Nuances and Idiosyncrasies of the English Language

[EdH]

@T4920 This has reminded me of a question I have never had answered by a (proper) American:

Why is Arkansas pronounced "AR-kan-saw" and not "Ar-Kan-sas", if Kansas is pronounced just "Kan-sas"?

[SKT]

@EdH same reason some pronounce my state Missour-ee and some pronounce it Missou-rah…because we Americans don’t always make a lot of linguistic sense.

[Giles]

Same reason that if you live in Clapham, you pronounce it Clarm

[T4920]

The most definitive sign that the English language is out to troll us all is that it is linguistically sound to pronounce the town 'Loughborough' as 'Loo-gah-bah-roo-gah'

I've seen weirder place name during my time in Australia though...

[EdH]

Not saying us brits are any better... "Lieutenant" caught me out when reading aloud in English class at school:

Me: "... lieutenant ..." ("lew-ten-ant")
Teacher: "it's [lef-tenant]"
Me: "oh, it doesn't have an 'f' in my copy"
Teacher (getting angry already): "It's [lef-tenant] in English, [lew-ten-ant] is American"
Me: "oh, I must have an American translation"
Teacher: "stop being sarcastic"
Me: "I'm being sarcastic?"
Teacher: "That's a demerit"
Me: scratches head in confusion

[Oaktavia]

@T4920 hahah, yeah I've seen something similar. Maryland is close to KY but not touching.

[Oaktavia]

@EdH don't try to make sense of American pronunciation, we're super improper and make zero sense, wait till you hear me say "Maryland" at the party.

[Oaktavia]

My favorite is Appalachia pronounced regionally as "Apple-atcha" or by outsiders as "Apple-ay-shuh".

[T4920]

@Oaktavia sounds like Marilyn? I went most of my life thinking 'Marilyn' was a state after hearing Maryland pronounced that way

[seawolf]

I read recently about how it must be confusing to learn English as a second language. Imagine trying to tell the difference between a butt-dial and a booty-call.

[Oaktavia]

@T4920 that's hilarious

[louisbosco]

@seawolf you could butt-dial a booty call but not booty call a butt-dial

[EdH]

@seawolf said in Random conversations:

Imagine trying to tell the difference between a butt-dial and a booty-call.

A fat-chance and a slim-chance are the same thing...
Tooth/teeth, but not booth/beeth
Mouse/mice, but not house/hice
etc, etc

English is such a bastardised and influenced language that it's apparently very hard to learn as a second language or as an adult. I've got a Ukrainian friend who, even after marrying a Brit over 20 years ago, and him not bothering to learn her language, still makes grammatical errors like the above.

[Giles]

Plural of Salmon is Salmon not Salmons
Same with Trout, Cod, Tuna etc etc

But the plural of Ray is Rays
Same with Sharks, Whales,

Is that because Rays, Sharks and Whales are either cartilaginous or mammalian?

[Brian]

The beauty of the c word is that it can be the highest form of endearment or the worst thing to ever call someone and it all lands on the situation and person
Swear words have their place in language no matter what that language may be, I learnt this week how to say mother f****er in Vietnamese
From a customer it wasn’t directed at me I might add

One of these things that I’ve never got my head around is the dinner / tea use depending on where you are not only in England but even in Oz

[tody]

I really enjoy reding this thread. My dad, who was an english teacher had an old friend in the UK, who in turn taught German. They would go on lengthy discussion on language-centered topics. They have both passed away, and I really miss listening to them.

[ARNC]

@Brian said in Nuances and Idiosyncrasies of the English Language:

One of these things that I’ve never got my head around is the dinner / tea use depending on where you are not only in England but even in Oz

You’re brave to go there! So many elements of geography, culture and class to unpick with this. Reminded me of the whole U and non-U thing, which thankfully is mostly obsolete. I’m not sure anyone would consider it “common” to refer to a mirror rather than a looking glass in 2024!

[WhiskeySandwich]

@T4920 I pronounce it like that but I often hear "Merlin" as well

[goosehd]

I grew up with there being 3 meals in the day: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. As I started moving around to different parts of the US and Canada, I ran across Dinner can be at lunch time or dinner time depending on the size of the meal as dinner is often the largest meal of the day. Supper is alway's an evening meal and typically smaller than dinner.

Then you have brunch which is a late breakfast and early lunch. So what happens when you call your midday meal dinner and it's brunch time? Brinner?

[Matt]

This should clear things up..