English, the Language.

[RoJoHen]

I think regional dialects are interesting, but it honestly boggles my mind how they came to be in existence in the first place.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Well, everything diverges. It's why people speak Spanish, French, Italian, and Romanian, not Latin.

 

[RoJoHen]

Yeah, I suppose. I guess I don't get that either.

Things like this make me wish I had studied something other than Accounting in college.

 

[Skywalker]

Well, everything diverges.

Frickin' Tower of Babel!

 

[scotpens]

And, the name “McGrath” - long “a”, silent “t” - it does not rhyme with the American pronunciation of “bath”. It rhymes with “are”.

“McGrath” is pronounced “McGraw,” as in Ali MacGraw? That’s a new one on me.

But then look at Ralph Fiennes. The dude doesn’t know how to pronounce his first or last name.

. . . I actually put hatches where I shouldn't . . .

Not a good idea -- someone might fall down one!

(I assume you mean “H’s” or “aitches.”)

I have a feeling that due to the ever increasing interconnectedness of our world the overall pronunciation of English will slowly become uniform. Most likely more towards the American English side though.

I don’t see that happening at all. The two dozen or so regional American accents and the literally hundreds of different British accents have persisted well into the age of mass communication. A hundred years from now, a Texan will still sound like a Texan, a Cockney will still sound like a Cockney, and a Liverpudlian will still sound like fingernails scraping a chalkboard.

(Just kidding. Actually I find the scouse accent rather charming, probably because a lot of us Yanks still associate it with the Beatles.)

 

[RoJoHen]

Skywalker, I've been meaning to say this for quite some time. I freakin' love your avatar. Sometimes I just watch it for several minutes. It puts me in a trance, and then I start to giggle.

 

[Miss Chicken]

(I assume you mean “H’s” or “aitches.”)

Yes, I did. I meant to say 'aitches'. It isn't a word I have had to spell many times before.

 

[Skywalker]

Skywalker, I've been meaning to say this for quite some time. I freakin' love your avatar. Sometimes I just watch it for several minutes. It puts me in a trance, and then I start to giggle.

Thanks! It has the same effect on me sometimes (except for maybe the giggling ). I've thought about changing it for something else, but it's just too much fun to look at.

 

[Trilliam]

McGrath” is pronounced “McGraw,” as in Ali MacGraw? That’s a new one on me.

McGraw and McGrath are not pronounced thre same way. They do however, have the same root name - "Grad". O'Grady & Brady have the same root. McGrath is an Irish Gaelic name. There is no "th" in Irish Gaelic. McGraw rhymes with "draw", McGrath is closer in rhyme to "Car" - silent "t", breathe the "h". At least that's how my maiden name is pronouced here. ETA: My husband say the "th" in the name when he wants to stir - he knows that he will get a bite My dad's nickname at work (he was a draftsman) was Quick-draw McGraw though Quick Drar McGrath didn't roll.

 

[Skywalker]

Let's not get into the absurdity that is the Irish language.

*ducks in case TheGodBen or any other Irish folk are around*

 

[Trilliam]

Let's not get into the absurdity that is the Irish language.

*ducks in case TheGodBen or any other Irish folk are around*

Hey, that sound you hear? My Irish ancestors spinning in their graves, the ones in Ireland and the the ones that emigrated here in the late 19th C.

 

[Miss Chicken]

At least Irish sort of makes sense, its Welsh that I can't fathom. Just how am I meant to pronounced "Cwtch"?

 

[iBender]

At least Irish sort of makes sense, its Welsh that I can't fathom. Just how am I meant to pronounced "Cwtch"?

That's because Welsh isn't English at all, it's it's own language.

(Do you mean Irish English or Gaelic?)

 

[USS Excelsior]

1000 year old recording



[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wl-OZ3breE[/yt]

 

[RoJoHen]

Skywalker, I've been meaning to say this for quite some time. I freakin' love your avatar. Sometimes I just watch it for several minutes. It puts me in a trance, and then I start to giggle.

Thanks! It has the same effect on me sometimes (except for maybe the giggling ). I've thought about changing it for something else, but it's just too much fun to look at.

If you decide to change it, you need to put it somewhere where I have easy access to it.

 

[Miss Chicken]

At least Irish sort of makes sense, its Welsh that I can't fathom. Just how am I meant to pronounced "Cwtch"?

That's because Welsh is isn't English at all, it's it's own language.

Yes, but I was comparing it to Irish not English. Both are Gaelic languages.

 

[iBender]

^ Oh right.

 

[trampledamage]

Well, most Irish you read is anglicized spellings of Gaelic. Real Irish is as unpronouncable as Welsh.

Sidhe, Siobhan, Aodh...

 

[iBender]

Isn't Siobhan a name?

 

[trampledamage]

Yes, still impossible to pronounce unless you know it though. Aodh is also a name.