This very week I had a, um, discussion with someone online (a Brit, of course) who dismissed American English ("not really English") and claimed authority by saying "we [the Brits] INVENTED English". Uh-huh. Too bad I didn't have this to send to that person.
As an Englishman, I am sorry to hear this sort of thing. Clearly there is no 'correct' English, just many dialects of the same language. I dare say that there are more dramatic differences between dialects with the British Isles than there are between British and American English.
PS an interesting question is how non-rhoticity got established in a few North American dialects, since clearly American English broke off (so to speak) from British English before r-lessness went wide in British dialects.
this is a very nice article. There are some inaccuracies . Americans say fall, but we also say autumn quite frequently. For us, they are synonyms. Also, Americans will say both I’ve got and I’ve gotten. I’ve got has the same meaning as I have. I’ve got a car means I have a car. I’ve gotten a car means I have obtained a car.
Another exception is the broad ah in pasta, which is of course how it’s pronounced in Italian. The British often pronounce it with the same vowel that Americans use in the words cast and fast.
That always makes me cringe when I hear it. Though perhaps America had more Italian immigration before pasta became a big deal.
Both Britain and North America are terrible at French words, though. I've known many Canadians who are fluent in Quebec French, and get asked if they're speaking English. Or at least get their accent shuddered at and made fun of.
But then the French hate anyone but them speaking French, right?
I don't know about often: I'm over 60 and have only heard someone say vaaze if they're kidding. Or if they're trying to be pretentious. "Ooh, so fancy, m'lord!"
The broad A thing - northern English tends to use the short version for some words anyway. For example Bath is short "oop North" in my experience.
Somewhere there's a set of recordings of people saying the lords prayer in various British dialects in the early/mid 20th century. The vowels in "Our Father" alone were amazingly varied.
Thanks for this very informative and interesting post. Of course, there are many dialectal variations in Britain. I (as a northerner) would never say 'Bath' as 'barth' or 'grass' as 'Grarss'. In Somerset and the West Country the 'R' is always very distinct and rolled. The need for some form of 'you' plural has led to 'yous' in Ireland, Liverpool and Glasgow, but is shocking elsewhere. 'Gotten' is certainly considered un-British, as is 'pled' instead of 'pleaded'. I am interested in the spelling variations of words such as 'clerk', pronounced either as 'clurk' or 'clark'; and 'university' as either '-vursity' or '-varsity'. This change in Britain seems to have happened in the last 100 years.
I love this kind of stories! That's exactly the stuff I try to write about, but not as well as you did here. Kudos!
Thank you, Federica!
This very week I had a, um, discussion with someone online (a Brit, of course) who dismissed American English ("not really English") and claimed authority by saying "we [the Brits] INVENTED English". Uh-huh. Too bad I didn't have this to send to that person.
As an Englishman, I am sorry to hear this sort of thing. Clearly there is no 'correct' English, just many dialects of the same language. I dare say that there are more dramatic differences between dialects with the British Isles than there are between British and American English.
PS an interesting question is how non-rhoticity got established in a few North American dialects, since clearly American English broke off (so to speak) from British English before r-lessness went wide in British dialects.
Ok, ONE FINAL comment, omg. You probably know Lynne Murphy's book "The Prodigal Tongue" — ?
Yikes! Sorry about that... from a Brit.
Tis all fascinating especially when you realise language has changed IN YOUR LIFETIME - so of course it has over 400 years!
this is a very nice article. There are some inaccuracies . Americans say fall, but we also say autumn quite frequently. For us, they are synonyms. Also, Americans will say both I’ve got and I’ve gotten. I’ve got has the same meaning as I have. I’ve got a car means I have a car. I’ve gotten a car means I have obtained a car.
Interesting about the absence of the broad ‘a’ in American. An exception is the broad ‘a’ you often hear in ‘vase’,
Another exception is the broad ah in pasta, which is of course how it’s pronounced in Italian. The British often pronounce it with the same vowel that Americans use in the words cast and fast.
That always makes me cringe when I hear it. Though perhaps America had more Italian immigration before pasta became a big deal.
Both Britain and North America are terrible at French words, though. I've known many Canadians who are fluent in Quebec French, and get asked if they're speaking English. Or at least get their accent shuddered at and made fun of.
But then the French hate anyone but them speaking French, right?
And of course one could never say 'vaize' in the UK.
I don't know about often: I'm over 60 and have only heard someone say vaaze if they're kidding. Or if they're trying to be pretentious. "Ooh, so fancy, m'lord!"
I wonder why Britain dropped the -ten ending from 'forgotten"? There are still words in British that rhyme, yes?
The broad A thing - northern English tends to use the short version for some words anyway. For example Bath is short "oop North" in my experience.
Somewhere there's a set of recordings of people saying the lords prayer in various British dialects in the early/mid 20th century. The vowels in "Our Father" alone were amazingly varied.
Thanks for this very informative and interesting post. Of course, there are many dialectal variations in Britain. I (as a northerner) would never say 'Bath' as 'barth' or 'grass' as 'Grarss'. In Somerset and the West Country the 'R' is always very distinct and rolled. The need for some form of 'you' plural has led to 'yous' in Ireland, Liverpool and Glasgow, but is shocking elsewhere. 'Gotten' is certainly considered un-British, as is 'pled' instead of 'pleaded'. I am interested in the spelling variations of words such as 'clerk', pronounced either as 'clurk' or 'clark'; and 'university' as either '-vursity' or '-varsity'. This change in Britain seems to have happened in the last 100 years.
I knew it once, but it slipped me mind.