|
|
 Tue Jun 24, 2008 3:05 am Stop the rising. |
|
|
| Possibly, but it wouldn't be emotionally satisfying for a European to blame it on anyone other than Americans. |
|
Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 4106
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
|
|
| Tue Jun 24, 2008 8:59 am Stop the rising. |
|
|
| Jamie (K) wrote: | | Possibly, but it wouldn't be emotionally satisfying for a European to blame it on anyone other than Americans. |
Sorry? Don't get your meaning. |
|
Molly
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008
Posts: 2753
|
 |
| Tue Jun 24, 2008 11:35 am Stop the rising. |
|
|
| Jamie (K) wrote: | | Possibly, but it wouldn't be emotionally satisfying for a European to blame it on anyone other than Americans. |
Do you mean continental Europeans, Jamie? People in Britain and Ireland usually poke fun at speakers with an Ulster (Northern Irish) accent. Everything they say sounds like a question. It's quite awful, definitely minus 10 on the sexy accent chart.
_________________
Test of English as a Foreign Language
TOEFL Preparation & TOEFL Vocabulary
Learn more about: Ralf Breheny |
|
Ralf
Language Coach
Joined: 20 Apr 2006
Posts: 1218
Location: EU (Ireland and Germany)
|
|
| Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:56 pm Stop the rising. |
|
|
| Ralf wrote: | | Jamie (K) wrote: | | Possibly, but it wouldn't be emotionally satisfying for a European to blame it on anyone other than Americans. |
Do you mean continental Europeans, Jamie? People in Britain and Ireland usually poke fun at speakers with an Ulster (Northern Irish) accent. Everything they say sounds like a question. It's quite awful, definitely minus 10 on the sexy accent chart. |
The derision of people with Ulster accents never reaches me here in the States. I only get the complaints about American English infecting "real" English. Very often the people complaining point to usages that are also incorrect in America as if they were our normal way of saying things. And it's not unusual for these people to unwittingly use several old Americanisms in their complaint that they believe are British in origin. |
|
Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 4106
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
|
|
| Tue Jun 24, 2008 13:37 pm Stop the rising. |
|
|
| Quote: | | Very often the people complaining point to usages that are also incorrect in America as if they were our normal way of saying things. |
Is that the case with "raising intonation at the end of a phrase? |
|
Molly
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008
Posts: 2753
|
|
| Tue Jun 24, 2008 14:00 pm Stop the rising. |
|
|
| Jamie (K) wrote: | | The derision of people with Ulster accents never reaches me here in the States. I only get the complaints about American English infecting "real" English. Very often the people complaining point to usages that are also incorrect in America as if they were our normal way of saying things. |
I think I know what you mean. It's like taking this character Sloane Peterson from 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' and claiming hers is a typical American accent (remember '...and then this one time, when we were on summer camp...'). I must admit it's quite tempting since you can exploit a certain stereotype, but of course it doesn't do justice do American English as a whole.
_________________
Test of English as a Foreign Language
TOEFL Preparation & TOEFL Vocabulary
Learn more about: Ralf Breheny |
|
Ralf
Language Coach
Joined: 20 Apr 2006
Posts: 1218
Location: EU (Ireland and Germany)
|
|
|
| What do you understand by the words "oracy" and "literacy"? | Only appearing in one form. |
