Can you speak with foreigners?

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For the most part I can't. Whether they are from Mexico or any other country and they dont have the FULL grasp of the language, or they have a thick accent. I just can't converse, can't joke, can't understand them. ONLY for 2nd language English people. I can understand foreign English pretty well.

I can understand what they are saying sometimes like I hear the words, but I cant put it all together. Its a huge mystery. Especially when they try to make a joke or something, I just can't comprehend it.

Iv noticed that most NT people can quickly figure out this stuff out. Except with me I try to figure it out by talking to them. Then I confuse them, then in turn they confuse me even more. Maybe my weird voice has something to do with it......but yea its already hard enough to understand people in America, throw a foreigner into the mix and its 10x

Last edited by lightening020 on 05 Aug 2008, 4:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Very easily. In fact, most of my friends are from countries different than me. I have friends in about 30 countries, and most of my closest friends are from different countries than me, mostly in Europe. I love other cultures and people and travelling and meeting other travellers when out seeing the world...

But then, I'm very good at languages and like learning new ones, so I suppose that helps.

how is that easy? i mean I guess if you have friends your age.

for me its mostly foreigners who are older. thats like a double whammy different generation, and different language.

I have no problem understanding people who speak English with an accent and that includes the Americans. I use British English in my spelling and I sound very close to what some would think is a British accent. I am also familiar with a number of other languages and I like learning foreign languages including French, Italian, German, Spanish and Romanian.

I don't know, it just is. I've been brought up with all sorts of cultures around me, which I suppose helps, and I've done a huge amount of travelling too. I never have problems understanding my friends' parents or grandparents when I stay with them abroad though, so I don't get the generational thing either. You just need to get used to accents, kinda tune your ears in to them. Persevere; you learn such a great deal from other cultures and languages, travelling is the best thing you could ever do, it's so worthwhile!!

My only serious girlfriend in the last 10 years or so was Chinese. I think the fact she was foreign might have actually helped. Because I am well spoken, my English is good and very close to the standard English she learned in her English classes I think this cancelled out my appalling non-verbal communication.

Most people she met in day to day life had a thick London accent, very poor grammar and used a lot of slang. This probably made it very difficult for her to connect with them and put me on an even footing, cancelling out my Aspieness.

So, I guess it can go both ways.

ok let me re - phrase. I can understand the words they are saying but I can't add them up. I have no trouble understanding foreign english(UK, AUS, IE etc), its just non-english speakers like say a Mexican person I can hear what they are saying but I get confused. and then In trying to figure out what they mean, I end up confusing them even more, and Iv never really seen this with NT people.

NT people dont do this. But I do

YEP Corroonb, to us Americans non-North American english sounds very similar. Although I can eventually tell the difference between England, and Australia. But Scotland and Ireland sound very similar.

I meant this only thread as in non-english foreigners. I should have cleared that up. I didnt mean foreign english spearks. I can understand english speakers from anywhere.

Last edited by lightening020 on 05 Aug 2008, 4:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.

It depends on how heavy the accent is but in general I don't have problems with it.

I have difficulty in this area because I have Central Auditory Processing Disorder. Fortunately, it is, for the most part, limited to people for whom English is a second language. I can understand most dialects spoken in English, but the farther it is from my own accent and those with which I am familiar, the more likely it is that there will be some misunderstanding, especially in a noisy environment.

I was reminded of this just last night when I ended up conversing with a man from Germany in a noisy pub / music venue. Understanding was not easy, but I did my best - using short sentences and asking simple questions with one-word answers.

I wish I could just say, "I have CAPD," and people would understand instantly. Unfortunately, it takes a lot longer to explain the disorder than it does to simply ask people to repeat themselves.

There is a high incidence of CAPD among those with ASD's as well as those with ADHD. If only more autism awareness efforts went towards spreading information about things like this instead of the usual eugenics and snake oil.

I cant understand anyone foreign or not in a noisy environment like a club or a bar. F**** I cant understand my friends in a loud place.

Me neither. That's why I go to quiet bars when I want to talk to people and expect not to talk to people when I go to shows. Last night was kind of an exceptional situation, though.

you have central auditory processing disorder? Is it possible that I could have that too? maybe a mild version of it? But it feels like when I am speaking to someone I have to translate what I am saying and waht they are saying.

Most occasions I can pass. But sometimes like with foreigners it seems like I really am hearing impaired, and i remember growing up I didnt understand people as much.

there have been times when someone said 1 word to me. and I said "What?" they repeated it about TEN 10 times and I still couldnt figure out THAT 1 WORD. thats happened sometimes before.

I can get accents. I can't comprehend anything in a loud bar or live music situation.
I speak Spanish at a mediocre level (3 years honors in highschool, then never used it so it atrophied). I can make myself understood WAY better than I can understand others in Spanish. They all talk too fast, I barely catch two words from each sentence. Yet when I speak Spanish to them it is sophisticated enough that they are surprised when I can't keep up with them on comprehension.

I'm ok with understanding non-native English speakers,in fact I've often felt a better
connection with them than locals.Have worked beside Russian,French,Czech,German and
Chinese. In my case it probably helps that I'm interested in words and I have an ear for
accents,being able to impersonate them as well.

Non-native English speakers are actually who I prefer talking to in person, as I generally understand them better. Sometimes it can be a little difficult over the phone, though due to distortions caused by the technology. I will admit, though, I do have some difficulty understanding those with a strong Russian (or related) accent, and much easier times with either a Mexican or oriental accent (any of the Chinese languages, Japanese, Korean...) With native English speakers, (especially within a similar local variant of American) people tend to read things in to what I'm saying that aren't there. For example, when I worked in a call center, there was a recent policy change that said any time a person was disputing their bill, the call needed to be escalated to a manager. My boss was confused why I kept trying to give her these calls. It boiled down to differences in definition. I saw it as if a customer is confused about charges, I explain them, and they say they aren't right, that's disputing the bill. Simple as that. She was seeing it as the above, but also the customer showing significant anger/threats... as well. She always wondered why I didn't control the call, and let it get to the point of being a dispute. I never really understood why she kept asking me this. I have no control over when someone says their bill is wrong. This was around the same time as one of my co-workers suggested to me that I may be an aspie.