Why some Asian accents swap Ls and Rs in English

A linguistic stereotype, explained. This video is presented by Brilliant: Thank you the Video Lab members (Janet, Martian, and Mariko) who helped me with this video. To learn more about the Video Lab and sign up, visit Check out Yutas Youtube channel here: And browse Dr. Lawsons ultrasound examples here: A foreign accent is when someone speaks a second language with the rules of their first language, and one of the most persistent and wellstudied foreignaccent features is a lack of L, R contrast among native Japanese speakers learning English. Its so wellknown that American soldiers in World War II reportedly used codewords like lallapalooza to distinguish Japanese spies from Chinese allies. But American movies and TV shows have applied this linguistic stereotype to Korean and Chinese characters too, like Kim Jong Il in