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nonscents
06-04-2003, 04:20 AM
There seem to be a fair number of Western Europeans contributing to the forums who revel in writing in colloquial American English. I am curious. Do you learn this from TV and movies, from long hours on the Internet, from travel in the US, from music?

seadove
06-04-2003, 04:32 AM
Can you say that in English please?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Andy
06-04-2003, 04:39 AM
?? Dove ??

It looks like english to me .. chinese is different. Don\'t tell me you don\'t know what \"colloquial\" means /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

BassMan
06-04-2003, 04:42 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
There seem to be a fair number of Western Europeans contributing to the forums who revel in writing in colloquial American English. I am curious. Do you learn this from TV and movies, from long hours on the Internet, from travel in the US, from music?

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Yeah, I\'ve wondered the same thing. I suspect all of the above - even here in the US regional language differences seem to be dying out - especially in the larger cities.

Andy
06-04-2003, 04:48 AM
I am definitely the colloquial type of guy, I hate writing and don\'t pay much attention to it in case I have to do it. I am just hammering the words down and don\'t care about mistakes. I\'ve tried to talk to my keyboard but the result was really unsatisfactory. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

franki
06-04-2003, 04:58 AM
Andy, I don\'t know if you said that to receive a compliment, but I don\'t see much (grammatically) wrong with what you write. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Apart from the fact that 90% of your posts are smart-ass remarks .... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

nonscents
06-04-2003, 05:01 AM
Yeah Andy. I\'ve seen you do stuff like replace the \"g\" of \"ing\" with an apostrophe, like \"I am goin\' to the store.\" Where did you learn to do that?

Andy
06-04-2003, 05:02 AM
Thx
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Ummmm .. dunno, I might have been to long in the states. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

nonscents
06-04-2003, 05:07 AM
Were you an exchange student for a year in high school (American high school)?

Andy
06-04-2003, 05:10 AM
No, I\'ve been half a year to the states after school during a language exchange program. But I\'ve been often in the states later. Must have been something like year all together.

nonscents
06-04-2003, 05:15 AM
OK. Thanks. That explains one person.

I spent 3 months in East Berlin as a student in the summer of 1987 and I still couldn\'t understand that Berliner Deutsch.

franki
06-04-2003, 05:18 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
That explains one person.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

My english needs a bit more fine-tuning than Andy\'s I think. I learnt it from tv, but most of all from reading lots and lots on the internet. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Andy
06-04-2003, 05:21 AM
German dialects are quite complicated and might differ a lot from the main language ... Thank god you haven\'t been in Munich, or worse, somewhere else in Bavaria. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

**DONOTDELETE**
06-04-2003, 06:06 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
There seem to be a fair number of Western Europeans contributing to the forums who revel in writing in colloquial American English. I am curious. Do you learn this from TV and movies, from long hours on the Internet, from travel in the US, from music?

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

I\'m a bad influence in that regard, almost always apostophizing the end g\'s and using \"gonna\" for going to, etc.

I miss colloquial English. It\'s dying out here. There\'s so much snobbisme surrounding it. Instead we tend toward corporate speak.

frenchie
06-04-2003, 06:29 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
There seem to be a fair number of Western Europeans contributing to the forums who revel in writing in colloquial American English. I am curious. Do you learn this from TV and movies, from long hours on the Internet, from travel in the US, from music?

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Long hours on the Internet, mainly. Basically I learnt \"english english\" at school and stayed near London for holidays when I was about 15-16. I love to speak english (unlike a lot of french people).

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
I miss colloquial English. It\'s dying out here. There\'s so much snobbisme surrounding it

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

FTR : I can understand that, but it would be more difficult for foreigners to understand what you say... let\'s be as open as possible. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Sexyredhead
06-04-2003, 06:43 AM
I was in Hessen for 3 months after high school. Learned a lot of German--got quite good at it actually, but it was with a strong \"southern\" accent. Left the ends off of all kinds of things. lol

Too bad I\'m out of practice now.

Andy
06-04-2003, 06:52 AM
Where have you been exactly SRH ? There are many different accents in Hessen, I\'d like to know how bad it was /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

Sexyredhead
06-04-2003, 06:57 AM
I was over by Babenhausen, Aschaffenburg--that area. Also popped down to Augsburg and Munich for a bit. I mostly toured Bayern, actually, but stayed in a little town called Schaafheim. It was surrounded by sunflowers. I loved it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Added to that, I learned German with a southern US accent, although it wasn\'t that pronounced. Then I went to central/southern Germany and learned MORE German. Try to imagine that. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Andy
06-04-2003, 07:11 AM
I\'ve been with a us-college group (german language students) in Augsburg around the age of 16. I had to talk english with them because the only way to tell they were talking german was because they told us they would /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif. I thought people with english as their native language would have problems talking german in general (I know it is hard because we are using much more different sounds). I found out later that the Prof was a stupid dumbass and caused it all. One of the guys went really mad after about a week because he learned such a long time and wasn\'t able to order a beer and chips without using his arms and legs. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Ok, ok, it\'s not better in german schools. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Sexyredhead
06-04-2003, 07:28 AM
Actually, most of the people I was around were surprised I\'d only had one year of German before I went there. My host family didn\'t speak English, except for my host sister, and although we started in English, it went to mostly German after a week or two.
I was lucky though. I had a really good German class/teacher in high school. My college German wasn\'t nearly so good--in fact it messed me up a bit, so I can understand what you mean about those college students.
I remember meeting some people in a biergarten once from Austria, and it was hard to understand their accents. So maybe it\'s just YOU. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif I didn\'t have nearly so much trouble with the German from the Italians! lol

Whitehall
06-04-2003, 07:33 AM
Just wanted to say thanks to all our non-native English speakers for making the effort to learn a second language. I appreciate your contributions and we would all be less well informed without you.

Plus, this way I don\'t have to learn another language!

Xehupatl
06-04-2003, 07:44 AM
LOL NOBODY can understand Berliner German!!

Berliner deutsch is like raping the german language repeatedly with a 14-inch spiked dildo!

Where do we get our colloquial english skills? SIMPSONS!! :-D

And yes, long hours on the internet, too!

We learn \"proper\" british english in school, but who gives a [bad word]? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

ahem ..

Xehupatl
06-04-2003, 07:47 AM
BTW both austrian and german german (yes, there\'s a HUGE difference, german german being especially moronic) dialects are TERRIBLE! They give me the creeps. Freaky!
Go to Vorarlberg (an austrian province) and you can\'t understand a WORD of what they\'re talking about!
Bavarian german isn\'t so bad, it\'s really URIG (\"urig\" translates as \"down to earth\").

I usually speak \"clean\" german, like it\'s being written. Sounds very .... educated. You dig?

Sexyredhead
06-04-2003, 07:48 AM
Honestly, I love berliner deutsch. It sounds sexier, and it seems much smoother to me. Not so \"correct\".

Ahhh, but I could be smoking crack. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Xehupatl
06-04-2003, 07:52 AM
oh please ... the only thing I hear when I listen to some Berliner is \"I dun married ma sista\"

Sexyredhead
06-04-2003, 07:56 AM
Maybe I\'m just biased, being from the South and all. I looooooove southern accents. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Xehupatl
06-04-2003, 07:57 AM
Well if y\'all like it ... who am I to tell you differently? I just hate it.

Sexyredhead
06-04-2003, 08:03 AM
That\'s the general consensus, I\'ve noticed. Either you love it or hate it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

**DONOTDELETE**
06-04-2003, 08:11 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Well if y\'all like it ... who am I to tell you differently? I just hate it.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Tch tch tch tch! \"Y\'all\" means \"you all.\" It is NEVER used to refer to one person.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I\'ve got a god awful Andalusian accent when I speak Spanish, SRH. Isn\'t that strange? Both of us have southern English AND southern accents in our second languages. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

franki
06-04-2003, 09:05 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
BTW both austrian and german german (yes, there\'s a HUGE difference, german german being especially moronic) dialects are TERRIBLE!

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Oh no. I think austrian dialect is very charming! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Sexyredhead
06-04-2003, 09:31 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Well if y\'all like it ... who am I to tell you differently? I just hate it.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Tch tch tch tch! \"Y\'all\" means \"you all.\" It is NEVER used to refer to one person. </font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />


<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

I\'ve given up on educating people about that. Either they get it from the start, or they never get it. *sigh*


</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />

I\'ve got a god awful Andalusian accent when I speak Spanish, SRH. Isn\'t that strange? Both of us have southern English AND southern accents in our second languages. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

That is strange. And probably extremely sexy--to all but Xehupatl. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Xehupatl
06-04-2003, 10:40 AM
FTR - i was referring to \"you all\", rather than SRH only.

Also, I hate Berliner deutsch, not Redneck drawl ... wait, I hate that too ... okay you\'re right.

Joke\'s on me. Put in on my tab.

Sexyredhead
06-04-2003, 10:44 AM
&lt;Redneck drawl ... wait, I hate that too &gt;

Well, there\'s the southern drawl, and \'Redneck\'. Which one do you mean?
The southern drawl is smooth, relaxed, and slow. \'Redneck\' can be jarring and just sounds ignorant.

Xehupatl
06-04-2003, 10:47 AM
hey maybe I can get up too 500 posts soon. Wow, 400-something posts without ever saying anything constructive about pheromones!

=*= Xehupatl - Whoring for Post-Count Since 1999 =*=

Xehupatl
06-04-2003, 10:48 AM
yes sorry about that - shooting off my mouth when I don\'t know anything about that!

joke\'s on me - again!

tallmacky
06-04-2003, 10:49 AM
Maybe there is a slightly more educated Southern accent but whenever I hear either it \"urks\" me for some reason. Everyone should make audio posts yeah, constructive alright.

Sexyredhead
06-04-2003, 10:51 AM
Like I said, either you love it or you hate it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Cloud9
06-04-2003, 10:58 AM
speaking of accents. How about Swiss german! sounds really weird to me. It\'s a good thing every one in Switzerland, Germany/baveria, Litchenstein, and Austria are schooled in \"Heuch Deutsch\"(standard german)

Xehupatl
06-04-2003, 11:00 AM
Hochdeutsch friggin\' rulez!

Swiss german is really funny. I can\'t really understand it, but I like it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

tallmacky
06-04-2003, 11:01 AM
Who is bilingual here? I know alot of the European guys and girls must be but I was just wondering what are your main fluent languages?

**DONOTDELETE**
06-04-2003, 11:59 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
FTR - i was referring to \"you all\", rather than SRH only.

Also, I hate Berliner deutsch, not Redneck drawl ... wait, I hate that too ... okay you\'re right.

Joke\'s on me. Put in on my tab.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Ehh...it\'s just that kind of thing that\'s killing regional accents. \"Redneck drawl.\" Yeah, right. Like Brooklynese sounds any better for having originated north of the Mason Dixon. Or Bostonians who wouldn\'t know an R if it fell in their laps. Or CA\'s Valley Girls.

It\'s all good. Celebrate diversity. Eschew stereotypes. Broaden your horizons.

Oh, fvck it, never mind.

upsidedown
06-04-2003, 12:04 PM
And then there\'s CAJUN!

Whitehall
06-04-2003, 12:17 PM
I\'ve always been a student of American Southern accents. They have a number of distinct \"ecosystems\" based on economic niches and migratory sources. There are a few that are quite cultivated and melodious, especially coming from beautiful women. See \"Gone with the Wind\"!

For example, Tidewater Virginian is from Southern England and is rather feudal in origin - think aristocratic Roundheads fleeing the English Civil War. Piedmont Alabama, Georgia, and west is from what we call \"Scotch-Irish\" because they had their origins in the borderlands between Scotland and England and Northern Ireland. Their closest relatives in the \"Old Country\" are the Orangemen of Belfast and neighborhood.

There\'s lot\'s more to it but I could always tell, when I was growing up on the Florida Gulf coast, someone from Selma from someone from, say, Apalachacola, just by accent.

People in New Orleans sound, surprisingly, like people from the Bronx. And people in New Orleans sound a lot different from the people just outside of town - the difference between Creole and Cajun.

Andy
06-04-2003, 12:36 PM
I am Mack, german and italian. I haven\'t spoken italian for about 12 years but I was raised bilingual. I don\'t think I lost something that an intensive class couldn\'t replace though /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif.

Swiss-German (Schwitzerdütsch) is almost a complete different language. It\'s even hard to understand everything in case swiss people are speaking the main language (hoch-deutsch). Swiss is a special case anyway because there are so many spoken dialects and languages (different german dialects, french and different romanic dialects).

Ick kann jah nich versteh\'n wie jemand dit Berlinerisch nich möjen kann. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Andy
06-04-2003, 04:11 PM
Hehehe ... there\'s even some colloquial english on signs and such in Japan ....

Pool (\"http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze2c2fe/swimmin.jpg\")

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

nonscents
06-05-2003, 04:14 AM
Nice research there Andy. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Cultural imperialism is an awesome thing. I wonder how it\'ll change after Rupert Murdoch controls everything everyone in the world sees. Maybe we\'ll get lucky and he\'ll follow the Silvio Berlusconi route.

EXIT63
06-05-2003, 05:34 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
&lt;Redneck drawl ... wait, I hate that too &gt;

Well, there\'s the southern drawl, and \'Redneck\'. Which one do you mean?
The southern drawl is smooth, relaxed, and slow. \'Redneck\' can be jarring and just sounds ignorant.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

I can\'t stand Southern accents! Period. I don\'t know why really. I just don\'t like them. And I lived in Florida for 10 years.

When I\'m writing to the ladies on the forum, I picture them without accents. Although I know Red has one, it would\'nt bother me because I think she\'s pretty smart. She always uses big words like apostophasizing. I think the reason is the whole trailer trash ignorance stereotype thing. Even Bill Clinton had an El Camino with astroturf in the back.

In my warped mind, Elana has absolutely no southern accent whatsoever! She\'s a cosmopolitan New Yawker with the slightest tinge of jewishness in her voice.

That\'s the way it sounds to me anyway.

And all of you Europeans do a fine job with english. If I didn\'t know that Franki was a native Dutch cheesehead living in Germany, I would think he\'s from Pennsylvania.

nonscents
06-05-2003, 05:47 AM
Actually, Elana is a 14-year-old boy from Milwaukee who goes to Catholic school. FTR is a 250-pound lumberjack from Washington state with a lot of hair on his back. And Mobley is a composite of 8 teen-age girls from suburban Boston.

franki
06-05-2003, 05:50 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Actually, Elana is a 14-year-old boy from Milwaukee who goes to Catholic school. FTR is a 250-pound lumberjack from Washington state with a lot of hair on his back. And Mobley is a composite of 8 teen-age girls from suburban Boston.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

**DONOTDELETE**
06-05-2003, 07:51 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Actually, Elana is a 14-year-old boy from Milwaukee who goes to Catholic school. FTR is a 250-pound lumberjack from Washington state with a lot of hair on his back. And Mobley is a composite of 8 teen-age girls from suburban Boston.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

I do NOT have hair on my back!!

Sexyredhead
06-05-2003, 08:09 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
&lt;Redneck drawl ... wait, I hate that too &gt;

Well, there\'s the southern drawl, and \'Redneck\'. Which one do you mean?
The southern drawl is smooth, relaxed, and slow. \'Redneck\' can be jarring and just sounds ignorant.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

I can\'t stand Southern accents! Period. I don\'t know why really. I just don\'t like them. And I lived in Florida for 10 years.

When I\'m writing to the ladies on the forum, I picture them without accents. Although I know Red has one, it would\'nt bother me because I think she\'s pretty smart. She always uses big words like apostophasizing. I think the reason is the whole trailer trash ignorance stereotype thing. Even Bill Clinton had an El Camino with astroturf in the back.


<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">


Um, don\'t all y\'all have an El Camino with astroturf in the back??? Or at least a big-a$$ truck? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I\'ve seen those itty bitty car commercials, but I thought they were all from Europe. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
(A lot of us don\'t claim Bill Clinton down here anyway. That\'s ARKANSAS, and I don\'t live there. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Oh, and another thing. Do they even HAVE a southern accent in Florida anymore?? Everybody there that I\'ve talked to sounds either Cuban or very very yankee. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Elana would only go up on my good list if she has one. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Whitehall
06-05-2003, 08:14 AM
Florida has a variety of accents. There\'s upland Florida, swamp bug Florida, Yankee Florida, and Koobun.

**DONOTDELETE**
06-05-2003, 09:16 AM
Post deleted by FullTiltRedhead

Sexyredhead
06-05-2003, 09:19 AM
I am from the South. What in my posts made you think I wasn\'t?

**DONOTDELETE**
06-05-2003, 09:21 AM
Post deleted by FullTiltRedhead

Sexyredhead
06-05-2003, 09:30 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Your saying you hate Southern accents and making stereotyped remarks about southerners!

You hate yourself??

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Whoa!! Back up a sec. One, I was being facetious with Exit. That\'s all. Sorry if it didn\'t come across that way.

And I love the Southern drawl. I\'ve said that many times. It\'s \'Redneck\' I\'m not overly fond of. And you can find \'Redneck\' anywhere.

Sexyredhead
06-05-2003, 09:33 AM
I think I see what you\'re saying, but I think it\'s a confusion of who said what. Exit hates southern accents. I don\'t. That might have gotten confused in the quotes part.

**DONOTDELETE**
06-05-2003, 09:39 AM
So sorry! You\'re exactly right, that\'s exactly what happened! My bad, off to delete that post.

Apologies. (I was so confused...)

For me, it\'s not so much accent (although you can certainly tell I\'m not from the north - but people usually just ask me where I\'m from rather than know my heritage is southern), it\'s the way I put words together, especially when I\'m mad or with someone I\'m completely comfortable with. Then the southern and the Irish comes out.

I was a Navy brat and we lived mostly outside the US while I was growing up. My parents had southern accents. Mine\'s not real pronounced and it\'s a mish-mash of varieties.

Xehupatl
06-06-2003, 12:17 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Actually, Elana is a 14-year-old boy from Milwaukee who goes to Catholic school. FTR is a 250-pound lumberjack from Washington state with a lot of hair on his back. And Mobley is a composite of 8 teen-age girls from suburban Boston.


<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

PICSS!!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

DaVinciKittie
06-06-2003, 12:55 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Well if y\'all like it ... who am I to tell you differently? I just hate it.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Tch tch tch tch! \"Y\'all\" means \"you all.\" It is NEVER used to refer to one person.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I\'ve got a god awful Andalusian accent when I speak Spanish, SRH. Isn\'t that strange? Both of us have southern English AND southern accents in our second languages. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Hey now! \"Ya\'ll\" is a very versatile word! We find all sorts of uses for it down here. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Ha! You should hear me try to speak french. It\'s atrocious. Spent 2 months there and still couldn\'t communicate worth a sh!t. And I really tried! The sad thing is, I could understand our professor (it was a study abroad trip) just fine- he spoke french with a very pronounced Texas accent. Go figure! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

DaVinciKittie
06-06-2003, 01:07 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
I can\'t stand Southern accents! Period. I don\'t know why really. I just don\'t like them. And I lived in Florida for 10 years.

When I\'m writing to the ladies on the forum, I picture them without accents.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

I\'m from East Texas, and there are a *lot* of redneck folk around here. I *HATE* that accent. For a long time I made a conscious effort to *not* sound like I was from Texas for that very reason (I was good at it too- people here would ask me where I was from). Then I realized that Texas/Southern accent doesn\'t necessarily mean redneck (same for country music- took me a while on that one too but now I love it). Now I speak with a slight drawl, but it\'s the slow, lazy kind, so as long as I don\'t start to sound like the Beverly Hillbillies, I\'m happy! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

MaxiMog
06-07-2003, 12:09 PM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
There seem to be a fair number of Western Europeans contributing to the forums who revel in writing in colloquial American English. I am curious. Do you learn this from TV and movies, from long hours on the Internet, from travel in the US, from music?

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

My English \"skills\" were mostly developped by playing RPGs (Role-playing games) from age 8 to somewhere 14, I guess. I learned practically nothing in English class. I was always the best without even needing to study.

My English isn\'t flawless, but it\'s not that bad. Reading and comprehension are VERY easy to me; but when I have to write myself, I oftentimes find my vocabulary to be lacking a bit. Discussions are easily understood, but participating in them.....

The Internet has of course been a blessing, too, besides games.

franki
12-12-2003, 07:51 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />


And all of you Europeans do a fine job with

english. If I didn\'t know that Franki was a native Dutch cheesehead living in Germany, I would think he\'s

from Pennsylvania.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Why? Do I sound like Pancho?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Kari
12-12-2003, 07:59 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />


And all of you Europeans do a fine job with english. If I didn\'t know

that Franki was a native Dutch cheesehead living in Germany, I would think he\'s from Pennsylvania.

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Why? Do I sound like Pancho?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Or, from Kalamazoo, MI. VERU Dutch town.

Kari
12-12-2003, 08:01 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />


And all of you Europeans do a fine job with english. If I didn\'t know

that Franki was a native Dutch cheesehead living in Germany, I would think he\'s from Pennsylvania.

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Why? Do I sound like Pancho?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">


Or, from Kalamazoo, MI. VERY Dutch town.

Yeah, the U.S. is one of

the few (maybe the ONLY) first-world primarily monolingual countries. (sigh)

Kari
12-12-2003, 08:02 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
There seem to be a fair number of Western Europeans contributing to the

forums who revel in writing in colloquial American English. I am curious. Do you learn this from TV and movies, from

long hours on the Internet, from travel in the US, from music?

<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

Or, touchie-feelie Californiaspeak.
I\'m a bad influence in that regard, almost always

apostophizing the end g\'s and using \"gonna\" for going to, etc.

I miss colloquial English. It\'s dying

out here. There\'s so much snobbisme surrounding it. Instead we tend toward corporate speak.

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Kari
12-12-2003, 08:07 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Just wanted to say thanks to all our non-native

English speakers for making the effort to learn a second language. I appreciate your contributions and we would all

be less well informed without you.

Plus, this way I don\'t have to learn another language!

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

I have to make a shameful confession here. I wathced \"Joe Millionaire

II.\"

That\'s the shameful part.

The interesting part is that all the women were European. And, they all

seemed very sophisticated re: American colloquialisms, movie references, and \"in jokes.\" Or, perhaps the ones

who were very \"American-culturally aware\" were chosen.

Kari
12-12-2003, 08:09 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
LOL NOBODY can understand Berliner German!!



Berliner deutsch is like raping the german language repeatedly with a 14-inch spiked dildo!

Where do we get

our colloquial english skills? SIMPSONS!! :-D

And yes, long hours on the internet, too!

We learn \"proper\"

british english in school, but who gives a [bad word]? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

ahem ..

[/quote

You are Austrian. Maybe you can teach English to our new governor?

Kari
12-12-2003, 08:13 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
FTR - i was referring to \"you all\", rather than SRH only.

Also, I hate

Berliner deutsch, not Redneck drawl ... wait, I hate that too ... okay you\'re right.

Joke\'s on me. Put in

on my tab.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Ehh...it\'s just that kind of thing that\'s

killing regional accents. \"Redneck drawl.\" Yeah, right. Like Brooklynese sounds any better for having

originated north of the Mason Dixon. Or Bostonians who wouldn\'t know an R if it fell in their laps. Or CA\'s

Valley Girls.

It\'s all good. Celebrate diversity. Eschew stereotypes. Broaden your horizons.

Oh, fvck

it, never mind.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Or, Midwesterners who pick up the \"Rs\" that

the Bostonians over looked, and stick them behind vowels. Example: WaRshington.

Kari
12-12-2003, 08:14 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
I\'ve always been a student of American Southern

accents. They have a number of distinct \"ecosystems\" based on economic niches and migratory sources. There are

a few that are quite cultivated and melodious, especially coming from beautiful women. See \"Gone with the

Wind\"!

For example, Tidewater Virginian is from Southern England and is rather feudal in origin - think

aristocratic Roundheads fleeing the English Civil War. Piedmont Alabama, Georgia, and west is from what we call

\"Scotch-Irish\" because they had their origins in the borderlands between Scotland and England and Northern

Ireland. Their closest relatives in the \"Old Country\" are the Orangemen of Belfast and

neighborhood.

There\'s lot\'s more to it but I could always tell, when I was growing up on the Florida Gulf

coast, someone from Selma from someone from, say, Apalachacola, just by accent.

People in New Orleans sound,

surprisingly, like people from the Bronx. And people in New Orleans sound a lot different from the people just

outside of town - the difference between Creole and Cajun.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Mm-hm!

Kentucky and Tennesee mountain people often say, \"I\'m a-walking.\" Which is how it is said in Irish Gaelic.

Kari
12-12-2003, 08:16 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
LOL NOBODY can understand Berliner German!!



Berliner deutsch is like raping the german language repeatedly with a 14-inch spiked dildo!

Where do we get

our colloquial english skills? SIMPSONS!! :-D

And yes, long hours on the internet, too!

We learn \"proper\"

british english in school, but who gives a [bad word]? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

ahem ..



<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Yes, there were the diplomatic jokes re: whether or not the U.S.

should be seated with the English speaking countries. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Kari
12-12-2003, 08:18 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Well if

y\'all like it ... who am I to tell you differently? I just hate it.

<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

Tch tch tch tch! \"Y\'all\" means \"you all.\" It is NEVER used to refer to one

person.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I\'ve got a god awful Andalusian accent when I

speak Spanish, SRH. Isn\'t that strange? Both of us have southern English AND southern accents in our second

languages. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Hey

now! \"Ya\'ll\" is a very versatile word! We find all sorts of uses for it down here.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Ha! You should hear me try to speak french. It\'s

atrocious. Spent 2 months there and still couldn\'t communicate worth a sh!t. And I really tried! The sad thing

is, I could understand our professor (it was a study abroad trip) just fine- he spoke french with a very pronounced

Texas accent. Go figure! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

No. I claim the \"worst French\" crown. My sister on the other hand, is so fluent in Mexican

Spanish, her Irish face confuses people.

Kari
12-12-2003, 08:19 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
FTR - i was referring to \"you all\", rather than

SRH only.

Also, I hate Berliner deutsch, not Redneck drawl ... wait, I hate that too ... okay you\'re right.



Joke\'s on me. Put in on my tab.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Okie Redneck is

fun:

Jeet? (did you eat?)

I kin drahv frrrds and backards (I can drive there and back) Lit. \"forwards and

backwards.\"

Holmes
12-12-2003, 08:20 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Or, Midwesterners who pick up the \"Rs\" that the

Bostonians over looked, and stick them behind vowels. Example: WaRshington.

<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

Or cyborgs who can only muster an occasional \"I\'ll be back\" or \"Fvck you,

a$$hole.\"

That really gets under my skin.


Holmes

Kari
12-12-2003, 08:22 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Hehehe ... there\'s even some colloquial english

on signs and such in Japan ....

Pool (\"http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze2c2fe/swimmin.jpg\")



/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Some of it funny... \"Our shoes are best for streetwalking.\" &lt;g&gt;

Kari
12-12-2003, 08:24 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Hehehe ... there\'s even some colloquial english

on signs and such in Japan ....

Pool (\"http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze2c2fe/swimmin.jpg\")



/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Remember when Chevrolet tried to market the Nova in South America?

Didn\'t do that well, \"no va\" means \"it doesn\'t go.\"

Holmes
12-12-2003, 08:25 AM
I\'m a

Pacer man myself.


Holmes

Kari
12-12-2003, 08:26 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
&lt;Redneck drawl ... wait, I hate that too

&gt;

Well, there\'s the southern drawl, and \'Redneck\'. Which one do you mean?
The southern drawl is

smooth, relaxed, and slow. \'Redneck\' can be jarring and just sounds ignorant.

<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

Yes, there is that sweet, musical mint julip dialect.

Kari
12-12-2003, 08:27 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
Or, Midwesterners who pick up the \"Rs\" that the Bostonians over looked,

and stick them behind vowels. Example: WaRshington.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Or cyborgs who

can only muster an occasional \"I\'ll be back\" or \"Fvck you, a$$hole.\"

That really gets under my

skin.


Holmes

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Watching Pacino movies again? &lt;g&gt;

Pancho1188
12-12-2003, 08:44 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />

Or Bostonians who wouldn\'t know an R if it

fell in their laps. Or CA\'s Valley Girls.


<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Fun with

words:
Think of a Bostonian telling you he found his \"ca-keys\" in his \"ka-kis\"...

aka \"car keys\" in

his \"khakis\".

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />


And all of you Europeans do a fine job with english. If I didn\'t know

that Franki was a native Dutch cheesehead living in Germany, I would think he\'s from Pennsylvania.

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Why? Do I sound like Pancho?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

I\'m too crazy to be representing my state.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Besides, if I were representing my hometown of Pittsburgh, I\'d

have to say things like, \"Jaggers\", \"Hoagies\", \"Dantan\" (Downtown), \"Gumbands\", \"Kennywood\'s

open\", and \"Stillers\" (Steelers). /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr

/>

Or, from Kalamazoo, MI. VERY Dutch town.

Yeah, the U.S. is one of the few (maybe the ONLY) first-world

primarily monolingual countries. (sigh)


<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Don\'t be frontin\',

foo. You know we be talkin\' all ghetto and [censored]. I get back to my hood, I be chillin\' wit\' my

homies and we go down to the club to hit the honeys and show off our bling-bling straight-up style like wha... We

best be keepin\' from the po-po so ya\'ll can get straight dope all over this bitch. Y cuando tu recuerdo que

tenemos muchas personas espanolas aqui, es necessario ser muy amable a tus hemanos y hermanas de Mexico, Espana, y

muchos otros paises.

Gracias,
Pancho

Kari
12-12-2003, 09:26 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />

Or Bostonians who wouldn\'t know an R if it fell in their laps. Or

CA\'s Valley Girls.


<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Fun with words:
Think of a Bostonian

telling you he found his \"ca-keys\" in his \"ka-kis\"...

aka \"car keys\" in his

\"khakis\".

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />


And all of you Europeans do a fine job with english. If I didn\'t know

that Franki was a native Dutch cheesehead living in Germany, I would think he\'s from Pennsylvania.

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Why? Do I sound like Pancho?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

I\'m too crazy to be representing my state.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Besides, if I were representing my hometown of Pittsburgh, I\'d

have to say things like, \"Jaggers\", \"Hoagies\", \"Dantan\" (Downtown), \"Gumbands\", \"Kennywood\'s

open\", and \"Stillers\" (Steelers). /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr

/>

Or, from Kalamazoo, MI. VERY Dutch town.

Yeah, the U.S. is one of the few (maybe the ONLY) first-world

primarily monolingual countries. (sigh)


<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Don\'t be frontin\',

foo. You know we be talkin\' all ghetto and [censored]. I get back to my hood, I be chillin\' wit\' my

homies and we go down to the club to hit the honeys and show off our bling-bling straight-up style like wha... We

best be keepin\' from the po-po so ya\'ll can get straight dope all over this bitch. Y cuando tu recuerdo que

tenemos muchas personas espanolas aqui, es necessario ser muy amable a tus hemanos y hermanas de Mexico, Espana, y

muchos otros paises.

Gracias,
Pancho

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

WOW, honey! Now you

sound just like L.A.!

Kari
12-12-2003, 09:29 AM
http://www.kowloontraders.com/ampaug00.html (\"http://www.kowloontraders.com/ampaug00.html\")

Kari
12-12-2003, 09:32 AM
http://www.thetranslatorsinc.com/terribletrans

lation.html (\"http://www.thetranslatorsinc.com/terribletranslation.html\")

Holmes
12-12-2003, 10:02 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
WOW, honey! Now you sound just like L.A.!

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Just throw in

some agentspeak and a few \"I wish I could help\"s and I\'d reckon it\'d be pretty darned close...

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif


Holmes

Kari
12-12-2003, 10:11 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
WOW, honey! Now you sound just like L.A.!

<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Lets\'s do

lunch and take a meeting. &lt;g&gt;

Just throw in some agentspeak and a few \"I wish I could help\"s and I\'d

reckon it\'d be pretty darned close... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif


Holmes

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Pancho1188
12-12-2003, 11:06 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />

Or

Bostonians who wouldn\'t know an R if it fell in their laps. Or CA\'s Valley Girls.


<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Fun with words:
Think of a Bostonian telling you he found his

\"ca-keys\" in his \"ka-kis\"...

aka \"car keys\" in his \"khakis\".

</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />


And all

of you Europeans do a fine job with english. If I didn\'t know that Franki was a native Dutch cheesehead living

in Germany, I would think he\'s from Pennsylvania.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Why? Do I

sound like Pancho? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

I\'m too crazy

to be representing my state. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Besides, if I were representing my

hometown of Pittsburgh, I\'d have to say things like, \"Jaggers\", \"Hoagies\", \"Dantan\" (Downtown),

\"Gumbands\", \"Kennywood\'s open\", and \"Stillers\" (Steelers).

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr

/>

Or, from Kalamazoo, MI. VERY Dutch town.

Yeah, the U.S. is one of the few (maybe the ONLY) first-world

primarily monolingual countries. (sigh)


<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Don\'t be frontin\',

foo. You know we be talkin\' all ghetto and [censored]. I get back to my hood, I be chillin\' wit\' my

homies and we go down to the club to hit the honeys and show off our bling-bling straight-up style like wha... We

best be keepin\' from the po-po so ya\'ll can get straight dope all over this bitch. Y cuando tu recuerdo que

tenemos muchas personas espanolas aqui, es necessario ser muy amable a tus hemanos y hermanas de Mexico, Espana, y

muchos otros paises.

Gracias,
Pancho

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

WOW, honey! Now you

sound just like L.A.!

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Well, I should know a little. My dad lives

there, you know. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I might even go out there again soon...

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

franki
12-13-2003, 01:10 PM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />


And all

of you Europeans do a fine job with english. If I didn\'t know that Franki was a native Dutch cheesehead living

in Germany, I would think he\'s from Pennsylvania.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Why? Do I

sound like Pancho? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Or, from

Kalamazoo, MI. VERU Dutch town.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Why? Do they wear wooden shoes

and eat a lot of cheese.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

MysteriousMan
12-14-2003, 02:39 AM
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font

class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr

/>
</font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />


And all of you Europeans do a fine job with

english. If I didn\'t know that Franki was a native Dutch cheesehead living in Germany, I would think he\'s

from Pennsylvania.

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Why? Do I sound like Pancho?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

<hr

/></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Or, from Kalamazoo, MI. VERU Dutch town.

<hr /></blockquote><font

class=\"post\">

Why? Do they wear wooden shoes and eat a lot of cheese..

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

<hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

Or do they live

in caravans? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif