"I could care less"....???

[Axver]

Oh God, dont get me started on Z. It's bad enough it replaces S so often, but at least fucking pronounce it correctly!!


Ok, I'm getting annoyed lol...

I'll second the and then try to keep my trap shut!

 

[anitram]

One of my dearest friends is a super educated (literature) English guy. He always mocks American English and seems particularly bothered by the misuse of the word 'tuition' and its bastardization into 'tutelage'.

However, he also says Australian and NZ English sounds extremely hick to him, particularly the widespread addition of the letter "R" at the ends of words which end in a vowel, which he says is generally seen as a determinant of old style class (or lack thereof) in England proper.

I, on the other hand, dig the accents.

 

[Axver]

It's totally choice eh bro

We Kiwi bros speak better eh cuz?

 

[beli]

Do we add "R"s? I thought we usually dropped them off the end and turned the word into one long aaaaaa. lol.

Your friend is probably right though. Excuse me whilst I talk to myself for a minute.....

 

[Axver]

However, he also says Australian and NZ English sounds extremely hick to him, particularly the widespread addition of the letter "R" at the ends of words which end in a vowel, which he says is generally seen as a determinant of old style class (or lack thereof) in England proper.

I'd actually agree with some of that. Find an uneducated Kiwi and they just sound thick as two short planks. I come from a family that's very influenced by Britain, though, and some people have actually mistaken me for being English until I've said words like 'chance'. Apparently I now just have a mangled accent that sounds Kiwi to Australians, sort of Aussie to Kiwis, and British to random people.

Australians don't add 'r', though. That's just Kiwis. Darnce, charnce, et cetera. Australians just drag them out or chuck in a 'y'.

Edit: Wait, you said 'end with a vowel'. There go my examples! I'd say that when Kiwis say words that end with vowels, we sometimes add an 'uh' sound, like Africuh, not Africar.

 

[Angela Harlem]

I truly adore the Kiwi accent. And not to mock it either, though I'm glad you can laugh Axver, if I do I don't usually see any accent in Australians as we speak very flatly, whereas American for example is very resonant. Example, americans roll their "R"s.

 

[beli]

Sometimes I am mistaken for English also except its usually when I do say words like chance, dance, France, clarse, etc

Im not hearing this R at the end of vowel words when I speak.....

 

[beli]

I don't usually see any accent in Australians

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

You told me my accent was completely different to yours.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

You told me my accent was completely different to yours.

You're the exception, you dusty red hick! You just sound private school whipped, I mean educated.

 

[A_Wanderer]

I like accents, I can do them half decently ~ the trickiest bit is accenting a foreign language, trying to actually speak say Greek in a Greek way.

 

[anitram]

Edit: Wait, you said 'end with a vowel'. There go my examples! I'd say that when Kiwis say words that end with vowels, we sometimes add an 'uh' sound, like Africuh, not Africar.

My boss is from NZ. He actually lived in England (has a PhD from Cambridge).

And he has many, many, many times called me Martiner (instead of Martina). Usually it is when the following word starts with a vowel. For example, he will say "Martina, can you do this" but he will also say "Martiner are you going...."

I pointed it out to him once. He was completely oblivious to the fact he'd been doing it and in fact didn't even understand what I was talking about, he was that unaware of it.

 

[A_Wanderer]

"Martiner", for some reason I could see Kennedy say it like that

 

[beli]

An Australian would call you Marteenuh.

Actually, they would probably call you Marty or Marto.

 

[Axver]

My boss is from NZ. He actually lived in England (has a PhD from Cambridge).

And he has many, many, many times called me Martiner (instead of Martina). Usually it is when the following word starts with a vowel. For example, he will say "Martina, can you do this" but he will also say "Martiner are you going...."

I pointed it out to him once. He was completely oblivious to the fact he'd been doing it and in fact didn't even understand what I was talking about, he was that unaware of it.

Now that I've thought about it and said both 'Martiner' and 'Martinuh' out loud ... they actually sound really similar.

A few of my friends get on my case for some of my enunciation. Usually, I have extremely good enunciation, but I'm the only person I know who can tell the difference between my pronunciations of some words. One example is 'woman' and 'women'. I reckon I say them differently, but everyone else, without fail, tells me they sound the same. Just because I refuse to pronounce 'women' as 'wimin'!

While I'm at it, I remembered something while typing the last paragraph: one other thing that bothers me is when people spell 'pronunciation' as 'pronounciation'. Only two instances of 'o', folks!

 

[beli]

Now that I've thought about it and said both 'Martiner' and 'Martinuh' out loud ... they actually sound really similar.

You reckon? I dont think so. I guess Im hearing an R heavy USA accent when I hear 'Martiner'. Bit like the way people from California say rule-errrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, instead of roo-laaaaaaaaaaaaa.

 

[A_Wanderer]

I was thinking more like New England.

 

[Axver]

You reckon? I dont think so. I guess Im hearing an R heavy USA accent when I hear 'Martiner'. Bit like the way people from California say rule-errrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, instead of roo-laaaaaaaaaaaaa.

When I was actually focusing on pronouncing the 'r', then yeah, that's exactly what happened. But when I said 'Martiner' with the very soft 'r' from 'car', it was pretty close to Martinuh.

 

[beli]

I dont think I have heard a New England accent. Most of the USA people over here are from California.

At work, I did once deal with a debt collector in Boston on the phone. He had a different accent.

 

[beli]

When I was actually focusing on pronouncing the 'r', then yeah, that's exactly what happened. But when I said 'Martiner' with the 'r' from 'car', it was pretty close to Martinuh.

Thats because there is no "r" in car. lol.

 

[beli]

You're the exception, you dusty red hick! You just sound private school whipped, I mean educated.

And you sound like a summers day on the beach.

 

[Axver]

Thats because there is no "r" in car. lol.

Hah, yeah. I just tried emphasising the 'r' and it sounded horrifically wrong.

I think with some Kiwi pronunciation, 'uh' and a soft 'r' can get very blurred. I've typed out the Kiwi pronunciation of 'chance' as 'chahnce', 'charnce', and 'chahrnce'. None seem wrong to my ears.

 

[indra]

Being from the sticks of Ohio, and an atrocious speller to boot, I probably will be shredded in this here thread.

But I think any plans for going to Australia or New Zealand have just been shot to hell. Yikes! It would freak me out knowing people were picking apart the way I speak. Of course, I always thought y'all had a bastardised form of english anyway, just as we do (except different).

 

[Axver]

Of course, I always thought y'all had a bastardised form of english anyway, just as we do (except different).

Our pronunciation's debatable, I guess (especially Australians, who we Kiwis reckon say 'sex' instead of 'six'), but we do spell properly. And yes, I really do consider Commonwealth English spelling to be proper spelling and US English to be incorrect. *ducks flying objects*

 

[biff]

Sorry to return this to the original post, but someone has to!!

With regard to the expression, "I could care less" vs. "I couldn't care less": They are both valid.
"I couldn't care less" is logical, and it's what most English speaking people should say, if they want to sound as if they are making sense.
For "I could care less" to make sense, you would have to imagine what it might sound like if someone actually said it. It's Yiddish in inflection, being very sarcastic in its up-tone: "I could care less??" The first three words are all on the same note, and the last word is a full note higher. It really means: I honestly could not care less, with a big cynical shrug.

 

[beli]

Being from the sticks of Ohio, and an atrocious speller to boot, I probably will be shredded in this here thread.

But I think any plans for going to Australia or New Zealand have just been shot to hell. Yikes! It would freak me out knowing people were picking apart the way I speak. Of course, I always thought y'all had a bastardised form of english anyway, just as we do (except different).

Nah, your accent wouldnt be shot to pieces. Your spelling might though.

 

[beli]

For "I could care less" to make sense, you would have to imagine what it might sound like if someone actually said it. It's Yiddish in inflection, being very sarcastic in its up-tone: "I could care less??" The first three words are all on the same note, and the last word is a full note higher. It really means: I honestly could not care less, with a big cynical shrug.

That would go right over my head.

Its a bit like how USA people say "I lucked out" and its means something good to some people in the USA. In Australia it means that the person has run out of luck ie something bad has happened.

 

[biff]

Well, I agree that the expression "I lucked out" means something completely different in our countries, as opposed to the U.S.
But that's an idiomatic expression.
What I'm talking about is inflection and physical gesture, in addition to the actual words. The literal words mean less than the way in which they are expressed.

 

[Axver]

That would go right over my head.

Its a bit like how USA people say "I lucked out" and its means something good to some people in the USA. In Australia it means that the person has run out of luck ie something bad has happened.

That phrase is meant to mean something good in the US?

Oh, NOW I find out. I really want to know what's wrong with saying 'I was lucky' - or here, saying 'I wasn't lucky'.

Also, I've been told by a few people that in the US, if you refer to someone as your 'partner', it means they're of the same sex as you - in other words, that you're gay. Any Americans want to confirm or deny this? I'd use 'partner' to refer to someone I'm romantically involved with but not married to. I hate the word 'girlfriend' because it sounds so 13-years-old, but I use it online now after a couple of Americans told me 'partner' makes me sound like I have a boyfriend.

 

[beli]

Well, I agree that the expression "I lucked out" means something completely different in our countries, as opposed to the U.S.
But that's an idiomatic expression.
What I'm talking about is inflection and physical gesture, in addition to the actual words. The literal words mean less than the way in which they are expressed.

Which is all lost on the internet. Australians have a few expressions that really require visuals to fully appreciate.

 

[beli]

Also, I've been told by a few people that in the US, if you refer to someone as your 'partner', it means they're of the same sex as you - in other words, that you're gay. Any Americans want to confirm or deny this? I'd use 'partner' to refer to someone I'm romantically involved with but not married to. I hate the word 'girlfriend' because it sounds so 13-years-old, but I use it online now after a couple of Americans told me 'partner' makes me sound like I have a boyfriend.

In Australian, "partner" used to me a person in a same sex relationship, once upon a time. The definition has loosened over time. Except with some old folks. I wouldn't recommend telling your grandfather you have a partner. loll.