English as a linguistic melting pot

It’s all because of you warring Brits!

This short discussion of “loan words” incorporated into the English language helps in the understanding of our many irregular pronunciations. Fortunately there has never been an English equivalent of the Alliance Française, which has fiercely fought foreign words’ being imported into the French language.

https://www.dictionary.com/e/b…erm=UNOPENED%202018-10-18

Quote from GlasgowJohn

Are you positive ,Splinter?

GlasgowJohn ! That’s a terrible question in the age of The Virus!

Quote from Splinter

How about those who are learning English as a second language?

Words like this for example?

Paws, pause, pores

Poor, paw

In the US, only in the Deep South states, like Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, would pores sound like paws/pause, or would paw sound like poor! Even in the mid-South states, like Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky,

“R’s” are pronounced. And in the northern (Yankee) states, “R’s” can be so hard they would break rocks.

Yet Kansas, the same word without the first syllable, is pronounced as it looks.

Michigan’s Mackinac Island is pronounced Mackinaw. Missouri natives call their state Missoura. And there are midwesterners who insist on pronouncing the “s” in Illinois.

Why is Colorado “colorahhdo” while Nevada is “nevaaaaaada?” Tomayto, Tomahto.

Meanwhile in the UK, can anyone explain Thames? I mean, at all? Yet the village of Thame is pronounced as it looks.

I’ve heard people say that too, and I alwawonder why people feel their own “logical” pronunciation should take precedence over what the locals say. Presumptuous.

Americans have trouble with these:

Greenwich

Wimbledon

Beauchamp Place (understandable)

“Majority” is one of those tricky collective nouns, because context comes into play. The article correctly notes that Americans are more likely to go with the collective, unified nature of the noun than Brits, who tend to speak of a group as individuals rather than as one collection.

British:

“The team have won every game.”

“Harrods are having their semiannual sale.”

“The board of directors are taking action.”

American:

“The team has won every game.”

“Harrods is having its semiannual sale.”

“The board of directors is taking action.”

I’m nearing the end of Tom Vernon’s “Fat Man in Argentina,” and am enjoying it very much. One question I have for our British forum members: do you have a particular understanding of the word “tower” that never made it to the colonies?

In his encounters with the people in Patagonia, he describes several very modest houses as having “towers.” Would he mean chimneys, perhaps?