Theatre or theater. re/er spelling in English

Karky said:
isn't GA (General American) the "standard" American variety? That's what we learn here anyhow.. Though I wouldn't doubt it if someone spoke RP some places in America, since America does have pretty strong connections with Britain, language wise.
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The RP English you're talking about isn't very common over here anymore. It's even pretty rare on the BBC now. It's generally reserved by the masses for job interviews and court appearances

You'll find that when you speak the Queens English (BBC English), accents start to fade. Just look at people like Kelsey Grammer, he could pass as English middle class very easily.
 
I just found this site that lists some of the differences



You say dreamed instead of dreamt?
 
philsaigon said:
I say 'dreamt', but I never say 'learnt'. Language is fun :)
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I think this is the kind of think that's created the eliment of British snobbery aimed at American speech. Over here the only people who would say 'learned' are either really stupid (Victoria Beckham) or pre-school kids learning to talk.

What do American think when they hear us say things like learnt then? Does that make us sound dumb to you guys?
 
Languages are not static, the are ever evolving. Watch movie from the 30's, 40's, 50, 60's... and it's really interesting to watch the language change. I think the reason for the particular example you used is that americans tend to use the present perfect (s+have+past participle) in less situations than the Brits do. One theory is that because Americans were such a melting pot in the early 20th century that the language got dummied down by immigrants. If I hear a British bird say 'learnt' I think she's sexy, if it's a guy I think it's pompous ;)
 
Like I think most Americans would say either: "You spelled that word incorrectly." or "You've spelled that word incorrectly." But not: "You've spelt that word incorrectly"
 
While on language.. here are some funny looking letters: Æ, Ø, Å
:D

And now I'm at tomato/tomeito.. bath/bæth..

I got a lot of work to do before tomorrow :p
 
If I had heard someone say learnt I probably would have corrected them. Now I know better!

It's funny, when I travel people always know I'm from Chicago. Of course to myself I sound normal and didn't realize I had an accent at all! I would say "t's" like "d's" and didn't even realize it until one of my ex's would constantly correct me when I would say a word that had a "t" in it. It would go something like this:

Me: I'm going to go to da theader.

Him: TheaTer!

Me: That's what I said.

Him: No, it wasn't and you said "da" instead of "the" again.

Me: Grrrr....

:)
 
I can remember watching the old Benny Hill episodes when I was a kid and I could only understand about 1/4 of what he said LOL
 
calcium said:
Me: I'm going to go to da theader.

Him: TheaTer!

:)
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Pronouncing the T's that fall between vowel sounds in words as D's is normal American English i.e. bottle,city, pretty, etc. If you were to say them with a T sound you'd be moving closer to British English and it would not be natural. Try it 'you're pridy' / 'you're prity' which one is more natural? If you say it the second way you sound like the wicked witch! :) Very rarely will Americans say it the second way and that's part of our distinctive accent.

It's a good thing you gave that joker the heav-ho!

The second point 'da' for 'the' is definitely Chicago though. I'm also from there (suburbs) and I didn't notice it before, but nowadays when I go back there people sound so Chicago.

I think the people in the Pac NW have a nice accent, articulate but still totally American.
 
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That's because you've got the "voiced t" thanks for reminding me, I'm heading up to have my exam in 20 min. Wish me luck! :D

all I ask of you, is BELIEVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAA'

Now guess which song that was :p
 
philsaigon said:
Pronouncing the T's that fall between vowel sounds in words as D's is normal American English i.e. bottle,city, pretty, etc. If you were to say them with a T sound you'd be moving closer to British English and it would not be natural. Try it 'you're pridy' / 'you're prity' which one is more natural? If you say it the second way you sound like the wicked witch! :) Very rarely will Americans say it the second way and that's part of our distinctive accent.

It's a good thing you gave that joker the heav-ho!

The second point 'da' for 'the' is definitely Chicago though. I'm also from there (suburbs) and I didn't notice it before, but nowadays when I go back there people sound so Chicago.

I think the people in the Pac NW have a nice accent, articulate but still totally American.
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Well he did speak very properly now that I think about it. Kindof like the characters from Fraiser. Although he was in radio so that could have something to do with it (my ex I mean) :)

But yeah I definately have that "dat" & "da" thing going on as well. Not so much now as I live in the suburbs. I also used to say "axe" instead of "asked" too. Is that a Chicago thing or just a stupid thing? :p
 
calcium said:
Well he did speak very properly now that I think about it. Kindof like the characters from Fraiser. Although he was in radio so that could have something to do with it (my ex I mean) :)

But yeah I definately have that "dat" & "da" thing going on as well. Not so much now as I live in the suburbs. I also used to say "axe" instead of "asked" too. Is that a Chicago thing or just a stupid thing? :p
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If a man here spoke like they do on Frasier, he'd be assumed gay. :p

I didn't know people in Chicago say "axe". I've heard that people in Brooklyn do.
Only black people say "axe" here (not being racist, just noting a difference in speech).
 
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