Downton Abbey

[JackFavell]

I'll admit that I use that distinction between theatre and theater.

I remember a British nun who used to work in theatre with me once told us that a male friend of hers was going to knock her up. We all thought it was hilarious.

[mrsl]

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I'm with Jack Favell on the theatre/theater meaning. And also in the group who agrees the 'g' is never pronounced in Hughes.

Feaito: Perhaps you missed my post berating the writer for killing off Matthew so soon after Sybil. I had a whole scenario made up with Matthew being still in the accident, but the car burned and his face was disfigured, so with plastic surgery he was reborn with a different actors face. It depends how changes in personnel are accepted, it was only a short time that people accepted a new Darren in Bewitched, from Dick York to Dick Sargent.
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[ChiO]

And I got a note from a friend who said he was pissed. I responded with a combo of apologies (just in case I was the cause) and soothing words (so he'd feel better about the world).

The next day I get his reply: No, no -- I was just drunk.

English...can't live with it...and can't communicate with it.

[feaito]

I agree, Chio. And great news about DA's popularity, king!

feaito, remember that English has absolutely wacky pronunciation rules!

If you followed all of our rules, then GHOTI would spell the word FISH.

The GH would sound like an F as in laugh.
The O would sound like the I sound in women.
The TI would sound like the SH sound in nation.

Amazing!

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I'm with Jack Favell on the theatre/theater meaning. And also in the group who agrees the 'g' is never pronounced in Hughes.

Feaito: Perhaps you missed my post berating the writer for killing off Matthew so soon after Sybil. I had a whole scenario made up with Matthew being still in the accident, but the car burned and his face was disfigured, so with plastic surgery he was reborn with a different actors face. It depends how changes in personnel are accepted, it was only a short time that people accepted a new Darren in Bewitched, from Dick York to Dick Sargent.
.

Hi Anne, right about the two Darrins! And they looked similar indeed. And I understand your annoyance at Matt's death so soon after Sybil's. The two actors wanted to leave the show. At first I thought that in Season 4 it would be unfold that he wasn't actually dead, but he suffered from amnesia...then I read that Dan Stevens wanted out...

[JackFavell]

I bet they could still bring him back if they really wanted to. You know, a long lost twin.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

They could. They COULD!!!! Maybe this is just a ruse to have all the viewers emotionally crushed all summer, and then surprise! The Doctor can redeem himself by resuscitating Matthew and then Isabel will be so grateful to him, she accepts his proposal...

[charliechaplinfan]

Thanks for your feedback Alison.

Pronounciation has always been an issue. I was educated at a British School in Santiago de Chile, thus most teachers where from Commonwealth nations and when they pronounced the words "girl" and "world", for example, they didn't pronounced the "r", whereas people from America in general do. Other issues Re. the English language: theatre (in UK) theater in (USA); colour-color; apartment-flat; lift-elevator et al. All of this was very confusing as ayoungster learning the English language, because I was also in touch with people from the USA.

We pronounce the r in both of those words. I wonder if English was put together as a language to keep our memoroes sharp, the spelling is as hard to remember as it possibly could be with lots of rules and letter combinations. The Americans simplified it where possible. No wonder we are so bad at learning a second language, it takes us all our school life to master our own.

[feaito]

And besides there are different pronunciations and accents within England and the USA.... ...how confusing it gets....

This is the way I always heard the words girl and world -with a silent r- at school whereas in the american way the "r" is very apparent:

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/diction ... irl?q=girl


http://dictionary.cambridge.org/diction ... _1?q=world

[charliechaplinfan]

I here the r in the UK version, it's just not as pronounced. They're no give in these dictionary definitions for regional accents, which can completely change words beyond recognition in some cases. No wonder the it was so important to the BBC for presenters to annunciate properly, the fashion today is for regional accents, which are sometimes subtitled, can you believe that? We're not that big a country yet the variations and brogue to vary so diversly. Back to the word girl and world, I haven't heard it pronounced without the r but I'm sure it will be some where.

[feaito]

I here the r in the UK version, it's just not as pronounced. They're no give in these dictionary definitions for regional accents, which can completely change words beyond recognition in some cases. No wonder the it was so important to the BBC for presenters to annunciate properly, the fashion today is for regional accents, which are sometimes subtitled, can you believe that? We're not that big a country yet the variations and brogue to vary so diversly. Back to the word girl and world, I haven't heard it pronounced without the r but I'm sure it will be some where.

I almost can't hear the "r" there Ali, it's so subtle; so it's me I'm not hearing it..... Regional accents...it also happens with Spanish...within my country, from one Latin American country to the other, the same issues (TV soap operas that can't be broadcast due to the difficulty to understand other countries accents)....to Spain our "Madre Patria"...within Spain itself....Chileans are difficult to undesrtand because when we speak we do not pay attention to phonetics...thus, we pronounce the "b" and "v" alike, we do not pronounce "s" when the word ends in that letter, etc. DIFFICULT.

I had read that some people in the USA need subs in English to see some British productions, but I had never heard about that within the UK!! Although, for example, a Scottish speaking English is difficult to understand...Sounds like a German speaking in English.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

That's so true! And people from the state of Michoacan in Mexico have a very fast-clipped, deep guttural, almost Germanic sounding Spanish accent, so much so, some of them sound like Count Dracula, especially if the actor is playing the villain in a novela.

And, of course, you can't have a true novela unless someone screams ...!Te suplico!

[feaito]

That's so true! And people from the state of Michoacan in Mexico have a very fast-clipped, deep guttural, almost Germanic sounding Spanish accent, so much so, some of them sound like Count Dracula, especially if the actor is playing the villain in a novela.

And, of course, you can't have a true novela unless someone screams ...!Te suplico!

[knitwit45]

I wish PBS would subtitle some of their British programs, the words come so fast, and clipped, it's very hard to understand. The sound went completely out on my tv, so I've been watching Netflix on computer. I have had a FEAST of Foyles War. Michael Kitchen is quite lovely to look at and to listen to, but I have trouble understanding some of the other actors. I don't feel so inadequate, reading that there are subtitles shown in the UK!!

[JackFavell]

Nan, I always turn the sound waaaaaaay up when I watch Foyles War. Otherwise I can't understand anything anyone says, it's so lowkey. Samantha talks very fast, and Foyle barely moves his lips when he's talking, which isn't often. I find myself rewinding a lot during these shows to hear what someone said. As for the Hastings locals, I don't find them difficult to understand because of dialect, but the sound quality always seems a bit muffled to me.