New Book About Accents and What Your Accent Says about You

[LovelyLadyLux]

Cute and newly written book You Say Potato: A book about Accents. Written by Ben Crystal, David Crystal who have collected a compilation of 822 accents and postulate what your accent says about you.

There is an interactive map that you can click on and hear how people from all around the world pronounce the same word.

http://www.panmacmillan.com/book/bencry ... usaypotato

What do you think your accent says about you?

[Brian Yare]

Having been born and brought up in London and Sussex I then spent 7 years at University in St. Andrews, Scotland. My first job, at the age of 25, was at GEC Computers in North London.

It took me less than a day to realise that my Fife accent was a problem - my problem - and I got rid of it at work overnight.
I doubt if I speak "Queen's English" but like to thing that I am fairly close.

A bigger problem is interacting with foreigners, QE is the easiest for them, or whatever form of American they learnt.

But having conversed with a local shepherd in Yugoslavia in 1973 in Latin, and also used it in northern Spain, it is usually possible to find some common ground.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Accent-wise and having grown up in Canada during the era of everybody MUST speak both French and English I was forced to learn French. Had to study both literature and grammar all my academic days through to middle university. The powers that were succeeded in preparing me to live in a dual language country - HOWEVER - my French is NOT the patois with the colloquialisms of Quebecers! I sound like I come out of Paris France

My fellow countrymen who I am supposed to be able to converse with do not identify me as speaking THEIR French so all of us who were long suffering as kids and forced from day 1 through University to adopt a second language did, however, open our mouths to speak and we're not embraced as having accents that belong!

Sometimes you just can't win! (And now adding 40 years to my French language learning the language of French Quebec has continued to evolve and change and sometimes I don't have a clue what is being said)

[Brian Yare]

I am now in the very confusing situation of learning two (dead) languages simultaneously. Akkaddian and Anglo-Saxon. It is getting close to a full-time job to keep up because they are so different. At least the Anglo-Saxon is not using runes and we are currently using transliteration rather than Cuneiform for the Akkaddian. My head hurts!

[LovelyLadyLux]

My gf, (former coworker) was able to get a 5% wage increase as she was bilingual - English and Gaelic! Not that we had too many clients coming in speaking ONLY Gaelic but if it works good for her for meeting the bilingual criteria on the job site.

Why are you studying those 2 languages?

[Brian Yare]

Why are you studying those 2 languages?

The Akkaddian is in the hope that it may one day be useful. We are studying on-line and it will take 2 to 3 years to complete the basic text book. The use of cuneiform will start early next year, once we have a basic grounding of simple grammar and vocabulary. The course was first mooted about 6 years ago, and is finally off the ground at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/GlyphStudy/info.

Anglo-Saxon was the least of several evils that allows me to obtain library access (for another year) to several university libraries where I can pursue my Egyptological interests (and also an ISIC card for reduced price access to sites, museums, etc.).
We are studying a mix of history, archaeology and language, and so far it has been interesting, but I do not know if I will stay the course, as the objective has already been achieved.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Interesting. Interesting website too.