President Donald Trump recently admitted to not understanding reporters because of their heavy accents, but he is among many Americans with the struggle.
Dialect coach Joel Goldes told DailyMail.com: ‘Americans process speech very efficiently, and as such, we want people to give us exactly what we expect to hear.’
In other words, because Americans are more inclined to process speech quickly than listen closely, they can lack the awareness and patience required to parse what someone with an accent is saying.
What’s more, 80 percent of native-born Americans speak only English, dialect coach David Alan Stern told DailyMail.com. As such, they are exposed to fewer foreign languages and accents than people from other parts of the world, like Europe.
This can result in a ‘mental block’ when it comes to understanding unfamiliar sounds, Goldes explained.
Trump has experienced this on at least two occasions, the first with an Afghan reporter who he told she had a ‘beautiful voice’ but ‘I can’t understand a word you’re saying.’
The most recent happened during a Thursday press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when a US-based Indian journalist asked about the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, accused of taking part in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.
‘You’ve got to go louder,’ Trump, 78, said at first, making a quizzical expression upon hearing it.
President Donald Trump recently admitted to not understanding reporters because of their heavy accents, but he is among many Americans with the struggle
Trump experienced this on at least two occasions, the first with an Afghan reporter (pictured) who he told she had a ‘beautiful voice’ but ‘I can’t understand a word you’re saying’ pictured
‘I can’t understand a word he’s saying. It’s the accent. It’s a little bit tough for me,’ he added, quickly moving on amid some chuckles in the room.
Goldes said that while it is common for many Americans to struggle with accents, it also has to do with how our brains block us from hearing sounds that aren’t used in our original accent or language.
‘We lack the ability to hear these sounds because our brain tends to filter through the sounds that we grew up hearing,’ he said.
This mental block isn’t exclusive to Americans, but their lack of exposure to unfamiliar languages and sounds — especially during the formative years of childhood — makes it particularly pervasive in the US.
While this is beginning to change due to the increasing availability of foreign media in the US, many American adults acquired this mental block years ago.
Once it’s established, it can be very difficult to overcome, because ‘we can’t hear what we can’t hear,’ Goldes said.
What’s more, ‘many Americans have little or no patience with foreign-accented English,’ Stern said.
‘In many cases, I believe that, even with moderate or light accents, Americans simply assume that they will have or are having trouble understanding and thus make no effort to listen closely,’ he added.
Trump took multiple questions at the Thursday press conference, but couldn’t understand one about extraditing a man accused of taking part in the Mumbai terror attack to India
But when it comes to Trump, some have expressed confusion over his issues understanding foreign accents.
Referencing Thursday’s press conference with India’s Prime Minister, one X user posted: ‘It wasn’t the audio. Trump just doesn’t think he should ever have to figure out what someone’s saying.
‘Four of his five children and his wife speak more than one language, and he won’t even bother trying to understand an accent.’
Indeed, Trump made no effort to ask for clarification from the accented reporter and instead quickly moved on. He did the same to the Afghan reporter earlier this month.
Some speculated that Trump is playing up his lack of understanding and choosing not to ask for clarification to avoid answering certain questions from foreign reporters.
Though Trump’s apparent inability to understand accents is subject to some debate, there are ways for people who truly struggle with this mental block to overcome it, Goldes said.
The first way is to increase your exposure to foreign accents and practice listening very closely.
When working with clients, Goldes will provide them with sound samples of the language or accent they are trying to learn to help their brains become more adept at comprehending the unfamiliar sounds.
The second way is less intuitive, but ‘miraculously’ effective: imitating the accent.
‘The more imitating that someone does, the more adept that the brain will become, because these neurons will form and they’ll fill in the blanks a bit,’ Goldes said.
He explained that learning to move the tongue and other muscles in the mouth, face and jaw to make the unfamiliar sounds allows the brain to form new connections that help it recognize those sounds moving forward.
