I heard Putin speaking German for the first time today, he sounded kind of soft-spoken to me (although I have like no German so hard to judge) and it's weird because he's soft-spoke in English too so now I'm wondering if he's soft-spoken in Russian as well.
Speaking of German, I don't care how many linguists and phonological inventories tell me Japanese has Ich-Laut I can't pronounce it to save my life. I know you're not supposed to study a dialect until you're proficient in the Standard but goddamn it Berliners and their Ik are so tempting to me at the moment. (Auch-Laut is a pipe dream at this point lol).
As for the bonus, I often wonder how Hetalia characters go through language change. Like does England still speak/understand Middle English? How do they know when to start adapting changes in their native language, because language change naturally occurs across generations not in one person changing their idiolect within their lifetime so how do nations tell the difference between fads/regionalisms and actual change they'll have to know later in life. When did Germany and Prussia learn Hochdeutsch for example!? What is Germany's native dialect anyway in that case, Berlinisch!!!?!? Does Prussia use Ik not because it's Berlinisch but because Proto-Germanic used Ik!?!?!?!?!
Okay that last one was obviously a joke but still. I want to knowwwww. Ugh.
ITT: Linguist thinks WAY TOO HARD about eternity and language change.
ooc
Speaking of German, I don't care how many linguists and phonological inventories tell me Japanese has Ich-Laut I can't pronounce it to save my life. I know you're not supposed to study a dialect until you're proficient in the Standard but goddamn it Berliners and their Ik are so tempting to me at the moment. (Auch-Laut is a pipe dream at this point lol).
As for the bonus, I often wonder how Hetalia characters go through language change. Like does England still speak/understand Middle English? How do they know when to start adapting changes in their native language, because language change naturally occurs across generations not in one person changing their idiolect within their lifetime so how do nations tell the difference between fads/regionalisms and actual change they'll have to know later in life. When did Germany and Prussia learn Hochdeutsch for example!? What is Germany's native dialect anyway in that case, Berlinisch!!!?!? Does Prussia use Ik not because it's Berlinisch but because Proto-Germanic used Ik!?!?!?!?!
Okay that last one was obviously a joke but still. I want to knowwwww. Ugh.
ITT: Linguist thinks WAY TOO HARD about eternity and language change.