What to do when they ask: "Can you repeat that?" | #238

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Transcript

What to do when someone asks you to repeat that

So I was at a market here in Monterrey a few years back, and I wanted to buy a new backpack to wear between my classes. 
I didn't have much money, so I needed something cheap.

I was looking through the bags in one of the tents, and I found a few that I liked. This was now an opportunity to use a new phrase I had learned. 
I asked the vender, 

"Cual es el mas economico?" - which is the cheapest?

And he said "que?"

I said it again "cual es el mas economico?" (english intonation)

He said "perdon no te entiendo."

My face went red like a tomato. I felt frustrated and embarrassed that this guy wasn't understanding my carefully rehearsed Spanish.

A friend saw that I was struggling and came over to help me. "What are you trying to say? I can translate for you."

Just what I wanted, an audience to my incompetence. 

I told him "don't worry about it". 

Not only was I too frustrated to speak any Spanish for the rest of the night, but I didn't even get the backpack I went to the market for in the first place!

"Can you repeat that?" "I'm sorry, I didn't understand you there", "Can you say that again?"

Do those questions ever interrupt your nice day? Your train of thought? Do they make you second guess EVERYTHING YOU SAY? And take the confidence out of your voice?

I know how it feels when you get asked that… that's what keeps me working so hard to guide you past that. 

It's one of the most annoying questions to be asked, especially when you know you're using the right word, and you feel like you're saying it PERFECTLY. 
Even after 9 years in Mexico I STILL get asked that.

This happens because there are sounds in Spanish that don't exist in English, and I'm not using them in the way that Spanish speakers listen for. 

I don't let this limit my Spanish speaking opportunities, instead I've adapted an ABC approach to help me use these mistakes to my advantage and improve my speaking. This is the ABC advantage

A - acknowledge ignorance

B - Breathe

C - Create new voice habits

If you want to stop being a victim of your mistakes and use them to your advantage too, then listen to this whole episode all the way through, and take a few notes because I'm including a few golden nuggets in here that will be assets on your journey to becoming a native-level English speaker. 

Step 1

Acknowledge Ignorance to subject
It's important to acknowledge that a phrase used in one culture can have a totally different meaning in a different culture, even an offensive meaning. 

In Monterrey "chaqueta" means jacket or coat in English, while In Mexico city "chaqueta" is a little discourteous, and you wouldn't want to say it with children present. 

And these are two cities within the same country! Imagine the differences between Mexico and Spain! 

Acknowledge that the words you're saying may be by the book, or may have been picked up from another culture that this person isn't familiar with. That doesn't mean your English is bad, it just means you've picked up phrases and words from a part of the world that this person probably hasn't visited. 

When I was 18 I visited family in England and went to the movies, or what they call the cinema. 

I went with some cousins… 

I got my ticket, went to the concession stand, and there was a young lady there wearing a ponytail. I ordered a large popcorn and a soda, and she asked "would you like salt or sugar on your popcorn?"

I understood every word they said… but I had never heard those words in that combination before. In Canada you can request extra butter, or caramel corn, but nobody asks you if you want salt or sugar. 

"Sorry, can you say that again?"
- she repeated herself - 

"I don't think I'm understanding you here…"

My cousin, who was watching the whole thing, cut in and explained that I could choose to have either salt or sugar added to the popcorn, or I could go without. 

Now they speak English in England… and we speak English in Canada, where I'm from… and I understood every word she said… but I just couldn't make sense of it. 

Even if you are speaking English at the level of a native, you will be asked to repeat yourself. Consider that the words you said may not be acknowledged in this culture. Then either ask for clarification on the appropriate word for this culture, or take a minute to look it up for yourself, and try again. 

So A - Acknowledge your ignorance

Now what if you're not ignorant, and you're certain you're using the right word for this culture and context?

Then plan B - Breathe, and breathe deeply!

There are a lot of physical and cognitive benefits to breathing deeply. You give your brain more oxygen, and will have an easier time processing information. This helps you get your thoughts together, and continue the conversation without getting flustered or feeling undermined. 

You also give your voice more fuel to sound clearer and confident. 

Do this with me right now, take a deep breath in through your nose, as deeply as you can, and push your belly out as you do. 

Once you're full, don't hold it, but through your mouth, release the air completely. 

Breathing like this engages with your diaphragm, a muscle under your lungs, and we need it to make your voice stronger. 

So with me now, do 3 deep breaths through your nose, right into your belly, engaging with your diaphragm, and out your mouth.

That's great!

We are changing the way your body uses air to project your voice clearly. 
Now take one more breath in, and make this sound with me "uuhhhhhh"

One more time, 

Hold your tongue low in your mouth. Low in the back and low in the front. 

Deep breath in…

Uuuhhhhh

American English speakers listen for vowels to begin with power, and fade off. 

B - Breathe deeply! Put more air in your lungs, push your belly out, and power your vowel sounds when you speak in English.

Vowel sounds are the sounds uhh ahh eee ehh ihh uhw ahy ihw ahy. 
There are a lot of vowel sounds, but uuhhh is the most commonly used vowel sound. 

A - Acknowledge your ignorance

B- Breathe Deeply

And now C - CREATE NEW VOICE HABITS

When I say the sound uuhhh is the most commonly used vowel sound, that's because it's the resting tongue position for American English speakers. Our tongues are low in the back of the mouth and low in the front of the mouth… around the level of your bottom teeth. 

Uuuhhh

Spanish, and many other languages, have a resting tongue position higher in the mouth "eehhh". 

Spanish uses this tongue position because the words need mouth muscles with force to be pronounced perfectly. This means they power consonant sounds stronger (T K P, G) , while vowel sounds are shorter. 

Every language has a resting tongue position, and it was created to speak your own language quickly and efficiently. 

However it may not apply to English. Some languages DO have resting tongue positions that apply to English. Farsi speakers in particular tend to be highly-proficient Accent training students with vowel sounds for that reason. 

Now I've learned to raise my tongue position when speaking in Spanish. It changes my voice in a major way, and I don't always remember to do it, but when I do, it makes my Spanish MUCH clearer. 

Así, mi voz cambia, y es porque levanto mi lengua más hacia la parte trasera de mi boca.

My voice changes like that, and it's because I raise my tongue higher in the back of my mouth than in English. This closes space in the back of my mouth, and nasalizes my voice.

I've adapted this by living with a Mexican family for 4 years, and trying to say things the way they do. So much so that I find myself sounding like my mother in law half the time I'm speaking Spanish now!

Create new speaking habits in English from those of your native language to the ones Americans listen for. 

Begin by engaging with a deep breath to make your vowels clear, and then use the uuhhh tongue position as a point of reference to create space between the back of your mouth and your tongue. 

Your ABC's of what to do when someone asks you… "can you repeat that?"

A - Acknowledge your ignorance to their culture

B - Breathe deeply to gather your thoughts and power your voice

C - Create new voice habits that match the language you're communicating in. 

Now of course, this is the Accent Training Podcast, so this is where you'll find out which habits need to be created to start seeing progress here. 

My recommendation? Check out Episode 193, and start with the American Pronunciation Handbook, audio lesson. Listen to the whole audiobook, and complete the training. This will get you started with some essential American accent training habits with high-quality training materials and guidance. 

I'll leave a link in the description so you can check that out. 

However if you've already listened to every episode up till this point, then MAKE sure you're following the Accent Training Podcast because our next episode is going to be of a conversation I had with a couple of American accent coaches