never even crossed my mind.
Paul, since this is a video more or less about you, I will say thank you for your contributions to my own learning, about English, about languages I'll never learn, about the ones I'm learning AND want to learn! I've never wondered if you're a native English speaker actually, but if I had to bet on it I'd have said Canadian. Another possibility would be - as someone said - a European 2nd-language speaker who eventually moved to a de facto English community. I think your whole conversation in this video - if you were JUST trying to put forward a very plausible explanation - could have been limited to the "I'm trying to speak clearly and in a globally general way" - that is exactly what you sound like.
I got diagnosed with autism 5 years ago and I always assumed you were too, I’m no psychologist but but I can completely relate to everything you described about sleep and social interactions 😄
Funnily I get the same kind of comments from people even in real life who assume I’m German rather than Australian, but I do think there’s some truth in that assumption because I spent years dedicated to studying German and even I personally think my English sounds very affected by that. You on the other hand don’t sound German at all to me, I think the people who write those comments don’t actually have a very clear idea of what German accents sound like 😅
Thanks to your clear pronuntiation you were the greatest help when I was studying English. You helped me to take the leap into consuming native content. Cheers Paul!
Awesome！I’m glad to hear that. :)
30:06 The way you said, "I don't know", suddenly you sounded fully Canadian. 😂
All of his "o"s sound like that, I've noticed. Same in "Indonesian, video, etc."
As a native speaker of US English, you people are insane. Paul is clearly, and OBVIOUSLY, a native speaker of North American English. WTF are you people listening to?
Speaking as an Americian who has lived in Europe for forty years, you sound convincingly Canadian to me. And I can sympathize with your brain working overtime when you're trying to go to sleep. Mine too- although it's more likely to be doing polyrhythms, such as 11 against 13 lately.
Lunch is on me if you're ever in town. Cheers from rainy Vienna, Scott
This was really interesting. I like many others always thought you sounded slightly german for whatever reason (though I never felt compelled to comment about it.) another youtuber who falls into this category for me is levy from gothamchess, who doesn’t have an accent necessarily but just the slightest affectation that makes you wonder. As it turns out for him, he is a native speaker of English but his parents are Russian and spoke to him only in Russian in his early years
Just appreciating the Levy cross reference.
Hi Paul,
to me as a non-native speaker with some proficiency in English and an ear for languages you definitely sound North American, more precisely Canadian. My reference is people like Jonathan Cohen from Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown and others I know are your compatriots. I couldn’t place you within the Anglophone communities in Canadian, but the sound on the words “about”, “house” and the like tell me you’re Canadian (and e.g. not Scottish even though their diphthong is similar on those vowels). You enunciate very clearly and deliberately and I usually understand every word you say - for which we non-native speakers are always grateful. :)
Greetings Nicole
My mother tongue is Japanese and I always find difficulty to listen English, but your English is really easy to understand for me both in pronunciation and wording. Now I understood the reason of it through watching this stream.
Thank you very much for sharing valuable videos every time! I like watching your contents very much!
I am also not diagnosed as autistic, but am probably on the spectrum. (A lot of the things you said about yourself apply to me too!) Some people find a diagnosis helpful for understanding themselves, but that isn't super important to me. Being happy with your life and comfortable with yourself is more important than having a label.
I love the candor in this video!
I work in a Modern Language department in one of that world class universities in UK, and the faculty chair who is a British and professor in Spanish. He tends to say that speaking a second language is almost like acting. For me that English is my second language, I definitely feel that.
Thanks a lot, Paul! You are doing great! Warmly, São Paulo, Brazil.
I listen to a podcast or something when I go to sleep, for me it helps.
I heard you as Canadian right from my first viewing. I think you enunciate more thn the average person, and that reflects your passion fo language.
Thank you for sharing this, Paul. I confess I had wondered, too, since when I first started watching you sounded so unlike people I knew from Ontario. But the more I listen, the more I think we're hearing more-than-usual enunciation of consonants with entirely normal (west coast) Canadian vowels hiding inside those syllables. I suspect it's the "hard attack" / less liason feature of your intentional speech that some are hearing as German-like.
I found this discussion by Geoff Lindsey helpful, and the section on "Presentational speech" near the end echoes your hypothesis about your own habits: ua-cam.com/video/KFZZI7HCp2M/v-deo.htmlsi=GkuI0XuwO4Nsow6M
I'm from São Paulo, Brazil. Thank you from your channel
There's a Dutch channel I watch (Dutchies To Be with Kim) and she also gets comments saying she doesn't sound native even though she is a native Dutch speaker - like you she enunciates very clearly (and speaks somewhat slowly) for her non-native audience, and I think it just throws people off slightly. But anyway, it's not just you, and not just a problem within English.
Fascinating video. Personality-wise, you and I could be twins. I agreed with almost everything you said about yourself. When teaching classes on a particular foreign language or linguistics in general, I always adjust my speech for the audience. It's automatic. I've frequently been mistaken for European or Australian even though my accent is clearly from New England. I also agree that speaking in a foreign language definitely changes my personality to some extent. I don't immediately become an extrovert; however, I can communicate much more easily with far fewer inhibitions -- that's assuming that I'm speaking a language I'm comfortable with, of course. Thanks for a very interesting video.
I apologize if this is too personal of a question, but are you on the spectrum? Your speech reminds me a lot of a family member (native English-speaker) who has high functioning autism. I've recently read a study that effectively explains some of these small verbal idiosyncrasies that some might interpret as being a non-native speaker: "Speech and Prosody Characteristics of Adolescents and Adults With High-Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome".
Edit: I just got to the part of the stream where you address this, although you left it open-ended. I think it is worthwhile to seek a diagnosis as an adult.
Btw your comments at 33:40 about how speaking a foreign language interacts with social awkwardness is profound and I relate to it on a deep level.
reminded me of another youtuber with autism. some speech patterns are similar.
I have had similar experiences teaching English and living in Japan, and when I moved back home I got "where are you from?" all the time for around a year. On the up side I regularly have non-native speakers say that I'm easy to understand, and often that they enjoy talking with me as a result. I'm sure it's the same for you. :)
I can relate a lot to Orion's comment too! I miss speaking Japanese because I was much more extroverted in that language.
full speech analysis episode coming soon???
I couldn't place your accent, then I saw youve said and I've never questioned it since
personally i thought you were non-native until you said in that early video that you are in fact a native english speaker, then i didn't question it. i did still feel you had a way of speaking that i'd never encountered but there are a lot of people and accents in the world!
Canadian or not.Your English is so clear and easy to be understood for non native speakers . Regards from Egypt !!🍀
I think people just don't really know what they're hearing. Most people couldn't find Germany or Poland on a map, or recognize German or Polish if they heard it spoken, let alone what their accent would sound like if they were speaking English on the west coast of Canada. In short, people generally speaking don't understand the intricacies of accents as well as they think they do.
I'm from Middle Tennessee and I get questions all the time about where I'm from because I don't sound the way they think I should. The age of media and standardization I guess.