Hi, I'd like to comment on the Indian (Hindi?), German and English issue.
I'm sorry that I can't pinpoint what kind of Indian language I'm talking about, but English spoken with an Indian accent sounds remarkably like English spoken with a Welsh accent. The melody of those two versions of English is very similar, and I would guess that some kinds of Welsh and Indian might sound alike to someone who can't understand either of the two languages.
I actually spent weeks following a vintage radio drama before I realised that the "Indian" character was in fact speaking with a heavy Welsh accent.
The similarities between the two for me, are rooted in the fact that they both sound almost musically melodic compared to other varieties of English, RP, for instance, often sounds monotonous and flat, as do some American dialects.
As for the LotR-switches, I found them quite natural sounding, the Arwen ones annoyed me, but then all scenes with Arwen annoyed me, quite unrelated to which language she spoke ;-) That Legolas and Aragorn have a heated discussion in Elvish is much more believable to me than to have them shout in English. I would assume that all their conversations would be in Elvish unless somebody from a different race was present and part of their conversation, and the same would go for Elrond and Arwen. I realise that would be unlikely in a film like that, but I think that non-native English speakers that are used to watching subtitled films might have a higher tolerance for language switches in films.
I am not bilingual, but have reached the level of knowledge in English that makes me start to switch, and although it is kind of pleasing to start to really think in a different language, there are disadvantages like sounding like an idiot in your mother tongue when you start to spout English words and idioms, either roughly translated, or worse, not translated at all. To people who do not switch, you'll sound affected or stupid, but other switchers will just respond in kind.
Indian-sounding English
I'm sorry that I can't pinpoint what kind of Indian language I'm talking about, but English spoken with an Indian accent sounds remarkably like English spoken with a Welsh accent. The melody of those two versions of English is very similar, and I would guess that some kinds of Welsh and Indian might sound alike to someone who can't understand either of the two languages.
I actually spent weeks following a vintage radio drama before I realised that the "Indian" character was in fact speaking with a heavy Welsh accent.
The similarities between the two for me, are rooted in the fact that they both sound almost musically melodic compared to other varieties of English, RP, for instance, often sounds monotonous and flat, as do some American dialects.
As for the LotR-switches, I found them quite natural sounding, the Arwen ones annoyed me, but then all scenes with Arwen annoyed me, quite unrelated to which language she spoke ;-)
That Legolas and Aragorn have a heated discussion in Elvish is much more believable to me than to have them shout in English. I would assume that all their conversations would be in Elvish unless somebody from a different race was present and part of their conversation, and the same would go for Elrond and Arwen. I realise that would be unlikely in a film like that, but I think that non-native English speakers that are used to watching subtitled films might have a higher tolerance for language switches in films.
I am not bilingual, but have reached the level of knowledge in English that makes me start to switch, and although it is kind of pleasing to start to really think in a different language, there are disadvantages like sounding like an idiot in your mother tongue when you start to spout English words and idioms, either roughly translated, or worse, not translated at all. To people who do not switch, you'll sound affected or stupid, but other switchers will just respond in kind.
- Clara