Language Barriers

[Carol]

I cant believe this happened to me today!

I took one of my duvets to a Launderette in Porirua to be cleaned.
I asked one of the women who worked there how much it would be and if they could do a service wash for me.
She looked at me like I was talking Swahili and she turned to her work mate and said:

"What the heck did she say?"

The other one translated for her.
(She had English parents although they were from somewhere I'd never heard of! lol )

We had a bit of a laugh when I told them both I have lived here for 12 years and don't think my geordie accent is very strong now!

Anyone else had similar "blank" looks when you talk to kiwis?

[Watna]

I have a friend living in Christchurch. She's only been there for a few months but says that she constantly has to repeat herself. Apparently Irish people speak too fast for kiwis and she's warned me to half the speed I talk at.

I also have an Irish name, which, although it is very common here (my friend mentioned above has the same name) is hard to pronounce for those not used to it. I've put a phonetic translation on my cv so we'll see how that works out too! She said she's had a bit of trouble with it but not as much as expected!

[AndyR]

im going to be in trouble then, I have to slow down for my english friends to understand me on occasion. haha

[StevieD]

Funnily enough Carol, I haven't had a problem with my accent, but have had plenty of Kiwi's looking at me with blank expressions, some of them just don't get the humour

Not sure about Jan though, she spits words out like an Uzi sub machine gun

[Carol]

Funnily enough Carol, I haven't had a problem with my accent, but have had plenty of Kiwi's looking at me with blank expressions, some of them just don't get the humour

Not sure about Jan though, she spits words out like an Uzi sub machine gun

Oh yeah - you get used to the humour thing Steve - best thing is to find the occasional kiwi who actually appreciates proper humour and stick with them.

[wiki]

[QUOTE=Watna;198851 Apparently Irish people speak too fast for kiwis and she's warned me to half the speed I talk at.
[/QUOTE]

That's funny, because when I went to the UK and lived in Manchester I had to slow down my speech remarkably so I could be understood. My Kiwi was too fast for them!

I lived in the UK for 10 years where I was constantly told my Kiwi accent was "still so strong" ... and came back to Southland to be told "wow you have such an English accent" ... apparently I've properly slipped back into NZish now, but every now and again throw in an English vowel or a hard t and then people can't understand me again.

Can't win, so shall stick to the written word on here

[RamblingPaddies]

I have a friend living in Christchurch. She's only been there for a few months but says that she constantly has to repeat herself. Apparently Irish people speak too fast for kiwis and she's warned me to half the speed I talk at.

I also have an Irish name, which, although it is very common here (my friend mentioned above has the same name) is hard to pronounce for those not used to it. I've put a phonetic translation on my cv so we'll see how that works out too! She said she's had a bit of trouble with it but not as much as expected!

tell me about it - i speak reasonably fast and have an irish name ... which they all mispronounce - and even the ones that I bother to correct say back to me "Nah mate, you must mean xYz not xyZ ..." my own name !!

sometimes it feels like they think i have absolutely no clue whats going on like in work) and they explain things really really slowly to compensate !

little to be worrying about

[Georgebulldog]

I've got no accent at all, just a southerner, yet I do dread making phone calls as I always have to repeat myself, I thought it was me speaking too fast but I've been told I don't. I speak a whole sentance then they say "sorry" so I repeat it slower so they can get it

[nippa&pippa]

I don't know how I managed to survive in NZ with uk accents and with I am profoundly deaf with oral communication but not easy as had few moments that I end up to write on paper but rarely .....and picking up kiwi accents at same time I know how to ask for egg in kiwi

[Carol]

haha - yeah - I hadnt thought of names....
My son is Craig..... said with a geordie accent (Crayg) it is a completely different name to the kiwi version "CroiyG"

lol