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Hekate

(100,132 posts)

63. We're re-watching The Story of English by Robert MacNeil and it retains its fascination

Tue Jun 24, 2014, 01:06 PM

Jun 2014

Hubby is playing with our new Blu-Ray player, which has a wi-fi component. He discovered the old series online and we're watching it on the TV in the living room. There are several problems with watching it like this, the worst being that it's discontinuous and tends to drop in the middle of episodes, but at least it's there. (The vendor on Amazon wants $679.95 for the DVDs.)

Nonetheless, great fun. In between laughing at the cutting edge 1986 technology on display, the charm and depth of information are still intact. I find myself wishing for a worthy successor to MacNeil to give us an update.

One line haunts me from our last viewing bout: "the spread and prestige of the Scots-Irish accent" across a broad swathe of America coast to coast. Prestige?! Well, when you look at it like that, I guess you're right. It's ubiquitous.

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Regional speech patterns or just laziness? [View all] MineralMan Jun 2014 OP

Don't blame the South. dawg Jun 2014 #1

I didn't mention any region, and only gave MineralMan Jun 2014 #5

What I find interesting about those extra syllables: merrily Jun 2014 #9

Regional accents and colloquialisms fascinate me. There are lots of parallels between ... dawg Jun 2014 #24

You might want to wander into the Massachusetts forum for a minute. merrily Jun 2014 #43

I got pegged as a "yankee" madamesilverspurs Jun 2014 #52

I think "grits" might be two syllables in Maine as well. merrily Jun 2014 #55

OK, how does one get a second syllable in "grits"? ManiacJoe Jun 2014 #110

GREE-yuts madamesilverspurs Jun 2014 #111

What are you saying? Milk has only one syllable? Arkansas Granny Jun 2014 #11

LOL, bless your heart. MineralMan Jun 2014 #23

Hey, Granny--how is your little feral kitty doing? nt tblue37 Jun 2014 #71

lol!! Sissyk Jun 2014 #19

Except for words like "Y'all". randome Jun 2014 #54

That's not a dropped syllable. dawg Jun 2014 #59

"N'Awlins," and its slightly less drawled cousin, "N'Orlins" tblue37 Jun 2014 #72

Nyorlins. dawg Jun 2014 #86

We never had a "y" sound in our "N'Orlins." I did stretch my tblue37 Jun 2014 #112

Hey now, it does have two syllables with our drawl, which I happen to like. redqueen Jun 2014 #113

It's like spoken texting. The Velveteen Ocelot Jun 2014 #2

I guess it bothers me most when I hear it from news anchors MineralMan Jun 2014 #8

Where's Professor Higgins when you need him? betsuni Jun 2014 #77

One more complaint betsuni Jun 2014 #78

Another one more complaint betsuni Jun 2014 #84

You can thank Southern California and Valley Girls for that, it happened due to flamingdem Jun 2014 #79

It was the nannies! betsuni Jun 2014 #81

That, I agree with. redqueen Jun 2014 #114

Does it really matter? In certain parts of the country you wouldn't be understood either. nt kelliekat44 Jun 2014 #3

Actually, that's not true. I have never had any difficulty MineralMan Jun 2014 #12

Perhaps those erstwhile misunderstandings are washed away by your overwhelming humility Orrex Jun 2014 #34

Splutter! dixiegrrrrl Jun 2014 #47

There was a large amount of win Aerows Jun 2014 #107

ell-oh-ell! unblock Jun 2014 #4

I'm finta alert on this. Ron Green Jun 2014 #6

Well, when you get through fixing to do that, MineralMan Jun 2014 #25

I gree. nt clarice Jun 2014 #7

I've only heard the first. gollygee Jun 2014 #10

They are. Listen closely and you'll hear both of them. MineralMan Jun 2014 #17

Just heard Joe Biden say something very close to "Vice Presen'ited States of America" Chiyo-chichi Jun 2014 #90

Yup. Just about everyone does it. MineralMan Jun 2014 #91

I hadn't noticed that one... Chiyo-chichi Jun 2014 #96

dancin' Armstead Jun 2014 #13

The twittering down of America. Skidmore Jun 2014 #14

How bout the people who leave out the R's when it's actually IN the word.... clarice Jun 2014 #15

Those are purely regional accents and manners of speech. MineralMan Jun 2014 #18

The r's travel. missingthebigdog Jun 2014 #58

LOL....I hear yer. nt clarice Jun 2014 #62

But other countries don't have regional speech.... Dreamer Tatum Jun 2014 #16

Of course they do. MineralMan Jun 2014 #20

Or it could be that we don't truly have regions anymore. Dreamer Tatum Jun 2014 #26

Your example is in broader use than that. MineralMan Jun 2014 #28

Actually, that burnishes my point. Dreamer Tatum Jun 2014 #29

Dippy Eggs. That's a nice one. MineralMan Jun 2014 #35

But soft-boiled eggs are "eggy in a cuppy eggs." nt tblue37 Jun 2014 #74

Wuts dippy aigs? TexasProgresive Jun 2014 #39

That is a Germanic language trait. You'll find it in tblue37 Jun 2014 #73

Interesting. Thanks. MineralMan Jun 2014 #100

Absolutely; just look how Latin has changed since the time of Cicero. eShirl Jun 2014 #21

Language changes for precisely those reasons among others. nt Bonobo Jun 2014 #22

Of course. Language is never static. MineralMan Jun 2014 #27

I live in New Mexico abakan Jun 2014 #65

I grew up in a California farm town. MineralMan Jun 2014 #66

eye know huh ? NM_Birder Jun 2014 #97

I don't think so... abakan Jun 2014 #101

"inhabitants of Burqe" freakin hilarious NM_Birder Jun 2014 #106

Or "goodbye," from "God be with you." nt tblue37 Jun 2014 #75

Elision and reduction of consonant clusters is a normal feature of language Spider Jerusalem Jun 2014 #30

My favorite is the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester TexasProgresive Jun 2014 #40

Dot's wert's at! Eleanors38 Jun 2014 #83

"Ima," I think, is a bit of a joke of sorts . . . kickitup Jun 2014 #31

Kanye West didn't invent I'ma, though. MineralMan Jun 2014 #37

Yeah, Ima Hogg TexasProgresive Jun 2014 #41

I remember Ima Hogg. It was giggle worthy many years ago. MineralMan Jun 2014 #42

She was famous in Houston TexasProgresive Jun 2014 #44

Whenja Gimmee Jenoch Jun 2014 #32

I'ma object to your excessive use of elision/elided Orrex Jun 2014 #33

You have used several contractions throughout this thread, Tanuki Jun 2014 #36

Quite correct. MineralMan Jun 2014 #38

This is English evolving in the way spoken languages always do. KitSileya Jun 2014 #45

Absolutely. MineralMan Jun 2014 #46

Also "Slough", in Berkshire (rhymes with "bough") Spider Jerusalem Jun 2014 #50

Nice example. MineralMan Jun 2014 #51

Well, considering I teach EFL in Norway, KitSileya Jun 2014 #61

Vonnegut commented very well on this, as on so much else: Orrex Jun 2014 #49

People really say... 3catwoman3 Jun 2014 #57

Clarification:"He was sat" is a substitution of either the simple past tense or the past participle tblue37 Jun 2014 #76

That's not a trend. That's normal. knitter4democracy Jun 2014 #48

"Co'cola" madamesilverspurs Jun 2014 #53

In California, it was just Coke. MineralMan Jun 2014 #56

This message was self-deleted by its author flamingdem Jun 2014 #80

language changes and when it does every generation fights for the purity of the language that they La Lioness Priyanka Jun 2014 #60

We're re-watching The Story of English by Robert MacNeil and it retains its fascination Hekate Jun 2014 #63

I LOVED that series when I saw it in the 80's! pink-o Jun 2014 #67

I've noticed a general tendency on TV rock Jun 2014 #64

midwest urban youth-speak "fitn-na" salin Jun 2014 #68

I only notice Tree-Hugger Jun 2014 #69

Ever since I transferred Jamaal510 Jun 2014 #70

The "th" sound and the lazy theory flamingdem Jun 2014 #82

It's a living language...What do you want? Blue_Tires Jun 2014 #85

The DC terms POTUS and FLOTUS are either signs of rampant laziness LiberalEsto Jun 2014 #87

Acronyms. Everyone loves 'em. MineralMan Jun 2014 #88

BLOTUS plays a role too LiberalEsto Jun 2014 #102

First time I've seen that one. MineralMan Jun 2014 #103

I just made it up LiberalEsto Jun 2014 #105

Hey! You know how we can ALL tell that MineralMan is not a trained linguist? Romulox Jun 2014 #89

I'm not. Just a writer. MineralMan Jun 2014 #92

We're ALL writers, here. This is a political message board, not your own blog. nt Romulox Jun 2014 #93

Oh, OK. As you say. MineralMan Jun 2014 #94

Obviously, if people read your blogs, you wouldn't need so many off topic vanity posts here. Romulox Jun 2014 #95

Thanks for taking so much interest in my activities. MineralMan Jun 2014 #99

"baby mamma" It should be legal to throat punch anyone who uses that. NM_Birder Jun 2014 #98

I'm not really much into punching people in the throat. MineralMan Jun 2014 #104

I think the only time I had trouble with regional speech patterns... NCTraveler Jun 2014 #108

This word compression has been going on forever ... Arugula Latte Jun 2014 #109