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Author Archives: Ben
The Christmas Dialect Divide
Christmas greetings differ on each side of the Atlantic. Here in the U.S., ‘Merry Christmas‘ is used almost exclusively, while ‘Happy Christmas‘ seems more common among dialects in UK. But wait. Didn’t the very British A Christmas Carol feature the term ‘Merry … Continue reading
Vocal Fry
I don’t have time for a full-on post today, but I would be negligent if I didn’t point out the recent buzz on the web and elsewhere about ‘vocal fry.’ This term, which is more or less synonymous with creaky … Continue reading
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The Cornish Accent?
Half of my last name is ‘Trawick,’ which is a Cornish surname. Or rather, Anglicized Cornish–it apparently derives from ‘Traweek.’ I’ve seen a few competing ‘Trawick’ etymologies, but after some ancestral research, this seems the most plausible contender. As such, I’ve developed … Continue reading
‘Couple Dialects’
Couples speak their own languages. Whether these could be called ‘dialects’ or not is up for debate. But couples certainly seem to engage in code shifting, the act of changing one’s mode of speech depending on context. They engage in different … Continue reading
Anovver Fing About Th-Fronting
In our discussions of dialect evolution in the UK, a common denominator is th-fronting. To review: th-fronters turn ‘th‘ words into ‘f’ or ‘v’ words: ‘thing’ becomes ‘fing,’ ‘bother’ becomes ‘bovver,’ and ‘both’ becomes ‘bof.’ It’s a feature common in … Continue reading
Dialects and Registers
One afternoon some years ago, an overheard conversation on the subway piqued my interest. A few train stops before my apartment, a pair of young men got on the car and sat across from me. After exchanging a few friendly greetings … Continue reading
How People Think They Make Sounds
When I was younger, I believed I made the English /r/ sound with my lips. When I visualized this consonant, I pictured myself making a tight half-pout. I saw /r/, in essence, as a more emphatic version of/w/. So it … Continue reading
Polar Bears and Cross Dressers
One of the handful of slips the excellent British actor Hugh Laurie made on House (he speaks with an American accent on the show) was when he had a line with the term ‘cross dresser.’ Every vowel and consonant was technically correct, … Continue reading
The Paths of ‘Geezer’
Something that’s puzzled me about the speech of young British co-workers is the term ‘geezer.’ In America, this word refers, impolitely, to an elderly man. More accurately, I’d say it’s used more in theory than practice: it’s one of those … Continue reading
French Stress and Broad A’s
We Americans perhaps assume that the British pronounce ‘foreign’ words more inaccurately than we do. As evidence, one might cite such foreign loans as ‘Mario,’ ‘pasta,’ and ‘cliché!’ At first glance, it might look as if Americans stress the correct … Continue reading