In this week’s episode, we take a look at native accents in English, German, and Chinese. There are so many varieties of languages, and this great diversity adds incredible depth to any language. While we could spend episodes for each language, this is an overview of some of the many varieties you may find in these three languages.

For Language News, we’ll see the unexpected origins of the phrase “you guys,” and how this could also help fill the void of the plural “you” in English. This missing piece of grammar hasn’t always been that way, and we also talk about why this shifted over time. Take a look at the Time article here.

Other resources we used this week: (Really take a look at the videos to hear native speakers of these accents, it’s worth it!)

Dialects vs. accents
German varieties, plus the awesome song we mentioned
Berlin vs. Standard German video
Newfoundland accent/dialect (worth a deep dive): Great video with an explanation, an older gentleman speaking with a very strong accent, and a younger Youtuber talking in his real accent
50 Americans speaking in their home state’s accent here
A fantastic resource for more about UK accents, with a map that you can use to find recordings of native speakers from all over the UK and an explanation of what makes the accent unique
UK accents quickly exemplified by Dialect Coach Andrew Jack, who sadly just passed away from COVID-19 at the end of March
English language in 67 accents and voices
Chinese accents
California English and vowel shifts
Our Lost in Translation story, thanks to Queen Elizabeth II!

Thanks for listening, everyone. If you haven’t, make sure to send us your Lost in Translation in our contact section. Until next week!

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