Can you tell the race of someone just by hearing one's English?
Asked by
dumitus (
657
)
November 3rd, 2014
I mean, those who speak English as their first language..
of course you can tell the nation of that person
Because everyone speaks English based on their first language.
But if their first language is English,
Can you still tell whether he or she has their ancients
as Asians or Africans?
If so, what makes this possible?
Oral structures?
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
3 Answers
“We’re born here, and we still have accents! That’s some crazy shit!” – George Lopez.
I’m pretty sure we all have the same vocal chords/“oral structures”, so it has to be cultural.
That said, I can often tell when I’m speaking to a black person or Hispanic person on the phone, but obviously not every time. I have noticed many Asians born here in the US sound ‘white’ for lack of a better way to put it.
My white mother raised me, so despite have a Mexican father I definitely sound ‘white’ since I was around mostly white people growing up. My cousin has a Mexican father and a white mother, but his father raised him, so he has that typical Mexican American accent you see on TV.
If they sound black, then 90% chance they are. If they sound like they have a Hispanic accent (not that being Hispanic is a race) then 90% chance they are. If they sound east Asian, 90% they are. However if they sound white they could be any color, any religion, any ethnicity, and any national background. In other words, if I am on the phone with someone and their voice is indistinguishable then I have no idea what they are and I make no assumption, I don’t assume they are white.
If someone tells me they want to “axe” me about something I’ll bet money that they’re black :)
Answer this question 
Composing members:
0
