Languages, accents, dialects an' t'ing

[mjmooney]

23 minutes ago, blandy said:

Very slightly different, to me. Though I lived in Cornwall for a while, I don't think that's why.

Pepper = peppur

Peppa = peppa(h) with a short "ah" - as in acid, not an Arrr.

That's pretty much how the missus described it. I still can't really discern the difference. 

She also insists that 'one' and 'none' rhyme with 'gun', whereas I rhyme them with 'gone'. I'm afraid she may actually be correct on this one, but I can't bring myself to say them that way. 

[blandy]

10 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

That's pretty much how the missus described it. I still can't really discern the difference. 

She also insists that 'one' and 'none' rhyme with 'gun', whereas I rhyme them with 'gone'. I'm afraid she may actually be correct on this one, but I can't bring myself to say them that way. 

One as in Wand, for me (as for you)

But none as in Nun (mostly).

We're an odd lot!

[il_serpente]

27 minutes ago, blandy said:

We're an odd lot!

I didn't want to be the one to say it.

[Seat68]

One thing I did find during my extensive research pepper when said with salt and pepper was softer and quieter than how I said Peppa. 
Do northern Irish and American people say Pippa, Pepper and Peppa all the same? 

[il_serpente]

3 minutes ago, Seat68 said:

One thing I did find during my extensive research pepper when said with salt and pepper was softer and quieter than how I said Peppa. 
Do northern Irish and American people say Pippa, Pepper and Peppa all the same? 

Most Americans say them all differently, but many in the northeast might say Pepper and Peppa the same.

[mjmooney]

On the subject of US vs UK usage, fans of this thread may enjoy this blog: Separated by a Common Language. 

[Risso]

On 03/03/2023 at 23:07, il_serpente said:

 

I find it curious that the phrase "just about" means the complete opposite  on the two sides of the Atlantic.   Over here, when you say, "I just about made it" you mean "I almost made it, but not quite."    For you, it means "I made it, but just barely."    Very close in meaning in the sense that both describe being very close to a demarcation line of some sort, but on opposite sides such that the meanings couldn't be further apart.

Is that really a US/UK thing? In the UK it can ne used in two different ways, eg:

"I was travelling to the airport, the traffic was really bad but I just about made it in time for my plane." So the 'made it in time, but only just' example you give. How would this differ in the US, because if it means to just miss out, I'm struggling to see how it would make sense.

On the other hand, we might also say "that was just about the nicest meal I've ever had." In this example, just about means "almost, but not quite" in a way that you say is more common in the US.

[blandy]

1 hour ago, Risso said:

In this example, just about means "almost, but not quite" in a way that you say is more common in the US.

I’d take it to mean “possibly (the nicest), but I’m not sure”, but yeah good post all the same.

[il_serpente]

6 hours ago, Risso said:

Is that really a US/UK thing? In the UK it can ne used in two different ways, eg:

"I was travelling to the airport, the traffic was really bad but I just about made it in time for my plane." So the 'made it in time, but only just' example you give. How would this differ in the US, because if it means to just miss out, I'm struggling to see how it would make sense.

On the other hand, we might also say "that was just about the nicest meal I've ever had." In this example, just about means "almost, but not quite" in a way that you say is more common in the US.

Interesting point.  I don't think there's complete overlap in the situations where the phrase is used.   In your airport scenario we'd either say, "I (just) barely made my flight)" or "I just missed my flight", not "I just about made my flight".   However, if a friend phoned and asked if I had gotten to the airport yet I might say, "I'm just about there" if I was getting near but hadn't made it yet.

It may also be tied to expectations.   For example, if I was headed to the airport and was early and had an outside chance of getting on an earlier flight than planned I might say, "The traffic was light and I just about made it on the 7:00 flight instead of the one at 8:00."

A situation where I think we would both use the phrase with different meanings is, "I was trying to set a new personal record of bench pressing 200 lbs. and I just about did it."

[Mark Albrighton]

Did anyone else ever use or hear the term “skanked” when someone didn’t turn up to something?

”Did Matt turn up for football last night?”

”Nah, he skanked us.” 

And yes, that person would be considered a “skank”. Fwiw the word wasn’t really used for its more well known meaning, it was largely used to suggest the flakiness of an individual.

I nearly put this in the memory thread about how pre phones we couldn’t just cancel last minute, you either turn up or you don’t. But this in turn led to me thinking about this phrase that was fairly common in school life for me. An internet search doesn’t yield much to corroborate my memory, so I’m wondering if this was something that was particular to my school years.

[maqroll]

I enjoy this channel.

 

[Demitri_C]

I haven't read 15 pages so forgive me if this has bewn covered but something i have always wondered.

Why do we pick up american accents when we move to the states but here americans dont pick up the British one?

Something i have never got!

 

[Marka Ragnos]

2 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

I haven't read 15 pages so forgive me if this has bewn covered but something i have always wondered.

Why do we pick up american accents when we move to the states but here americans dont pick up the British one?

Something i have never got!

 

You probably just don't "hear" them well. The year-abroad student who comes back from the UK with a half-affected British accent is infamous. "You only lived there for a year -- why do you sound like Hugh Grant!" 

My dad has lived in the states for years and sounds mostly American to me but he sounds English to all my mates growing up and still does to anyone not in our family. I can't "hear" his Bewdley/Kidderminster-area accent any more because I'm used to it but others do. 

[mjmooney]

42 minutes ago, Marka Ragnos said:

You probably just don't "hear" them well. The year-abroad student who comes back from the UK with a half-affected British accent is infamous. "You only lived there for a year -- why do you sound like Hugh Grant!" 

My dad has lived in the states for years and sounds mostly American to me but he sounds English to all my mates growing up and still does to anyone not in our family. I can't "hear" his Bewdley/Kidderminster-area accent any more because I'm used to it but others do. 

This. My sister-in-law married an American bloke and lived in Baltimore for years. Whenever she came back to visit, we all thought she sounded American. Meanwhile all her American friends thought she sounded totally British. 

[Demitri_C]

1 hour ago, Marka Ragnos said:

You probably just don't "hear" them well. The year-abroad student who comes back from the UK with a half-affected British accent is infamous. "You only lived there for a year -- why do you sound like Hugh Grant!" 

My dad has lived in the states for years and sounds mostly American to me but he sounds English to all my mates growing up and still does to anyone not in our family. I can't "hear" his Bewdley/Kidderminster-area accent any more because I'm used to it but others do. 

I went to see my mate in boston and he has the wierdest accent. Some words he says with a very british way but then other words its titally americanised. I can see he is teying to fight it and sound British like his roots but he cant help it

I have another mate who lives out in south carolina and his accent he is proper american now. He has been out there for over ten years so its understandable.

I work with an ameeican and have been for years and his accents been the same as when he started.  He literally doesnt british in the slightest

[mjmooney]

2 hours ago, Demitri_C said:

I went to see my mate in boston and he has the wierdest accent. Some words he says with a very british way but then other words its titally americanise

Lloyd Grossman, then? 

[Demitri_C]

1 hour ago, mjmooney said:

Lloyd Grossman, then? 

I need to google this person.1

[mjmooney]

41 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

I need to google this person.1

 

[il_serpente]

6 hours ago, Demitri_C said:

I haven't read 15 pages so forgive me if this has bewn covered but something i have always wondered.

Why do we pick up american accents when we move to the states but here americans dont pick up the British one?

Something i have never got!

 

Did you ever hear Brad Friedel speak?  By the time he left the UK he would never have been pegged as an American by anyone who didn't know better.   Not sure anyone in the UK would have guessed he was British, either, but in the US they would.

[leemond2008]

2 hours ago, il_serpente said:

Did you ever hear Brad Friedel speak?  By the time he left the UK he would never have been pegged as an American by anyone who didn't know better.   Not sure anyone in the UK would have guessed he was British, either, but in the US they would.

I always remember when thomas hitzlsperger was on Soccer AM and they were quizzing him about his English accent and he said something along the lines of "it just happened, believe me, I wouldn't have chosen to sound like a Brummie but it is what it is"