Subtle differences between the US and the UK that baffle me/you/us. - by SubJeff
catbarf on 30/11/2012 at 19:11
Quote Posted by nickie
Moss-ko - the first o as in hot and the second as in toe.
I pronounce it that way as well, but my roommate follows the moss-cow version. Could be a regional thing.
Vasquez on 30/11/2012 at 19:23
Quote Posted by nickie
Obviously I'm not mixing with people what can't speak proper then.
Last I heard mathematician Marcus du Sautoy talk like that in BBC series "The Beauty of Diagrams". Maybe some number people aren't word people? ;)
Renzatic on 30/11/2012 at 19:27
Quote Posted by nickie
Obviously I'm not mixing with people what can't speak proper then.
It's probably Essex or something similar.
Actually, I always heard it from this South African family that used to live around here. Though I do occasionally hear it from native Brits as well.
Or maybe you're just so used to it you don't notice it. You might even do it yourself. :P
Neb on 30/11/2012 at 19:58
I'm slightly sure you guys are talking about when southerners pronounce "bath" and it sounds like "barth".
nickie on 30/11/2012 at 20:08
:D I'm afraid I'm RP. Now my bloke has a Sarf Lunnon (South London) accent and he doesn't put an r on the end either.
But I do think I now know what you're talking about. I think it's said by the sort of people who go on reality tv programmes. I think they're all from Essex.
I was going to say that that Marcus du Sautoy must be a furriner but I see he grew up in a posh place called Henley (pronounced Henleh if you're posh) and went to the same schools as my ex-husband and my son, so just a peculiar foreign name then. I shall try to find a recording.
@ Neb - but barth is the (
http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=bath) generally 'correct' pronuciation unless you're from Stafford in which case you'll say bath as in math. It's just a dialect thing anyway. And that's another oddity - math vs maths.
Sulphur on 30/11/2012 at 20:57
Quote Posted by nickie
:D I'm afraid I'm RP. Now my bloke has a Sarf Lunnon (South London) accent and he doesn't put an r on the end either.
Inching ever closer to linguistics, this topic. (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linking_and_intrusive_R) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linking_and_intrusive_R
It's a pretty common phenomenon - I've heard it at random in hundreds of English shows/movies. The article cites that an accent with inherent rhoticity doesn't feature the intrusive /r/, and that makes sense - I haven't heard any Scotsmen with it, but it's there in a whole bunch of mainland England accents, including plenty of folks from London.
nickie on 30/11/2012 at 21:13
Well I'll need to google every other word to understand what that's all about - my linguistics knowledge is sketchy to say the least. But I thought Vasquez was talking about something different.
gunsmoke on 30/11/2012 at 21:19
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
dema - you see 25th December and December 25th sound equally comfortable to me. And, dare I say, our 3 pin sockets are safer than 2 pin since they have an earth pin. Or so I understand. Well, they do have an earth pin but how do you earth things in the US?
Floors are an interesting one. I'm used to ground floor but I also agree with it being the first floor because it is, technically. I propose using these interchangeably and changing all 1st floors in the UK to 2nd floors and so on. This is one thing the yanks have got right - the floor above the ground floor should be the second floor.
I say, for example, 'it's the 25th OF December', not December 25th or 25th December. Does that seem odd to you? Just curious.
Funny you mention wall sockets! I was raised by a Master Electrician & I spent the better part of my afternoon today switching out our 2-way (never heard them referred to as 2-'pin' outlets. The 'pin' is a 'prong' here) for 3-ways. Couple of points here: We don't say 'earth'. We say 'ground'. The ground lead, ground wire, the socket is properly grounded, etc...
They make 2-way socket grounding adapters, too. They have 2 prongs and metal tab. You unscrew the outlet face plate, plug the adapter in, and then screw in the adapter with the plate. I wouldn't trust them to anything worth grounding, though, as I am not sure how much voltage they could effectively dump off. Hell, hardly anybody even properly installs them. They just plug-n-play... Honestly, the 2 ways are no cheaper to purchase. They are mostly installed in older homes, and in newer homes they are placed in like the bedroom, hallway, etc. where most people would only be using it with an alarm clock, lamp, night light, and so on. You'll find the 3-ways in kitchens and bathrooms (like for a hair dryer, kitchen appliances) and those are usually ground fault circuit interrupters, which around here are required for any outlet installed within 2 feet of a water source.
And on the floors of a building, this one maddens me. Very confusing, especially as some buildings are adopting the British way. So, it isn't universal, just up to the particular architect (?) what he/she wants to use. Myself, I prefer calling the ground floor the 1st floor.
I do like the terms flat and lift. Fuck 'elevator'. Boot, jumper, brolly, and pram are just insane to me though.
Sulphur on 30/11/2012 at 21:30
Quote Posted by nickie
Well I'll need to google every other word to understand what that's all about - my linguistics knowledge is sketchy to say the least. But I thought Vasquez was talking about something different.
Vasq was talking about how in certain English accents a sentence like 'I saw it!' becomes 'I sawr it!'. It's not terribly noticeable unless you're looking for it.
Bakerman on 1/12/2012 at 00:13
Quote Posted by Sulphur
Vasq was talking about how in certain English accents a sentence like 'I saw it!' becomes 'I sawr it!'. It's not terribly noticeable unless you're looking for it.
I do that all the time (I'm Aussie, but lived overseas during high school). I'd say for me it becomes 'I sore it.' I guess it's about flow. It's like changing 'the' depending on what comes after: 'thee apple' but 'thuh stick'. Those combinations of vowel sounds and consonants seem to roll off the tongue better. To me, saying 'saw it' in the American fashion feels awkward.
But then, I am just a lazy speaker in general.
