english english

[chuck goolsbee]

>I remember years ago, when I was a freshman in college, I wrote in 
>one of my papers that American English was not english at all but a 
>language that was very similar to English ( the Queen's English as 
>it is called here - will they change it to King's English when 
>Charles or Harry become King?). The professor was not amused. I

heh, as an American who lived in England for a few years, I can tell 
you that while the written language is similar enough to be 
understandable, the spoken language is *very* different... and I am 
not just referring to accent either.

I spent a couple of years there... the first eight months alone 
(without my family) and all during those months I used to go to 
American movies on the weekends so that I could relax and not work so 
hard at *listening*. =)

I actually felt more "at home" in Munich than I ever did in London.

WRT the "hearing of other languages" I have a story:

I was standing on the Shepherd's Bush platform of the Hammersmith & 
City Line tube station one Friday night waiting for a train to 
Paddington, and home... unlike many of the London tube stations this 
one is elevated rather than underground. It was late in the evening 
and in the alley behind the platform there was a row of houses and 
one of them had a loud party with music and many people, obviously 
from west Africa, loudly carrying on. The only other people on the 
platform with me were two veiled south asian women, and one older 
looking English guy in his 60's or so. He looked like a lifetime 
clerk - a post office employee or the like. As he ambled by me he 
cocked his head in the direction of the noise and muttered in a 
east-ender accent: "You wouldn't even know we were in England anymore 
would ya?"

I was taken aback at first, as I always felt that I stood out as 
being very "different" when in the UK... but then I smiled a 
smart-ass smile and putting on my flattest Pacific Northwesterner's 
accent said:
"yeah, I guess not."

The look on his face was *priceless*



The icing on the cake, was when the train arrived he & I walked into 
the same car, and I watched him as he looked around a sea of black & 
brown faces, and went to the center of the car where the only group 
of white ones were and sat down in the middle of the group of 
blonde-haired students... who as soon as the doors closed and the 
train started moving resumed their loud conversation:

In Dutch!

I thought his head was going to explode.

-- 
--chuck goolsbee
geek wrangler,   digital.forest inc,   bothell, wa  <http://www.forest.net>
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