If only the chap on the communications link had spoken English and had said:
We have found thirteen bodies and are checking for signs of life
instead of
We have found all thirteen miners and we are checking their Medigal Stadus.
What can you expect though when Bush, Chaney, Rumsfeld and Rice can't even pronounce the name of their own counrty.
The men all say Unided States and Rice goes one better. In a recent speach she refered to the Unidet States four times and the Unidet Nations twice.
I wonder: does she call Ted Kennedy DET?
They all say Plidigal instead of Political and during the run up to the election of the Iraqi Interim Government I got tired of hearing them say...
The Noo Iraqi Irrrrm Gument.
Where the heck in the Middle East is the nation of GUDDA that they refer to?
There isn't a letter G or a D in the name Qattah!

Who's going to be the first to take the bait? He-He.

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Have you heard English spoken by the average British working class "yob?"

But wait, they aren't government ministers are they...point taken.

However, we Americans don't speak English, we speak American English. Afrikaaners don't speak Dutch, do they? People in Argentina don't speak
Spanish, they speak Latin American Spanish; the same goes for Portugal and
Brazil. Ya'll get my drift.

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Have you heard English spoken by the average British working class "yob?"

When you throw in Rhyming Slang it gets even more complicated

Just in case, Examples:
Done and Bone - Phone
Mince Pies - Flies or Eyes

Theres no 'official ' rhyming slang, new ones pop up all the time.

Theres a knack to understanding this, and it can lead to some hideous misconclusions [grin].

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Life on earth is the global equivalent of not storing things in the fridge.

Who's going to be the first to take the bait? He-He.

One of the most interesting things I found while traveling the World for the US Navy was trying to figure out how people in different parts of the World say the same words. NO TWO PEOPLE say anythign the same! In the US the people fro mthe South have a way of speaking, the Lousiana Bayou has its own, even the people from Minnesota have there own, and lets not forget the New Yorkers!
Everyone adds there own little flair to the words they say and not all of it depends on where they grew up. Some "Southerners" have very little accent while some take a bit of careful listening to try and figure out what they are trying to say. ALL parts of the World are similar, in the poorer towns of most Countries the words are not as clearly enunciated as in the richer sections of those same towns. That is DEFINATELY a generalization but is true none the less. Heck in Great Britian you even say "aluminium" instead of the PROPER "aluminum".
If the way words are spoken make the person then we could all be in DEEP trouble!

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Yup I think this is probably a truely bad and unwise topic.

I too have to listen hard sometimes - even in the UK there is huge accent and dialect variation that leaves me non-plussed. I actaully find it easier to listen to fella from Crewe in NC than I do to a fella in Tyneside UK.

We should never differentiate on language even if it is the greatest thing that binds communities. I stole that last bit from the great Alexis De Tocqueville and his studies in America in the 1800s.

Languages develop and the USA is just one example of English chugging along nicely. I could do without GW Bush adding new words though as they don't always make great sense. But hey its a free country they tell me - let him do what he wants to do.

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One of the most interesting things I found while traveling the World for the US Navy was trying to figure out how people in different parts of the World say the same words. NO TWO PEOPLE say anythign the same!

I had a radio operator on my P-3 from Boston, and the Air Force operator in the P.I. was from Texas. They had to spell everything to be understood.

But the tragedy in West Virginia is nothing to joke about. The miscommunication had nothing to do with the way Bush, Cheney, Rice or any other American speaks. It was a very sad case of hope for a good outcome distorting an unclear radio transmission, then a failure of many to check the situation or promptly correct the erroneous report.

But the tragedy in West Virginia is nothing to joke about. .......... It was a very sad case of hope for a good outcome distorting an unclear radio transmission, then a failure of many to check the situation or promptly correct the erroneous report.

Agreed it is so very sad and I think all send their condolences to the poor families.

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What's sad about the original post here is that someone just had to take a tragedy so they could do some cheap Bush bashing when how Bush speaks had absolutely nothing to do with what happened. Hell, I'm a Republican and make fun of how he speaks, among other things, but to use the West Virginia mine tragedy to do it is just plain sad and shows how desperate some people are.

My prayers go out to the victim's families and to the survivor of the mine tragedy.

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To truly explore, one must keep an open mind...

What's sad about the original post here is that someone just had to take a tragedy so they could do some cheap Bush bashing when how Bush speaks had absolutely nothing to do with what happened. Hell, I'm a Republican and make fun of how he speaks, among other things, but to use the West Virginia mine tragedy to do it is just plain sad and shows how desperate some people are.

My prayers go out to the victim's families and to the survivor of the mine tragedy.

DITTO

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I have just watched a CNN report from the Detroit Innernational Aado Show in which the commentator said that…

Globalisation in the Aado Industry is causing chaos in the country that invented it?

He can’t possibly have meant that America invented the car.
He can’t have meant that America invented Globalisation of the Aado Industry since the first cars that people saw throughout the world were European.
I can only assume that he meant that America invented chaos!

However, we Americans don't speak English, we speak American English. Afrikaaners don't speak Dutch, do they? People in Argentina don't speak Spanish, they speak Latin American Spanish; the same goes for Portugal and Brazil.

I agree.
My original point was that Americans no longer speak English.
I was not referring to local dialects but to the American leaders who are heard around the world and represent the American people on the world stage.

Afrikaaners speak Afrikaans, they don’t claim to speak Dutch.
South Americans don’t claim to speak Spanish or Portuguese.
Australians speak Australian, not Australian English.
I have worked in former British Colonies in Africa and they don’t claim to speak African English, they call it Krio. That BTW is where the Castrol Oil Company got it’s name. From the way that Krio speakers say Castor Oil.
Yanks still cling to the belief that they speak English just as they cling to their roots in foreign countries.
Have you ever heard an Ausie say that he is Australian Irish or Australian Italian?
If Kennedy and Reagan were Irish then I’m approx 45th generation Scandinavian!

Churchill remarked. America and Britain; two nations divided by a common language.
It is one reason why Hollywood Films are losing popularity in countries where English is a second language. They need English subtitles.

I have told the following story many times.
Whilst working for ARAMCO in Yanbu Saudi Arabia I met an American girl who said that her name was Paddy.
I asked if she was an Irish transvestite.
She replied that her name wasn’t Paddy it was Paddy!
I asked her to spell it.
She did..P-A-T-T-Y
I asked what she was doing in Yanbu and she replied that she was a teacher at the ARAMCO School; teaching ENGLISH!

The daughter of a Danish freind attended an American school in Saudi and it infuriated Lotte that they could not pronounce her name correctly. Americans insisted on calling her Laddie, Ladder or Lodda.

....and Noo Orleenz is still recovering from the devastation of hurricane Reeda

....and Noo Orleenz is still recovering from the devastation of hurricane Reeda

That is NEW ORLEANS and it was Hurricane KATRINA.. You really need to Listen I have yet to her my ex-wifes or my current wife's name RITA pronounced wrong. The only people I have heard incorrectly pronounce NEW ORLEANS were the people from New Orleans.

It is rather easy to condemn the way people speak when you do not live in the UNITED STATES.

Considering that most American believe that Henry Ford did invent the automobile I suspect that he did indeed mean Auto.

That is NEW ORLEANS and it was Hurricane KATRINA...
You really need to Listen

Odd!...I did listen and I heard repeatedly how Reeda had caused a storm surge and that the flood waters breached the repairs to the Levee's and re-flooded Noo Orleanz.

I have yet to her my ex-wifes or my current wife's name RITA pronounced wrong. The only people I have heard incorrectly pronounce NEW ORLEANS were the people from New Orleans.

Exactly my point. Bush says Noo Orleenz.

It is rather easy to condemn the way people speak when you do not live in the UNITED STATES.

I lived with and worked with The American Armed Forces for eighteen months in the USA and have worked with Americans all over the world for the past 26 years. ARAMCO is run by Americans, it is the largest American Corporation in the Middle East.

Considering that most American believe that Henry Ford did invent the automobile I suspect that he did indeed mean Auto.

Really???
...and I suppose that Yanks think that any female named Porsche or Mercedes is named after a car!

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That is NEW ORLEANS and it was Hurricane KATRINA...
You really need to Listen

Odd!...I did listen and I heard repeatedly how Reeda had caused a storm surge and that the flood waters breached the repairs to the Levee's and re-flooded Noo Orleanz.

I have yet to her my ex-wifes or my current wife's name RITA pronounced wrong. The only people I have heard incorrectly pronounce NEW ORLEANS were the people from New Orleans.

Exactly my point. Bush says Noo Orleenz.

It is rather easy to condemn the way people speak when you do not live in the UNITED STATES.

I lived with and worked with The American Armed Forces for eighteen months in the USA and have worked with Americans all over the world for the past 26 years. ARAMCO is run by Americans, it is the largest American Corporation in the Middle East.

Considering that most American believe that Henry Ford did invent the automobile I suspect that he did indeed mean Auto.

Really???
...and I suppose that Yanks think that any female named Porsche or Mercedes is named after a car!

Yes I bet you have, and I have lived and worked with quite a few nationalities around the world and I spend my time insulting them as you are insulting Americans. Considering some of us here know exactly how prejudice you are we know it was only a matter of time before you started this here are you did on the TFFE board.

If you do not like the way Americans speak then don't listen. In the mean time make sure your diction is 100% correct so no one can critize you.

For the record I have always said I am an American. I just happen to be of French/Irish Decent. If you don't like that too bad.

One more thing. I am *NOT* a Yank. I am an AMERICAN.

First, the "devastation" of New Orleans (your word) was caused by Katrina, not Rita, which simply delayed the city's rebuilding because of the weakened state of the levees . . . but your attempt to save face is duly noted.

Actually, Whiskey, the British don't really speak "English" anymore, as the standard, most common dialect in modern use is something close to a Midwest United States pronunciation that is used by news anchors and actors from all over the English speaking (and non English speaking) world to convey a generic American character. The upper crust English accent heard on the BBC has become marginalized, and is no longer the standard of pronunciation it once was.

That's not to say that there aren't different dialects in America, as there are in Great Britain and all over the former British Empire. If you don't understand them, then in light of the attitude you display in this thread, perhaps it's for lack of trying.

Like Celtic Wolf, I also am not a "yank". Yank is what I am convinced you do to yourself when your significant other has a headache, or when posting in threads like this. (P.S. So, CW, that wasn't too harsh a flame, was it?)

The term is "business English," which is designed to be at least understandable to the largest fraction of speakers of the "English family of languages."

I have a regional accent to my American speech, but it's pretty close to business English, so I don't often have problems being understood, although sometimes my sentences turn into long chains of clauses, and they might be considered run-on sentences, but you knew that, and you understood my meaning anyway, so it's okay. :-)

By the way, the term Yankee refers to a specific group of Americans and it is generally considered a pejorative if used by anyone outside that group. Most American subgroup names behave this way in casual speech. This is why they are generally avoided in business English.

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No animals were harmed in the making of the above post... much.

Some one who hasn't been home for a long time to hear how the English speak, maybe you've forgotten. People in the UK have a difficult time understanding each other because of all the different dialects. And I wouldn't go around calling you a Pomey, BTW.

Frankly, I enjoy our accents here in America. It localizes you, and gives character to the people you meet. And another thing, what language do they speak in Australia or New Zealand? Why pick on Americans as examples?
Remember, one of the great things about the English language is that it is dynamic and diverse.

Perhaps one day our language will be called American, and be totally different from the language spoken in Britian. But for now, I have had no trouble understanding our British cousins, yet. If you can understand what's being said to you, then there is communication. We may sound different to you, but you sound different to us. So what's the point in all this to begin with?

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Like Celtic Wolf, I also am not a "yank". Yank is what I am convinced you do to yourself when your significant other has a headache, or when posting in threads like this. (P.S. So, CW, that wasn't too harsh a flame, was it?)

I was thinking it was rather toned down Tom :)

One more thing Whiskey I am sure the Crown Price of Saudi Arabia would be quite interested in hearing that ARAMCO is an American Company. Just because American are the majority of a company's employee doesn't mean it's American.

It means we American are smart enough to know who pays the most..

[quote]
Remember, one of the great things about the English language is that it is dynamic and diverse.

Perhaps one day our language will be called American, and be totally different from the language spoken in Britian. But for now, I have had no trouble understanding our British cousins, yet. If you can understand what's being said to you, then there is communication. We may sound different to you, but you sound different to us. So what's the point in all this to begin with?

10 out of 10, same feeling from us Aussies, and probably most people on this planet. Thats a plus!

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If only the chap on the communications link had spoken English and had said:
We have found thirteen bodies and are checking for signs of life
instead of
We have found all thirteen miners and we are checking their Medigal Stadus.
What can you expect though when Bush, Chaney, Rumsfeld and Rice can't even pronounce the name of their own counrty.
The men all say Unided States and Rice goes one better. In a recent speach she refered to the Unidet States four times and the Unidet Nations twice.
I wonder: does she call Ted Kennedy DET?
They all say Plidigal instead of Political and during the run up to the election of the Iraqi Interim Government I got tired of hearing them say...
The Noo Iraqi Irrrrm Gument.
Where the heck in the Middle East is the nation of GUDDA that they refer to?
There isn't a letter G or a D in the name Qattah!

Who's going to be the first to take the bait? He-He.

At least they can spell :)

I should add....that is a joke....

:)

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Like Celtic Wolf, I also am not a "yank". Yank is what I am convinced you do to yourself when your significant other has a headache, or when posting in threads like this. (P.S. So, CW, that wasn't too harsh a flame, was it?)

I was thinking it was rather toned down Tom :)

One more thing Whiskey I am sure the Crown Price of Saudi Arabia would be quite interested in hearing that ARAMCO is an American Company. Just because American are the majority of a company's employee doesn't mean it's American.

It means we American are smart enough to know who pays the most..

I thought the company was Saudi Aramco anyway?

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