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On 12/03/2014, Tom Fine wrote: > I don't mind regional accents, and even some of the mispronunciations > that used to be called "ghetto talk," I think that's all part of the > American fabric. Perhaps in a tiny land mass like the UK they can > strive for a uniform English, but I actually think it would be > un-American for us to further de-regionalize our country in search of > a generic pronunciation key (Wal-Mart English, anyone?). I grew up in > a house with one parent from Mississippi-Texas and one from Queens, so > I turned out with a somewhat generic (New Yawk-leaning) accent but > with all the strange folk-isms from two very different places. Typical > American mutt, and that kind of thing is what makes our version of > English and our culture so unique and interesting. > There is a wide variety of accents and grammatical dialects in England, not to mention Scotland, Wales and Ireland. What we call "standard English" is the version spoken in the region near London; but even here there is plenty of local variation, and pronunciation changes with time, as you can tell from watching 1930s films/movies. There are also many immigrant accents, some of them spoken by third generation people of immigrant ancestry. > What I do mind is mumbling, fast-talking, low-talking, and garbling > basic grammar. I also don't think that what used to be called "hick > talk" -- a combination of mangled words, mangled grammar and a batch > of profanities thrown in for emphasis -- has any place in non-fiction > broadcasting or writing, except as a direct quote of a news-story > subject. And I also think that professional broadcast operations need > to get a handle on the world of cellphones and figure out best > practices to make that audio more intelligable. It probably starts > with pre-coaching of interview subjects and extends to a set of > published rules for on-location professional personnel. Lou's point > about the mic dangling around the chest of the screeching Mellinnial > is true. The other typical image is the Gen-Xer or Boomer with the > "cyborg" bluetooth thing attached to his ear, where the mic is > somewhere between his sideburn and his eye. > > -- Tom Fine > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Lou Judson" <[log in to unmask]> > To: <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 11:15 PM > Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Toothpaste > > >> I love it! I always comment (either to the speaker or my friends) >> when I hear someone pronounce EXACTLY with a T in it. >> >> And I thought it was cute when a one-time girlfriend from Louisiana >> would say nekkid or edzackly >> but she is long gone from here now. >> >> And what about wreak? Hove you heard it properly said "rek" in >> years? >> >> It is enuff to wreck yer eeers. >> :-) >> <L> >> Lou Judson >> Intuitive Audio >> 415-883-2689 >> >> On Mar 11, 2014, at 12:35 PM, Smith, Allison wrote: >> >> http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/11/pronunciation-errors-english-language >> >> I thought this was appropriate, given Tom's rant - >> >> Allison >> >> Regards -- Don Cox [log in to unmask]