Saturday Six - Episode #395
How many different kinds of “American English” are there?
Apparently, there are enough variations for someone to have produced
one of those little internet quizzes. Therefore, I thought I’d produce
this week’s silly little Saturday Six based on the topic!
Thanks for dropping by and I hope you enjoy this week’s set of questions!
Be sure to check back this week and click on the links of
bloggers who play along in the comments below! It’s a great way to find
blogs you may not have visited and keep the conversation going!
Here are this week’s “Saturday Six” questions. Either
answer the questions in a comment here, or put the answers in an entry
on your blog… But don’t forget to leave a link to your blog so that
everyone else can visit! Permission is not granted to copy the questions
to message boards for the purpose of having members answer and play
along there. Enjoy!
1.
Do you think you have the same accent as most of the people who live in
your neighborhood, or do you sound like you’re from somewhere else? I sound like I'm from somewhere else but no one knows where. I've had people ask me if I'm from Germany, Austria, Ukraine... I don't know why, but I don't mind at all.
2.
Have you ever been mistaken by a stranger as being from somewhere other
than your place of birth? If so, what’s the farthest from your hometown
one has guessed you’re from? Yes, see above. As usual, I'm ahead of you! When I went to the British Isles in 1985, people thought I sounded like the locals. I tend to pick up local accents, usually without realising it. But I have not been to the above-mentioned countries, so I have no idea what that's about. It took me about six weeks to lose the Irish accent I picked up in Ireland.
3. If you had to come up with a name for the dialect you hear most often, what would it be? The "idiot dialect" that seems to be found in younger people here... and what is with putting the word "like" 15 times in three sentences? How did that happen? I hate that - it drives me crazy!
4. Take the quiz: What Kind of American English Do You Speak?
I don't speak American English. But we shall see what this says...
You Speak Yankee! Post it now!
|
5. What regional word or expression common to your area do you find yourself using most often? Hmmm. I am not one to pick up phrases unless they are proper English. I hear my father say, "the reason being" (and others I know say it) and I jump all over him about it - it's awful to say that. There is no such phrase in English spoken properly as "the reason being".
6. Which regional word or expression common to your area do you hate the most? Well, you won't believe it, unless it has somehow made it your area. People here say "aks". Wondering what the hell that is? It's this gods-awful bastardisation of "ask". Yeah, isn't that appalling? Who does this?! And yet, three years ago when looking for an Accounting person, we had tons of interviewees say, "I want to aks a question." Thanks, goodbye!
If you have a Reader’s Choice question you’d like
to see asked (and answered), send me an email! I’d love to include it
in a future edition of the Saturday Six.
Comments