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.

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

DH: "He's 'Murican!"

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...

"don't forget..Dis Dat and Dose and get over the Addi toood! "

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

It's also possible to speak "Mur'kin" torturing sloppy pronunciation and using bad grammar so as not to "offend" 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