Tie me kangaroo down sport (cockney stylee) |
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Tie me kangaroo down sport (cockney stylee) |
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| ....Well, you learn something new everyday. I attended
a birthday dinner for an ex-pat friend of mine, Jags, at a swanky restaurant
in the Mission district (Mexican Central basically). There were about
16 of us there and everyone had a weird story to tell of how they met
him. I met him in the toilets of a club (you hear the accent and just
start talking), someone else just met him on the street, another girl
met him when they both attended the same "open house" to view
a room going in an apartment, someone else met him on the podium at
some big mega rave and so on and so on. So it meant there were a lot
of diverse people at this meal. I got into a conversation with the girl
opposite me, who edits children's books, about words like "Limey"
and "Pommie". I had to confess to her that I had no idea where
those words came from, even though I use them on a semi-regular basis.
...Apparently "Limey" comes from the British sailors who when they were sailing across the Atlantic back in the day would eat limes to ward off scurvy. And "Pommie" was a term originally given to the convicts sent to Oz (Prisoners Of Her Majesty - POHM) but is now used by Ozzies cos *us Brits* are now prisoners of Her Majesty - ie the Ozzies have more or less escaped the regal rule. Now I don't know if all this is a load of old baloney but it sounds pretty plausible to me and the girl was rather convincing. ...The girl next to me was telling me all about the trials and tribulations of bringing up her two-year old daughter with her ex-lesbian lover. When the two were a couple her lover was articifically inseminated and had the kid. They've now split up but share custody of the child on an alternate daily basis. She also says that before she came out, she used to go out with a bloke from Birmingham. I passed on my hearfelt commiserations. ...Talking of accents, after living here for four months you really get to notice how crap Brits are at doing the American accent, whether they be in TV or just mates. I actually cringe when Brits attempt it, especially when they try it walking down Haight Street in a loud voice, unaware they're drawing looks from passersby (hello Craig and Gareth!). The US twang is actually a lot more subtle and variable than you first think ie they don't all talk like JR Ewing. Back in September I too was trying the American accent and thinking it sounded pretty good. Now I *never* attempt it in front of Americans. It's kind of like when English people try a Welsh accent and end up sounding like Imran Kahn. The other reason I don't try it is that when American friends of mine have a stab at the British accent to take the piss out of me, they're as equally bad. Most of them sound like an Australian Dick Van Dyk. Namaste, Kieran PS Follow your dreams! Unless they're the ones where you're at work in your underwear during a fire drill. PPS Reckon those shitehawks at the Austrian Haider Freedom Party
like the English? Check for yourself: He was born with a gift of laughter Rafael Sabatini |
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