Britons abroad really should imitate the person they are talking to if they are struggling to understand a very strong foreign accent, psychologists have found.
Just by employing the same pronunciations will help them understand and be understood by the person they are speaking with, the researchers found.
However, it does not mean going over the top with a comedy impression, such as a French accent in the style of 'Allo 'Allo, the Second World War sitcom famous for the catchphrase "listen very carefully I shall say this only once" uttered by Michelle "of the Resistance" Dubois.
The findings could explain the notorious clip of ex-England manager Steve McClaren giving a press conference in English but with a strong Dutch accent when managing local side FC Twente.
According to research published in the journal Psychological Science, it turns out he may have been doing exactly the right thing, no matter how ridiculous others thought he looked.
The study, conducted jointly by researchers from the University of Manchester and Holland's Radboud University, suggest a natural tendency to mimic another's accent.
In particular, when talking to a person with a very strong regional or foreign accent, the one with a less pronounced accent will adopt a style and tone of the other.
The researchers set up a series of experiments with Dutch students, putting them into conversational situations with strangers adopting a variety of accents.
Some would speak Dutch with a strong regional accent.
Others would do so but in a made up accent where the vowels would be switched round to make it totally unfamiliar.
The volunteers were told to either respond normally or do so trying to mimic the accent they heard and then transcribe what was being said to them.
Read more at The Telegraph
The findings could explain the notorious clip of ex-England manager Steve McClaren giving a press conference in English but with a strong Dutch accent when managing local side FC Twente.
According to research published in the journal Psychological Science, it turns out he may have been doing exactly the right thing, no matter how ridiculous others thought he looked.
The study, conducted jointly by researchers from the University of Manchester and Holland's Radboud University, suggest a natural tendency to mimic another's accent.
In particular, when talking to a person with a very strong regional or foreign accent, the one with a less pronounced accent will adopt a style and tone of the other.
The researchers set up a series of experiments with Dutch students, putting them into conversational situations with strangers adopting a variety of accents.
Some would speak Dutch with a strong regional accent.
Others would do so but in a made up accent where the vowels would be switched round to make it totally unfamiliar.
The volunteers were told to either respond normally or do so trying to mimic the accent they heard and then transcribe what was being said to them.
Read more at The Telegraph
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