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"You Can Barely Speak English"

"You Can Barely Speak English"

Old Jul 18th 2004, 6:22 pm
  #31  
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Originally posted by jambo_2004
We should probably think ourselves lucky that our first language is English. Was talking to a German woman in a Hotel lobby a few weeks ago and she was moaning about how no one here understands her (she had broken English, but it's fairly clear) and I replied "yeah I know what you mean, I'm from Scotland, get the same problem a lot" she then snapped back "Well I'm sorry but it's just not the same! At least you speak the same language as them!"

Germans
Well that's true.. at least you don't have to think about grammatics and finding the right words. It's not all about accents.

Ola
Sweden
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Old Jul 18th 2004, 10:37 pm
  #32  
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Originally posted by occl
A girl I once talked to in a bar in Arkansas was very (VERY) impressed that I was from Sweden, and acted like she knew exactly where it was. She told me she had been there last summer skiing, I asked where in Sweden, and she mentioned a mountain that I've never heard about. I thought she was trying to say it in Swedish, so I kinda pretended that I knew what she was talking about.

2 minutes later a friend of her joins the conversation. "Hey this guy is from Sweden!!!" girl 1 says, girl 2 says "REALLY?!?! We have been there..!! How far from Geneva do you live?". I say "That's Switzerland", and they both look at each other and girl 1 says "Oh.. we were in Switzerland, weren't we?".

It's not very unusual that Americans mix up Sweden with Switzerland. Not very unusual at all actually (70% probability). But that they've actually been to Switzerland, i.e. travelled overseas to another country, and still mix it up with Sweden, is quite.. weird.

However, most Americans I've met have been quite young and maybe older (but not too old) educated people have a better picture of the world.

It should, however, be mentioned that I've also met British people that have no clue where Sweden is. This happened last time last weekend when a guy asked me if Sweden is south of Finland (Estonia).

I also met a Vietnamese-American who asked me if "British" is the native language in Sweden. Funny funny.

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Is Estonia some suburb of Finland now ? I always thought they were separate countries...

In Pittsbugh International Airport, I was asked by a girl (waitress) at TGI Fridays, what language I spoke....
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Old Jul 19th 2004, 8:12 am
  #33  
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Originally posted by ukemigrant
Is Estonia some suburb of Finland now ? I always thought they were separate countries...

In Pittsbugh International Airport, I was asked by a girl (waitress) at TGI Fridays, what language I spoke....
Woooops. I meant south off Finland. If you can say it like that.

Ola
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Old Jul 20th 2004, 5:43 pm
  #34  
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Originally posted by ukemigrant
Is Estonia some suburb of Finland now ? I always thought they were separate countries...

In Pittsbugh International Airport, I was asked by a girl (waitress) at TGI Fridays, what language I spoke....
ukemigrant, where in PA are you? Just wondering since I haven't seen anyone from around Pittsburgh on here.
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Old Jul 20th 2004, 7:06 pm
  #35  
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American's are used to the Joan Collins School of English. If you don't speak TV friendly RP then you confuse everybody. I'm from Yorkshire, and I'm asked on a daily basis if I'm Scottish. I'm fine with that, it's when they ask if I'm from London I get really pissed.

Not half an hour ago, the girl in Coffee Bean asked if I wanted my coffee hot or iced. Hot, I said. Excuse me? Hot. Excuse me? Hot. Excuse me? HOT! Ohhh, you want it haaat!

Several years ago, on holiday in Chicago, I got into an argument with a bloke who refused to believe that the English spoke English as a first language...

- Where are you from?
- England.
- What language do they speak there?
- Errr, English.
- No, I mean what's the first language there?

Etc, etc, etc...

JAMES
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Old Jul 20th 2004, 7:44 pm
  #36  
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Originally posted by Dant3
<<snip>>

Several years ago, on holiday in Chicago, I got into an argument with a bloke who refused to believe that the English spoke English as a first language...

- Where are you from?
- England.
- What language do they speak there?
- Errr, English.
- No, I mean what's the first language there?

Etc, etc, etc...

JAMES
I wonder which language this guy thought was spoken in English then?

The mind boggles
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Old Jul 21st 2004, 10:14 am
  #37  
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Many English people speak very quickly, have an unusual accent, add emphasis and rythm to parts of their speech that Americans don't...I don't think it's surprising that many Americans have trouble understanding.
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Old Jul 21st 2004, 11:08 am
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I remember my wife's friends coming to visit us in Wales. They were under the impression that the cab driver we had was speaking Welsh, and I was responding in English. They basically said they've heard Enlish people speak, they've heard Scottish and Irish, but never Welsh people. They thought it sounded like a Russian grunting.
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Old Jul 21st 2004, 2:23 pm
  #39  
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Originally posted by CalgaryAMC
Many English people speak very quickly, have an unusual accent, add emphasis and rythm to parts of their speech that Americans don't...I don't think it's surprising that many Americans have trouble understanding.
Eh? American dialect/regional accents throughout the US are like that too but I'm confident that Brits are more likely to understand that kind of speech than Americans understand Brits.

Why?

I put it down to the fact of the UK having so many Americans films and TV programs broadcast that the British are more accustomed to a variety of American accents than vice versa.

More than often not, Americans are exposed to British actors/characters speaking in a BBC type accent or worse still, dubbed into such an accent.

So, when an American encounters a live Brit with something othert than a BBC type accent, they're flummoxed, due to lack of exposure...
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Old Jul 21st 2004, 2:47 pm
  #40  
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I asumed that might be the case but it does not seem to be.

I wwas brought up in an outer London Borough and have a bog standard 'BBC'' ish SE accent.

Yet I am often assumed to be Australian, and this is mainly from an older, educated, audience and Boulder is relatively speaking an International environment.

We had a party last year and a friend of my Wife's brought her 2 grandsons, the older one who I guess was about 6 kept starring at me.

As they were leaving he asked me -"why do'nt you speak English"

From a 6 year old I can accept it, from 46 year olds, well I thought initially they were taking the piss.
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Old Jul 22nd 2004, 4:12 am
  #41  
 
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Originally posted by NC Penguin
Huh? I've never had a problem with anyone in the US (American or otherwise) when I reply that I'm from "the UK".

I would certainly never say I'm from England because it's bad enough that the American media contstantly refer to the UK or Britain as England in the news.
"England", "Britain", "the UK" - same difference to me, but them I was born in England and consider myself to be British - my passport says that I am a British citizen, so it was no great wrench to stop saying that I am from the UK.
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Old Jul 22nd 2004, 4:37 am
  #42  
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Originally posted by Pulaski
"England", "Britain", "the UK" - same difference to me, but them I was born in England and consider myself to be British - my passport says that I am a British citizen, so it was no great wrench to stop saying that I am from the UK.
When I went for the Biometrics, they asked me to check what they are putting on their screen.

As is normal they asked me where I was from, UK is the obvious answer, after all just look at the drop down menus on the web, their code was "ENG" ohh dear.

PS I rarely use British, it seems to be a term that has lost its identity anyway.
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Old Jul 22nd 2004, 4:41 am
  #43  
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Originally posted by Dant3
American's are used to the Joan Collins School of English. If you don't speak TV friendly RP then you confuse everybody. I'm from Yorkshire, and I'm asked on a daily basis if I'm Scottish. I'm fine with that, it's when they ask if I'm from London I get really pissed.

Not half an hour ago, the girl in Coffee Bean asked if I wanted my coffee hot or iced. Hot, I said. Excuse me? Hot. Excuse me? Hot. Excuse me? HOT! Ohhh, you want it haaat!

Several years ago, on holiday in Chicago, I got into an argument with a bloke who refused to believe that the English spoke English as a first language...

- Where are you from?
- England.
- What language do they speak there?
- Errr, English.
- No, I mean what's the first language there?

Etc, etc, etc...

JAMES
Intresting. It is certainly true that most people here think Britain consists of London and we all sound like Joanna Lumley. I had a similar experience with a woman a few weeks back regarding the language thing. I am Scottish (although it's fairly irelivent to the story) and we were having a disagreement on the spellings and pronounciations of certain words...one of them that came up was mirror. This word often threw me when i first came to the states and i have only just gotten used to it. Anyway i asked this woman why the r's were not pronounced (they say MEER) and she just couldnt get what i was talking about, she saw nothing wrong with saying MEER instead of MIRR-OR. When further discussing words like aluminium, I explained that I went by the version of English that the English invented. She replied that "well that was a long time ago when they never talked good english"

There you go...aparently Brits still speak the same version of English that Shakespear was using.

Last edited by jambo_2004; Jul 22nd 2004 at 4:44 am.
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Old Jul 22nd 2004, 5:07 am
  #44  
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Originally posted by jambo_2004
When further discussing words like aluminium, I explained that I went by the version of English that the English invented. She replied that "well that was a long time ago when they never talked good english"

There you go...aparently Brits still speak the same version of English that Shakespear was using.
Stand to be corrected, but I'm pretty sure Shakespeare never worked aluminium (OR aluminum) into any of his stuff....

"But soft, what light through yonder window creeps?
Tis the dawn, reflecting off the polished aluminum siding...."


Oh dear. Romeo and Juliet will never be the same....
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Old Jul 22nd 2004, 5:10 am
  #45  
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Originally posted by Pulaski
"England", "Britain", "the UK" - same difference to me, but them I was born in England and consider myself to be British - my passport says that I am a British citizen, so it was no great wrench to stop saying that I am from the UK.
It is a UK of GB&NI passport though...I normally say I'm from the UK or England, and never really had much problem with either. Occasionally say Yorkshire (varying results!), but rarely use British.

Odd thing on the wifes/kids US passports - their nationality is down as "United States of America" - I always though that was a country, not a nationality....
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