Americans pronounce why wrong?

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  • MoreTearsMoreTears Posts: 7,025
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    Didn't Canada have a disproportionately high amount of Scottish settlers? I've always assumed from the pronunciations and Nova Scotia that the Scottish went north west and colonised Canada and the English went south west and colonised the US.

    The province of Ontario has a lot of people of Scottish ancestry, but no aspects of the Scottish accent lived on with them, to my knowledge. I have honestly never heard a Canadian say "aboot" rather than "about." I have only heard "aboot" from people with real Scottish accents -- Scots.
  • MoreTearsMoreTears Posts: 7,025
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    Why would that be?

    My statement wasn't intended as a slight, if that is the way it appeared. I was just suggesting that British people from eras long past would probably consider THEIR English to be proper English, and would view changes incorporated by succeeding generations as corruptions of the language.
  • AnachronyAnachrony Posts: 2,757
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    Why would that be?

    Your accent has changed every bit as much as Americans have since the point at which they first diverged. Middle English speakers wouldn't recognize your accent as a closer successor to their own than an American accent. In some cases the accents in the UK have drifted even further from the original than in the US.
  • ironjadeironjade Posts: 10,001
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    MoreTears wrote: »
    The province of Ontario has a lot of people of Scottish ancestry, but no aspects of the Scottish accent lived on with them, to my knowledge. I have honestly never heard a Canadian say "aboot" rather than "about." I have only heard "aboot" from people with real Scottish accents -- Scots.

    I've heard Canadians pronounce "out" as "oat", hence "about" sounds like "aboat". It's quite subtle but it's definitely there.
  • Paradise_LostParadise_Lost Posts: 6,454
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    Didn't Canada have a disproportionately high amount of Scottish settlers? I've always assumed from the pronunciations and Nova Scotia that the Scottish went north west and colonised Canada and the English went south west and colonised the US.

    I believe some Canadians in some areas pronounce it more like "aboat" not "aboot." Scots settled heavily in the southern US colonies so it wasn't a simple concentration of settlement in any given area (see the saltire in the Confederate flag). The further east in Anglophone Canada you go the more diverse the accents. Same with the US. The further west the less varied. Western Canada and much of the western United States were settled by intermingling populations. For instance, a large tract of the west was settled jointly by the US and Britain and the border wasn't formally established for a few decades (British Columbia, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, etc). Many settlers just remained on whichever side they had homesteaded no matter where they originated. That may partially explain why generally speaking there isn't really any marked difference between the accents of Canadians in the western provinces and Americans in many western states.
  • MissySmithMissySmith Posts: 492
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    I thought that the pronunciation of the 'h',which makes 'why',sound like 'hwai',was actually the Old English pronunciation.
  • MissySmithMissySmith Posts: 492
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  • walterwhitewalterwhite Posts: 56,554
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    MoreTears wrote: »
    No Canadians at all pronounce the word that way. That is a Scottish pronunciation. The South Park movie has a lot to answer for.:mad::)

    I have been watching You Gotta Eat Here and Canadians definitely say about differently.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11,275
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    MoreTears wrote: »
    The Brits alive today didn't invent the language, and most of their ancestors would be appalled to hear them speak.:) And "lieutenant" is a word of French origin. Americans pronounce it much the way the French would, which is consistent with the way it is spelled.

    Right ... so where is my post wrong?

    Americans and Brits pronounce things differently. Well now.

    Viva la difference! (That's French).
  • mrkite77mrkite77 Posts: 5,386
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    sjp07 wrote: »
    We only say dubya to make fun of Texas, where dubya is from.

    No, he's from Connecticut. His accent is an affectation to make him seem more "folksy".
  • NaturalDancerNaturalDancer Posts: 5,128
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    MoreTears wrote: »
    Why do Brits pronounce "secretary" as "secre-tree?" There's an "a" in between the "t" and the "r," people.:D And don't get me started on Brits pronouncing "lieutenant" as if there is an "f" or a "ph" in there somewhere.:)

    Actually the posh ones say 'seckertry' and I hate the way some Brits say sicth, for sixth aaaarrrggghhh drives me nuts. I daresay someone will say that's how it should be pronounced but not up here it isn't and it still drives me nuts ;) Of course lieutenant is pronounce leftenant! duh! We had the language first hahaha
  • Joe_ZelJoe_Zel Posts: 20,832
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    MoreTears wrote: »
    And don't get me started on Brits pronouncing "lieutenant" as if there is an "f" or a "ph" in there somewhere.:)

    An "f"? WTF? What Brits pronounce lieutenant with an F?

    I've never heard leftenant in my life. I've heard "l'tenant", without the "oo" sound.
  • Matt DMatt D Posts: 13,153
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    Joe_Zel wrote: »
    An "f"? WTF? What Brits pronounce lieutenant with an F?

    I've never heard leftenant in my life.

    That is the British English pronunciation, however many people actually say it the American way, presumably due to hearing it in US films and TV...
  • Joe_ZelJoe_Zel Posts: 20,832
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    MoreTears wrote: »
    The Brits alive today didn't invent the language, and most of their ancestors would be appalled to hear them speak.:) And "lieutenant" is a word of French origin. Americans pronounce it much the way the French would, which is consistent with the way it is spelled.

    The word is French in origin. "Lieu" means place and "tenant" means holding, so a lieutenant is holding the place of a superior. Lieutenant is the lowest rank of a commissioned officer, so all other COs would be superior.

    And it may have been spelt leeftenant and luftenand in Old English.

    According to this anyway, I know wikipedia can be unreliable.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,100
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    mrkite77 wrote: »
    No, he's from Connecticut. His accent is an affectation to make him seem more "folksy".

    No. He was born in Connecticut that isn't the same as being from there. He was raised in Texas from childhood until his last two years of high school when his parents shipped him out to a boarding school in Mass. Then he went to Yale, back to Texas for service, then Harvard. Most of his life was spent in Texas before he became president.
  • ironjadeironjade Posts: 10,001
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    Actually the posh ones say 'seckertry' and I hate the way some Brits say sicth, for sixth aaaarrrggghhh drives me nuts. I daresay someone will say that's how it should be pronounced but not up here it isn't and it still drives me nuts ;) Of course lieutenant is pronounce leftenant! duh! We had the language first hahaha

    Only the ignorant pronounce it seckertry, which is right up there with chimbly, sikth, lickle, axe (for ask) and nukuler.
    It's sekreturry. It's not rokit syence.:)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11,275
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    How is sixth pronounced if not "sicth"?
  • Gill PGill P Posts: 21,569
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    jackbell wrote: »
    How is sixth pronounced if not "sicth"?

    It is pronounced sicks-th!

    Another one which gets my goat is pronouncing "mischievous" as "mis-cheev-i-us". My understanding is that it should be pronounced "mis-chi-vus".
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,100
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    Do people really say sicth and not sicksth? How can that even roll off the tongue?
  • ironjadeironjade Posts: 10,001
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    sjp07 wrote: »
    Do people really say sicth and not sicksth? How can that even roll off the tongue?

    Euphony has a lot to answer for.
    To pronounce sixth correctly requires slightly more effort than sikth so eventually everyone will say sikth and then . . . . well, read "I Am Legend" to see how that turns out.:eek:
  • dd68dd68 Posts: 17,833
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    A lot of americans can't or won't pronounce the letter T, hence cenner for centre, mennal for mental, ciddy for city, and on many more annoying occasions
  • AerickAerick Posts: 1,528
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    dd68 wrote: »
    A lot of americans can't or won't pronounce the letter T, hence cenner for centre, mennal for mental, ciddy for city, and on many more annoying occasions

    We'z jest defeye'nt in dat way!

    (i bet you just luv us when we say 'sammich'!!:D )
  • McCollMcColl Posts: 242
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    sjp07 wrote: »
    What Americans are you talking to? I have never heard someone say primmer and I have lived here my entire life. Also, why would anyone say Edinburrow when we say Pittsburgh and anything else with a burgh just fine? Wimbledon with a t? What? The only of these pronunciations I've heard is the herb one. The h is silent, just like in hour, heir, honest, and honor. The only time we use the hard h on herb is if it's short for Herbert. Maybe it is because I'm from California, though and we have what is typically referred to as the California "non accent"

    I've had a close friend in LA for some time, and not much he says is too different from the UK.

    Just like here, in the US, there are regional accents. I think the pronunciation of 'Edinburrow' is more an East coast thing.
    I often watch CBS and ABC news, and have heard varying pronunciations for objects and places.
    I've heard Iraq and Iran pronounced in two different ways too ..just people and places I reckon.

    ..and in both countries, the word 'nuclear' seems to give a lot of people difficulties ..we often hear 'nucular' :)
  • g4jcg4jc Posts: 839
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    Aerick wrote: »
    some of you need to go back in time and slap your mamma for not teaching you there are different dialects and accents and ways of doing things differenty from what you are used to in this big world.

    Now what's up with you Brts pronouncing everything ending with an -a as "-er"? Indi-er, bana-er, diplom-er, nebul-er,

    Was begining to think I was the only one who could hear that. The word (?) bra - er and the name Barbar - rar really annoy me. Not sure what region that comes from though.

    Round these parts in Lancashire other words that send me nuts are, Boccle, (bottle in case you hadn't guessed) and hospic - cal.
  • g4jcg4jc Posts: 839
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    Aerick wrote: »
    We'z jest defeye'nt in dat way!

    (i bet you just luv us when we say 'sammich'!!:D )

    It's NOT sammich it's sang-wich :D
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