Today's Pet Peeve 12 Mar 09 (living in, sidewalk, accents, how to) - Other Topics - City-Data Forum

AliceT · 03-12-2009, 01:40 AM

People who correct people with a different dialect or accent on how to enunciate words.

studedude · 03-12-2009, 05:39 AM

Good morning Alice. For me it would depend on which accent the person has. If you are trying to change my incorrect NJ/Chicago accent to your very proper W. Va accent. I would have a problem. On the other hand if someone who was not raised in the US and is not familiar with the eccentricities of English, the way it is used in the US. Puts the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLABle. I would think correction, if done properly, would be helpful in adjusting to a life in a new country.

Granny Sue · 03-12-2009, 06:10 AM

I agree with studedude as long as it's somebody that English isn't the 1st language.

If I were in a different country and pronouncing the bathroom as the sidewalk, I'd want someone to correct me.

Now just different regions?? I'd have to know you.

When I 1st moved down here, I didn't know what "buggy" or "soap powders" were.

AliceT · 03-12-2009, 07:13 AM

Case in point... In WV, fella is often pronounced feller. Trust me, let it go.

Kerowyn · 03-12-2009, 07:55 AM

Tomatoe, Tamatoe, its still a tater to me!

firefightermom · 03-12-2009, 07:56 AM

I agree about the English as a second language...I had a coworker who was from Chile, and she specificially asked us to correct any words she mispronounced. Once she was telling me about the class she was taking, and I had to correct "muscles". She was says mus-kulls. She greatly appreciated it. I would have let her know, even if she hadn't asked in advance. Nicely and quietly, of course, too!

Kerowyn · 03-12-2009, 08:04 AM

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/puzzlessue/Emoticons/Active/thsoapbox.gif (broken link)in truth, in my line of work we get to pronounce words all the time that are off the beaten path... so much so even we don't know how to really pronounce it. But when a customer corrects me on a word I can pronounce! oh my Gosh! that drives me nuts.
Where ever that lady is in this world it is Faux as in fake pronounced fo rhymes with doe, it is not pronounced FOX! It is a Faux Fur aka Fo Fur not a Fox Fur unless that animal was killed to make the darn coat and since is it a faux (fake)fur coat the odds of that is nil.
{steping off my box now

}

tet tea · 03-12-2009, 08:09 AM

Being from England and living in the States all I can say is that I hate the way some folks say Worcestershire Sauce. It drives me nuts, but I hold my tongue. I probably drive people nuts with the way I say some things!

AksarbeN · 03-12-2009, 08:54 AM

I have a close friend who has been away from Tenn. for over 30 years now. I continue to ask him to repeat his comments because I can’t understand half of what he was saying. I try to pay close attention to his speaking but it never fails on something important (I miss what he said) more then not, I have to ask him to repeat it again “slowly”.

AksarbeN · 03-12-2009, 09:03 AM

The sad part is that I believe there is a great deal of discrimination with how people speak as well and most of the time not being understood when they do. It doesn’t make a difference what part of the country they come from either, it just is hard for others to understand and give “that person” speaking their full attention on a conversation.

Discrimination of someone just because they speak with an accent is more highly occurring then one would like to believe. Not only our own verities of national accents but foreign ones as well.