Loving With an Accent

I heard on the radio that research conducted at the University of Glasgow suggests that people process words spoken with their own accent more quickly and effortlessly than other accents. In the study, 20 Scots listened to recordings of nine female speakers (three American, three British, and three Scots) while their brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The authors suspected that brain activity in an area associated with accent processing would decrease as accented words were repeated and the brain became accustomed to them. However, they found this occurred only when the Scots listened to American or British accents, and not to Scottish accents, suggesting the listeners had to adapt to outsiders’ accents, but not their own.
Amazed, I finally found the answer to why I feel so tired at the end of the day at times! I not only communicate often to a person with an accent different from mine, I am married to one! Meaning that every interaction we have goes through our own brain language wiring!
The results of the research made me feel normal! If you are married to a person from a different culture you are normal also when you feel you can no longer express yourself clearly or that for some reason you just cannot understand what your  partner say. It is productive to know that just a good night of rest can enhance understanding and create opportunities to strengthen your relationship. It is Okay to say I will get back to you as soon as I can, as soon as my brain and yours take a break!