High School, College and University Cringe MegaThread

TheRejectionist

TheRejectionist

TheRejectionist
Today I am going to make my class watch a movie in English with Italian subtitles after the majority voted to watch (12 out of 13 voted YES/SI)a movie but with a test after we finished it (next lession probably, couldn't find a movie that was less than 90 minutes excluding Winnie the Pooh) which is going to be written in English, Italian and how you pronounce said phrases/sentences/questions (for example, if an Italian ignorant of the English language will write "L-I-K-E" as "LAIC" because that's how it sounds in Italian).

Next up I am planning a mish mash of DND/Chess play for doing what it is called "ripasso" in Italian (but the English translation kinda seems to miss the mark on it : it becomes "review" in English) about directions, actions, movements and similar.


Yeah it is not cringe but I am not going to open another general thread just for this...I have lost count of those who I opened but they still have potential for content.
 
L

Lord Greyscale

Member
TheRejectionist said:
(for example, if an Italian ignorant of the English language will write "L-I-K-E" as "LAIC" because that's how it sounds in Italian)
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I'm an American. English is my only language. (the 'murikan dialect, near exclusively)
It sounds that way in English too, we've just got this cultural thing about not changing the spelling of a word unless it is so mind-bogglingly wrong that the only option is to pronounce it wrong, or change the spelling.

Like and Laic sound the same to me. (and as "laic" isn't a word in english, I'll be more likely to parse it as "like" than I would be to parse "brake" as "break", even though both of those sound exactly the same)
 
S'task

S'task

Renegade Philosopher
Administrator
Staff Member
Founder
Lord Greyscale said:
I'm an American. English is my only language. (the 'murikan dialect, near exclusively)
It sounds that way in English too, we've just got this cultural thing about not changing the spelling of a word unless it is so mind-bogglingly wrong that the only option is to pronounce it wrong, or change the spelling.

Like and Laic sound the same to me. (and as "laic" isn't a word in english, I'll be more likely to parse it as "like" than I would be to parse "brake" as "break", even though both of those sound exactly the same)
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. . .

Firstly, don't speak for all American English, in point of fact from a linguistic standpoint there is no such thing as "American English", as the United States actually has a dozen or more regional dialects, thus when you claim to speak 'Merikan one should actually express explicitly where one comes from down to Burrough if you're from the big North East cities as some of those cities have MULTIPLE English dialects spoken in them.

As for me, that is, someone who speaks with a Mid-Atlantic American dialect with influence from the Old Northern Virginia dialect and the Appalachian dialect, "like" and "laic" are not said the same way AT ALL, in fact "laic" would be a homophone for "lake" and thus not sound anything like "like".

This is also true for most other American English dialects as far as I am aware of, where the "i" in "like" is said the same as the first person pronoun "I" or the positive affirmation of something "Aye", and doesn't sound anything at all like the long "A" sound of "lake", which sounds like, well, how one would say the article "A" (as in "a house" or "a duck").

So no, we're not going to change the spelling to account for your particular American English dialect that somehow has conflated long "I" and long "A", to most of the rest of us those are very different sounds and should be spelled exactly the way they are...
 
Zachowon

Zachowon

The Army Life for me! The POG life for me!
Founder
For instance, I say Both, as Bolth.
I say y'all but without an accent just due to the nature of being born in Ohio and being raised in the south.

It's like how not everyone says Pecan the same way. Some say "PecOn, and others say "PecAn"
 
The Whispering Monk

The Whispering Monk

Well-known member
Osaul
Zachowon said:
For instance, I say Both, as Bolth.
I say y'all but without an accent just due to the nature of being born in Ohio and being raised in the south.

It's like how not everyone says Pecan the same way. Some say "PecOn, and others say "PecAn"
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A "PecAn" is something you pee in.
 
TheRejectionist

TheRejectionist

TheRejectionist
S'task said:
. . .

Firstly, don't speak for all American English, in point of fact from a linguistic standpoint there is no such thing as "American English", as the United States actually has a dozen or more regional dialects, thus when you claim to speak 'Merikan one should actually express explicitly where one comes from down to Burrough if you're from the big North East cities as some of those cities have MULTIPLE English dialects spoken in them.

As for me, that is, someone who speaks with a Mid-Atlantic American dialect with influence from the Old Northern Virginia dialect and the Appalachian dialect, "like" and "laic" are not said the same way AT ALL, in fact "laic" would be a homophone for "lake" and thus not sound anything like "like".

This is also true for most other American English dialects as far as I am aware of, where the "i" in "like" is said the same as the first person pronoun "I" or the positive affirmation of something "Aye", and doesn't sound anything at all like the long "A" sound of "lake", which sounds like, well, how one would say the article "A" (as in "a house" or "a duck").

So no, we're not going to change the spelling to account for your particular American English dialect that somehow has conflated long "I" and long "A", to most of the rest of us those are very different sounds and should be spelled exactly the way they are...
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In some linguistic books I studied they did specify American accents, with "American dialect" being referred to the one commonly seen and heard on TV or Movies and so on.
 
LordsFire

LordsFire

Internet Wizard
TheRejectionist said:
In some linguistic books I studied they did specify American accents, with "American dialect" being referred to the one commonly seen and heard on TV or Movies and so on.
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That's generally 'midwestern' American English. It's generally the most accent-neutral version from our country.

A lot of the west coast has the same shallow or lack of significant accentation.
 
TheRejectionist

TheRejectionist

TheRejectionist
LordsFire said:
That's generally 'midwestern' American English. It's generally the most accent-neutral version from our country.

A lot of the west coast has the same shallow or lack of significant accentation.
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Wasn't the Bostonian you are referring to?
I remember one of my tutors in the past said that is the closest you come to Received Pronunciation English.
 
S

Skitzyfrenic

Well-known member
Maybe upper class Bostonian. And the general accent to the north side of mass and lower NH.

When I think 'Boston' accent I think 'pahk th' cah in th' hahvah yahd, an' git a bowl a clam chowdah.' Not something that's remotely close to RP.

Actually let me dig up an oldie with the best boston accent: here
 
bintananth

bintananth

behind a desk
TheRejectionist said:
In some linguistic books I studied they did specify American accents, with "American dialect" being referred to the one commonly seen and heard on TV or Movies and so on.
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The "American Dialect" is what American TV newscasters speak, sorta like how "Recieved Pronunciation" is Standard British.

Go five minutes from a formal setting and you aren't hearing either spoken 100% of the time by someone who isn't a pretentious ass or a naive aristocrat.
 
Carrot of Truth

Carrot of Truth

War is Peace
bintananth said:
The "American Dialect" is what American TV newscasters speak, sorta like how "Recieved Pronunciation" is Standard British.

Go five minutes from a formal setting and you aren't hearing either spoken 100% of the time by someone who isn't a pretentious ass or a naive aristocrat.
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The Trans Atlantic accent was the original "American Dialect"
 
bintananth

bintananth

behind a desk
Carrot of Truth said:
The Trans Atlantic accent was the original "American Dialect"
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It also ain't what's spoken by most Americans. You ain't almost gonna never hear "ain't" as part of that unless the speaker is quoting someone or implying a lack of education on the part of the speaker.
 
TheRejectionist

TheRejectionist

TheRejectionist
Ok lads, so, to break the monotony of the discussion about American accents and dialect today I did my first time I did a "movie lesson" for the kids, it went well...unexpectedly so.
The guys and the only girl were engaged, I told them that while IT WAS NOT mandatory IT WAS recommended to take notes ... I allowed it in Italian for practicality, but I will make them discuss once we finished the movie, followed by a bilingual quizz test.
 
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