In fact, when students (I’m an English tutor with mostly Korean international students) ask me about help with accents, I tell them that is actually more the realm of an acting coach than an English tutor.

And that is what this comes down to, accents, which *every single person has*. There is no proper accent for speaking English. It only takes a little logical extension to see that this is true. What could a proper accent possibly be? A posh British accent? Then everyone in the US and Australia and most people in England would be pronouncing English “incorrectly.” Pick any possible accent and it leaves the majority of native English speakers out. There are a lot of misconceptions about language. Of course there are: it’s a living, changing thing that stretches across cultures and time. It’s way bigger than us. In this, as in most things, the only steadfast and permanent rule is be kind to one another.

Haters gonna hate, and you’ll still be doing your stuff 😉
http://rs1img.memecdn.com/haters-gonna-hate_o_560982.jpg

I think both you are going to face plenty of challenges in life whether you’re in Korea or Australia. I agree that Mr. Gwon is able to pronounce English words fine, but perhaps he’s not enunciating his words enough for the other Korean person that you’re referring to. My intention was not to offend anyone, but was merely trying to be open minded so-to-speak. Sometimes, Koreans are their own worst critic. Love your comics Nic. Peace.

Nope ^^ You didn’t make it up. They are called “suprasegmentals” (if you want the linguistic term) and consonant and vowel sounds are called “segmentals”, if you even need the terms again.

Definitely! I really don’t see why they feel that his English isn’t good. It’s quite excellent actually. I wish people would focus on being nicer to each other than worry about being nitpicky about each other’s language pronunciation.

Yes! Some corroboration (and more details), I didn’t remember where I read it so feared I may have made it up.

I haven’t mentioned Hugh’s opinion of all this, so I’ll mention it here. His response to that type of criticism was, “I don’t give a f—“. So it’s not really bothering him what other people think. One of the skills you develop after sharing your life online is an attitude of easily dismissing stuff.

He can’t really be “fresh of the boat” in his own country. He may never permanently move to another country. I think that type of advice is quite old fashioned and for people trying to integrate into another society. We are bi-cultural and international and are trying to meet half way with language and culture. If my husband was concerned about appearing as a stereotypical Korean and was working in a very normal, English native speakers, work place in Australia, it would probably be something he would focus on. That said, he can already pronounce things fine anyway. This person literally told me to teach him the difference between these sounds… yeah he knows that. The difference of opinion is the importance of it… everyone’s opinion may be different but he knows what is right for him and his life.

So if the person actually had those concerns, they don’t really apply to our lives anyway.

Yes I love her voice!