robert_e_bone


I'm still trying to figure out why it's school instead of skool.

My response to the original post was certainly not intended to rip on anyone - I did not know of the alternate meaning, and some of the folks who post do not have the best grasp of either English OR American English.

I just thought he was mistaken, and suggested he might have meant the other.  Anything after that has just been in good fun - pointing out and EMBRACING the differences between the 2 Englishes. 

Soooooo, wank off, ya poofter!  :) (kidding)

Bob Bone

"Wank" is actually a class B swear word in Britain, I get the feeling that it's not so serious in the US though. "Poofter" is more politically incorrect than anything (therefore A-OK in my book). It was funny to come to the US and discover the difference in swear word ranking. For instance the "c" word is waaaay more serious in the US. I used it pretty much as soon as I got off the plane and someone told me it was a big no-no. I remember that Curb Your Enthusiasm scene where Larry David used it during a game of poker and the whole room just went into meltdown. Walk around London and you'll hear adults use it freely in front of their children (well the lower class of adult anyway). 

WOW! I wish I hadn't posted the ****er now. 
Lets not talk about Americans bastardizing the English language, (see what I did there, I put a "Z" in). That's called a ZED by the way, not a ****ing ZEE!!!!!!!!!

Ha ha, by the way the first word is the "f" word, and the last one is the "c" word. 

CarlosMythos


Ha ha, by the way the first word is the "f" word, and the last one is the "c" word. 

Hello, Carlos - I am SOOOOO sorry I stirred things up - my original post was just me trying to help you with what I thought had been the wrong choice of words on your part.  I married someone from Romania, and she always wanted me to let her know when she missed on a word.


I learned something about another of the cultural differences in the process of my being wrong.


Everything after that has been pure fun.


At least you are not from Iceland.  I think they have a 32-letter alphabet with no 
'H' sound.  :)

Anyways, I hope you are able to get the tuition help you are seeking, we are always here to assist - even though we may poke some fun in the process.  :)

Bob Bone

robert_e_bone


At least you are not from Iceland.  I think they have a 32-letter alphabet with no 
'H' sound.  :)

When I first moved to New York I made some extra cash by teaching English pronunciation for a while (the irony of a Geordie teaching pronunciation is off the scale, but nonetheless....)


One of my first pupils was a girl from Finland. They have no "J" sound and she dearly wanted to learn how to pronounce the letter J. She had no concept at all of how you make that sound. Teaching her to say J was perhaps one of the hardest things I've ever done. How do you explain it? She just could not do it. I spend hours online researching the mechanics of it and printing out diagrams of the mouth and sitting in coffee shops with her engaged in the following endless exchange:


"G....G....G"
"No it's more like J...J...J"
"G....G....G"
"No no, not the back of the mouth, the front of the mouth....J....J.....J"
"G....G....G"
"More coffee?"

What a salubrious, fabulous and humorous five minutes of implausible fun I’ve just had, which has elated the ecstasy and pleasurable appraisal of this thread.

Sharke, the idea of a Geordie  tutoring in New York,  " Ye knaa what ah mean leik" 

Whilst a post graduate at Indiana University (Bloomington) in 1987, I went into the university shop and asked for pencils, manuscript paper and wait for it " and some rubbers please" the shop resounded to fits of laughter from my American friends.

Sharke I hate to break it to ya but NYers don't know how to speak English anyway. If you do run across someone that does I'll bet they're from somewhere else.

When I was in England I had a bit of a hard time understanding folks in some places but generally I could. Even the Scots.

The Geordies however? Couldn't understand a freaking word. It was a little disturbing because I didn't know whether they were being friendly or about to beat my arse. lol

Yep the Geordie accident is a language in itself. The problem is it's not just an accent, we use different words too. And a lot of them are derived from Norwegian. I have a Norwegian friend back home who understood broad Geordie as soon as he got off the boat. 

I didn't get down to Wales but I'd imagine I would have had the same problem. Heck... I have a hard time understanding what they are saying on Torchwood.

Cool show though.