jimenato

If we had had a vote...

Pulaski

There are many English accents, all of them distinctively English, so "an English accent" does not mean the English accent.

Dick Dasterdly

Which is why I asked if he might have been a scouser.

So how do you define the many English accents from English dialects ?

Shard

You might as well argue that a flock of sheep can be called a herd. Or perhaps residents of London are 'Londinians' rather than Londeners. Scotch refers to the whiskey or certain objects (as you noted) not the people. It goes by convention, and all Scots, and most other Britons use the term Scots correctly.

jimenato

One thing Scotch doesn't refer to, of course, is whiskey.

mikelincs

well said that man

Pulaski

An accent is a variation in pronunciation, a dialect is non-standard grammar. Unfortunately the two are commonly confused because many people with the strongest accents also use dialect. Many people with strong accents also have a poor grasp of standard English grammar, but that is a separate matter!

Perhaps the most distinctive and complete example of English dialect in England is Yorkshire dialect, which aside from being pronounced in an almost impenetrable accent (BTW I am from Yorkshire myself) also has grammatical structures that came from Old English, most notably the singular form of "you" and "yours", being "thee" and "thine". Yorkshire dialect is quite similar to some regional Dutch dialects, through a common ancestry from Old English.

A well known counter-example was John Cole who was the BBC TV's lead political reporter. He had a very strong Belfast accent, but his grammar was impeccable.

BEVS

My husband & family has both an accent and a dialect.

To me they have a Wolverhampton - Midlands accent , although to them I have a Southern Softy accent.

They have the Black Country dialect of the YamYams.

Dick Dasterdly

So the next question is precisely what English accent did the lady refer to ?

I mean it would never do for a Scouser to get the blame, if the culprit was a Brummie.

Shard

Yes, agreed, it's usually just 'whiskey' but for the Americans, 'scotch' seems to be the preferred term.

BEVS

Do you mean which particular English accent?

Pulaski

You've missed the point entirely. Whisky comes from Scotland, and there is a UK law that says it must. Everything else is Whiskey, including American bourbon, other sour-mash whiskeys, and rye whiskey, and Canadian whiskeys.

A few years ago a Welsh company started blending and bottling aged whisky, .... but the distilled liquor actually came from Scotland, because the law says it has to. I do not know if the Welsh blender/bottler is still in business.

Lion in Winter

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Penderyn Distillery | The home of Welsh Whisky

OriginalSunshine

As the mother of two special needs children, they can get very tiring, and I've had times where one of them has shat their pants the other is kicking off from anxiety, my employer has been late in paying me, the water supply has been cut off, and I need to get into the house right now and clear him up with hand wipes because there is no running water.

So, yes, if two folks were to start getting loudly (since you were overhead) passive aggressive about me, I might have in the above circumstances reacted similarly.

Until you walk that mile, don't judge. You know nothing about her or her circumstances, so why not try to have a little compassion and assume she is parking there for a reason? She may be a selfish arse, or may not, but who is behaving more humanely here?

Pulaski

IMHO it would take more than shat-filled pants to justify blocking access to a road crossing that might be required by children (reduced visibility of someone shorter than a car is tall can greatly increase the risk of them being hit when they emerge from between parked cars), someone in a wheel chair, or who is blind.