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 Thu Feb 15, 2007 20:08 pm Are you influenced by or bothered about accents in your country? |
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Hi,
I obviously had to post a reply, Alan! You expected it, and you got what you expected. Are you happy now?
Englishuser
I'm over the moon!
A |
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Englishuser
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 06 Jun 2006
Posts: 806
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| Thu Feb 15, 2007 20:20 pm Are you influenced by or bothered about accents in your country? |
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Hi,
I am delighted to hear that. It's very nice to make people happy.
Englishuser |
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Englishuser
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 06 Jun 2006
Posts: 806
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| Thu Feb 15, 2007 20:28 pm Are you influenced by or bothered about accents in your country? |
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In all honesty I'm sick and tired of this correspondence.
A
_________________
English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Word Story: Search Engines |
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Alan
Co-founder
Joined: 27 Sep 2003
Posts: 7392
Location: UK
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| Thu Feb 15, 2007 21:09 pm Are you influenced by or bothered about accents in your country? |
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Hi Alan,
You said:
| Quote: | | In all honesty I'm sick and tired of this correspondence. |
I thought so. Could you tell me why?
Englishuser |
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Englishuser
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 06 Jun 2006
Posts: 806
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| Fri Feb 16, 2007 0:19 am Are you influenced by or bothered about accents in your country? |
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| Englishuser wrote: | | Quote: | | My only fear with a speaker of what you call URP would be that in meetings, Americans tend to react to that accent as if it were the Voice of God. |
Then it would be all right for the president of the United States or a manager to speak URP, wouldn't it? You would sound much more authoritative speaking URP than speaking, say, General American English or Cockney. |
No, it wouldn't be all right for the president of the US to speak URP. The president's voice is not supposed to sound like the voice of God. He's the President of the United States, not the King of the United States. It's okay for him to speak General American, some kind of Southern accent or any US accent, as long as it doesn't sound too affected or snooty.
A manager can have any accent, because the main criterion is whether or not he gets his job done. He may encounter resistance from his subordinates due to his accent, however, just as a German manager who says "must" too much can sometimes get the nickname "Der F?hrer". |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 4337
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| Fri Feb 16, 2007 0:34 am Are you influenced by or bothered about accents in your country? |
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| Englishuser wrote: | Hi Alan,
You said:
| Quote: | | In all honesty I'm sick and tired of this correspondence. |
I thought so. Could you tell me why? |
I don't think he needs to explain it. He has made it clear for months. You have a tendency to insist, to twist and not to listen. You have an exaggerated view of the stratification and stigmatization of various accents, along with a sycophantic idea that aristocratic forms of British English should somehow be the pinnacle that all should strive for. Beyond this, you do have an irritating habit of twisting his words around, perhaps because you don't understand what he's saying. I would offer, though, that the reason you don't understand what Alan is saying is that you are stubbornly attached to your own linguistic worldview and refuse to comprehend what he explicity states. You also bring up bogus arguments, such as when you appear to think that just one or two exceptions completely refute an otherwise valid generalization. I addition to this, your stubborn refusal to give any indication as to where you are, what your native language is, etc., tends to get on people's nerves.
Alan gets annoyed with me because he thinks I have a nationalistic chip on my shoulder, and because (I think) he misunderstands some generalizations I make as being across-the-board stereotypes. There are some other things I do that bug him, such as when I refer to socio-economic classes, which I think he interprets from a rigid UK perspective than from a fluid US view of them. This is just my interpretation; I'm not inside the man's mind.
Anyway, Alan has made it quite clear why you can get on his nerves at times. |
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Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 4337
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:41 am Are you influenced by or bothered about accents in your country? |
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Hi Jamie,
| Quote: | | You have an exaggerated view of the stratification and stigmatization of various accents, along with a sycophantic idea that aristocratic forms of British English should somehow be the pinnacle that all should strive for. |
I didn't say that in this thread, did I?
| Quote: | | You also bring up bogus arguments, such as when you appear to think that just one or two exceptions completely refute an otherwise valid generalization. |
Such as?
Englishuser |
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Englishuser
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 06 Jun 2006
Posts: 806
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| Fri Feb 16, 2007 12:48 pm Are you influenced by or bothered about accents in your country? |
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| Englishuser wrote: | | Are you sure you don't find high-pitched, nasal voices attractive at all? |
Perhaps we don't have the same perception of how these voices sound? There are some good samples here:
http://www.freewebs.com/coralworx/voicepage.htm
Although you often have a way of ignoring questions, I'll put this one to you:
What do you think of the voice imitation of a 1930s New Yorker Girl? |
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Conchita
Language Coach
Joined: 26 Dec 2005
Posts: 2711
Location: Madrid, Spain
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Conchita
Language Coach
Joined: 26 Dec 2005
Posts: 2711
Location: Madrid, Spain
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| Fri Feb 16, 2007 19:26 pm Are you influenced by or bothered about accents in your country? |
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I'm most bothered by the California accent, especially the disgusting (hehe) rounding of the O and U (or "-ou"):
You = yeew (or "yeh-oo")
No = neh-oh
In my native land (Wisconsin), the vowels are hard and straight, much like they are in Spain (and other Latin-based countries, I would guess), Scandinavia, etc.:
O is O
U is U
E is E
I is I (not "ah" as it is down here)
A is A
Now it could be said that the vowels are turned into diphthongs... this could be said for the more severe practitioners of the Wisconsin accent. Be that as it may, I'd rather hear "Youuuu" than "Yeeeeew" any day. There is no "e" in "you"!
I hear the young rock-band frontmen sing something like, "I'll be treeeew to yeeeeew" and I want to puke.
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee. |
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prezbucky
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2149
Location: Nashville, TN (USA)
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| Fri Feb 16, 2007 20:51 pm Are you influenced by or bothered about accents in your country? |
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Hi Conchita,
You said:
| Quote: | Although you often have a way of ignoring questions, I'll put this one to you:
What do you think of the voice imitation of a 1930s New Yorker Girl? |
I wouldn't say I "often have a way of ignoring questions". As for the voice imitation, I really don't know what to say about it. Perhaps you could tell me what you think?
Englishuser |
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Englishuser
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 06 Jun 2006
Posts: 806
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| Fri Feb 16, 2007 20:53 pm Are you influenced by or bothered about accents in your country? |
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Conchita,
URP is missing!
Englishuser |
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Englishuser
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 06 Jun 2006
Posts: 806
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| Fri Feb 16, 2007 21:26 pm Are you influenced by or bothered about accents in your country? |
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Hi Alan,
You wrote:
| Quote: | | They all had me squirming! |
Why?
Englishuser |
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Englishuser
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 06 Jun 2006
Posts: 806
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| Fri Feb 16, 2007 21:29 pm Are you influenced by or bothered about accents in your country? |
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The "GenAm conversation" sounds like a Northeast accent (probably New England).
The "GenAm reading" could be Ohio, I suppose. I'm not sure -- the guy isn't showing much, or is trying hard to temper his natural accent. Most Ohioans (or at least north and central ohioans) speak with a pretty accent-less accent. hehe
The "Canadian" one sounds closest (among the choices listed) to a Wisconsin/Minnesota accent.
The UP accent is way more severe.
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee. |
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prezbucky
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2149
Location: Nashville, TN (USA)
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