The Great English Language

[skylar]

And then you have NZ English.... imagine a world with fush und chups, where six is sex and vice versa... you write with a pin... and more...

[thaibebop]

Well, the uk accents are regional ones, not those of immigrants who struggle to learn the language...

You think that is what makes up American accents? New York(all five barrows are different) and New Jersey have their own accents as does BeanTown and Chicago, Mid-west, deep south, Georgia and the Carolinas, The Cheese state and the Land of 10,000 Lakes speak with the same accents. All of this by english speakers.

Hate to disagree with you, Thaibebop, but I was born in Chicago, and we'd take our vacations in southern Wisconsin, s. Michigan, and pass through northern Indiana, the birthplace of standard American radio broadcasters. Fifty years ago, I couldn't tell a 1% difference. Of course, the Scandanavian immigrants in Minnesota spoke with their national accents, but the same is true of any immigrants anywhere. I agree that NY-NJ has a dialect or accent, but never heard before that Neuw Yahwk City had five wheelbarrows. Is that a joke, or do you not know about the barrows? Sorry, sometimes I am slow. OK, Brooklyn guys, yeah. And Boston, for sure. And while I never heard many of them talk, Vermont-NH-Maine are different from New York.

You can't tell the difference between Brooklyn, Da Bronx, Queens and the Island?! You haven't spent enough time back east my friend. I have family back there in Queens and the Island, trust me, there speech differences just with in my clan.

Okay, Texas has two or three accents, but it's bigger than Thailand, which has numerous dialects. But by the late 20th century, I suspect most of the Confederate states had mellowed out a lot, or melted together. IJWT can do some great Carolina and Alabama accents, but they're comical exaggerations of casual talk. I've picked up the George W. Bush Midland-Odessa oil roughneck Spanish: "Booo-WAY-nus DI-ass, Seen-your-eat-ah, Cooooomo estaaas?"

Oh yes, the south is spilt every which way. I know you know Texas, so you should know the difference in speech when visiting Louisiana. My uncle Jimmy is a Baptist preacher from Georgia, you say comical and I think I should almost be insulted for my family, cause that is the way he speaks 24/7. I worked with a lady who was from South Carolina, everytime she opened her mouth all I could think of was Gone With The Wind. I think you've been missing out there PB.

I think colloquial speech is what we're talking about, but for formal responses in school, for announcements and the like, there's generally a 'standard American English' and a 'BBC' or 'standard' or 'Queen's English' in the UK.

You have half a point here. Yes, we as Americans are trying to have a standard, which is always being questioned as it seems not everyone can fit within that standard. I agree that much of the differences in speech is colloquial in nature, but I think you are down playing the accents way too much. If you know the mid-west you should know the mid-west backcountry speech. Ya know, Missoura instead of Missouri.

My son can already spot someone from a different county of Ireland, sometimes. He's learning to sound County Clare.

Bostonians say, "I have no idear wheah my cah is.

[zzap]

I think colloquial speech is what we're talking about, but for formal responses in school, for announcements and the like, there's generally a 'standard American English' and a 'BBC' or 'standard' or 'Queen's English' in the UK.

The only people who speak the Queen's English in the UK are the Queen and a few toffs. I used to have a landlord who was a minor toff (Eton & the Guards) who was reasonably comprehensible on a good day but he had a brother whose plum was so large I simply couldn't understand more than 10% of what he said. He was an absolute nightmare on the phone

You're talking about a class-thing in the use of language, different from accent or dialect still.

Ahemm - check some of 'the gent's marvels for a caricature of the "real" thing. Cassandra persistently fails to show any distinction in use of language, though he might like to think he does - wannabes never get beyond pretending.

For accents, It gets worse the further North you go, they accused me of speaking like a 'bludy Sotherner'...

And then, having spent a few years 'up North', the Londoners laughed at me for having a 'Northern' accent.

[helitool]

The thing that fasinates me is that Ireland and england are next door to each other but Gaelic and english are so different that they might as well be from seperate planets!

[jackr]

I didnt know the english could speak there language! everb heard a brit say aluminum?

That's because they're saying the correct word, which happens to be AluminIum! Afraid the joke is on you septics.

[Plus]

Gaelic and English are very different because they have completely different roots. English was imposed on Brits. It's not the native language of the isles.

I read about a place in Northern Germany where they speak comprehensible English, as their native dialect. The place is called Anglia, if I remember correctly.

[kurgen]

anyone north of the Watford Gap is a dirty northern pikey scumbag , so there

[Ice Maiden]

I have a bit of a northern accent, only a couple of words I find difficult to say! But my friends manage to communicate with me

[Old Croc]

Who the Fluck cares.....talk about it in an English forum

You're allowed to talk about British life on this forum Burnsie. If I started a similar thread about Aussie accents it would be closed in a minute as non Thai related.

[phibunmike]

I didnt know the english could speak there language! everb heard a brit say aluminum?

As baan yangyai says, it is "aluminium".

Now how would you pronounce "plutonium", "uranium", "chromium", etc. ????

[astral]

I wonder why an American was surprised by different accents.

Perhaps he had never travelled outside his home state?

[baan_yangyai]

Can't say that I've ever heard of it.

I do know after living there, that Germany has over 200 different dialects, not just accents. People from Munich would be visiting the north of the country and, come into my restaurant. My waitresses would have no idea what they were saying when listening to them converse.

redrus

must agree there redrus , as a scouse, who lived and worked in germany for over 20 years, I used to enjoy changing to the different dialects, even now when I speak to germans I find myself naturally falling into their dialect, only problem is ,as oldtimers disease sets in it plays hel_l,, with my thai, laos and khmer, and if I happen to be slurping the odd Lao Khao usually fall back into Swahili nignoy

You'se must be a linguist me awl' Scouser! What part of the of the great city are you'se from mate? I'm from the West Derby/Queens Drive area meeself!

[Totster]

All you have to do is draw a line across England just below Brum and then all those above the line talk funny versions of English and those below the line speak correct English

And I thought it was Watford...

The accents in Watford aren't English ones... !

totster

[Totster]

All you have to do is draw a line across England just below Brum and then all those above the line talk funny versions of English and those below the line speak correct English

And I thought it was Watford...

The accents in Watford aren't English ones... !

totster

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Who the Fluck cares.....talk about it in an English forum

You're allowed to talk about British life on this forum Burnsie. If I started a similar thread about Aussie accents it would be closed in a minute as non Thai related. <_<

Too many Aussie mods on TV eh ?

[baan_yangyai]

Gaelic and English are very different because they have completely different roots. English was imposed on Brits. It's not the native language of the isles.

I read about a place in Northern Germany where they speak comprehensible English, as their native dialect. The place is called Anglia, if I remember correctly.

Yeah! Your'e right about the german language; there are between 50 to 250 DIFFERENT dialects all together! Absolutely F***ING amazing! However, the 'Anglia' you refered to is in actual fact the Frisian Islands in North Germany, where they speak Frisian dialect very closely related to the English language!

[Nignoy]

Ostfriesische platt

Can't say that I've ever heard of it.

I do know after living there, that Germany has over 200 different dialects, not just accents. People from Munich would be visiting the north of the country and, come into my restaurant. My waitresses would have no idea what they were saying when listening to them converse.

redrus

must agree there redrus , as a scouse, who lived and worked in germany for over 20 years, I used to enjoy changing to the different dialects, even now when I speak to germans I find myself naturally falling into their dialect, only problem is ,as oldtimers disease sets in it plays hel_l,, with my thai, laos and khmer, and if I happen to be slurping the odd Lao Khao usually fall back into Swahili nignoy

Only learned every day Deutch when I was there but, it was Plait where I lived (Emden in Ostfriesland).

redrus

Ps; glad to see your tickers holding out Nignoy did you get that replacement....?

ostfriesische platt is a difficult one but I got used to it the new pacemaker is doing fine thanks nignoy

Can't say that I've ever heard of it.

I do know after living there, that Germany has over 200 different dialects, not just accents. People from Munich would be visiting the north of the country and, come into my restaurant. My waitresses would have no idea what they were saying when listening to them converse.

redrus

must agree there redrus , as a scouse, who lived and worked in germany for over 20 years, I used to enjoy changing to the different dialects, even now when I speak to germans I find myself naturally falling into their dialect, only problem is ,as oldtimers disease sets in it plays hel_l,, with my thai, laos and khmer, and if I happen to be slurping the odd Lao Khao usually fall back into Swahili nignoy

You'se must be a linguist me awl' Scouser! What part of the of the great city are you'se from mate? I'm from the West Derby/Queens Drive area meeself!

Born on Upper Parliament Street, Grandparents a nd parents were landlords of the stanley arms on the Balliol in Bootle, till my old man was called back into the army. Nignoy

[baan_yangyai]

Yeah. Know Upper Parli very well indeed, although it's gone down 'ill recently. I wonder how many other Scouser there are out there? Might make an interesting Thread eh?

[tutsiwarrior]

I was born in Nashville TN, raised in Pasadena CA and later lived in the UK for 10 years. Some brits have asked me where abouts in the East Midlands am I from...('..., me duck...)

[Nignoy]

I was born in Nashville TN, raised in Pasadena CA and later lived in the UK for 10 years. Some brits have asked me where abouts in the East Midlands am I from...('..., me duck...)

Maybe its the way you WALK Nignoy

[tutsiwarrior]

I was born in Nashville TN, raised in Pasadena CA and later lived in the UK for 10 years. Some brits have asked me where abouts in the East Midlands am I from...('..., me duck...)

Maybe its the way you WALK Nignoy

yeah...Chuck Berry is from Derby...

[suegha]

Yeah. Know Upper Parli very well indeed, although it's gone down 'ill recently. I wonder how many other Scouser there are out there? Might make an interesting Thread eh?

Although I am from Ireland, I am an adopted Scouser! I have lived here for 18 years, I married a Liverpool girl and I love the place. Liverpool people are the salt of the earth, and Liverpool is the most beautiful city in the UK.

Parliment street is 5 mins from where I live. Oh and it's still going down hill! I wonder how many people will get the joke?

[Guest endure]

anyone north of the Watford Gap is a dirty northern pikey scumbag , so there

Anyone south of Leicester is a girly whining southern pooftah so THERE!

[Rimmer]

I didnt know the english could speak there language! everb heard a brit say aluminum?

Well it's a shame you were never taught it right?

THERE..........over there

THEIR...........belonging to

[Mister Fixit]

Has any Brit. out there in TV-Land ever heard of the Pitmatic English accent? An American colleague of mine simply can't understand how or why there are so many variations in spoken English in Britain. I mentioned a few to him, like Scouse, Geordie, Cockney, Brummie etc. and gave him a few smatterings of each(I'm quite adept at it ) . I came across the Pitmatic accent by chance, and was wondering if anyone knows anythin about it?

Cheers!

Whey aye, man, taalk it aal the tyme, lyke! Well, not here, though, but.

It's a derivative of Geordie, used by coal miners in the hey-day of the coal fields in the North East of England.

Pitmatic (originally "pitmatical") is a dialect of English used in the counties of Northumberland and Durham. It developed as a separate dialect from Northumbrian and Geordie due to the specialised terms used by mineworkers in the local coal pits. For example, in Northumberland and Tyne and Wear the word "Cuddy" is an abbreviation of the name Cuthbert (particularly the local saint, Cuthbert of Lindisfarne), but in Durham Pitmatic, as in Lowland Scots, "cuddy" denotes a horse, specifically a pit pony.

Traditionally, pitmatic, together with some rural Northumbrian communities including Rothbury, used a distinctive, soft, rolled "R" sound, produced at the very back of the throat. This is now less frequently heard: since the closure of the area's deep mines, and the subsequent dilution of the area's identity, many young people speak in a more generic "Geordie-like" way. The softly throaty "R" sound can, however, still sometimes be detected, especially amongst elderly populations in more rural areas.

While in theory pitmatic was spoken throughout the Great Northern Coalfield, from Ashington in Northumberland to Trimdon in County Durham, early references apply specifically to its use by miners "especially from the Durham district" (1873) and to its use in County Durham (1930).

Lifted from Wikipedia or something similar?

Well, the uk accents are regional ones, not those of immigrants who struggle to learn the language...

You think that is what makes up American accents? New York(all five barrows are different)

Er, 'barrows'? I think you mean 'boroughs', or in Yank-speak maybe 'boros' ... You American, perchance?

All you have to do is draw a line across England just below Brum and then all those above the line talk funny versions of English and those below the line speak correct English

And I thought it was Watford...

The accents in Watford aren't English ones... !

totster

Yers, vey're from Darn Sarf, where they say 'barf' for 'bath' etc ... and can't pronounce 'th', and where 'well' sounds like 'wew'.

[kenkannif]

Geordie is actually more closely related to the Scandinavian language than English per se.

English is more Germanic than anything else (although a mongrel in the extreme)....or so my Mum told me!

[Mister Fixit]

I didnt know the english could speak there language! everb heard a brit say aluminum?

Well it's a shame you were never taught it right?

THERE..........over there

THEIR...........belonging to

Oh, come one, make some allowances <And this is how flame wars start mate...please...KK>

Edited February 16, 2006 by kenkannif

[Mister Fixit]

Geordie is actually more closely related to the Scandinavian language than English per se.

English is more Germanic than anything else (although a mongrel in the extreme)....or so my Mum told me!

You're dead right about Geordie. It is a real mongrel dialect, with many Scandinavian words and terms. 'A'm ganning' yairm' - (Geordie) versus 'Ikke ganna hyem' (Norwegian - and this may not be accurate spelling or grammar as my Norwegian is VERY rusty, and neither do I know if it is Landsmal or Bokmal)

The point is they SOUND almost the same.

Geordie is also heavily influenced by the Scots dialect (eg, Geordies call their town 'the Toon') as well as other influeces, such as the Dutch who also traded up in newcastle. Non-Brits should bear in mind that the north east of England borders Scotland (only 60 miles from the Toon), is on the sea opposite Norway and Denmark, with Holland and Germany not far awayand also had influences from Ireland.

In fact it's not just Geordie that is influenced by the Scandinavian languages - the whole area of Northumbria, as was, is. This is from, say, South Yorkshire, and maybe even as far south as Lincolnshire, in fact, way up to the top of Northumberland and even into the Scottish borders region.

And yes, English is mainly a Germanic language and Gaelic is nothing like it, to answer another poster.

[sadman]

And yes, English is mainly a Germanic language and Gaelic is nothing like it, to answer another poster.

The English language has its main roots in Saxon (German), Norman (French) and Latin (which is the basis for Norman anyway). It differs from the Celtic (Welsh) and Gaelic (Irish) languages for a simple reason.

By and large, the west of the British Isles (including Wales, Ireland) wasn't invaded much except by Vikings who popped over for a bit of the old raping and pillaging. The Romans came in to the east (which may be partly why the area is called East Anglia and the country England); the Normans came in from the south east, and called the main island Grande Bretagne, to distinguish it from Bretagne, otherwise called Brittany.

Invaders tended not to push themselves too far north or west, partly due to fierce resistance, partly through a desire not to spread themselves too thin on the ground, and partly for economic reasons.

Anyway, when they went to Wales or Scotland, they couldn't understand the accents.

[Mister Fixit]

And yes, English is mainly a Germanic language and Gaelic is nothing like it, to answer another poster.

The English language has its main roots in Saxon (German), Norman (French) and Latin (which is the basis for Norman anyway). It differs from the Celtic (Welsh) and Gaelic (Irish) languages for a simple reason.

By and large, the west of the British Isles (including Wales, Ireland) wasn't invaded much except by Vikings who popped over for a bit of the old raping and pillaging. The Romans came in to the east (which may be partly why the area is called East Anglia and the country England

No, the country is called England because the Angles, a tribe from north west Germany, settled there in East Anglia. Simplistically. they eventually took over and the country became known as England.

The Saxons also came over from Europe and settled in the Essex (East Saxons), Sussex (South Saxons), Wessex (West Saxons - Hampshire and Dorset areas) and Middlesex (Middle Saxons, now merged in Greater London).

There's no 'Nussex'! The Angles and Danes had that bit of England.