Native speakers of English, how can you identify a foreigner speaking in English? I mean, what words do we use that makes you to think: “that person isn’t American”? Is it hard to understand Brazilian people speaking in English?

Question

ice500 · Answer

The accent is generally the first thing I notice. One thing I have seen (not necessarily from Brazilians) is people saying "Did you bought?" instead of "Did you buy?", etc.

alphanumerisch9 · Answer

One thing I notice for really high-level non-native speakers is that their speech is too correct. It lacks the inarticulateness of a native speaker, even a generally sophisticated one. Instead of using a more generic word that everyone uses, for example, they might use a more articulate synonym that just works as a better translation coming from the non-native speaker‘s native language. There are also a lot of filler words that don‘t make it into the non-native speaker‘s speech. Sentences might also come off as a little too formulaic. But every now and then, a word or phrase will come out that a native speaker would simply never use in such a context even if it is technically correct, and then it becomes obvious. But that always depends on where the foreign speaker is coming from.

I‘m learning German right now, and my level is pretty high, sometimes to the point that some German speakers say they “envy” my articulateness, but even now I still say things in German that make people turn heads and correct me because I lack this inarticulateness that comes with growing up with the language.

I‘m learning German right now, and my level is pretty high, sometimes to the point that some German speakers say they “envy” my articulateness, but even now I still say things in German that make people turn heads and correct me because I lack this inarticulateness that comes with growing up with the language.

jqred · Answer

If they aren’t completely fluent in English, they may skip transition words, and only use very simple sentences.

jqred · Answer

@joao_jr Well the same with most languages. I have a friend who is Portuguese and he speaks English fluently. However, he never speaks English casually. (as in using casual words)

VenusGx · Answer

One error I notice non-native English speakers make from time to time is saying "learn me" instead of "teach me". For example, they might say "Can you learn me how to do that?" instead of "Can you teach me how to do that?"

Also, I work in IT and I have a lot of coworkers who are southeast Asian natives (from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc.). I have noticed that many of them use the word "suppose" with far more frequency than is usual for a typical native (American) English speaker. At no point did any of them use the word incorrectly at all -- it just stood out to me that it was a word I don't hear more than a couple times a week usually, yet some of my coworkers have used it a dozen or more times in a single meeting. :)  Not sure why that is.

I agree with another person who answered this question that said non-native English speakers tend to speak more formally than native English speakers, which is probably true for non-native speakers of many languages.

Also, sometimes sentence cadence (the rise and fall in pitch as one is speaking a sentence, and where they insert pauses within a sentence) can sound distinctly "off" when a non-native speaker is talking.

I have never noticed anything in particular about Brazilian people speaking English that made it hard to understand them though. :)

Native speakers of English, how can you identify a foreigner speaking in English? I mean, what words do we use that makes you to think: “that person isn’t American”? Is it hard to understand Brazilian people speaking in English? See a translation

The accent is generally the first thing I notice. One thing I have seen (not necessarily from Brazilians) is people saying "Did you bought?" instead of "Did you buy?", etc.

If they aren’t completely fluent in English, they may skip transition words, and only use very simple sentences.

@joao_jr Well the same with most languages. I have a friend who is Portuguese and he speaks English fluently. However, he never speaks English casually. (as in using casual words)

Native speakers of English, how can you identify a foreigner speaking in English? I mean, what words do we use that makes you to think: “that person isn’t American”? Is it hard to understand Brazilian people speaking in English?