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Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 31, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Singapore is grating especially because, if you watch old clips, the Chinese elite spoke with a much more English inflection / style until about 40 years ago; Singlish is a relatively recent invention.

I dislike the “international school” accent that wealthy Europeans have speaking English. They think it makes them far superior to their poorer countrymen who speak with more identifiable accents but I disagree - it melds aspects of standard American with a kind of almost Dutch twang. Give me a Tcherman any day. It’s an uncanny valley American. There are a few who cross it and are completely stealth Europeans who sound fully American, but far fewer pass than think they do.

There is a certain charm to Indians when they use bizarre words or antiquated expressions. As far as native accents go, Australians have an annoying attitude tied to their strenuously feigned nonchalance but the accent can be entertaining. The New Zealand accent has a nice melancholy to it. I dislike the Upper Midwest accent for reasons I struggle to describe, but it just has a kind of Winnie the Pooh fakeness to it. I love all the accents of the British Isles (although some, like Birmingham/Midlands, make me laugh because it seems almost comically depressed, a kind of eeyore accent if we’re continuing that analogy). The deep Toronto / Tronno accent is annoying.