To: harzer
Apologies - my above reply was a bit short. Can I put it this way? Looking back on this thread, one thing there seems to be 100% unanimity about is that every country, even little ones like NZ, has regional differences. If they are indeed different, it follows that SOME people will be able to distinguish the differences. I'm suggesting that this ability may have less to do with linguistic studies than with having had a job where one was constantly and relentlessly travelling through all regions for several years without a break.

I am an American from the west coast, and am studying in Germany. When Germans try to guess where I am from based only on my accent (when speaking German), they seem to think I am from England frequently.

OK, a follow up question. Is there a type of what I call youthspeak in other countries besides the U. S? As tomboy is wondering, so am I about this decimation of understandable language in other parts of the globe. I'm not exactly talking about slang but refering to a sort of monosylabic mumbling that includes fillers such as "you know" and "cool" and "like."

And note to HeatherH...of course, you will always sound like an Arkansasan or Ozarkian...that's where you were born and raised! Like I said before, folks here in SW Missouri know I'm not from here (born in Chicago).

ozarksbill