Uncle Sam, I believe that quote is credited to George Bernhard Shaw.<BR><BR>What has always amazed me about American films concerning W.W.II is that the Germans almost always have a British accent!<BR><BR>Almost all Romans in gladiator-type films have a British ascent as well.<BR><BR>I have friends from great Yarmouth with their “northern” accents, they say “mooz-im” for museum and “moozic” for music. <BR><BR>(Of course if you’re truly from Yarmouth you know that might just “be a load of old squit!”)<BR>

I'm curious, too. How do the British pronounce buttocks? Why is it so funny the way Americans pronounce it?

One of the last time I was reduced to incapacity was the South Park episode with the couple who had buttocks (butt-ox) for faces. <BR><BR>Americans say butt - ox<BR><BR>It's the gap between the two sylables that I finds funny.<BR><BR>

Um that's incapacitated by laughter, rather than by Lager, which is more common.<BR><BR>Speaking of which its 5pm on Friday. Pub time!<BR>

My husband is Australian, and it's 'see you this arvo', risoles not hambergers, and ,yes, Americans speak American, not English.

Please pardon my ignorance...I'm an American... How do the English pronounce buttocks???

OK, so you're saying that Brits believe that the language on South Park is typical American-ese?<BR><BR>South Park?

"Buttocks" is PROPERLY (even in Webster's Dictionary for the US) pronounced with the accent on the first syllable -- more or less, "BUTT'x." Pronouncing it butt-OX may be common in the US, and even heard on that gold standard of grammar and pronunciation, "South Park," but it's just wrong. Sorry, people.<BR><BR>Actually, there's another difference here between Brit-Speak and Ameri-Speak -- that's how a double T in the middle of a word is pronounced. In America, except for parts of Maine, the double T is pronounced almost the same as a double D -- e.g., "butter" is pronounced pretty much like "budder." In the UK (and parts of Maine), the double T is still clipped, so "butter" will be, more or less, "butt'r." <BR><BR>I picked that up once when some slightly rude Brits in Salt Lake City were giggling about the "Church of Ladder-Day Saints."<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>

Can a Canadian speak here? When a hollywood actor trys to 'act' Canadian, they will say something like hot/cold out (pause) eh?<BR><BR>It brands them a fake. The Canadian way to say this is hot/cold out tay? Always carry the last consonent into the eh and it will sound correct. <BR><BR>Not that we say eh that often eh? It is considered a very Eastern (hence bad) mode of speech.

Lingua and David, Americans of all ilk pronounce buttocks BUTT'x. I suspect South Park did otherwise for a little (potty) humor.<BR><BR>After a little thought (and muttering all manner of words), I agree with you on tt's in the middle of words.

&gt;Lingua you're dead right! Strangely we &gt;get an R into phrases like "The Shah &gt;of Iran" = "The Shah Rof Iran<BR><BR>I had elocution lessons at school and one of the exercises was to say "I saw a man sawing a piece of wood in the drawing room". That "r" is uneducated speak.<BR>As for Vivien Leigh's "Southern" accent, I'll raise you Dick Van Dyke's "Cockney" one.<BR>One thing I've noticed about Americans is that they don't say "an". They'll say "a awkward situation" where we'd say "an awkward situation".<BR>Rita, since when was Yarmouth in the North? It's in East Anglia which is South East.<BR>Finally, try asking an American to say, "I'm going to marry merry Mary" ;-)

My dear Uncle Sam:<BR><BR>I believe that since you are now living in your little perverse colony of texas, you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about with respect to history of the British Empire. It was Sir Bernard Shaw who spoke those eloquent words, not Oscar Wilde. You and your fellow american savage colonials are quite cheeky.

Lord Covington,<BR><BR>I do humbly apologize as I obviously steered so far from the true course of rectitude. <BR><BR>Oscar, did however say "that he could handle anything but temptation. " (paraphrase...one of my favorite quotes!<BR><BR>What I want to know however, is how do the Brit pop artists talk with their strong Brit accents and yet sing with none at all?<BR><BR>US

&lt;What I want to know however, is how do the Brit pop artists talk with their strong Brit accents and yet sing with none at all?&gt;<BR><BR>The same way as the Americans do it.

Personally, I don't know any Americans who would say "a awkward situation". I'm sure some do, but definitely not all or most of us! <BR>

Akshelly, most Americans I know would be saying "a nawkward situation", just as they are likely to say "a negg" or "a nawful stench."

Re: Language differences (even tho' we speak the same lingo!)<BR><BR>We in Britain can quite safely say 'we are rolling a fag'(ie we are making our own cigarettes). In America we would have problems, apparently we would be saying that we would be duffing up a gay person. Is this true or am I being wound up|&gt;&gt;

What does a nEnglishsman say if he wants to 'borrow' a cigarette.

My daughter spent one college semester in London - she loved it. But she once said to me, "You know, they have all the same words we have. They just mean something else."

You must see the new Austin Powers Goldmember movie. In one scene, he and his father speak in code by speaking in British slang. It's hysterical. As an American I had no idea what they were saying. If we were all the same we'd be bored off our arses.