Do you speak American?
 

Did some of you watch the PBS program on "do you speak American?" We all realize the different dialects as we travel, some being "ca" for car in Mass., "ayuh" for yes in Maine, "aboat" for about in Canada,
"grudge" for garage in Tenn., "we be goin" for we're going in African American,
"omgino" for oh my God I know in teen computereeze. There is of course much Spanish infuence, including everyday words like rancho, lasso, bronco, taco. And the influence of Black lingo, California surf talk, instant messaging, etc. is strong.

Seems like our American version of the language is constantly changing. What's your favorite local expression?

ozarksbill

LOL! This has been on PBS before and I think there is a thread with the exact title.

Do I speak American? No. I speak English with a southern dialect and accent.

Hey y'all!

LOl, No, I speak English with aNorth Carolina/NewYork accent :D

I am wicked pissah at speaking American.

yah, sure, you betcha! we speak american in minn-e-sooootah! don'tcha know.

whatever yawl say

It depends on if you're gonna talk or if you know who you're talking with. Where are you at, anyway?

Where am I at? At the house. But I'm fixin' to go uptown.

Hey, Howyadoin?

<i>Wussup?????</i>

GoTravel - If you speak <b>English</b> with a <b>southern</b> accent, what do people in the south of England speak? Or the south of Australia? ;)

They speak the Queen's English with a southern dialect.

depends on who I'm talking too, there are some folks down south who don't quite agree that I 'speak american' ... if you know what I mean ;)

I have a mid-west accent with light inflections of Brooklyn inherited from my Brooklyn born and raised mother.

Shaz60, I am laughing all over the place:
My friend from Boston named his boat &quot;The Wicked Pissa&quot;. His wife (also from Boston) was absolutely furious when she saw the name painted on the side of the boat. He was still in the process of painting it on the lifesaver ring, so she stopped him mid-job, and now it says &quot;The Wicked&quot; on the ring. I still crack up when I see it.

Love it!

You would probably get a kick out of reading Bill Brysons &quot;English, the Mother Tongue&quot;. It is along the same lines as your post, very interesting/hilarious!! We have one close to Vegas that is called the Dixie Dialect, it is a slow &quot;unique&quot; way of talk that many from Southern Utah have. We &quot;are&quot; a diverse land!!

According to a charming young Englishman, we don't speak American...we speak Merkin! :D

Dude, ya fixin' ta pahk ya ca after you have some pops, yah?

Hey, it is amusing about our so-called English dialects and new words. The infuence of instant messaging and West Coast slang and all was intreresting. And sorry, I didn't realize that the PBS program had been on previously, also that there had been a thread on this forum...which I see was last Jan. 5, the exact day of my open heart surgery! So I wasn't with you.

Anyway, another aspect is how them &quot;furriners&quot; speak the language. I remember standing in a circle next to a professor from India who was talking and afterwards realized I didn't understand a word he was saying...in my own language!

ozarksbill

I love the differences in the language, especially internationally. I spent a few months in England and recall having a good laugh in Scotland with a couple of people in the pub over the misunderstandings that came from attempting to translate Midwesternese to Scottish English (especially after a few pints) ... and we won't even go into my experience in a small grocery store in rural Texas. I'll never forget the frustration that that poor woman probably felt who simply wanted to know if this clueless Chicagoan wanted a bag to place her groceries in. It will be a sad day if we ever all talk alike. Thankfully I don’t see that day coming anytime soon.

It's always the other person who has an accent... ;-)

Weekly joke at our house:

Television is on, and a Nascar is being broadcast. Drivers are being interviewed. I walk into the room where DH is watching TV.

&quot;What the *^%# language is that guy speaking?&quot; I say. Or, sometimes, &quot;Where the *^&amp;# is he from?&quot;

DH: &quot;He's 'Murican!&quot;

Like, I was totally born and raised in So So Cal.

Whenever I hear the actor Paul Giamatti speak in natural voice, it's as if he's from another planet. He speaks some of the straightest American English I've ever heard.

tuscanlifeedit, I hope it is not a racial thing...you mentioning Nascar...

Yo Fuhgeddaboudit !!!

LOL, this is very funny! Especially if you travel around the US and have heard some of this in person..

My friend from Philadelphia got a good laugh out of this thread when I sent it to him..he says...

<i>&quot;don't forget..Dis Dat and Dose and get over the Addi toood! &quot; :D</i>

It's possible to speak perfectly good &quot;American&quot; and not be sloppy about pronunciation or grammar - and no British &quot;West Enders&quot; should &quot;fink nuffin&quot; snooty about that.

It's also possible to speak &quot;Mur'kin&quot; torturing sloppy pronunciation and using bad grammar so as not to &quot;offend&quot; people of any given specific region, heritage, or socioeconomic class who have less than an 8th grade education and who might possibly resent people who know how to tawk gud. You choose.

We native Arizonans don't have an accent, and yes, we speak American. English is a foreign language we study in school. 8-)

LOL jamataly,

unless your teachers are British then it's like playing Chinese Whispers :-)