General Chat

How English sounds to non-English speakers :-S

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt4Dfa4fOEY


How long will you last watching this? I gave up!

:-(

How did the makers of this film figure out that's how English sounds?

Sir John Cheke (16 June 1514 – 13 September 1557) was an English classical scholar who wrote:

‘I am of this opinion that our own tung should be written cleane and pure, unmixt and unmangeled with borowing of other tunges; wherein if we take not heed by tiim, ever borowing and never paying, she shall be fain to keep her house as bankrupt‘.

I found the film really annoying.

It reminded me (too much) of what it's like for me at times. I have hearing in one ear only, and if there's a lot of background noise I have great difficulty hearing the person sitting next to me.

:-(

That's not English - it's American English - a totally different language!!!

'We' don't say skwerl - we say sqwirrel.

A few examples of the differences in meaning - there are many more pronunciation differences:
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/americanbritish.html#food

The Woodlands School site is really good :-D

British English v. American English.

'Two great nations divided by a common language'. :-S

Exactly, Dermot!! :-D

And there are communication problems between Geordies and Cockneys!!

The fake sign language interpreter Thami Jantjie, last seen at the Nelson Mandela memorial service gesticulating gibberish, is available to explain the differences between Geordie & Cockney accents. ;-)

How do you pronounce this word? GHOTI.

FISH!! :-D Simples

the [gh] from "laugh", the [o] from "women" and the [ti] from "nation

Well done Maggie.

I learnt it during an interesting Education lecture on 'things not being as they appear'

I listened, enthralled, to some French and German politicians on a radio show recently, as they debated in flawless English.

Can you imagine any of our vaunted representatives being invited on to a French or German chat show, and trying to converse in anything other than a laughable version of 'Pidgin English'?

I always find the question of why so many Europeans etc can speak English, and the English speaking nations aren't too good at European languages rather unfair.
When I watched Portuguese programmes, at least two every evening contained some English. I'm sure it not only happens in Portugal.

How many foreign languages are we in the UK exposed to on TV?
Also, if we were, which one would be preferred?
The truth is, English is one the most preferred 'foreign' languages to learn, all over the world.

maggiewinchester - apparently, Spanish is running as a close 2nd to English.

..and I believe Cantonese is in the running!!!

BUT, do we want bits of Spanish interspersed into our game shows?