Thursday, April 23, 2009

What say mate?

We say Z as 'zee'.
They say Z as 'zed'

We say H as 'aych'.
They say H as 'haych'

What we call a sidewalk, they call pavement. Our garbage is their rubbish. Our fries are their chips and our chips their crisps....

So am I, after having been here for nearly 6 years, sounding more like them? Off and on I will use their words and LOVE to practice their cursing.. but it's not as if I have to adopt another language to make myself understood. So by and large, I haven't.

Lou however, is sounding more and more American. Her coworkers comment on it. I'm afraid I just don't get it. I am surrounded by the lilt of their language, immersed in the lingo and still my natal tongue remains almost unaffected.

Yet with my singular influence, (oh and some american tv programming) Lou ends up being the one whose accent is changing. Is she more sympathetic? Is it because I'm older and more stuck in my ways? Is it just another testament to her being a cunning linguist? haha couldn't resist...

I will say this though, each time I fly back to the States and am first disgorged into any American airport, the volume and accent is jarring and unsettling. People sound funny. Do I sound like THAT? Luckily that feeling doesn't last for more than a few hours.

When I return home, I find the rhythms of british language soothing, along with my cuppa tea.





1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A friend at the gym who is originally from Indiana says that his family up north claims he's picking up the southern accent. Down here in Carolina, you've got the western or eastern accent. West is best. :) All southern accents aren't made the same. Something else cute...I called customer service of a company I had purchased a product from. The csr was British. I messed her up. LOL I would speak and she would pause. I know she paused to try and figure out what I had just said. I had to repeat myself. She was all lost in my grits and gravy.