your statement should focus on the fact that you didn't understand them, not that their accent made it hard for you to understand them
also, scientific studies have proven that the more you listen to an accent without 'judging' it as 'foreign' or 'hard', the easier and faster you will come to understand it
"sorry, i'm a bit tired/distracted/out of things today, could you repeat that more slowly?"
basically, it's considered more polite to put the responsibility for not understanding on yourself, or at least something other than the speaker. if you work somewhere with a fair bit of background noise, blaming that always works well.
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(Anonymous) 2012-05-16 03:15 pm (UTC)(link)what's the politest way to ask someone to repeat what they've said and/or tell them you have trouble understanding their accent?
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(Anonymous) 2012-05-16 03:18 pm (UTC)(link)your statement should focus on the fact that you didn't understand them, not that their accent made it hard for you to understand them
also, scientific studies have proven that the more you listen to an accent without 'judging' it as 'foreign' or 'hard', the easier and faster you will come to understand it
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(Anonymous) 2012-05-16 03:21 pm (UTC)(link)i'm not trying to not understand it, it just is hard to understand for someone not from that country and not used to it
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(Anonymous) 2012-05-16 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)basically, it's considered more polite to put the responsibility for not understanding on yourself, or at least something other than the speaker. if you work somewhere with a fair bit of background noise, blaming that always works well.
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(Anonymous) 2012-05-16 03:31 pm (UTC)(link)