Language in Ohio and Ilinois

Hi!

We are back from our trip from Chicago. It was quite fun and we did a lot of sightseeing. In our blog today we are talking about the differences in languages.

I remember that shop assistances in Chicago often use instead of "hello", or "hi", "How do you do?" or "How are you?". This was unusual to some of our group members.
I had also the impression that their English had often a stronger accent, especially with the african-american people. They also spoke often very fast, so that it was hard to understand them, even when they repeated their sentences.
I have never seen someone shaking hands. But I think that they use often their hands to describe their information or their sentences.

Well, I'm from Bavarian, who are known for their accent, so I think it's often difficult for non-bavarian people to understand bavarians when they have a strong accent, especially on the country-side or in Lower Bavaria. In cities the accent is not as strong as on the countryside, but we Bavarians often use special words, for example "heuer" instead of "this year". In comparision to standard German Americans have a strong accent in generally, because standard German has a clear pronounication.

Well, I hope my English is more fluently after spending one week with native speakers. Some people told me that my English is good, but some Germans told me that I've got an american accent. On the one side the "accent-statement" makes me proud, because my plan to learn English-by-listening and learning-by-doing is working, but on the other side I don't want to become a strong accent. I think I will continue with my English-learning-plan, but I will have an intensive attention to my pronounciation.
I still have difficulties in understanding people with an accent, but I hope that this will improve.