How come I speak English?

When my people came to the U.S. the English demanded that we conceal our culture, dress like them, and speak unaccented English in order to be treated as "white" people.

We still have pockets of descendants, more conservative, who to this day refer to coastal outsiders as "The English" and hold onto their own language and customs. That is dying out except in Mennonite, Amish, Brethren, Plain People, Friends, and Hutterite farming communities.

Most people in the U.S. are not of British ancestry.
 
dilettante said:
When my people came to the U.S. the English demanded that we conceal our culture, dress like them, and speak unaccented English in order to be treated as "white" people.

We still have pockets of descendants, more conservative, who to this day refer to coastal outsiders as "The English" and hold onto their own language and customs. That is dying out except in Mennonite, Amish, Brethren, Plain People, Friends, and Hutterite farming communities.

Most people in the U.S. are not of British ancestry.
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so why do you still speak English...:unsure:
 
hollydolly said:
so why do you still speak English...:unsure:
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It was the path to getting respect, autonomy, and community protection from the predations of the English. People were getting screwed in real estate, banking, trade, and governance (Local, State, and Federal).

Classic Vaudeville and silent film villain stock characters in beaver top hats or bowlers, often twirling their moustaches, were based on English archetypes going back before Dickens.

 
My countrymen and I are speakers of English in its American version. Actually there are many regional variations in the accents of American English.
I like being part of the international family of English speaking peoples.
By coincidence my ancestry is English......my family's surname is Anglo Saxon and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Look that up if your historical knowledge is lacking in that particular.
Also, I enjoy hearing English being spoken in various accents from around the world.
 
dilettante said:
It was the path to getting respect, autonomy, and community protection from the predations of the English. People were getting screwed in real estate, banking, trade, and governance (Local, State, and Federal).

Classic Vaudeville and silent film villain stock characters in beaver top hats or bowlers, often twirling their moustaches, were based on English archetypes going back before Dickens.

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Nawwww...you don't say.....:sneaky:
 
Repondering said:
My countrymen and I are speakers of English in its American version. Actually there are many regional variations in the accents of American English.
I like being part of the international family of English speaking peoples.
By coincidence my ancestry is English......my family's surname is Anglo Saxon and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Look that up if your historical knowledge is lacking in that particular.
Also, I enjoy hearing English being spoken in various accents from around the world.
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not to mention there's hundreds of different dialects in the UK
 
Bretrick said:
The French speak French, Spanish speak Spanish, Polish speak Polish.
How come I speak English when I have never been to England?:unsure:
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I speak American English, not British English. I've been to London 3 times and never have had a problem communicating with the locals. Oh sure I said popsicle and they said ice lolly. Or I would say cotton candy and they would say candy floss. I would say bumper cars and they would say dodgems. But we generally understood each other. :)
 
Most likely you understand free speech. the correct way to protect it and the Liars ability to Castrate the Laws while using it.

the point being the castration of the meaning. Free Speach !
 
I'm American but we were once British. There were thirteen original colonies and our ancestors were British. I have British blood, so does BF. It's not so unusual, so I don't feel like I'm ripping off someone else's language when I speak English.
 
Bretrick said:
The French speak French, Spanish speak Spanish, Polish speak Polish.
How come I speak English when I have never been to England?:unsure:
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You could speak the indigenous language of the Aborigines. Probably should learn that anyway since you want to retire to the bush.
 
The people of this planet would all have been still speaking the same language if not for the Babylonians ticking off God by building the Tower of Babel, thereby making it so that they alll spoke different languages.
 
Knight said:
You could speak the indigenous language of the Aborigines.
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Which one? There are around 50 indigenous languages spoken in Australia.
  • New South Wales: 3 languages (~ 600 speakers)
  • South Australia: 4 languages (~ 3,900 speakers)
  • Queensland: 5 languages (~ 1,800 speakers)
  • Western Australia: 17 languages (~ 8,000 speakers)
  • Northern Territory: 19 languages (~ 28,100 speakers)
 
Warrigal said:
Which one? There are around 50 indigenous languages spoken in Australia.
  • New South Wales: 3 languages (~ 600 speakers)
  • South Australia: 4 languages (~ 3,900 speakers)
  • Queensland: 5 languages (~ 1,800 speakers)
  • Western Australia: 17 languages (~ 8,000 speakers)
  • Northern Territory: 19 languages (~ 28,100 speakers)
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His choice depending on what part of the Australian bush he wants to retire to. Might be the one closest to him Western Australia: 17 languages (~ 8,000 speaker)
 
When I travelled abroad and took a taxi, to avoid any misunderstanding, I would write my destination on a card and give this to the taxi driver.
My daughter also adopted this and told me of an amusing incident in Liverpool, UK.

She caught a taxi at the airport and handed the driver a card with the destination written on it. The driver looked at it and said 'with an accent that could sandblast granite', 'I see you're not English'.

Yes, she is English and speaks with a fairly neutral 'home counties' accent.
 
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