Is it possible to be totally bilingual? This is sometimes debated. Is it possible to acquire a native accent as an adult? YES!
Is it possible to be like natives?
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I've heard of prisoners-of-war who learned German well enough to pass as natives when they escaped the camps. Which I think shows: You don't HAVE to love the culture to learn the language well--Motivation (of any sort) is the most important factor. (They probably hated their captors, but their motivation--survival--was intense.)
"But that is the matter - most native speakers do not sound like CNN newsreaders, and you are probaby more likely to find a non-native speaker who sounds like one than a native-speaker who sounds like one. One may be completely fluent in English, and possibly even more competent in formal register than the average native speaker, but one will in the end still not sound like the average native speaker for that very reason."
I suppose my point was one with identification. A foreign speaker who learns some kind of formal English through materials acquired while in his foreign country *can* still sound American. If you met this person on the street who learned this kind of English, and you had to guess his national identity, would you guess Polish, or would you guess American? My point is that many people would guess "American," even though there is definitely something "off" with the accent as people don't speak that way normally in real life. People who train their ears to notice differences, like many on this message board, might realize he is a foreigner who has adopted formal English, but most would not notice the difference.
I suppose my point was one with identification. A foreign speaker who learns some kind of formal English through materials acquired while in his foreign country *can* still sound American. If you met this person on the street who learned this kind of English, and you had to guess his national identity, would you guess Polish, or would you guess American? My point is that many people would guess "American," even though there is definitely something "off" with the accent as people don't speak that way normally in real life. People who train their ears to notice differences, like many on this message board, might realize he is a foreigner who has adopted formal English, but most would not notice the difference.
Tom's accent is envious if he had acquired it in his native country without having daily contacts with native speakers. Your don't need to show off to be a complete native speaker as long as your accent is understandable and pleasant to listen to.
I have known a Japanese person (aged 45) speaking urdu like a true native speaker(much, much better in his vocab than an average street speaker). There was nothing off with his accent. I tried to detect something foreign in his accent and I was failed to do that. I would have taken him a native born person if I had talked to him on the phone. Pronunciation, stress, ryhthm, intonation......all these things were native-like. He came to Pakistan at the age of 20(myth buster, you'lll always have a foreign accent because you are an adult). He was fallen in love with the culture and literature so he decided to learn the language.
I have also known a guy from new york who had spent around 12 years in the country, had a noticeable American accent while speaking Urdu, he was easy to listen to but still his accent, pronunciation and stress were not like those of a native speaker. I also notice that his attitude was not like that of a japanese person while speaking the language. That Japanese guy had a lot of passion and love for the language while speaking it....that American guy did not emanate that sort of passion....mind you...he was still pretty good in day to day conversations.
(he learned only spoken part). (That japanese guy had learned to master all skills of the language, read literature, attended poetry shows in public.)
Both guys had a love for the culture, had spent more than a decade in the country, yet the results were different....it all boils down to motivation and passion for the language not for the culture.
I have known a Japanese person (aged 45) speaking urdu like a true native speaker(much, much better in his vocab than an average street speaker). There was nothing off with his accent. I tried to detect something foreign in his accent and I was failed to do that. I would have taken him a native born person if I had talked to him on the phone. Pronunciation, stress, ryhthm, intonation......all these things were native-like. He came to Pakistan at the age of 20(myth buster, you'lll always have a foreign accent because you are an adult). He was fallen in love with the culture and literature so he decided to learn the language.
I have also known a guy from new york who had spent around 12 years in the country, had a noticeable American accent while speaking Urdu, he was easy to listen to but still his accent, pronunciation and stress were not like those of a native speaker. I also notice that his attitude was not like that of a japanese person while speaking the language. That Japanese guy had a lot of passion and love for the language while speaking it....that American guy did not emanate that sort of passion....mind you...he was still pretty good in day to day conversations.
(he learned only spoken part). (That japanese guy had learned to master all skills of the language, read literature, attended poetry shows in public.)
Both guys had a love for the culture, had spent more than a decade in the country, yet the results were different....it all boils down to motivation and passion for the language not for the culture.
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