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Category Archives: Uncategorized
Dialect Work in the Old Days
Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps is a wonderful piece of classic moviemaking, but there is something amiss with the accent (not to mention dialect) of its leading man, Robert Donat: Donat is the handsome chap who remarks, ‘Daaahhhling, fancy seeing … Continue reading
Will English Dialects Become Languages?
It’s a fair question to ask if English dialects may eventually split off into separate languages. This has happened before, of course, Latin being perhaps the most notable example. And while I find it a compelling question, I think we’re … Continue reading
[hur-i-keyn]
I am currently in the path of the hurricane about to pummel the Northeastern United States. We’re not entirely sure what the power situation is going to be for the next couple of days, which may or may not result … Continue reading
Apologies About the Comments
A very quick note of apology. Due to a hectic schedule, I’ve been out of the loop and have had limited time to work on this blog over the past few days. Unbeknownst to me, the comments have been disabled … Continue reading
‘Thou’ on Google NGram Viewer
For dialect enthusiasts and language buffs, Google’s NGram Viewer is the kind of thing that keeps us up till the wee hours. For those out of the loop: type any word (or phrase) into Google’s NGram search, and you’ll get … Continue reading
Posts while I’m on Vacation
I am on vacation this next week in an area with little internet access. As I won’t have much opportunity to write, I’m going to publish some old posts that I drafted but didn’t put on the blog for various … Continue reading
Pub vs. Bar: The Eternal Quandary
It’s Friday afternoon, a time of drinking and merriment throughout the world. As such, today’s post will focus on two words related to imbibing: pub and bar. Although similar in meaning, these terms seem to have different meanings depending on … Continue reading
A Quick Break
I’m going to be computerless for the next two days, so I’m taking a short break from this site. I won’t be a presence in the comments section, but feel free to share! In parting, I’d like to share one … Continue reading
Learn an Accent in 3 Minutes! (A Rant)
A while back I posted something about “accent savants” on Youtube. These are people with a knack for dialects who post videos of themselves imitating Cockneys, Americans, Irishmen or some other nationality. I find these videos harmless fun, even as … Continue reading
Literary Dialect Transcription
We normally discuss spoken accents or dialects. But what about how they are written? Phonetic transcription isn’t so common in English-language literature these days. And that’s probably for the best. As a reader, I hate it when old novels spell … Continue reading