spidersandsnakes Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Once I could tell what state an American came from by just listening to his/her accent.....Trisha my colleague has that mellow Southern twang....she's from Austin TX...very cool . Talking about accents, I once read that Australia is one of the few Anglo-Saxon countries where you can't tell whether a person is from Qld or from NSW or from Western Australia...practically, there are no accent diffs between the states:):) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 (edited) On tonight's episode of Fresh Air with Terry Gross with dialect coach/speech therapist Sam Chwat, he says that accents are different every 50 miles. I know that here in North Carolina there are very different dialects in various parts of the state, particularly the difference between the mountains and the coast. Unrelated to language in general, one topic discussed on tonight's show is how some people (especially women) tend to speak in a rising intonation as though asking a question, when in reality, they're not. I've also noticed this appearing in written speech as well where people will put a question mark on the end of a statement that isn't necessarily asking a question? Edited March 9, 2011 by Jahfin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 On tonight's episode of Fresh Air with Terry Gross with dialect coash/speech therapist Sam Chwat, he says that accents are different every 50 miles. I know that here in North Carolina there are very different dialects in various parts of the state, particularly the difference between the mountains and the coast. Unrelated to language in general, one topic discussed on tonight's show is how some people (especially women) tend to speak in a rising intonation as though asking a question, when in reality, they're not. I've also noticed this appearing in written speech as well where people will put a question mark on the end of a statement that isn't necessarily asking a question? Interesting, I will have to catch that show tonight. I live about 30 miles from Chicago and there is definitely a difference in dialect even though demographically the population is very similar. And that rising intonation drives me crazy, but I thought it was a west coast thing. As for my language history, I used to be fairly good in Spanish and Italian, but it has been a long time since I had to use them. I am fluent in Greek and I know some Arabic - enough to realize that it is way too difficult to learn any more!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Within Virginia there are variations too. The Tidewater accent (near the coast) is somewhat Scottish-influenced and is very different from the Southwest Virginia accent, which to me sounds more similar to an Atlanta area accent. And Richmond area natives have a fairly strong accent. There are definitely others too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily008 Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share Posted March 9, 2011 This thread is taking a very interesting turn indeed! I'm enjoying myself, reading all your posts! Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidersandsnakes Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 On tonight's episode of Fresh Air with Terry Gross with dialect coach/speech therapist Sam Chwat, he says that accents are different every 50 miles. I know that here in North Carolina there are very different dialects in various parts of the state, particularly the difference between the mountains and the coast. Unrelated to language in general, one topic discussed on tonight's show is how some people (especially women) tend to speak in a rising intonation as though asking a question, when in reality, they're not. I've also noticed this appearing in written speech as well where people will put a question mark on the end of a statement that isn't necessarily asking a question? It would be interesting to note if this can be extended to other Anglo-Saxon countries:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Within Virginia there are variations too. The Tidewater accent (near the coast) is somewhat Scottish-influenced and is very different from the Southwest Virginia accent, which to me sounds more similar to an Atlanta area accent. And Richmond area natives have a fairly strong accent. There are definitely others too. In North Carolina many of the coastal residents (particularly around Beaufort) have a very distinct accent. People from this part of the state are known as "High Tiders". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 The Virginia Piedmont accent is the most prevalent. Remember the judge Fred Gwynne played in My Cousin Vinny? That's close. Tidewater: "oot and aboot" (out and about) I've lived in SW Virginia: overall, there's a softer drawl with a hard "t" on the end of words ending in t; because sounds like buhcawwze. Right is roighT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 I have never seen this particular special on my local PBS affiliate but it's on the accent that's so prevalent in the Outer Banks region of the state: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 ^^^ That's really interesting, there is such rich history there. We've been vacationing there since I was little, but usually don't go below South Nags Head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Fun new way to learn Italian: find CityVille neighbors in Italy! Added bonus is that CityVille then becomes an educational tool, instead of a time waster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic Fills the Air Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 When it comes to regional accents and dialects, Britain has the most diverse for such a small geographical space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi_Zep_Fan87 Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 "Human language is first and foremost a social instrument, perhaps the most social of all types of learning" ~ M.R Jalongo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic Fills the Air Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 (edited) "Human language is first and foremost a social instrument, perhaps the most social of all types of learning" ~ M.R Jalongo So true Kiwi. Language is what distinguishes as a civilised race. I have always been fascinated by how the English language evolved, in particular the influence of Chaucer's Middle English on Modern English. To read Chaucer for the first time is like reading a different langauge, but when you read it out loud you can hear familiar English words that we use today. Edited March 17, 2011 by Magic Fills the Air Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidersandsnakes Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 "Human language is first and foremost a social instrument, perhaps the most social of all types of learning" ~ M.R Jalongo All linguists agree to that....lamguage also reflects the very nature, origin and evolution of a country:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mastress of procrastinate Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 German is my mother tongue. I am quite fluent on English, but it could be better. We learned it in school like probably everybody in non-english speaking coutries learns English. English is one of my a-levels and I'm doing rather good, though it could be much better. Because of having to do a second foreign language I did Latin for 5 years in school, which I always were lousy at. French would have been a definitely better choice, since it is widely spoken and the oppertunity to speak a language makes you learn it much faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidersandsnakes Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 (edited) German is my mother tongue. I am quite fluent on English, but it could be better. We learned it in school like probably everybody in non-english speaking coutries learns English. English is one of my a-levels and I'm doing rather good, though it could be much better. Because of having to do a second foreign language I did Latin for 5 years in school, which I always were lousy at. French would have been a definitely better choice, since it is widely spoken and the oppertunity to speak a language makes you learn it much faster. I just checked your English level and by ESOL Cambridge levels (European Assessment Framewotk) , you get B1 for writing:):).....uhm, NOT all non-Anglo-Saxon countries have a good English teaching program at high school level, e.g. Italy, Spain and Portugal are very below average:) Edited March 20, 2011 by spidersandsnakes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonzoLikeDrumer Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 No offense but, is it easy to live a life of so many language's to speak? I know I myself would be very confused as a child if I was forced to speak more than one language and not to mention the culture that really should go along with it. Because in the end the words are little more than word's with out the culture that it represents. Just asking.... As for the word's I speak, it would be the English we commonly speak here in North Carolina (USA), there's also a lot of Spanish classes in the school's here now. If you go to a 4 year college you have to take a foreign language to get your BA. I myself would be lost with out my spell checker as I'm bad at grammar, even with my love of writing I can't get far with out a proofread and a good thesaurus. English is most likely one of the youngest spoken language's on earth but if I remember my history it's got a lot of old and new Latin, German and French in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I never really knew that people from different States in the U.S spoke with different accents! Gosh! How interesting! I have heard of the famous "Southern Drawl" but never knew that each state practically has its own accent! Anyway, just thought I'll give this thread a bump so that more members here can contribute, if they are interested! Just watch 'The Fighter' with the Massachusetts accent. 'I ain't fuckin' talkin' ta youse!' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mastress of procrastinate Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 I just checked your English level and by ESOL Cambridge levels (European Assessment Framewotk) , you get B1 for writing:):).....uhm, NOT all non-Anglo-Saxon countries have a good English teaching program at high school level, e.g. Italy, Spain and Portugal are very below average:) Oh, I didn't know that. I thought that German and English are related languages is the reason many Germans seem to speak it well and not that we'd have a high level of teaching. Actually all English teachers I've had yet were spending at least a few years in English speaking countries, some even studied there. Might that's why I was fortunate to enjoy good English classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Rider Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Oh, I didn't know that. I thought that German and English are related languages is the reason many Germans seem to speak it well and not that we'd have a high level of teaching. Actually all English teachers I've had yet were spending at least a few years in English speaking countries, some even studied there. Might that's why I was fortunate to enjoy good English classes. You are correct, German and English are related languages. But sometimes native speakers of Latin-based languages have difficulty with English because French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish do not originate from Germanic or Teutonic languages, as much of English does. Old French is the one area that both English and French have in common in regard to origins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidersandsnakes Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 (edited) Oh, I didn't know that. I thought that German and English are related languages is the reason many Germans seem to speak it well and not that we'd have a high level of teaching. Actually all English teachers I've had yet were spending at least a few years in English speaking countries, some even studied there. Might that's why I was fortunate to enjoy good English classes. A little English language history lesson: English is a relatively "young" language if compared to French or better Italian:)......before the year 1100, the inhabitants of England as it was then spoke Celtic and other 'local lingos'....with the Norman invasion of England, English as we know it started to shape. What many people do not realize is that English IS a neo-Teutonic language (of the Amglo-Saxon family) BUT 400 years of Roman dominion by Julius Caeser couldn't have gone unseen! It is estimated that over 70% of English wotds derive from Latin!, the remaiining 30% or so derive from Celtic, Anglo and Saxon (and Norman, which derived otiginally from Latin as well:)). The prob with Latin countries is NOT so much the preparation of teachers, but the teaching program itself by the Ministry of Education in Latin countries...and add to that the recent cuts in govt. funds for foreign languages, in Italy for example:( Edited March 21, 2011 by spidersandsnakes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidersandsnakes Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 You are correct, German and English are related languages. But sometimes native speakers of Latin-based languages have difficulty with English because French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish do not originate from Germanic or Teutonic languages, as much of English does. Old French is the one area that both English and French have in common in regard to origins. Exactly:):) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonzoLikeDrumer Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Think of it as English, the way we here speak it in the state's as a derivative of the language spoken in England and most of the UK. Some people still choose to speak the older Gaelic & Celtic word, but I'm sure that the majority of folks in the UK speak English. As for the accent's of a language, you can have a pronunciation difference but most every one still speaks the same language it's just the level's of barometric pressure in different part's of the land's altitude (every where) where you will sound different. If you move from one area to another your body will physically change and your vox chords will be affected by the new atmosphere and you'll sound like every one else there if you stay there long enough. It's not as dramatic a change as if you'd been there all your life but your voice will change some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidersandsnakes Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Think of it as English, the way we here speak it in the state's as a derivative of the language spoken in England and most of the UK. Some people still choose to speak the older Gaelic & Celtic word, but I'm sure that the majority of folks in the UK speak English. As for the accent's of a language, you can have a pronunciation difference but most every one still speaks the same language it's just the level's of barometric pressure in different part's of the land's altitude (every where) where you will sound different. If you move from one area to another your body will physically change and your vox chords will be affected by the new atmosphere and you'll sound like every one else there if you stay there long enough. It's not as dramatic a change as if you'd been there all your life but your voice will change some. I totally agree. Some of my ESL students believe that there is an Englsih language and an American language!!!! Not true......both are Englsih, only that the accents are different and some words are more part of one nation rather than the other....e.g. taxi in the UK, cab in the USA; underground in the UK, subway in the USA; footpath in the UK, sidewalk in the uSA..and so on.....but you will find all these words equaLLy in any given English dictionary :)!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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