Please Can You Say That Again?

You probably don't like repeating yourself, and maybe you are not used to it. If this is the case, then you probably have been living in the same part of the world all your life. Talking to folks in other regions of this great planet will make you believe in adaptations, and in this case, a very quick one.
It could be funny, it could be very sad, or it could occupy any other feeling or emotion in between the two depending on the circumstances. I mean when you are engaged in what you consider a very serious conversation, and your audience don't seem to get a great percentage of what you are saying.

Question "Hey, did you take that course with professor Peabody?" 
 Answer (or another question)    "Oh, what cause?"

 Question   " Did you obtain the source we discussed yesterday?"

  Answer (or another question) "Eeem....... yes, yes, the sauce? Oh, I' m so sorry, yes, I got the source.

I am sure there must be some Universities that have courses in "Global Accents and Mispronunciations" If not, that is a potential area for course development in the languages. When I first immigrated into the United States, my first job interview was for a teaching position. I had just spent two months in the country, and it was my very first time here. My hosts, being from the same country as I, had no problem understanding me, and I had no problem understanding them either. The interview was a different kettle of fish though. To make matters worse, I was to be interviewed by phone! There were two concerns- whether I will understand he questions, and the second one, if they will understand my answers :) ............ I needed the job!
I prayed. One thing was, I knew there was an underlying problem of mutually understanding each other's accents. I listened as if my life depended on it, and I spoke as distinctly and deliberately as I ever had in my entire life. Remember, this was a teaching job  Maybe you will like to hear how that story ended: I got the job, and  I have lived and learned happily ever after. I have to----- I teach for a living :) Not that I will every get it a hundred percent. Hey, I manage to get myself understood...most of the time. It is okay with me when someone says "You have an accent" Or "Where did you come from originally?"  I know what that means!. It is a mild way of saying the former. But I don't like people calling my accent "thick", now that's not fair- It makes feel unlearned. Sometimes, I have heard people actually say they like my accent. I'd say "oh, thank you!" I hope they meant it.

 Within the same country, large or small,  accents often differ from one place to another. In fact, it is quite easy for those who are well traveled, even within the United States to pinpoint the exact place a person is from if he speaks a few sentences. The slangs, the use of words and the accent, especially, is a good indicator of this.