It doesn't bother me when the Americans spell it color, or labor, but when I spell it correctly colour and then someone tries to correct me on saying I am misspelling it, it just drives me NUTS. The rest of the world understands that when you get a cheque in the mail its not spelled check, or when you did a hard days labour it is not labor.
You spelled that wrong.
EDIT: Page ownage.
[This message has been edited by 1986 Fiero GT (edited 08-23-2010).]
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12:14 AM
tutnkmn Member
Posts: 3426 From: York, England, U.K. Living in Ohio Registered: May 2006
Stewie has a "Boarding school" Accent and doesn't represent a typical Englander, near as I can tell. About 10-15 years ago we had a bit of a population of British contract engineers where I work. They were from Liverpool, Manchester and Preston, etc. as I recall. Another one was from the London area. The one from London sounded like Stewie but with a deeper voice. The ones from Liverpool, etc. were almost unintelligible. It wasn't cockney, it was something else. Took everybody about 2 weeks to figure them out. Nice guys, but couldn't understand them. I asked Andy (from London) if he understood them. He said "a bit, but most Americans speak better English than the English do". True story. Eeeeeewwwww giv may a liitto kiss then guv'na.
Stewie uses "received pronunciation" which is considered the most understandable and "correct" (to some) version of the English accent (usually used by professional and well educated people in the UK).
There are, I believe, something like 26 seperate accents across the United Kingdom. Your friends from the north of England have the typical "northern" or in this case "Liverpool" accent. It is very similar to the accent of Yorkshiremen. A non-rhotic accent with slightly different vowel sounds from the south. British accents have evolved along many different lines over the years and for many different reasons. Some accents are class related. The typical "cockney" accent is often associated with the London area working class and peolple from the East End.
There was a BBC documentary a few years ago about the English language and they agreed that Americans speak English as it should be spoken. Without class distinction and area specific dialect. Of course I do not completely agree with that as the US has a goodly number of accents from the "New England" chowder accent to the southern drawl.
The key to the British accent is to speak using the front of your mouth and lips for enounciation. Most Americans speak from the "back" of their mouth and that is what creates the relative uniformity of the "standard" American accent. Southern US people use the front of their mouth similar to the British to create their "drawl" which was historically a modification of a Britsh accent (similar to the New England chowder accent which is also an evolved / modified British accent). When someone like Madonna uses their typical means of American enounciation in order to effect the British accent (having never lived in the culture or made use of an accent coach) it turns out rubbish. Some people are just a "natural" though. It's said Elija Wood needed no help and was able to do a British accent perfectly the first time for the role of Frodo Baggins. Johnny Depp is another.
It is, however, most wise not to attempt the accent in the UK even if you have a decent concept of it. It is far more than just an accent. Once in the country people would very soon "call you out" on your accent as a lack of cultural undertanding would begger why you did not know the meaning of certain terms and words. This is also why the big M is a laughing stock. I have a similar problem living in the States. Having been born here but raised there I sometimes have NO CLUE what people are talking about, what certain American terms and phrases mean.
Most people in this part of Ohio have a modified southern-ish accent and not only do I find them (sometimes) nearly impossible to understand they find me the same. "You're not from 'round here are ya?"
[This message has been edited by tutnkmn (edited 08-23-2010).]
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08:17 AM
82-T/A [At Work] Member
Posts: 25836 From: Florida USA Registered: Aug 2002
Frankly I never much understood the point of correcting someone on anything that isn't life threatening, except that I guess it makes some people feel better about themselves to point out someone else's errors. I don't really get any pleasure out of being right and someone else being wrong. But then, that's just me.
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09:55 AM
Jarhead 2m4 Member
Posts: 1849 From: Missouri City, TX Registered: Jun 2006
Fascinating topic! I personally hope that the regional dialects and accents never go away. I was raised in Florida and my family was from Alabama and Mississippi, so even though I have been out west for over 40 years, I still have a little of the south in my mouth. When I worked for J.B.Hunt, I used to just love to talk to the girls in Arkansas. It's a shame though, they never looked the way they sounded.
How are you trying to standardize the common english language? I could see if there were 15 different ways to spell words like colour/color or a need as there were in terms of measurements years ago.
Not that it bothers me one way or another how people spell certain words as long as the meaning is clear and they at least try.
By agreeing on a common spelling and pronunciation. Not trying to be a jerk about it (it just come naturally), but the "u" in colour is silent isn't it? So let's just drop it. I'm not that picky either. If all English speaking countires decided on one spelling and it was with the "u", I'll deal with it.
But the USA has 350 million people spelling it "color." The UK and Canada have 65 million and 35 million, repectively. Don't try putting it to a vote. Now, I'd be surprised if you can come up with another 250 million English speakers somewhere who will agree on "colour." As a question, not a disagreement, should the US adpot the metric system, and eveybody else start spelling it "color", or just let it be different?
"How's the colour of this stripe?" "The C-O-L-O-R is fine. Just move it over about an inch." "You mean 25 millimeters?"
And that's how the fight started...
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12:56 PM
Mickey_Moose Member
Posts: 7594 From: Edmonton, AB, Canada Registered: May 2001
Originally posted by maryjane: What kind of language has 3-4 consonants in a row anyway?
Hawaiian - actaully in some cases it is more like 12.
...but just we all wait until the 'texting' generation comes into power, us older folk are going to need a code book to figure out what they are saying.
As for the metric system, what I find odd is that in alot of movies (made in the US) use the metric system in the dialog...
[This message has been edited by Mickey_Moose (edited 08-23-2010).]
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02:06 PM
tutnkmn Member
Posts: 3426 From: York, England, U.K. Living in Ohio Registered: May 2006
Frankly I never much understood the point of correcting someone on anything that isn't life threatening, except that I guess it makes some people feel better about themselves to point out someone else's errors. I don't really get any pleasure out of being right and someone else being wrong. But then, that's just me.
That would certainly be mean if that's what people's intentions were. The post I made just above yours, I corrected Nurb for improper use of THEN / THAN.
If we want to be philisophical (someone please correct that... hahah) about it, for someone to get "pleasure" out of correcting someone, the point I assume would be to make themselves appear better than someone else. You guys don't really know much of anything about me, except that I like Fieros, and also apparently the Ultima games (my avatar is a picture of "The Avatar" from the Ultima series games, lame joke, I know...).
In my case, I like to correct certain grammatical / spelling mistakes because I would want someone to do the same. For nearly a decade, I used to put an apostrophy in the word "it's"
Now... I used to believe that gave it posession, like for example: "I like working on the Fieros because it's engine is powerful."
In the past, I would have thought that "it's" had posession relating to the word Fiero.
I didn't realize until just a couple of years ago in an advanced English writing course that it's stands for "it is."
So, not only was I upset with myself that I had been using it for so long, but I was actually equally upset at Pennock's Fiero Forum (and consequently, CrownVic.net) for never having corrected me.
Of course, my grammatical prowess shouldn't be judged based on my writing here. These sentences I write are nothing more than a constant stream of (barely) conciousness of my brain. (In case that wasn't obvious).
My hope (personally) when correcting someone's spelling and / or grammar, is to teach them the appropriate use of the word so that they too can go on and help others. It's unbelievably unnerving to me when you see someone who's otherwise totally brilliant write a sentence that uses THEN and THAN improperly. It's a pet peeve. It never fails, the guy could be an Einstein (minus the LD part) and they mis-use THEN / THAN. Drives me nuts.
If someone is correcting for more nefarious purposes, then they're just being a dick.
But, if I correct anyone on here, it's because I care... not because I dislike you. Also, I get a free pass because this thread is about correcting people.
By agreeing on a common spelling and pronunciation. Not trying to be a jerk about it (it just come naturally), but the "u" in colour is silent isn't it? So let's just drop it. I'm not that picky either. If all English speaking countires decided on one spelling and it was with the "u", I'll deal with it.
But the USA has 350 million people spelling it "color." The UK and Canada have 65 million and 35 million, repectively. Don't try putting it to a vote. Now, I'd be surprised if you can come up with another 250 million English speakers somewhere who will agree on "colour." As a question, not a disagreement, should the US adpot the metric system, and eveybody else start spelling it "color", or just let it be different?
"How's the colour of this stripe?" "The C-O-L-O-R is fine. Just move it over about an inch." "You mean 25 millimeters?"
And that's how the fight started...
Hmmmmm another 250 million let's see English is an official language in India, let's say half speak it (they were under British rule years ago so we'll assume they use Colour too) that's another 550 million. We won't bother with Australia or some of the African and Carribean nations.
Stewie uses "received pronunciation" which is considered the most understandable and "correct" (to some) version of the English accent (usually used by professional and well educated people in the UK).
There are, I believe, something like 26 seperate accents across the United Kingdom. Your friends from the north of England have the typical "northern" or in this case "Liverpool" accent. It is very similar to the accent of Yorkshiremen. A non-rhotic accent with slightly different vowel sounds from the south. British accents have evolved along many different lines over the years and for many different reasons. Some accents are class related. The typical "cockney" accent is often associated with the London area working class and peolple from the East End.
There was a BBC documentary a few years ago about the English language and they agreed that Americans speak English as it should be spoken. Without class distinction and area specific dialect. Of course I do not completely agree with that as the US has a goodly number of accents from the "New England" chowder accent to the southern drawl.
The key to the British accent is to speak using the front of your mouth and lips for enounciation. Most Americans speak from the "back" of their mouth and that is what creates the relative uniformity of the "standard" American accent. Southern US people use the front of their mouth similar to the British to create their "drawl" which was historically a modification of a Britsh accent (similar to the New England chowder accent which is also an evolved / modified British accent). When someone like Madonna uses their typical means of American enounciation in order to effect the British accent (having never lived in the culture or made use of an accent coach) it turns out rubbish. Some people are just a "natural" though. It's said Elija Wood needed no help and was able to do a British accent perfectly the first time for the role of Frodo Baggins. Johnny Depp is another.
It is, however, most wise not to attempt the accent in the UK even if you have a decent concept of it. It is far more than just an accent. Once in the country people would very soon "call you out" on your accent as a lack of cultural undertanding would begger why you did not know the meaning of certain terms and words. This is also why the big M is a laughing stock. I have a similar problem living in the States. Having been born here but raised there I sometimes have NO CLUE what people are talking about, what certain American terms and phrases mean.
Most people in this part of Ohio have a modified southern-ish accent and not only do I find them (sometimes) nearly impossible to understand they find me the same. "You're not from 'round here are ya?"
Is it acceptable to use "their" words while in the UK? For instance, I use bullocks regularly, but how would that be received there?
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05:48 PM
fieroboom Member
Posts: 2132 From: Hayden, AL (BFE) Registered: Oct 2008
Stewie uses "received pronunciation" which is considered the most understandable and "correct" (to some) version of the English accent (usually used by professional and well educated people in the UK).
There are, I believe, something like 26 seperate accents across the United Kingdom. Your friends from the north of England have the typical "northern" or in this case "Liverpool" accent. It is very similar to the accent of Yorkshiremen. A non-rhotic accent with slightly different vowel sounds from the south. British accents have evolved along many different lines over the years and for many different reasons. Some accents are class related. The typical "cockney" accent is often associated with the London area working class and peolple from the East End.
There was a BBC documentary a few years ago about the English language and they agreed that Americans speak English as it should be spoken. Without class distinction and area specific dialect. Of course I do not completely agree with that as the US has a goodly number of accents from the "New England" chowder accent to the southern drawl.
The key to the British accent is to speak using the front of your mouth and lips for enounciation. Most Americans speak from the "back" of their mouth and that is what creates the relative uniformity of the "standard" American accent. Southern US people use the front of their mouth similar to the British to create their "drawl" which was historically a modification of a Britsh accent (similar to the New England chowder accent which is also an evolved / modified British accent). When someone like Madonna uses their typical means of American enounciation in order to effect the British accent (having never lived in the culture or made use of an accent coach) it turns out rubbish. Some people are just a "natural" though. It's said Elija Wood needed no help and was able to do a British accent perfectly the first time for the role of Frodo Baggins. Johnny Depp is another.
It is, however, most wise not to attempt the accent in the UK even if you have a decent concept of it. It is far more than just an accent. Once in the country people would very soon "call you out" on your accent as a lack of cultural undertanding would begger why you did not know the meaning of certain terms and words. This is also why the big M is a laughing stock. I have a similar problem living in the States. Having been born here but raised there I sometimes have NO CLUE what people are talking about, what certain American terms and phrases mean.
Most people in this part of Ohio have a modified southern-ish accent and not only do I find them (sometimes) nearly impossible to understand they find me the same. "You're not from 'round here are ya?"
The ability to copy an accent must be something we lose with age. At age twelve, I spent a summer in Kansas. Upon returning to Illinois several people asked why I was talking so "funny". I didn't even realize that my speech had changed.
The ability to copy an accent must be something we lose with age. At age twelve, I spent a summer in Kansas. Upon returning to Illinois several people asked why I was talking so "funny". I didn't even realize that my speech had changed.
In my world travels I have come to note that many non-native english speakers cannot seem to recognize regional differences in spoken english. As an example, I was in a place called the "Stateside Bar & Grill" in Dusseldorf Germany. This establishment purported to be an "authentic" American style bar & grill, and seemed popular with local Germans who spoke english, (and liked American style food and beer...). All of the staff wore name tags with their name and an American state on them, (i.e. New York, Ohio, etc.). The bartender was a lovely young dark haired girl with one of the thickest Irish brogues I've ever heard. Her name tag said; "Alabama" When I asked her where she was *really* from she confessed to Dublin, Ireland. I asked why the German customers didn't call her out on the obvious, (to me), disparity in accent, and her reply was; "The bloody Germans can't tell the difference." She then said, "We all just had to pick a state for the name tag." A group of German customers came in a bit later and she said to me, "Watch this." She went to their table and I head one of the customers say, "OH! Alabama!, Is it nice there?" Her reply: "Yes, it's quite lovely this time of year." (in her thick brogue of course) A 5 minute discussion ensued between the Irish waitress and the German patrons about the U.S. As she retured toward the bar she gave me a broad smile and a wink.
I then realized how it had taken me several years before I ever recognized the regional differences in spoken German. There is a very notable difference between someone's accent from Hamburg and someone from Barvaria, (and even more notable between Austrians and Northern Germans)
[This message has been edited by randye (edited 08-24-2010).]
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03:04 AM
tutnkmn Member
Posts: 3426 From: York, England, U.K. Living in Ohio Registered: May 2006
Is it acceptable to use "their" words while in the UK? For instance, I use bullocks regularly, but how would that be received there?
I don't think there would be a problem as long as you used your American accent. I have friends here who have spent some time in the UK and use Brit swear words and the like all the time.
Once you pick up "bad" words from where-ever it's hard to stop using them! Bob's your uncle.
[This message has been edited by tutnkmn (edited 08-24-2010).]
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06:52 AM
tutnkmn Member
Posts: 3426 From: York, England, U.K. Living in Ohio Registered: May 2006
The ability to copy an accent must be something we lose with age. At age twelve, I spent a summer in Kansas. Upon returning to Illinois several people asked why I was talking so "funny". I didn't even realize that my speech had changed.
I believe you assimilate a bit of the accent from people with which you live no matter where that is. Children do this so much better than adults. Live in another part of the country or world long enough and the brain starts to process their speech and ape it back out. Just a matter of the mind "wanting to fit in."
I've known Americans who lived in the UK for periods of five or ten years and then returned to America. Their friends and families are usually gobsmacked at how much their accent has changed in small ways.
With me the Yorkie accent becomes stronger when I listen to the BBC radio for a few hours and am exposed to it once more or in a situation where I am not comfortable like large crowds, etc. (falling back on something familiar in order to cope I guess).
[This message has been edited by tutnkmn (edited 08-24-2010).]
I've known Americans who lived in the UK for periods of five or ten years and then returned to America. Their friends and families are usually gobsmacked at how much their accent has changed in small ways.
Quite true, that. I lived between London and Ostend, Belgium for just under a decade and didn't realize how much my accent had changed until my family pointed out to me when I returned to the States. Most people thought I was Jamaican or Bahamian.
When I listen to interviews and whatnot I did during that period, I sound like a hip-hop version of Sidney Poitier. Every now and then, I find I enunciate certain words differently without trying to do so, the worst one being "shed-u-al" vs. "sked-u-al."
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11:42 AM
Bullet Member
Posts: 797 From: Douglasville, GA Registered: Jul 2007
...And then there's Canada. "What you talkin' aboot?"
I've never understood that stereotype. I've lived here all my life and have yet to hear it pronounced that way.
I'll tell you whats more annoying on the spelling front though. ....using American made word processing programs that insist I am spelling "colour" wrong. lol
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03:15 PM
Capt Fiero Member
Posts: 7658 From: British Columbia, Canada Registered: Feb 2000
Originally posted by The MaD cOw: I'll tell you whats more annoying on the spelling front though. ....using American made word processing programs that insist I am spelling "colour" wrong. lol
LOL, Thats another reason I started this thread is every time I re-format my computer and reinstall MS Office, I have to go through and add all the correct spellings of the words. Usually I just let it go and when it tells me its wrong I just hit add to dictionary.
------------------ 85GT Soon to be 87GT,93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.
Originally posted by The MaD cow: I'll tell you whats more annoying on the spelling front though. ....using American made word processing programs that insist I am spelling "colour" wrong. lol
My parents moved to Oregon when I was 2 and I grew up in the USA, I moved back to Canada when I was 20. The school system back in the 80's/90's I believe had 1 chapter in one year of school that dealt with Canada. It wasn't till high school that after some oddball test they put me in advanced British Literature courses, where I got my first real taste of reading things that were not,.... converted for use in the American school system.
Capt, I have no problems with the way people spell things, as long as they are correct for where they're from. Color...colour....check....cheque...doesn't matter to me, if I know that the person that's writing the post is from Canada, or England, etc. The thing that interests me is what you wrote above. If you were in Oregon from age 2 through age 20, then the majority, if not all, of your education was in the US. You learned to spell the words the same as any other US citizen. So I wonder...what is it that caused you to change from the way you learned to spell words to how you do it now? Is it conformity because you're now living in Canada? Not trying to be a wise guy here...it's genuine curiosity. I can see reasons why you might have done that....the conformity, for example, as where I live, there is quite an influx of Hispanic people, and there is a forum of people that demand that they "learn English". It is a different situation, though, as they speak a completely different language, whereas you speak the same language, it's just differences in spelling.
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04:56 PM
spark1 Member
Posts: 11159 From: Benton County, OR Registered: Dec 2002
That's a spelling difference I had never noticed before.
Thats a spelling difference that to this day confuses me. I have always read gage as in to choke or throw up. So its always been gauges to me.
Now as to why I spell things the Canadian way, I think a lot of it has / had to do with my parents and grandparents while growing up. They always spelled everything the Cdn way, and I think most of my teachers understood I was from Canada and it was fine. When I got older into high school and read more and more of it spelled the British way then moving back to Canada and reading for the last 15 odd years it being spelled this way, I just kinda picked up on it. I am no English major and in actuality my spelling is horrid. I always have to remember the basics like drop the e for ing or i before e. However for me it has always been content over quality.
Getting back to the topic of this entire post. Its not a matter of one person spelling it correctly or incorrectly, honestly I don't think I have ever told someone that they spelled a word wrong, what bothers me is when people don't know that I am doing it correctly for pretty much the rest of the English speaking world, try to correct me on proper spelling. Add to double the fact that this is not even an American based forum. It just happens to be inhabited mainly by Americans.
------------------ 85GT Soon to be 87GT,93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.
Every now and then, I find I enunciate certain words differently without trying to do so, the worst one being "shed-u-al" vs. "sked-u-al."
