Why Japanese people equate Americans with speaking fast?

[pinson27]

I've talked to various...not so many but a few Japanese.. many in Skype voice chats..And they all say i'm not american just because i speak slow and i don't use any slang or typical american cool words. I'm hispanic and just because i don't speak like Hip hop cultured guys or cool white guys....they don't even want to speak with me.

It happens in real life too, i keep meeting, again not so many, but from time to time I meet Japanese and i start talking to them..but they consider me not American jsut because i speak slow.

Why and what has made them think that all Americans should speak fast?

[yukio_michael]

When Japanese make fun of Americans on TV they all seem to speak very slowly, and instead of the way of speaking in Japanese, with very little mouth movement, they speak with over-exaggerated movements.

It was said more or less quite the opposite of what you say, that Japanese initially sounded to the American soldiers much like machine-gun fire, (I'm referencing this from a book written by a Japanese citizen, "The History of the Japanese Language").... so I'm not sure I'd say that English is known for being particularly fast-spoken.

[Goldiegirl]

How fast you speak also depends on what part of the country you are from. I'm from the midwest and we tend to clip our words and speak fast. Down south they have a nice drawl and tend to speak slower. I never met a Japanese person who complained about my English, they were just happy to talk! :)

[ArmandV]

While in Japan, talk like Forrest Gump and that'll really confuse 'em!

[maushan3]

It depends on the region, I agree, in the Northern U.S., they have a fat-paced talk, but, I don't know, maybe they thought you were being talking on a romantic-tone and you scared them off. But, I must say it all comes down to the person, not to the nationality, just make sure you don't speak like Forrest Gump, nice on there, eh!

Oh, and being Hispanic has nothing to do with not talking like you mean cool or "gansta". Please, I reccomend for you to go to a speech facility-thing if you're having so much problem with it, do it for yourself. For real, get out of that complex of yours and get some professional help. Things straight like they are.

Mauricio

[pinson27]

"I never met a Japanese person who complained about my English,"

wow, you're lucky. I have met tons of Japanese and they complain. One particular person this week said "Why you speak so slow... i feel weird". She was one of those Japanese that is already good at english . For some reason Japanese who are good at English seem to be most ignorant in that they expect you to be like the mold stereotypical American and don't look outside the box... I would think that knowing more English would make them understand more about cultures and differences between people within a country. Well , whatever, maybe someday i'll find some Japanese that accepts my slow speech

[Goldiegirl]

It sounds to me as if you in particular have a problem relating to Japanese people. (from this thread and others) Maybe you do talk to slow and sound strange. Maybe you need to change. I would find a slow talker annoying. When I go to the southern states for horse shows everyone talks really slow, and I have to remind myself that just because they talk slow doesn't mean they are stupid. Speaking has a natural flow and maybe your slowness makes your speaking choppy and hard to understand. It seems that you think it's always the Japanese with the problems when in reality it might just be you...Sorry...but that's what it seems like to me anyway.

[Glenski]

I, too, am an American from the Midwest and feel I have a very clear accent. (Note I didn't say "no accent". We all do.) Many Japanese people have told me that my English is spoken clearly and that they appreciate it in the classroom. Oddly enough, they also tell me the little Japanese that I use is also spoken quite well, with a clear accurate Japanese accent. I can mimic a few other accents, and do in class to illustrate certain points, and they are quite amazed (not at me, but at the different accents possible from just one country).

[made of stone]

Perhaps some sense that Americans speak very quickly comes from the US media that is popular/common in Japan, especially film and music?

[nice gaijin]

maybe it's because people tend to speak quickly in their mother tongue. whether it's your nature or that you're doing it for their benefit, talking slow is unexpected and unpleasant for them, or so it seems.

how depressing, you can't seem to get a break with Japanese people! :(

[yukio_michael]

It sounds to me as if you in particular have a problem relating to Japanese people.You've discovered the problem with pinson, that many of us have seen long before... remember this.

[gaijinalways]

I would say that this is possibly rather a problem with many Japanese people who have rather high cultural expectations based on TV and the movies rather than on real life experiences and common sense. My wife's friend thought I didn't behave 'American' enough when I met her the first time as I wasn't all friendly and outgoing as real Americans are.

[Mikawa Ossan]

One thing I'd like to ask is, who are these Japanese people you're talking to, Pinson? I mean, how old are they, what do they do, etc.

I rarely use any slang whatsoever when I talk to Japanese people in English, and I've never told told that it's "weird".

How slow do you speak? Forrest Gump slow? Jed from the "Beverly Hillbillies" slow? Hank from "King of the Hill" slow? Give us an idea, please.

Lastly, how do you explain this discrepency?
I've talked to various...not so many but a few Japanese.. many in Skype voice chats..I have met tons of Japanese and they complain.

[Elizabeth]

maybe it's because people tend to speak quickly in their mother tongue. whether it's your nature or that you're doing it for their benefit, talking slow is unexpected and unpleasant for them, or so it seems.
Didn't you say before, Pinson, that you have a stuttering problem ?

People who speak slowly and clearly often want to be heard. They want every word to have equal weight. People who speak slowly and without confidence may not be able to get their thoughts together or their speech aparatus may be moving less swiftly than their brain.

Japanese people sometimes appear more hesitant out of sheer politeness. Not that that would ever go over very well on you...:bluush:

[pinson27]

I would say that this is possibly rather a problem with many Japanese people who have rather high cultural expectations based on TV and the movies rather than on real life experiences and common sense."

exactly my point. man you got it. Even the chinese people i speak to, are the same way.. man this media has a lot of influecne on them. I've seen tons of Japanese media and i'm not one influenced by it to think that all Japanese are the same. i'm just saying many of them think americans speak fast and expect you to b like that.. because that is happening over in over with all the Japanese i meet in voice chats( they are real people too) and in real life, also with Chinese and koreans. again, especially the ones who already know english.

I never criticize how the Japanese people i speak to speak their japanese. So why do they criticize my english.. it's unbelievable. I don't know who is teaching them english, but it would be a good thing to teach them to accept different English styles.

Yes i speak like forrest gump. at times. Because i have a slow mind. since i was a child.

and lastly TONS, or not so many.. well that's the same thing. in other words i meet tons in Voice chats.. But i never gone to japan to be surrounded by them in crowds.

[diceke]

Do you speak English as your first language? Maybe you have a strong accent?

[yukio_michael]

I never criticize how the Japanese people i speak to speak their japanese. So why do they criticize my english.. it's unbelievable. I don't know who is teaching them english, but it would be a good thing to teach them to accept different English styles.Before you criticize people for their ability to learn English, know that when two people of two different languages speak together, especially when both parties are unequal in proficiency with the other's language, it's natural for both to speak more slowly so that the other one can understand better...

I've met many Japanese who are at the very least proficient in understanding English, if not speaking it exactly perfect, and those who are quite fluent in English, and they don't require me to modify the speed of my voice to accommodate their ability to understand me. I think you'll find, that many people exaggerate their language ability on both sides of the coin, and since it seems you speak no Japanese, it would help if you spoke at least a little to bridge the language gap.

One last thing I'll mention, you may not be familiar with the short-wave radio broadcast Voice of America. Voice of America's broadcasts to all non-English speaking countries are spoken much-slower not because of some broad assumption on the language abilities of the target countries, but to assist those who are learning English to better understand, and ultimately improve their language skills.

http://www.voanews.com/english/portal.cfm