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Yeah of course due to films Brits are well aware and can recognise American slang/words etc but not too familiar with the actual meaning of them.
It's funny but the best one I know that always makes me giggle is " He's a walking hard on " ... Brilliant that is
I tend to use that one some times, I'll call someone that is being difficult I'll say that the dude is being a hard on.
I speak with too much slang sometimes, I tend to describe things in real life with colorful language or language that is opposite of the intended usage, LOL, I can't explain it right, but I do it sometimes without trying to. I don't know if it's a good thing or not.
I picked up from Richard Pryor from way back in the day the habit of adding "and sh$t" to a lot of things I'll say.
For example if I'm talking to someone, say Mrs. Chow, I'll say "I have to run to the store and sh$t"
Of course there's not logical reason to add "and sh$t" to the piece of information I just said, but I didn't even really realize that I did it till Mrs. Chow pointed it out some years ago. LOL
I can actually speak like a mature adult when I need to, typical for work purposes, but after that, it's slang time baby.
I tend to use that one some times, I'll call someone that is being difficult I'll say that the dude is being a hard on.
I speak with too much slang sometimes, I tend to describe things in real life with colorful language or language that is opposite of the intended usage, LOL, I can't explain it right, but I do it sometimes without trying to. I don't know if it's a good thing or not.
I picked up from Richard Pryor from way back in the day the habit of adding "and sh$t" to a lot of things I'll say.
For example if I'm talking to someone, say Mrs. Chow, I'll say "I have to run to the store and sh$t"
Of course there's not logical reason to add "and sh$t" to the piece of information I just said, but I didn't even really realize that I did it till Mrs. Chow pointed it out some years ago. LOL
I can actually speak like a mature adult when I need to, typical for work purposes, but after that, it's slang time baby.
Oh I understand and I'm scarily the same
I'd usually add bollox to many sentences " sorry mate I'm gonna be about an hour to get to the pub as I've got to pick up and few things and drop them off and all that bollox " .... It's a mild swear word ( slang for balls English slang is hard to understand and describe lol ).
It depends on the company I'm in and how I talk, obviously with a strong cockney accent ( can't escape that lol ) but whether I swear or use slang or not.
Question for you mate.... You mentioned that British bloke in that bar, how does British people/humour come across in LA? For example I know we swear a lot and have a darker more sinister humour so I'm sure many would find it hilarious but I'd suspect many would get offended by it?
I know it depends on the individual but stems back to what you were asking about if you and ms chow were in a London pub and I'm now curious how my humour would go down in LA
I'd usually add bollox to many sentences " sorry mate I'm gonna be about an hour to get to the pub as I've got to pick up and few things and drop them off and all that bollox " .... It's a mild swear word ( slang for balls English slang is hard to understand and describe lol ).
It depends on the company I'm in and how I talk, obviously with a strong cockney accent ( can't escape that lol ) but whether I swear or use slang or not.
Question for you mate.... You mentioned that British bloke in that bar, how does British people/humour come across in LA? For example I know we swear a lot and have a darker more sinister humour so I'm sure many would find it hilarious but I'd suspect many would get offended by it?
I know it depends on the individual but stems back to what you were asking about if you and ms chow were in a London pub and I'm now curious how my humour would go down in LA
He spoke with a posh type accent, if I recall properly, this was a long while back. He had a dry sense of humor which I think a lot of Americans tend to associate with the Brits. The way you come off here on the forum you should be fine in terms of humor and people "getting it" I found him to be a great guy, I actually sorta miss him. I'm sure he's probably passed by now, he was an old dude way back then. Good guy, I know when we used to go there I was hoping he was there because he was a pretty good wealth of knowledge, you know, just shooting the breeze with him. Making myself get a little sad here just thinking about it.
I do think though that the cockney is probably one of the harder accents to understand to American ears, so I'd suggest not talking too fast, LOL.
I could hardly understand a word Magda would say, but I still loved that character.
I know that there are a few differing accents in the UK, and cockney is probably the toughest for me to get. The Scotts are probably worse. I remember that movie Train Spotting, practically had to turn on the subtitle track to understand WTF they were saying.
We tend to have a darker humor. Myself probably more so than Mrs. Chow. I find myself laughing at scenes in movies that most certainly wasn't intended to be funny, again, not sure if that is a good thing necessarily, but whatever, we are who we are, right????
He spoke with a posh type accent, if I recall properly, this was a long while back. He had a dry sense of humor which I think a lot of Americans tend to associate with the Brits. The way you come off here on the forum you should be fine in terms of humor and people "getting it" I found him to be a great guy, I actually sorta miss him. I'm sure he's probably passed by now, he was an old dude way back then. Good guy, I know when we used to go there I was hoping he was there because he was a pretty good wealth of knowledge, you know, just shooting the breeze with him. Making myself get a little sad here just thinking about it.
I do think though that the cockney is probably one of the harder accents to understand to American ears, so I'd suggest not talking too fast, LOL.
I could hardly understand a word Magda would say, but I still loved that character.
I know that there are a few differing accents in the UK, and cockney is probably the toughest for me to get. The Scotts are probably worse. I remember that movie Train Spotting, practically had to turn on the subtitle track to understand WTF they were saying.
We tend to have a darker humor. Myself probably more so than Mrs. Chow. I find myself laughing at scenes in movies that most certainly wasn't intended to be funny, again, not sure if that is a good thing necessarily, but whatever, we are who we are, right????
Yes a posh accent as advertised by Hugh grant and Colin firth, that's your upper class and well spoken bunch
For me the older generation are the funny ones and great characters especially this side of the pond so I'm sure he would have been a " proper " Brit and all the essence
Hahahaha I'm exactly like Magda accent wise and I have spoken to a few Americans on the phone and had to either slow down or translate on reflection I think we do have a fast paced accent that might stem from enthusiasm possibly, personally I have no problem understanding most American accents I believe.
Oh believe me many English can't understand a Scottish accent mate but surprisingly I'm ok with it
Again we're the same with the humour and movies it seems like I think one of the funniest films I've seen is " one flew over the cuckoos nest " ( or something like that with jack Nicholson ) it's not meant to be funny but I was in hysterics in parts.
Yes a posh accent as advertised by Hugh grant and Colin firth, that's your upper class and well spoken bunch
For me the older generation are the funny ones and great characters especially this side of the pond so I'm sure he would have been a " proper " Brit and all the essence
Hahahaha I'm exactly like Magda accent wise and I have spoken to a few Americans on the phone and had to either slow down or translate on reflection I think we do have a fast paced accent that might stem from enthusiasm possibly, personally I have no problem understanding most American accents I believe.
Oh believe me many English can't understand a Scottish accent mate but surprisingly I'm ok with it
Again we're the same with the humour and movies it seems like I think one of the funniest films I've seen is " one flew over the cuckoos nest " ( or something like that with jack Nicholson ) it's not meant to be funny but I was in hysterics in parts.
I'm probably biased because I live in Ca, but I think of all the various accents in the USA, Ca is probably the most "neutral" for lack of another word.
We are all familiar with the slow southern drawl, that's not hard to understand, but it's pretty pronounced. Some of the east coast accents like the Bronx and Boston accents just annoy the complete hell out of me. Philly is another that I just can't stand, think the early Rocky movies, could hardly understand a word Stallone was saying in the first couple of movies he made.
The Midwest sounds friendly and nice, the upper states in the northern part of the country tend to start to resemble the Canadian accent a little.
Most people here in southern Ca don't sound like surfers or whatever the stereotype is.
Last edited by Chowhound; 02-18-2017 at 07:23 PM..
I'm probably biased because I live in Ca, but I think of all the various accents in the USA, Ca is probably the most "neutral" for lack of another word.
We are all familiar with the slow southern drawl, that's not hard to understand, but it's pretty pronounced. Some of the east coast accents like the Bronx and Boston accents just annoy the complete hell out of me. Philly is another that I just can't stand, think the early Rocky movies, could hardly understand a word Stallion was saying in the first couple of movies he made.
The Midwest sounds friendly and nice, the upper states in the northern part of the country tend to start to resemble the Canadian accent a little.
Most people here in southern Ca don't sound like surfers or whatever the stereotype is.
From what I've seen on telly a Californian accent seems very clear and pleasant infact
Now I'll be showing my ignorance here but..... I can actually recognise a north east accent like Boston/New York, I can't tell the difference between a Philly accent and a Boston or New York one, but can spot a southern or country accent ( like Dolly Partons very sexy accent I think ). But couldn't be very specific about regions.
This is where the ignorance comes in on my part.... I genuinely can't place a Canadian accent and probably wouldn't know the difference from an American one, It might sound shocking to you lol but it's similar when i hear that a lot of Americans mistake a British accent for an Australian one and vice versa as to us they're completely different apart from the odd words like bloke and mate for example
From what I've seen on telly a Californian accent seems very clear and pleasant infact
Now I'll be showing my ignorance here but..... I can actually recognise a north east accent like Boston/New York, I can't tell the difference between a Philly accent and a Boston or New York one, but can spot a southern or country accent ( like Dolly Partons very sexy accent I think ). But couldn't be very specific about regions.
This is where the ignorance comes in on my part.... I genuinely can't place a Canadian accent and probably wouldn't know the difference from an American one, It might sound shocking to you lol but it's similar when i hear that a lot of Americans mistake a British accent for an Australian one and vice versa as to us they're completely different apart from the odd words like bloke and mate for example
Aussie accent is obvious to me, but I pay attention to that sorta thing as I can mimic people pretty well, just need to hear them speak.
To me the south is probably the most distinctive of all of the American accents. The east coast accents are distinctive to those that pay attention, otherwise they can kinda, very kinda here, sound the same. If you lined up people from NY, Boston, Philly you'd be able to notice the difference, but without a clear frame of reference they may sound sorta similar.
My mother was an Aussie and she lived here most of her adult life and her accent sounded a little bit like a watered down version of an east coast accent. She would say tomaahtoe instead of tomato, things like that.
There are a lot of areas in my opinion that sound more neutral than other parts of the country. The west coast being one of them.
Last edited by Chowhound; 02-18-2017 at 07:47 PM..
Aussie accent is obvious to me, but I pay attention to that sorta thing as I can mimic people pretty well, just need to hear them speak.
To me the south is probably the most distinctive of all of the American accents. The east coast accents are distinctive to those that pay attention, otherwise they can kinda, very kinda here, sound the same. If you lined up people from NY, Boston, Philly you'd be able to notice the difference, but without a clear frame of reference they may sound sorta similar.
My mother was an Aussie and she lived here most of her adult life and her accent sounded a little bit like a watered down version of an east coast accent. She would say tomaahtoe instead of tomato, things like that.
There are a lot of areas in my opinion that sounds my neutral than other parts of the country. The west coast being one of them.
I didn't know you're half Aussie mate and being friendly with a " pom " like me
I'd tend to agree with the southern accent as even though I'm not the best judge it's the first I'd recognise for sure
Ill have google in a minute but I think Philly is quite close to the north east so I'd definitely struggle to differentiate them . Naturally the best way to separate and distinguish the many different accents and dialects is by living in the said country which would be great
And I'd pay to see you mimic my accent and matching dialogue
I didn't know you're half Aussie mate and being friendly with a " pom " like me
I'd tend to agree with the southern accent as even though I'm not the best judge it's the first I'd recognise for sure
Ill have google in a minute but I think Philly is quite close to the north east so I'd definitely struggle to differentiate them . Naturally the best way to separate and distinguish the many different accents and dialects is by living in the said country which would be great
And I'd pay to see you mimic my accent and matching dialogue
Most Americans sorta tie their ancestry back to Europe, as obviously most of the people that came here initially were from there. England being the largest group at first.
Australia and America share similar backgrounds in terms of how the English dealt with them/us. Australia was used to send off undesirables and so was America to a minor degree, but being a colony, it was expected to be English, until things went south for the brits, obviously, history being what it is and all.
My surname and my mother surname are pretty heavily Irish based, my mothers maiden name was O'Shea, it doesn't' get much more Irish than having an "O" in you name like that.
My dad's surname is Scottish/Irish, so I tend to lean that way in terms of how I view our immigration to this country.
In about another hundred years Americans might let go of our European backgrounds, but til then most American when asked about ancestry, will typically cite other places.....
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