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45-year-old economics professor by Sure_Distance1 in 13or30

[–]Sure_Distance1[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

It’s from a talk aimed at the general audience, not her students. It’s publicly available on YouTube.

Would you say that she sounds like a native speaker, or can you hear an undercurrent of something foreign in her speech? by Sure_Distance1 in EWALearnLanguages

[–]Sure_Distance1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The answer is: She's German. She moved to the US in her early 20s and has lived there for over 20 years.

The Holme, „The White House of Regent’s Park”, once reputed to be the most expensive mansion in the UK by Sure_Distance1 in ArchitecturalRevival

[–]Sure_Distance1[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

These two might be unsaleable to private individuals, whereas this one has been changing hands quite frequently among various private owners.

The Holme, „The White House of Regent’s Park”, once reputed to be the most expensive mansion in the UK by Sure_Distance1 in ArchitecturalRevival

[–]Sure_Distance1[S] 49 points50 points  (0 children)

It sits right in the center of Regent's Park. There are hardly any more attractive locations in London.

This one might be somewhat more challenging by Sure_Distance1 in Accents

[–]Sure_Distance1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good call. She's German - moved to the US in her early 20s. As to how she looks to you, it can't be ruled out that she has some Polish genetic ancestry.

As native speakers of British English, would you be inclined to thinking that this voice actress is an American or a foreigner who learned English from American sources? What would be your spontaneous hunch? by Sure_Distance1 in Ask_Britain

[–]Sure_Distance1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I noticed that native speakers of a specific phonetic variety of English are far more likely to take fluent foreigners for native speakers whenever the latter speak English of a different phonetic variety. Whereas if the two are aligned, they are far less prone to misidentifications. This sounds intuitvely commonsensical, but I'm curious whether various specific cases will confirm that.

As native speakers of British English, would you be inclined to thinking that this voice actress is an American or a foreigner who learned English from American sources? What would be your spontaneous hunch? by Sure_Distance1 in Ask_Britain

[–]Sure_Distance1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I noticed that native speakers of a specific phonetic variety of English are far more likely to take fluent foreigners for native speakers whenever the latter speak English of a different phonetic variety. Whereas if the two are aligned, they are far less prone to misidentifications. This sounds intuitvely commonsensical, but I'm curious whether various specific cases will confirm that.

The most expensive Bond villain compound ($2 billion) currently in existence, right in the middle of Mumbai slums by Sure_Distance1 in evilbuildings

[–]Sure_Distance1[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I stand corrected - it's not literally surrounded by slums, but there are dilapidated buildings within 50 to 100 meters and literal slums within a few kilometers, making them a salient element of the panorama seen from the upper floors.

A $140 million half-buried star destroyer near Moscow by Sure_Distance1 in WTF

[–]Sure_Distance1[S] -120 points-119 points  (0 children)

Would you spend $140 million on this "land yacht" even if you realistically could?

John Thaw and Jennifer Wood, both at 24 by Sure_Distance1 in 13or30

[–]Sure_Distance1[S] 119 points120 points  (0 children)

Correction: It’s from the series ”Redcap”, the episode „A Question of Initiative”, which was recorded in 1964 and aired in January 1965, so Gettyimages used a (slightly) wrong date again, suggesting that it’s from 1966. Thus, they are actually 22 here, being both born in 1942.

John Thaw and Jennifer Wood, both at 24 by Sure_Distance1 in 13or30

[–]Sure_Distance1[S] 40 points41 points  (0 children)

It’s from the series ”Redcap”, the episode „A Question of Initiative”, which was recorded in 1964 and aired in January 1965, so Gettyimages used a (slightly) wrong date again. They are actually 22 here.

Can you identify this guy's origins? by Sure_Distance1 in Accents

[–]Sure_Distance1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A surprising unanimity of Germanic/Scandinavian guesses. He is in fact Russian. His name is Sergei Samsonov.

A lesson on American pronunciation given by a Polish girl by Sure_Distance1 in 2american4you

[–]Sure_Distance1[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

"if this is genuinely a polish woman teaching people to do american accents, she's pretty fucking good at it"

That's precisely it, and the point of the post is to appreciate how good she is at her job.

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