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Accents?
Ok so I met this guy last week. He's a regular customer at work, he's very good looking, very nice and he asked me out to dinner.
Here's the problem: I can't understand a word he's saying. It was easy to sell him stuff because he would just buy everything I showed him and if he said anything, I'd judge his facial expressions and words and just laugh or or moan accordingly to what he conveyed.
This is where it gets stupid: He's from the United Kingdom. He speeks English but he just has a thick thick British accent that I can't understand. I had to keep saying "What?" when he asked me out and I feel bad, because it must have been pretty embarrasing for him. Usually, I just blame it on the music on the store but what do I do if he calls me on my cell or we're talking at dinner.
I am totally stumped as to what to do. It's not like I can tell him I can't understand what he's saying, I've had people say that to my parents and it's just insulting.
This thing seems to be doomed? Any ideas on what should I do? They should start giving courses in understanding accents.
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Communication is important in any relationship and not being able to understand your date does have its drawbacks. Assuming your British chap is worth your while, the more time you spend with him, the easier it will be for you to understand him. In the meantime, compliment him on his exotic sounding accent, but be honest with him. Tell him that it will take some time for you to get used to his accent and that he will need to be patient with you. If he really likes you he will understand. If he has a sense of humor, you may even get a few good laughs. On the other hand, if the guy turns out to be a dud, not understanding what he says may work in your favor.
Lime
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I acutally live in the South of England and I must admit, I know how you feel!! I used to work in a call centre and when someone from up North called, I had great difficulty in understanding what they said!!! The truth is, straight forward British accents are easy but each part of Britain has a different dialect (Cockney, Glaswegian, Dorsetshire, etc) and some accents are stronger than others.
You need to explain to him the difficulty you have understanding him. Once it is out in the open, he will understand if you have to ask him to repeat himself a couple of times and he will be able to slow himself down so he can make what he is saying clearer. The more time you spend together, the easier it will become to understand what he is saying, but for now, if you at least tell him there is a problem, he won't be left wondering why you keep looking at him a bit oddly and it will save you the embarrassment of accidentally misunderstanding what he is saying!
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Concentrate, be sure to watch his lips and don't feel bad about asking him to repeat things or speak slower. I think you'll be fine. I'm in grad school right now, and all my teachers are from other countries, and I hardly ever understand a single thing they say the first two weeks of school. But after enough classes I sort of get used to how they pronounce things and it gets a lot easier, and by the end I barely notice the accent. These are guys who've been in the country for 10 years, so I know they're not changing, it's me, and it's normal, our ears just have to adjust. Spending more time with this person will probably be really good for you, because you'll learn to understand everyone from the UK.
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well while at dinner just listen very closly to what he is saying or if you really can't understand him just say "oh i'm sorry can you repeat that?" or something along those lines.
there really isn't much you can do. maybe try watching movies/tv shows where the characters have british accents (harry potter??).
i hope i've helped you somewhat
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