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Thread ID: 65999	2006-02-07 21:13:00	E.S.L (English as a Second Language)	SurferJoe46 (51)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
428109	2006-02-08 03:24:00	Mind you, it was some time after we arrived in New Zealand, that we realised some form of English was being spoken, so don't be so quick in critcising our Indian friends :) snip I know what you mean Terry. We went to Britain in 2004 - first time for me. I was 59 at the time, am university educated, have done a lot of acting, including radio and TV, and am quite often asked in NZ if I am English because of my speech. I thought I would have no problems in Britain, but was continually asked to repeat myself because people couldn't understand me. It was pretty sobering. Mostly I could understand the Pongolians, though there was one woman in a railways ticket booth who got me onto the wrong train because we couldn't understand each other. Sigh... I think we are exposed to many different English, Scottish and Irish dialects here, so mostly I didn't find it difficult understanding the locals. However, it seems as though they aren't used to NewZild and get confused. I was once told by a Greek fruit and vege stall holder in Adelaide that Kiwis never ask for six bananas - they always ask for "half a dozen", or "seven"!	John H (8)
428110	2006-02-08 04:01:00	It's really much harder in the UK because of all the accents/local dialects. Take where Cicero comes from, the depths of darkest Derbyshire, :), as a Brummie I found the country farming people there were very difficult to understand. Then near where I used to live, they still spoke a form of Old English (not Middle English), eg Wo bist du gain? ....where are you going?, whereas in Brum just a few miles away, they would have said ... Wo yo gooin then? Spike Milligan had a short lived TV program where he played an Irish Pakistani, Paddy Paki I think the character was, now that was funny.	Terry Porritt (14)
428111	2006-02-08 04:04:00	It's really much harder in the UK because of all the accents/local dialects. Take where Cicero comes from, the depths of darkest Derbyshire, :), as a Brummie I found the country farming people there were very difficult to understand. Then near where I used to live, they still spoke a form of Old English (not Middle English), eg Wo bist du gain? ....where are you going?, whereas in Brum just a few miles away, they would have said ... Wo yo gooin then? Spike Milligan had a short lived TV program where he played an Irish Pakistani, Paddy Paki I think the character was, now that was funny. Speaking of the centre of the univers,we would say...whereatoff.	Cicero (40)
428112	2006-02-08 04:16:00	snip Then near where I used to live, they still spoke a form of Old English (not Middle English), eg Wo bist du gain? . . . . where are you going? Where is that Terry? Sounds like the Forest of Dean dialect - my lot (who were Welsh originally) migrated to NZ from the FOD in 1860 . They had moved from Wales into the FOD to work in the mines . I have been there and saw the house they were living in in the mid 19thC, but didn't hear the dialect - I heard bits of it on Singing Detective, so I am no authority! "Ow bist old butt?" is my limit!	John H (8)
428113	2006-02-08 04:17:00	Speaking of the centre of the univers,we would say...whereatoff. Ah, the Blue John mine is at the centre of the universe then Cicero, not Swannanoa?	John H (8)
428114	2006-02-08 04:26:00	Old Hill in the Black Country John, sort of between Halesowen and Oldbury/Blackheath . [As an aside, for those that remember the 'Norvin' Vincent engine in a Norton frame motorbike, they were made by Tom Somerton who lived in Old Hill] Going to see Tom was how I came to hear the local lingo .	Terry Porritt (14)
428115	2006-02-08 04:27:00	Oh dear (looks for map) I'm not familiar with that area Terry.	John H (8)
428116	2006-02-08 04:31:00	So what's this about English as a "second" language? It looks as if it's a second language to most English (but we'll leave out the Welsh, Irish, and Scots). Who has it as a first language? Me, as a NZer? :cool: :thumbs:	Graham L (2)
428117	2006-02-08 06:02:00	Youse guys must get a few US tourists there, so I'd like to ask: Are US-English speaking tourists easier to understand than . . say . . . a Welsh or Cockney? What about your own dialects? Are they hard to understand North-to-South or East-to-West there in NZ? I know we here in the US have a lot of dialects (southern, Texan, Valley-Girl, etc) but they are all pretty well understandable to us here . Is it the same in NZ?	SurferJoe46 (51)
428118	2006-02-08 06:32:00	Youse guys must get a few US tourists there, so I'd like to ask: Are US-English speaking tourists easier to understand than . . say . . . a Welsh or Cockney? What about your own dialects? Are they hard to understand North-to-South or East-to-West there in NZ? I know we here in the US have a lot of dialects (southern, Texan, Valley-Girl, etc) but they are all pretty well understandable to us here . Is it the same in NZ?	SurferJoe46 (51)
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