In Rachel Kushner’s new novel, Creation Lake, the narrator is “a mysterious woman with a cute American accent (my Rs are unapologetic American Rs)” who is "fluent in all those languages, although I speak them with a strong American accent.

stephen ryner jr. 🦉

In Rachel Kushner’s new novel, Creation Lake, the narrator is “a mysterious woman with a cute American accent (my Rs are unapologetic American Rs)” who is "fluent in all those languages, although I speak them with a strong American accent. (People think fluency is about having a good accent. It isn't. Fluency is about how well you understand the language, and how well you are able to speak it. Having a good accent is nothing. It’s a consolation prize for people who aren't fluent.”

CM Harrington

@nuthatch citation needed… who actually believes having a native accent equates fluency vs knowing vocabulary, how the language works, and how to read/write it?

I’ve literally never come across that notion personally.

stephen ryner jr. 🦉

@octothorpe I think it’s super common for people to conflate form over function. Look at LLMs!

CM Harrington

@nuthatch ROFL. I mean, you’re not wrong. That said, I’m talking that specific case.

I mean you wouldn’t think someone was fluent if they spoke full gibberish but sounded tonally plausible, eh*?

(* No, that doesn’t mean I speak canadian)

stephen ryner jr. 🦉

@octothorpe I think Rachel’s narrator is taking a hard line in part to be provocative, clearly having a good accent implies some experience with a language, but she’s arguing the lack of accent doesn’t mean lack of fluency. Like someone with a strong NYC accent may sound coarse but they could be a world-class poet nonetheless.

stephen ryner jr. 🦉

@octothorpe surely you get credit for speaking gibberish with a posh accent

CM Harrington

@nuthatch true. There are plenty of smart folk with a strong Brooklyn accent/Southern drawl/etc.

CM Harrington

@nuthatch I try to exploit this whenever possible

stephen ryner jr. 🦉

@octothorpe as a kid from Long Island it took me a long time to realize talking quickly is not a sign of intelligence, and speaking softly and slowly is not a sign of stupidity. Going to school in Bloomington, Indiana helped sort me out.

CM Harrington

@nuthatch Nah, it's just a sign of hypercaffeination of which I know nothing about whydoyouask?