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LIVER AND BACON WITH OR WITHOUT ONIONS - THE AMBROSIA OF THE GODS

Margery said:
I know, but it seems to have caught on here also.
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Yes, it has here but it doesn't mean I have to Americanise my English language. It's Bob who was talking, ever the consummate Englishman.o_O
 
At home in NZ said:
Yes, it has here but it doesn't mean I have to Americanise my English language. It's Bob who was talking, ever the consummate Englishman.o_O
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Yes and I have never overcome my dislike of writing Program when relating to IT matters and rejoice when I can use the English spelling of Programme. I have the same dislike when writing HTML code in my Tribal Pages where I have to use the spelling 'Color' or the code will not be recognised.

Mind you I don't win on all counts as sometimes my Brummie upbringing takes over which is why I called my mother Mom and not Mum as in most other regions of England outside of the West Midland area. As many will know Mom is also the American spelling. I can also be pedantic about the spelling of Granddad and never use Grandad (or Grand-dad). Again I believe Granddad is how it is spelled in America. But otherwise I dislike intensely any Americanisation of the English Language but occasional UK regional variations happen to align with US spellings.

What I dislike most is when US commercial brands get adopted into the English language (like Donuts for Doughnuts) and others I cannot at this moment recall. Then it is a case of 'get thee behind me Satan' and my wife will likely be two steps ahead because she even bristles when American voice overs are used in adverts.
 
Bob Spiers said:
my wife will likely be two steps ahead because she even bristles when American voice overs are used in adverts
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I can remember the 1950s and early 60s when it seemed that most British pop singers sang with an American accent no matter where they came from (thank goodness for Lonnie Donegan and his East End accent, although he was actually born in Glasgow), Hughie Greene had a Canadian accent (admittedly he did live there for some years), and Alan Freeman always sounded American to me, even though he was born in Australia.
 
Bob Spiers said:
Yes and I have never overcome my dislike of writing Program when relating to IT matters
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I could not get used to that either.
Some years ago while working a a business analyst in an IT environment my fingers would always want type the 'correct version'.
 
One occasionally catches glimpses on TV of old BBC clips of announcers speaking in British (aka Queen's) English -more correctly known as 'Received Pronunciation' Nowadays one regards such tones as being 'toffee nosed' which, in a way, is sad and one still meets people (always older generation) who have cultured accents ... and of course the Queen and her family were brought up to use Received Pronunciation.

TV Announcers these days can often be heard speaking with regional accents, and particularly so on Regional News Programmes. I love to hear Brummie/Liverpudlian/Geordie (et al) dialect tones used by contestants on Quiz shows or when being interviewed in the street in their local environments. I am told by my Brummie cousins that I have 'lost my Brummie" accent, but that doesn't stop me being asked occasionally when in conversation with someone I have just met for the first time ..."what part of the Midlands are you from"? My sister in Australia still has unmistakeable Brummie under tones when she speaks, laced with "Ozzie mannerisms and speech patterns, quite detectable to me.

Sooner or later as we move away from the areas in which we grew up the Darwinian principle takes over and our accents morph to accommodate our newer environment; allowing we stay long enough in the area. I love to hear foreign immigrants (of all colours) speaking English with regional brogues. I would rather they did this and be understood (even if occasionally with difficulty for those outside of that particular area) than only speaking in their own language, although I realise older people find it hard to learn a new language. Variety is the spice of life and long may it be so.
 
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There was a time when the BBC no longer used received pronunciation, but announcers and newsreaders still spoke in a way that everyone could understand because there was no discernible accent.
 
My uncle's English wife never lost her accent, although it may have been even stronger when she first arrived. She was a war bride, having met my uncle when he was over there during the war. I had not seen her for many years until we went on holiday and my husband arranged the visit without me knowing. When she emerged from her apartment and spoke, I knew exactly who she was, before I even saw her, that accent was still there after nearly 70 years. I remember saying when I was younger, that my Dad did not have an accent, and being told: "Oh yes he does".
 
Bob Spiers said:
What I dislike most is when US commercial brands get adopted into the English language (like Donuts for Doughnuts) and others I cannot at this moment recall.
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I agree. Mac n Cheese instead of macaroni cheese is one I really dislike.
 
Some of the children here in NZ are starting to sound American, when we talked about it to the mother of a child who is tending that way she said it's because they watch so much American TV and/or YouTube videos.
We were in Manchester (UK) about 5 years ago on a tram that was also occupied by schoolgirls of secondary age. We noticed they sounded similar, my partner calls it pseudo-American.

Makes me wonder what do you call an accent that is a cross between two accents?
 
At home in NZ said:
Some of the children here in NZ are starting to sound American, when we talked about it to the mother of a child who is tending that way she said it's because they watch so much American TV and/or YouTube videos.
We were in Manchester (UK) about 5 years ago on a tram that was also occupied by schoolgirls of secondary age. We noticed they sounded similar, my partner calls it pseudo-American.

Makes me wonder what do you call an accent that is a cross between two accents?
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Many Scandinavians speak English with an American accent - and it isn't a new phenomenon.
 
At home in NZ said:
schoolgirls of secondary age. We noticed they sounded similar, my partner calls it pseudo-American.
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Happens here, too, seems to happen in more affluent suburbs (read "private school students"). Not sure that I would call it pseudo-American, though, more "pseudo-Posh". Have never noticed it with boys.
 
Margery said:
Happens here, too, seems to happen in more affluent suburbs (read "private school students"). Not sure that I would call it pseudo-American, though, more "pseudo-Posh". Have never noticed it with boys.
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The child I originally referred to is a boy. We noticed it a couple of years ago, he was 10 at the time.

peter said:
Many Scandinavians speak English with an American accent - and it isn't a new phenomenon.
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I think that might have something to do with who teaches them to speak English.
 
peter said:
Many Scandinavians speak English with an American accent - and it isn't a new phenomenon.
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Where's the science behind that statement? I visited Sweden and Finland certainly in the 80's & 90's and did not pick up on that, and even watching some far more recent Scandinavian detective series on TV (excluding Kenneth Branagh's Wallander series) with native Dane & Swedish actors, and no discernible trace of American accents when speaking English.

Perhaps you mean amongst children, but again where's the science?
 
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Bob Spiers said:
Where's the science behind that statement? I visited Sweden and Finland certainly in the 80's & 90's and did not pick up on that, and even watching some far more recent Scandinavian detective series on TV (excluding Kenneth Branagh's Wallander series) with native Dane & Swedish actors, and no discernible trace of American accents when speaking English.

Perhaps you mean amongst children, but again where's the science?
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No science, just long experience - like you, it would seem. I dealt with lots of Scandinavians when I was in the software business in the 80s and 90s, and they all spoke English with an American accent. When I asked, it was explained that their exposure to spoken English was mainly through movies.

Good actors can modify their accent on demand - Meryl Streep is one of the best. Is it possible that the actors in the Scandi-dramas you watched were selected because of the way they spoke? Might they have been auditioned for the roles? Just a thought.....
 
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