Cultural accents and mispronunciation

[Tortuga]

12 minutes ago, Shawnster said:

These neighborhoods are developing their own culture just as the Southern US developed their own culture different than the Northeastern US, etc...

For sure dude....

[Hope]

Here's something I've noticed and wondered about- I'll need our English friends' input.

 

Some spoken English accents seem to substitute a "v" or "f" sound where "th" is in the word. Examples-  Bruvver, norf, fing, bovver, etc.  Are those pronunciations that a schoolteacher would try to correct in children ?  If it's colloquial, is it proper to use in a formal talk, speech... is it okay for your "interview voice" like it may be in casual conversation with friends ? 

 

Fanks!  

[Cushi]

How about people on the east coast who pronounce the h with an r sound. Jehoverr or idear. 

[Hartley]

So how does this apply to Tomatoes

I say tom - ah- toe, but you say tom- ate- toe.

[Pjdriver]

9 minutes ago, Brother Jack said:

How about people on the east coast who pronounce the h with an r sound. Jehoverr or idear. 

Now you're talking my part of the country. Everyone knows we speak the original English. The pilgrims didn't land in Texas. 

[Qapla]

I know a sister that "she will hope you" when she means "she will help you"

 

We used to have a brother who pronounced worship (ˈwərSHəp - pronounced as "whir - ship") as war ship - as in a battle ship, he even put the space in the word, just like I posted it.

 

I know many people who pronounce AUNT as "ant" with the "a" pronounced as it is in the word "can" and many others who say "ahnt" with the "a" pronounced as in "ahhhh"

 

Then, of course, besides the "to-may-to ... to-mah-to" debate - how do you pronounce Caribbean?

[Tortuga]

25 minutes ago, Pjdriver said:

Now you're talking my part of the country. Everyone knows we speak the original English. The pilgrims didn't land in Texas. 

If they had landed in Texas the Plymouth rock would be bigger than that tiny thing on the east coast...

[Cushi]

24 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

If they had landed in Texas the Plymouth rock would be bigger than that tiny thing on the east coast...

Yes sir! Everything's bigger in Texas 

[Tortuga]

4 hours ago, Musky said:

Where's Raymond when we need him?

I think he at McDonald's waiting for the wifi to work....

[Omoyeme]

Na wa o!  I no fit ready for anything too complicated!  

[Thesauron]

Warwick or 'Warrick'? The older town is pronounced 'Warrick' and it sounds funny to the English when Americans pronounce it 'Warwick', but it doesn't really matter as long as you understand what is meant.


____
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."—Matthew 6:21.

When speaking, normally you don't always consider grammar and pronunciation, and people constantly reacting to such details are considered annoying.


____
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."—Matthew 6:21.

[timpin]

6 hours ago, Tortuga said:

I think he at McDonald's waiting for the wifi to work....

hey show a little respect for those temporarily MIA   ...   ya never know when they may pop in the back door again  ... watching you  

[hatcheckgirl]

Some people over here in Western Australia say "uz" for us.  The ones from Queensland seem to speak slower and lengthen their vowels. People from Adelaide say Dance and Chance as in the 'a' sound in "dart/cart" instead of the 'a' sound in "cat" that the rest of Australia do, making them sound quite high-brow.

 

And we can effectively shorten the words needed to express ourselves, for example:

What is going on? (5 syllables) can be shortened to 'Scowen on?  Job done! (as explained by Simon Taylor)

[Cushi]

I noticed that the British don't pronounce their t's in a lot of the words. Like instead of saying mother, they will say "muh ah".

[Qapla]

I would just like to know where they get the "f" in lieutenant - it seems to be pronounced as "leftenent"

[Thesauron]

I would just like to know where they get the "f" in lieutenant - it seems to be pronounced as "leftenent"

Both pronunciations occur in British English. Leuf- is 14th century old French and Lieu- is modern French. Both pronunciations have lived on, but only one spelling. Historically there have been many forms of spelling.


____
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."—Matthew 6:21.

[Shawnster]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences#Historical_origins

 

American and British English spelling differences

Many of the differences between American and British English date back to a time when spelling standards had not yet developed. For instance, some spellings seen as "American" today were once commonly used in Britain. A "British standard" began to emerge following the 1755 publication of influential dictionaries such as Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language, and an "American standard" started following the work of Noah Webster, and in particular his An American Dictionary of the English Language.^[1] Webster's efforts at spelling reform were somewhat effective in his native country, resulting in certain well-known patterns of spelling differences between the American and British varieties of English. But English-language spelling reform has rarely been adopted otherwise, and thus modern English orthography varies somewhat between countries and is far from phonemic in any country.

 

In the early 18th century, English spelling was inconsistent. These differences became noticeable after the publishing of influential dictionaries. Today's British English spellings mostly follow Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language (1755), while many American English spellings follow Webster's An American Dictionary of the English Language ("ADEL", "Webster's Dictionary", 1828).^[2]

Webster was a proponent of English spelling reform for reasons both philological and nationalistic. In A Companion to the American Revolution (2008), John Algeo notes: "it is often assumed that characteristically American spellings were invented by Noah Webster. He was very influential in popularizing certain spellings in America, but he did not originate them. Rather […] he chose already existing options such as center, color and check for the simplicity, analogy or etymology".^[3] William Shakespeare's first folios, for example, used spellings like center and color as much as centre and colour.^[4][5] Webster did attempt to introduce some reformed spellings, as did the Simplified Spelling Board in the early 20th century, but most were not adopted. In Britain, the influence of those who preferred the Norman (or Anglo-French) spellings of words proved to be decisive. Later spelling adjustments in the United Kingdom had little effect on today's American spellings and vice versa.

[Sylv]

What is it with these military ranks? I live on "Colonel W______" street. It is pronounced "kernel", and for some reason I always have to spell it out for people  

[Pjdriver]

19 minutes ago, Sylv said:

What is it with these military ranks? I live on "Colonel W______" street. It is pronounced "kernel", and for some reason I always have to spell it out for people  

In the book our mother tongue by Bill Bryson, I think it said that we adopted  the English pronounciation but the French spelling of colonel.

English has borrowed a great of it vocabulary from other languages. That's one of the reasons English has odd spellings and pronounciations...also multiple words with basically the same meaning, like pig, hog and swine.

[rocket]

We have a brother  that is immigrating with his wife from Germany. Their last name is Hauck (How-ck)but when they arrived in Florida the brothers thought it was pronounced Hawk so they went with that and are now offended if someone says Hauck correctly. 

[Hope]

31 minutes ago, rocket said:

We have a brother  that is immigrating with his wife from Germany. Their last name is Hauck (How-ck)but when they arrived in Florida the brothers thought it was pronounced Hawk so they went with that and are now offended if someone says Hauck correctly. 

As one who insists my name be pronounced correctly, despite how illogical or inconvenient it may seem to others, I find this very interesting..

[Sylv]

3 minutes ago, Hope said:

As one who insists my name be pronounced correctly, despite how illogical or inconvenient it may seem to others, I find this very interesting..

Same here. Ok, if it's a one-time encounter, no problem. But if we're going to have future dealings, you better believe I will say something.

We have a similar situation here, with a German family whose last name ends with an "e". In German (and Dutch), that last letter is pronounced. Here, nobody does, however, so their last name now ends with "ng", which I find a very harsh sound. It's the difference between saying "Inge" (Ingeh ) and "Ing".

[Hope]

I like to think people are basically intelligent enough to pronounce another person's name correctly... if they genuinely care to.  For me, it's a sign of respect and I don't let 'em off the hook.  

[Thesauron]

Same here. Ok, if it's a one-time encounter, no problem. But if we're going to have future dealings, you better believe I will say something.
We have a similar situation here, with a German family whose last name ends with an "e". In German (and Dutch), that last letter is pronounced. Here, nobody does, however, so their last name now ends with "ng", which I find a very harsh sound. It's the difference between saying "Inge" (Ingeh ) and "Ing".

I've found it's a good idea to ask how people want their names pronounced. After all, the one wearing it decides.


____
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."—Matthew 6:21.

[Qapla]

5 hours ago, Thesauron said:

I've found it's a good idea to ask how people want their names pronounced. After all, the one wearing it decides.


____
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."—Matthew 6:21.

 

This is quite true - how many people would have known how to spell the American Football Player Brett Favre the way he did - when they heard it pronounced as Brett Farv or the other way around - if you did not know or ask would the pronunciation Farv be the first thing that came to your mind when you saw it spelled Favre

 

I sometimes run into that with may name - most people want to put a "u" after the "Q"

 

Just for fun .... how would you pronounce these town names:

• Micanopy
• Ocklawaha
• okeechobee
• Apalachicola
• Immokalee
• Ty Ty

Edited November 17, 2016 by Qapla