To clarify, why do folks from the U.K. and other former British colonies, as well as folks from New York up to New England, have the inability to say "uh" when it should be used?

 

Any word that has a naturally pronounced "uh" at the end of it seems to always get changed into "er."

 

For example, just change the "er" to "uh" at the end of these to reflect the actual pronunciation:

 

Indianer instead of Indiana

Chiner instead of China

Sumatrer instead of Sumatra

Californier instead of California

Laver instead of Lava

 

 

You get the idea. What's up with this? For folks who are allegedly the keepers of proper English language, they sure do butcher it when it comes to pronouncing the simple "uh" at the end of terms.

 

Been watching a lot of BBC nature docs lately, and this never ceases to grate on me.

The one that always gets me while watching the British version of Top Gear is "aluminum". It's almost to the point where I wonder if they SPELL it differently too.

The one that always gets me while watching the British version of Top Gear is "aluminum". It's almost to the point where I wonder if they SPELL it differently too.

They do spell it differently. It's spelled "aluminium" in British English. They add an extra "i" in their version of the word.

The British may use an r at the end of words such as Indiana as Schue says in his post, but they sure have a knack for not using it in other words. For example, the word hard sounds like hod. Car sounds like caw. Word sounds like wud. Far comes out like faw.

To be the motherland of the English language they sure don't do the best at speaking it.

How do they say "Dentist" in Britain?

How do they say "Dentist" in Britain?

Guru, you've thrown a curve to me, .

 

If the British have a lack for pronouncing the R in words (unless a word ends in an A such as Indiana, which they turn into an R), we Americans have the same problem of pronouncing the T in many words. For example, dentist becomes denist. Bottle becomes boddle. Water becomes wadder, and twenty becomes twenny.

 

I once heard a Brit talking on one of the late night shows about how he had trouble ordering water in restaurants in America. He said many times the waiter would look at him and say, "huh?".

My wife and daughter love The Great British Baking Show, there are times that I can't understand what they are saying if I'm not paying close attention to the program. Just hearing them speak in the background while I'm browsing BGP, there have been some contestants that I could not understand.

 

Of course I can go to Clay County and find people that I can't understand either. :lol2:

Well, this Kentuckian cannot roll the "r" in certain words in other languages. Just randomly letting you know.

My wife and daughter love The Great British Baking Show, there are times that I can't understand what they are saying if I'm not paying close attention to the program. Just hearing them speak in the background while I'm browsing BGP, there have been some contestants that I could not understand.

 

Of course I can go to Clay County and find people that I can't understand either. :lol2:

I love the "Yes to the Dress" shows. I have tried to watch the British version, but it really needs subtitles! I get so frustrated because at times I have no idea what they are saying.

How I've always understood it, we spell things incorrectly, they say things incorrectly.

Well, this Kentuckian cannot roll the "r" in certain words in other languages. Just randomly letting you know.

 

I have adapted to and overcome this issue when I speak Spanish.

How do they say "Dentist" in Britain?

 

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I remember one time I was sitting in a Police Roll Call (where we get our act together for the upcoming shift) and sometimes we had a TV on in the background. Normally on news, but on occasion something else. Anywho, this one day there was a news report of a bunch of cargo washing up on the shores of Britain and the Brits were coming out of the woodwork stealing it and this guy I work with, Les, says slowly in his deep voice, "Too bad a bunch of Dentists didn't wash up on shore."

Bostonians are too busy "Pahking their cahs in Havahd Yahd".

 

When my daughter was 8 or 9, I decided I was going to teacher her how to speak like I did (Kentuckyees). Mommy (a Bostonian) got all bent out of shape.

 

She told me, "I don't want he to talk like that. We people from Boston speak the King's English."

 

I told her, "The rest of us threw the King out of here over 200 years ago."

How do they say "Dentist" in Britain?