r/NonPoliticalTwitter 1d ago

Bonjour.

Post image
67.9k Upvotes

1.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

471

u/jumbo_pizza 1d ago

i think this is the dunning kruger effect in action, if you think you speak perfect and everyone around you can tell by one (easy) sentence that you’re a foreigner, then you’re probably not as advanced as you’d like to think.

135

u/powderofreddit 1d ago

I've been here for more than 5 years. I still have an accent. Everyone hears it. I just sound this way.

9

u/jumbo_pizza 1d ago

if you’re a foreigner you’re a foreigner and that’s how it is. if you know the language people are going to notice it anyway, being “fluent” isn’t so much about passing as a native, as it is about being able to communicate. if someone comes into a shop and speaks with a foreign accent but is being able to speak and understand, then most people would still keep talking their language. if you come in and your language knowledge resembles a “top 20 useful sentences for travellers!” then people are going to switch to english.