Shireroth

Are you happy now? I happen to prefer the simplicity and more phonetically spelled American versions of those worrds, though I often enjoy reading British spellings for the quaintness factor.

I don't hold it against someone if they spell using the American dictionary (anymore), and I hope they don't hold my Britishness against me. An American tourist once came up to me in the park near my house and asked with a smile, "Sorry, excuse me, I can't find my way to the sports cen-trer." However, I hope they'll appreciate the humour if I ask them what they have against foot fetishists if we're talking about "pedophiles".

I've had that thought more than once Benkern.

As it stands, my accent is more than understandable, because I'm from New York, where we almost don't even have an accent, and that's what makes it OUR accent...

Talk to us on the west coast and we'll tell you you do have a distinct regional accent. We all sound like the place we're from. And, no, I don't mind reading English spellings. I just find it amusing that two peoples trying to share a common language should be having such differences. And it's only been a couple of hundred years since independence. I wonder if we'll even understand each other in two hundred more.

Oh yes, I'm sure our descendents will all speak passable Mandarin.

The changes began WAY before independence. The moment people came here, the language began to change.. btw.. Spelling means nothing in terms of language...

I think spellings on both sides of the pond were fairly chaotic prior to the introduction of mandatory education for the masses, and by then America and the British Empire were different political entities so there was no impetous to agree on any degree of standardisation.

In fact I'm sure I read somewhere that "British English" was the result of some spelling reforms introduced by George III of all people...

I think the difficulty stems from the American mind frame. They tend to believe anything can be voted on. Spelling, Physics, God, Evolution, Science in general. So long as the majority agree, its true.

So that's who to blame for it!!

Usually...

Prodigy Almighty wrote:As it stands, my accent is more than understandable, because I'm from New York, where we almost don't even have an accent, and that's what makes it OUR accent...

Actually, your accent isn't that much different than the rest of us in the Philly suburbs...

Although, I through weird accents into my speech periodically... I still can't pronounce "about" like everyone else most the time... "aboot"... DAMN IT!

Julien Starr has the best Brooklyn accent I've ever heard.

Oroigawa, don't worry if you say "aboot", there is an entire country that knows your pain.



Just remember how ridiculous everyone else sounds when they pronounce it "Abat"

Hesam Jayatar wrote:roigawa, don't worry if you say "aboot", there is an entire country that knows your pain.

This is what troubles me...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index

Well, if you ever want to live in a country where "Walmart Greeter" isn't considered an ambition, just apply for refugee status in Canada.

We don't say abat; we say abowt here in California. But there are so many regionally distinctive pronunciations of so many words that you almost have to ask, "In which part of the country would you say it like that?" When I first started to date my husband, he was talking about akerns. I asked what in the world he was saying, and he repeated it. I asked again, and he said, "You know, oak tree seeds." I said, "You mean acorns!" He said, "That's what I said, akerns." He had picked up that non-standard pronunciation from either his mother who was born in Missouri, or from his father who was born in Arkansas. I never heard that pronunciation before or since. About is far from the only oddity which can label your place of origin when you speak it.

hypatias mom wrote:About is far from the only oddity which can label your place of origin when you speak it.

But the thing is...I'm not Canadian...I'm from the Philadelphia Suburbs...nobody says "aboot" here but me...

Not true. I was almost born in Canada, and sometimes I deliberately put on a Canadian accent. It's kinda sceery how much I sound like I'm frum Tronto, eh? (Don't correct my spelling, it was intentional. Canadians actually don't pronounce the first o in Toronto.)

It's a syllabic r...

Prodigy, that's only Torontonians. The "Canadian Accent" which has gotten some coverage in US media (the Terrance and Philip Accent) is spoken by most Canadians from Northern Ontario. For example, they would say "Hoo-tel" instead of "Hotel", "Aboot" instead of "about" and my personal favourite localism "Yeah Bud's" used in this way:

Normal Person: "Are you going to the store?"

Northern Ontarian: "Yeah Buds, I'll be dar, fuck."

This is also known as "Valley Speak" as it originates in the Ottawa Valley area. The use of the word "fuck" at the end of the sentence takes the place of punctuation and is an import from the small French population in Ontario. Basically, due to french sentence structure. Valley speak also has a tendency to use the last syllable of place names. For example "Arnprior Ontario" is known as "The 'Prior". This is also known as "Hoser Speak"

Southern Ontario has it's own distinct accent. (Canada has about 50 accents all together).

Torontonians for example, say "Tarana" or "Trana" instead of Toronto. This accent is slowly dying out since the demographics of the city have changed a lot. For the most part, Southern Ontario as well as British Columbia have an accent that is nearly identical to a Northern Californian accent, baring some vocabulary differences and a few local pronunciations.

The East Coast has an entirely different set of accents. Newfoundland has it's own dialogue and there is even a small population of Celtic speakers who speak in a unique branch of gaelic. The remainder of Newfoundland speaks what is known by the rest of Canada as "Newfie". Which to outsiders sounds sort of like an Irish accent with a strange twang added in for good measure. Quebec has it's own regional accents as well. For example, there is a huge difference between Acadian French from New Brunswick and Quebec French. Acadian French has been described as French spoken with an Irish accent.

One of the greatest misconceptions Americans have is that of the "Canadian Accent". There isn't one. There are close to 50. There are even slight differences between the accents of Torontonians and Hamiltonians. Which is incredible considering those two cities are half an hour a part.

One thing I've never understood, is that whenever I visit Florida, people claim I speak with a Virginian accent. I find this odd because I consider my southern Ontario accent to be harsh and unpleasant, whereas I consider the Virginian accent to be one of the most pleasurable to hear in the english language.

Grandpa was a Canadian, from somewhere in Manitoba.

BTW, can't resist-

If there is one thing that should change about the office of Kaiser, it's that people should stop being pricks to the Throne for no good reason. It makes everyone look like idiots and it makes Shireroth less enjoyable.

Hmm. No good reason as determined by?
The Kaiser is always going to be a lighting-rod. That's why s/he needs to be well-grounded.

Also, a Kaiser should be bound by honour. Oh, for the days of Mors V!

Yep. That's about it. Although it's sort of tiring to see that yet again. It's like quoting monty python when meeting a Brit.

Oh, my!! Talk about stereotyping. I'm sure glad the Canadians with whom I've spoken bear no visible resemblence to those two. But very funny in a sophomoric way.

Well as I said, that comedy skit is accurate to a point. The "Hoser" stereotype does exist, but it's more of an Ottawa Valley thing than pan-Canada.

Take off, hose head!


...aboot...

...damn...

Is there a reason why Corey, Jess and Boris' avatars are even more of a fashion disaster than usual today?

Noob mindlink or this I'm guessing.

The Khan of Vijayanagara wrote:Is there a reason why Corey, Jess and Boris' avatars are even more of a fashion disaster than usual today?

Pardon me, sir, but that is 100% real polar bear fur --

*Kale whispers in his ear*

...

Damn. I always forget that.

*Ahem*

It's NOT, in fact, REAL polar bear fur, as polar bears are - extinct? er, no, endangered - but in fact made from the fake polar bear rug from my mansion. Yes... not real at all... *glances around*

The Khan of Vijayanagara wrote:Is there a reason why Corey, Jess and Boris' avatars are even more of a fashion disaster than usual today?

Oi! Insulting Tokian culture are we? You lookin' for a lickin'?

And another thread is now completely ruined...