As some of you may recall, despite my name etc. English is not my first language, that being Scots.

The other day at work we had a phone conference, one of the other parties involved is from just outside Glasgow, and a Scot's speaker who has to use English to be understood. After a few minutes there were only the two of us left in the discussion, the rest of the participants were silent, trying to work out what was going on - they caught the few technical words and phrases, but the rest was an alien language. Neither of us had realised that we had drifted into our native tongue, much to the confusion of the rest of the group, some of whom were trying to take notes. I guess the forthcoming meeting in Italy could be highly entertaining - we'll be able to talk behind the rest of the group's backs in the sure knowledge that nobody else will understand a word....

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

As some of you may recall, despite my name etc. English is not my first language, that being Scots.

The other day at work we had a phone conference, one of the other parties involved is from just outside Glasgow, and a Scot's speaker who has to use English to be understood. After a few minutes there were only the two of us left in the discussion, the rest of the participants were silent, trying to work out what was going on - they caught the few technical words and phrases, but the rest was an alien language. Neither of us had realised that we had drifted into our native tongue, much to the confusion of the rest of the group, some of whom were trying to take notes. I guess the forthcoming meeting in Italy could be highly entertaining - we'll be able to talk behind the rest of the group's backs in the sure knowledge that nobody else will understand a word....

It's so in many other countries.
In my country we have many dialects, and some of them when they are speeking freely, then I need subtitles:)

When my family was younger, we used to vacation in the Outer Banks, North
Carolina. In the local fish/bait store, the locals would talk to their
customers in regular English. But, when they conversed amongst themselves,
they often used their own "language"/dialect. I couldn't understand a word.
Later folks, from North Carolina, told me the name of that dialect (forgotten,
to me). Although they were from the central part of the state, they could
still make out most of what was said.

This is the only occasion to come up against an English/American dialect that
I couldn't understand.

Were they "Hoi Toiders?"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_tider

This is a flash video:
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/10158

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They would, Celt. Good Google-sleuthing. As a follow-up, some folks I've
met in Vermont have North Carolina accents, yet have never been outside
the state. An example of convergent evolution, I'd guess.

Have you ever been down there?

As a follow-up, we stayed in a town, called Avon (south of the Federal
Conservation area on the Outer Banks. We visited Ocracoke, at the southern
end, and were treated to a talk about the pirates who frequented the area.
According to the lecturer, New England ships were not treated very well, because they
usually fought the pirates, rather than just give them their
goods.

Years ago I got to view a documentary called "The Story of English."
The program was presented by a fellow Nova Scotian named Robert
MacNeil. In the documentary there was a section about the kinds of
English spoken on the eastern seaboard of North America, and that
is where I heard about that kind of English.

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Even English isnt English. When I visited my freind in London in 2002. His wife was Cockney. If she talked slow we didnt have a problem understanding her( most times)
And accents can be learned. I spent two years living on Cape Cod while in the Air Force. I picked up a New england twang. Then living in Florida for 3 year and South Carolina for a year. I aguired a southern accent. When I was discharged and moved back to NY State. I was asked if I was from the south.

Even in the states some dialects take some time to understand.

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[/quote]

Old James

Even English isnt English. When I visited my freind in London in 2002. His wife was Cockney. If she talked slow we didnt have a problem understanding her( most times)
And accents can be learned. I spent two years living on Cape Cod while in the Air Force. I picked up a New england twang. Then living in Florida for 3 year and South Carolina for a year. I aguired a southern accent. When I was discharged and moved back to NY State. I was asked if I was from the south.

Even in the states some dialects take some time to understand.

Working in a hotel, I come in contact with people from all over, but generally I've found that those from bigger cities(especially Los Angeles) talk louder and faster.

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

The part of the Google info. that surprised me, was that there were some
connections to Elizabethan English.

In New England, there is a rich variety of accents, and by listening to most people talking, I can tell if they are from Providence (R.I.), Pawtucket (R.I.), and various parts of Boston (Somerville, South Boston, etc.). A lot of it is spoken by the "blue-collar" citizens, and not by those from "finishing" schools, or from the wealthier parts of Boston/suburban towns. (This is a simplified generalization, I admit.)

A separate issue: The accents from the USA's Mid-West, and South, which
I won't touch, here (too large).

I have known a number of Canadians, when living in North Dakota; especially,
in Grand Forks (Univ. of N. Dak.). But, that didn't seem an adequate sample
for me on whether you Canucks are as diversified, language-wise. Any comments,
Celt?

What's amazing, is that this fragmentation/regional evolution of
accents/dialects seems to continue, even in the presence of modern communication; e.g., TV, I-Phones, etc.

I love cunning linguistics!

In my early teens i had elocution lessons to get over a lisp and a labialised R (think Jonathan Ross). In the process my native Lancashire accent largely disappeared, though it does occasionally re-emerge at times of indignation or under the influence of alcohol.

Upon going to a prestigious university in the south, my 'corrected' accent probably helped me to fit in among the public-school types who made up much of the student body.

My sister, who was born and educated in Yorkshire since by that time my parents had crossed the Pennines, still has a fairly strong Yorkshire accent, but the only thing she's really found struggling to understand her is Siri on her iPhone.

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

Canada used to have some regional dialects and accents, but network radio and TV are slowly eliminating those. I see a similar thing happening in the US. For years I worked for a multi-national that had a large plant in Texas, and visited it regularly. Some of the older guys on the shop floor had a classic Western movie Texas twang, all the younger guys in the front office sounded like a network TV newscast.

Some pockets still exist here in Canada, especially on the east coast. Lard t'underin Jaasus, dey talk funny eh.

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Scots is a bit more than just a dialect of English, in that many of the French and Southern European words in English don't exist. Instead there are many more Germanic and Nordic words.

What really confused and amazed the others on the call was the ease with which the two of us slipped from English into Scots and back again. Its going to be entertaining in Italy as I suspect the same will happen there (especially when the two of us are crawling all over the train we are going to inspect, probably just with an Italian "guide" to keep an eye on us - he should be very confused by the end of the day (or maybe even earlier).

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Scots is a bit more than just a dialect of English, in that many of the French and Southern European words in English don't exist. Instead there are many more Germanic and Nordic words.

And that are many more Scot dialects:)
Orkney and Shetland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norn_language

The south side of Chicago has its own peculiar accent (think of the Chicago Bears Superfans from Saturday Night Live) which mainly doesn't even extend to the rest of the city, let alone the while Midwest. (This is only among white people; blacks have their own dialect that I have trouble following.)

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

The south side of Chicago has its own peculiar accent (think of the Chicago Bears Superfans from Saturday Night Live) which mainly doesn't even extend to the rest of the city, let alone the while Midwest. (This is only among white people; blacks have their own dialect that I have trouble following.)

Da Bears:)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIXYAXwvC44

More people whats talks funny, eh? It's an ad, but it is fairly true to life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScgAgeIfTlg

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More people whats talks funny, eh? It's an ad, but it is fairly true to life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScgAgeIfTlg

LOL. I understood this "I have to go and buy some brewski before the game"
In Scandinavia it's the same.
If I say in "Stockholmian" this:
"Tjena bruttan, kan du hoja ner till tjorren och tjacka taggar".
Transleted "Tjena bruttan, can you hoja down to the tjorren and tjacka taggar".
Most Swedes do not understand this only the words "can, you, down, to, the and and":)
What it means is "Hi girl, can you bike to the kiosk and buy some cigarettes"

Most people that are from Los Angeles are supposedly descended from Midwesterners, so they sound Midwestern, except maybe for those from 'the Valley', I grew up in Los Angeles County for the most part and My family for a while lived in the midwest, before moving West, even though We're descended from those who spoke French.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Most people that are from Los Angeles are supposedly descended from Midwesterners, so they sound Midwestern, except maybe for those from 'the Valley', I grew up in Los Angeles County for the most part and My family for a while lived in the midwest, before moving West, even though We're descended from those who spoke French.

â–º Valley Girl Lyrics

Valley Girl
She's a Valley Girl
Valley Girl
She's a Valley Girl
Okay, fine
Fer sure, fer sure
She's a Valley Girl
In a clothing store
Okay, fine...
Fer sure, fer sure
She's a Valley Girl
In a clothing store

Like, OH MY GOD! (Valley Girl)
Like-TOTALLY (Valley Girl)
Enchino is like SO BITCHEN (Valley Girl)
There's like the Galleria (Valley Girl)
And like all these like really great shoe stores
I love going into like clothing stores and stuff
I like buy the neatest mini-skirts and stufl
It's like so BITCHEN 'cause like everybody's like
Super-super nice...
It's like so BITCHEN..,

On Ventura, there she goes
She just bought some bitchen clothes
Tosses her head 'n flips her hair
She got a whole bunch of nothin' in there

Anyway, he goes are you into S and M?
I go, oh RIGHT...
Could you like just picture me in like a LEATHER TEDDY
Yeah right, HURT ME. HURT ME...
I'm sure! NO WAY'
He was like freaking me out...
He called me a BEASTIE...
That's 'cause like he was totally BLITZED
He goes like BAG YOUR FACE'
I'm sure!

Valley Girl
She's a Valley Girl
Valley Girl
She's a Valley Girl
Okay. fine...
Fer sure, fer sure
She's a Valley Girl
So sweet 'n pure
Okay, fine...
Fer sure, fer sure
She's a Valley Girl
So sweet'n pure
It's really sad (Valley Girl)
Like my English teacher
He's like... (Valley Girl)
He's like Mr. BU-FU (Valley Girl)
We're talking Lord God King BU-FU (Valley Girl)
I am SO SURE
He's like so GROSS
He like sits there and like plays with all his rings
And he like flirts with all the guys in the class
It's like totally disgusting
I'm like so sure
It's like BARF ME OUT...
Gag me with a spoon!

Last idea to cross her mind
Had something to do with where to find
A pair of jeans to fit her butt
And where to get her toenails cut

So like I go into this like salon place, why'know
And I wanted like to get my toenails done
And the lady like goes., oh my God, your toenails
Are like so GRODY
It was like really embarrassing
She's like OH MY GOD, like BAG THOSE TOENAILS
I'm like sure...
She goes, uh, I don't know if I can handle this, why'know.
I was like really embarassed...

Valley Girl
She's a Valley Girl
Valley Girl
She's a Valley Girl
Okay, fine
Fer sure, fer sure
She's a Valley Girl
And there is no cure
Okay, fine
Fer sure, fer sure
She's a Valley Girl
And there is no cure

Like my mother is like a total space cadet (Valley Girl)
She like makes me do the dishes and (Valley Girl)
CLEAN the cat box (Valley Girl)
I am sure
That's like GROSS (Valley Girl)
BARF OUT' (Valley Girl)
OH MY GOD (Valley Girl

Hi!
Uh-huh... (Valley Girl)
My name?
My name is Ondrya Wolfson (Valley Girl)
Uh-huh
That's right, Ondrya (Valley Girl)
Uh-huh .
I know (Valley Girl)
It's like ...
I do not talk funny ...
I'm sure (Valley Girl)
Whatsa matter with the way I talk? (Valley Girl)
I am a VAL, I know
But I live in like in a really good part of Encino so it's okay (Valley Girl)
So like, I don't know
I'm like freaking out totally
Oh my God!

Hi - I have to go to the orthodontist
I'm getting my braces off, why'know
But I have to wear a retainer
That's going to be really like a total bummer
I'm freaking out
I'm SURE
Like those things that like stick in your mouth
They're so gross ..
You like get saliva all over them
But like, I don't know, it's going to be cool, ó know
So you can see my smile
It'll be like really cool
Except my like my teeth are like too small
But NO BIGGIE. .
It's so AWESOME
It's like TUBULAR, why'know
Well, I'm not like really ugly or anything
It's just like
I don't know
You know me, I'm like into like the clean stuff
Like PAC-MAN and like, I don't know
Like my mother like makes me do the dishes
It's like so GROSS...
Like all the stuff like sticks to the plates
And its like, it's like somebody e/ses food, why'know
It's like GRODY...
GRODY TO THE MAX
I'm sure
It's like really nauseating
Like BARF OUT
GAG ME WITH A SPOON
GROSS
I am SURE
TOTALLY .

Like totally dude...

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's