LL-L "Language varieties" 2006.03.06 (03) [E]

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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West) Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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   L O W L A N D S - L * 06 February 2006 * Volume 03
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From: Karl Schulte <kschulte01 at alamosapcs.com>
Subject: LL-L "Phonology" 2006.03.05 (01) [E]

All Englishmen have regional accents. Their "region" may be Oxfordian,
Cambridgic, or Londonish; just ask anyone from Yorkshire whether SE
England has a regional accent. The answer will be a resounding "yes". Of
course no one in Yorkshire has one.

The many differences in English English and American English are quite
interesting. I do not refer to simply slang or regional expressions (the
somewhat hackneyed "My engine is in my boot" or "Knock me up in the
morning, the young lady said to the confused American soldier, who
thought now was as good a time as any, but was puzzeled by her desire to
get pregnant in the AM instead of the PM). We have preserved the correct
"I have gotten" while the "Mother Tongue" has sadly lost such forms. In
our Appalachian Mountain area, one can still hear the "W" in sword, as
well as many "Jack Tales" which have been preserved, along with
near-Elizabethan English sounds in remote areas of the Chesapeake
Bay.Like Frisian, these linguistic treasures, like tasty nuts suspended
in butter pecan ice cream, are fading due to the influence of Standard
TV English. I delight in many old British TV comedies and mystery shows,
not only for the clever, intelligent and intellectual, subtle humor
(such as Monty Python, Fawlty Towers and Benny Hill :-)......)
but for the regional dialects and accents which I find fascinating. I
have noticed a change in the last 70 years however, as recorded in old
movies; it seems to me that BBC English is reducing many of such
differences. This is sadly the case, based on comments made hear, of
many regional dialects and accents, which seem to be succombing to the
onslaught of mass TV and radio media in the standard "national" tongue
(which is where the power and money is; prestige soon follows as in the
case of London, Bonn, Langue d'Oc/Oeil).

Mental meanderings from Karl Schulte,
Missouri, USA

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