should I learn Canadian English

Jordan   Mon May 15, 2006 11:57 pm GMT
I have a couple Aus friends, I am a Canadian teen, and I vist the US across the bridge. I can't place which accent is which (why bother??) unless they have a Southern drawl. And I quite like how the Australians speak, I really don't see how all this controversy is being made. Ov Vey what a superficial world we live in.
Ed   Tue May 16, 2006 9:07 am GMT
> traveling

What a horrible and bizarre way to spell the word, it looks as though it should be pronounced tra-vee-ling and has the stem travele.
Guest   Sun May 21, 2006 5:42 am GMT
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Lazar   Sun May 21, 2006 7:01 am GMT
<<What a horrible and bizarre way to spell the word, it looks as though it should be pronounced tra-vee-ling and has the stem travele.>>

No, it's actually a pretty commonly accepted way to spell the word in North American English. It makes just as much (or little) sense as "travelling", which, if I were to misinterpret according to your methods, looks as if it should rhyme with "compelling".
Rick Johnson   Sun May 21, 2006 7:42 am GMT
<<The Poms probably think we all speak and live like the neighbours in Neighbours which is pretty big over there. And it covers a spectrum of Aus-speak.>>

Neighbours can be a great source of new insults and phrases:

You spiggin' guber

You spiggin' hufta

You lagger

You bludger

You flamin' galah

I'm in as much strife as a blow-fly in a butcher's shop

Strike a light!
Hermione   Sun May 21, 2006 8:34 am GMT
"In fact, if everyone likes Reba MacIntyre with her Oklahoman drawl, they certainly won't like you less for sounding like a Canadian."

Who?
Henry Fowler   Sun May 21, 2006 9:01 am GMT
>>> traveling

What a horrible and bizarre way to spell the word, it looks as though it should be pronounced tra-vee-ling and has the stem travele.<<

You're right about its being bizarre, but to me it looks like a two-syllable word: "TRAVE-ling", as in such words as "hireling", "reeling", "feeling", "wheeling", "spieling" etc. which require just the one L.

Even weirder, given the removal of the L in those words is the addition of an unnecessary extra L in words which don't need it: "fulfil", "instil", "distil", and so on.

It really makes it hard to take them seriously, especially when they try to defend the indefensible.
Meh   Sun May 21, 2006 12:56 pm GMT
Meh, the drama Queens are having a hissy fit over spellings with the letter L.

Henry Fowler: that's you, so shut the f*ck up and apologise to Lazar, you rude little varmint. Learn to read what others write, hypocrite.
Lazar   Sun May 21, 2006 3:09 pm GMT
<<Even weirder, given the removal of the L in those words is the addition of an unnecessary extra L in words which don't need it: "fulfil", "instil", "distil", and so on.>>

Actually, the removal of an L in "travelling" and the addition of an L in "fulfil", "instil", "distil", are both consistent with the ortographic principle that stressed syllables receive doubled consonants while unstressed syllables receive single consonants. Just as I could intentionally misinterpret "travelling" to rhyme with "compelling", I could intentionally misinterpret "distil" to rhyme with "pistil".

I'm not trying to make everybody adopt the American spelling reforms (because I'm *not* generally an advocate of spelling reform), but I'm just refuting your assertions that they are bizarre (when in fact they are quite widely accepted and used in American English) and indefensible (when in fact they do have an underlying logic).
Adam   Mon May 22, 2006 7:06 pm GMT
"Neighbours which is pretty big over there"

No, it isn't.
Guest   Tue May 23, 2006 4:37 am GMT
"No, it isn't."

Oh then why does the Neighbours web site http://www.neighbours.com link to an official Neighbours web site in the UK hosted by none other than the BBC? http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/neighbours/
Ed   Tue May 23, 2006 1:03 pm GMT
I had not thought of it in terms of stressed and unstressed syllables but rather in terms of open and closed syllables.

Open syllables (that end in a vowel) have long vowel sounds and closed syllables (that end in a consonant) have short vowel sounds.
Jenna   Wed May 24, 2006 7:45 am GMT
<<No, it isn't.<<

Adam may not watch it, but it is certainly more popular in the UK than in its home country, Australia, where it is considered a joke, and is watched only by desperates and sub-teenagers in the far outer suburbs. Those who do watch it wouldn't admit doing so under mild torture. The only reason it is still made is the insatiable appetite in the UK for soaps.

Conversely, while quality UK television drama and comedy are popular in Australia, not one of the long-running UK soaps is even shown on any of the six free-to-air television networks in Australia. They were tried, but few watched, so they disappeared to cable many years ago.
Ron Jeremy   Wed May 24, 2006 8:27 am GMT
Jenna Jameson wrote >>Australia, where it is considered a joke, and is watched only by desperates and sub-teenagers in the far outer suburbs.<<

You're probably about to watch it in 10 mins from your high horse.
Heather   Fri Jun 02, 2006 10:54 pm GMT
I am a canadian living in ontario, and I must say I have gotten so annoyed reading these posts! especially some of the people saying that canadians and american sound exactly the same! we dont people! get hearing aids! I know that americans living in the northern states and canadians living in the western provinces may sound similar, but there are still differences! I think the main differences to sum them up, would be like this: americans to me, ( even the ones who live in the northern sates) have a "flater speech sound to me". its kind of like there words are drawn out alot more than canadians. and the other difference, we canadians definately pronounce our "ou" words differentley than americans. anyways, this was all I wanted to say. there are differences!