Is it a widespread behavior for multilingual speakers of english to get a more anglicized accent when talking to a native speaker? [more inside]
posted by Non Prosequitur on Aug 22, 2009 - 19 answers

England and America, two countries separated by a common language. Check. What I'm looking for are resources that cover the differences in spoken English (accent, syntax, diction, catch-phrases - it's all good) between the two countries circa 1776-1815. [more inside]
posted by IndigoJones on Apr 20, 2009 - 9 answers

Southern phrases like "gets my goat" and "burns my biscuits"? [more inside]
posted by curiositykilledthelemur on Mar 26, 2009 - 70 answers

Is there some linguistic or cultural explanation for mistakenly calling Firefox FoxFire? [more inside]
posted by odinsdream on Jan 7, 2009 - 31 answers

What are some examples of "family jargon"? For example, a friend's father once told a joke to his family that poked fun at the French. He concluded by saying, "Don't tell anyone from France." Now, within their family, "Don't tell anyone from France" means "Let's keep this between us"--and they say it even if the secret has nothing to do with the French. [more inside]
posted by Ms. Informed on Nov 7, 2008 - 112 answers

There was a site of speakers around the world speaking a specific phrase in English. This was to show how regional dialects of English sounded. You could click on a map and it would pull up video of these speakers. Does anyone know what that site is? If not, perhaps a good response would include a concise phrase that can show different regional variations (cot/caught, don/dawn, pin/pen). [more inside]
posted by symbioid on Sep 20, 2008 - 9 answers

What do you call a long, thin sandwich, and where do you live? [more inside]
posted by ChasFile on Jul 8, 2008 - 140 answers

Where can I find examples of characters in film speaking English with a Columbian accent? I'm also looking for plays in English with Columbian characters. [more inside]
posted by raygan on Apr 9, 2008 - 14 answers

Which Chinese dialect should I learn to best survive in Shanghai, and how? Difficulty: I have 6 weeks. [more inside]
posted by 0xFCAF on Mar 23, 2008 - 10 answers

In preparation of studying abroad in the Tohoku region of Japan next year, I am looking for useful dialect-related tools and resources. [more inside]
posted by mezamashii on Sep 25, 2007 - 3 answers

Which British dialect pronounces R's like a W? [more inside]
posted by jazzkat11 on Jul 15, 2007 - 35 answers

Language/Dialect-filter: In search of "authentic" Southern (American) accents... [more inside]
posted by ibeji on Oct 11, 2006 - 48 answers

Was Polari employed by gays in America during the 60's ? If not, what ? [more inside]
posted by lobstah on Sep 17, 2006 - 9 answers

Bookworm MeFites: I'm looking for novels, short stories, and plays by white authors where their non-white characters speak in a dialect. For instance, the slave Jim in Twain's Huckleberry Finn. [more inside]
posted by rossination on May 25, 2006 - 45 answers

Did "based on" beget "based off of"? [more inside]
posted by Mr Stickfigure on May 16, 2006 - 28 answers

Where did pirate speech come from? [more inside]
posted by IndigoJones on Jan 9, 2006 - 18 answers

Why do some speakers omit the word 'the' from before many nouns? [more inside]
posted by tumble on Oct 25, 2005 - 27 answers

Funny native accents? [more inside]
posted by IndigoJones on Oct 16, 2005 - 51 answers

Please help me understand why so many people pronounce Valentine's Day as ValenTIMES Day? I'm noticing this more and more and it's driving me crazy. Are these the same people who say 'libary' and 'supposibly', because those two I can almost tolerate, but Valentines Day with an M?!?! Please explain! Thanks and I hope I haven't offended anyone with my first post on here. :)
posted by camfys on Feb 10, 2005 - 73 answers

I'm curious about a bit of (apparently) southern dialect. I'm not sure how to spell it, but it sounds like "do what?" or "du what?" or "d'what?" and seems to mean the same thing as "what?" or "huh?" or "say that again?" I'm from the Northeast, and the first time I heard this, it sounded really strange to me, like people were just adding "do" to the beginning of "what" for no reason. Does anyone know its origin, what part of the U.S. it's prevalent in, and what it means exactly? (Google was no help.)
posted by Tin Man on Apr 14, 2004 - 29 answers

A writer's question: how does British English read (and internally, silently sound) to Americans? [More inside.] [more inside]
posted by MiguelCardoso on Feb 22, 2004 - 35 answers