#jean making fun of neil's accent in canon is hilarious

[mykennaleigh1]

The fact that Neil Josten canonically knows at least six languages is actually insane so here's my thoughts on all of them :)

English- English was his first language he learned (obvi). He grew up in Baltimore (hey im from MD too!!) so he pronounces words a little funny, like water as wad-der, and so on. Mostly soft t's and r's. Sometimes, he has a hint of a British tilt to some of his words, just bc of his proximity to Mary.

Japanese- I like to think that he learned a bit of Japanese in his father's house. This is his second oldest language, but it's also his second-least proficient. He never really had a reason to use it unless he was insulting Riko or talking to Ichirou. I like to imagine that he wants to improve his skills now that he has the time, so he watches anime in the background while he studies.

German- He learned German on the run, as we all know. He and his mom spent the first few years in Europe while his dad was still actively looking for them, and they bounced around from country to country for a while. I think he considers this his "second" language just bc it's the one he spent the most time using and practicing.

French- I love that he's canonically bad at French accents. He most definitely picked up French while he was bouncing around Europe, but like Japanese, he's not great at it. He got beat by his mom a lot for messing up the accents, and he could never quite grasp them. I mean, he got better for the sake of his own survival, but now that Mary's gone he can chill out a bit on perfect pronunciation. He considers French to be his "third" language, even tho the accent sucks.

Spanish- He knows a bit of Spanish from his time circulating the southern US. This is definitely the language he knows the least of. He can hold a slow conversation, but when Nicky starts to get ramble-y during their practice sessions he has to call it quits before he gets frustrated. (he still practices on his own bc even tho he doesn't have to run anymore, he wants Nicky to have a piece of home)

Russian- This is the last language he ever tries to learn. Him and Andrew pick it up fast, but they do it in such an ass-backwards way that they sort of suck at it. They 1000% just sub in German words when they don't know it in Russian and their accents are all off bc they don't have anyone around them to base off of. They both have like "second year of high school foreign language" level of proficiency but they both think they are great at it. Neil considers it his "fourth" language, when in reality he sucks.