vudukungfu: hubiestubert: Appalachians

Apple Atchans?
Or Appa Lay shuns?

/I can tell who's ignerant by how they pronounce it.

I prefer Appalachia. But then again, I'm a dirty transplant. Well, just about anywhere. Army Brat, so I tend to soak up local color and adopt the accent that I find myself near--though, occasionally those years in Mizzoura, the South, Louisiana and Texas rear they ugly heads and I gets all rednecky and crotchety.

paraffinshot: American English and British English began to diverge in the early 17th century. Contemporary British English and American English are far removed from King James English, meaning that they both developed into their current incarnations simultaneously. I find it infuriating for either to suggest (but mostly England) that one dialect is proper or official. They are different and are spoken in different countries among different cultures. Unfortunately for the UK, America has had a greater world influence in the last 50 years and has 5 times their population. Who knows though. Maybe Canadian English will begin to dominate the English speaking world of the future. Either way, complain all you want, but nothing can stop the ugly process of linguistic evolution.

To be fair, there are now more English speakers in China than in the US. That's going to be a bugger for the Brits to contend with...

Concerning the "That'll learn ya" complaint: I believe there is more to that phrase that might tickle their need to rhyme. At least I always heard it as this:

That'll learn ya, dern ya.

Top hole. Bally Jerry pranged his kite right in the how's your father. Hairy blighter, dicky-birdied, feathered back on his Sammy, took a waspy, flipped over on his Betty Harper's and caught his can in the Bertie. (new window)

Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude: StreetlightInTheGhetto: If you say "Polish American" in the US, it is assumed that you mean American of Polish Decent Unless It Is Obvious You Are Not American By Birth. Which is why overseas, if pressed, I say "of Polish descent" and not "Polish American". I most certainly know that there's a difference, but perhaps just for brevity's sake that's how it's phrased in my area. The cultural center, the festivals, the dance group I was in, hell, the special day at Tiger Stadium (I got a t-shirt!) - it's all written as Polish American and we all know what that means.

Right, so when a Polish naturalized citizen is standing next to an American whose great-great-great grandmother was Polish, they are both Polish-Americans? What if the Polish person isn't naturalized and is simply a legal alien/resident. Are they Polish or Polish-American?

What is the utter obsession Americans have with identifying with a long, long lost culture they don't have anything to do with? Is there not enough uniquely American culture that everyone has to be a hyphenated-American? There's certainly enough regional culture (Southern, East Coast, Northwest, etc) to give Americans a unique identity. Why the need to draw on things that are so far removed from their existence that it is practically irrelevant.

Should Europeans all walk around saying they are Roman-Swiss, or Visigoth-French? I have yet to see a compelling reason for why all the hyphenating exists.

I was raised Catholic, celebrate Wigilia on Christmas Eve, sing Stol Lot at every birthday celebration after Happy Birthday, get stuck getting food blessed on the Saturday before Easter and spoke to my grandmother in my very basic Polish when she forgot English before she died. Still have family in Poland, was meant to meet them before my Grandma died but only my older cousin got the chance to (she was gonna take each of us down the line, so it goes). Can make pierogi and many soups from scratch.

If you don't like the custom, fine. But I know people my age who *were* born in Poland and are now green card holders or citizens who have no problem with us 2nd and 3rd gen-ers calling ourselves Polish Americans in the US. If you're actually interacting with someone, like I mentioned, the common use of the term is NOT that big a deal. You can figure it out.

Trail of Dead: Nigel likes drawerings

They actually say "Dwaw-ings"
They seem to have trouble with words that have "R "as the second letter.
Brilliant as "Bwilliant", etc.

Train station? What's wrong with that? It IS a train station - there's one at the end of my street, and the signpost pointing to it says 'Train Station'. As a British person, I have absolutely no farking idea what is wrong with saying train station. Now deplane, on the other hand.... I mentioned this recently in a thread - it's just plain ugly. Disembark, exit, leave, but not deplane or detrain. Tattoo is the only person who can say deplane without looking like a twunt.