What if?

dklsplace

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With all of the spelling & language discussion recently, I began to ponder;

What if we were still using King James English? How would the southern dialect be different? Northeastern US, Yooper/Canadian, west coast etc?
 

Carol

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Hmmm.... I'm not sure howeth that wouldst affect thine followers!
 

Carol

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My husband is from Northern Ireland and has a difficult time faking most American accents ... but he can talk like a Texan in a heartbeat ... go figure!
 

JerryR

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Carol said:
My husband is from Northern Ireland and has a difficult time faking most American accents ... but he can talk like a Texan in a heartbeat ... go figure!


I'd always thought the Irish emigrants had heavily influenced the American accent, and the London convicts the Australian one :mrgreen:

Anyway - the Pilgrim Fathers went over roughly about the time of the James Bible - but the Virginian colony was founded about the time of Shakespeare. America still uses the archaic past tense of get (gotten) whereas UK English is 'got'. Might be more interesting if the roots had been Middle English and then no contact for 5 or 6 hundred years - we'd understand each other less than we do now!


Here's a bit of Chaucer: Start of te Prologue to the Canterbury tales (from memory)....

Whan that Aprillye with his shoures soote,
The droughte of March hath pierced to the roote,
And beythed everich veine in swiche liquere,
By which vertu engendred is the fleure,
An Zephyrus eke with his sweet breathe,
Inspyred hath in everich holt and heathe,
The tendyre croppes, and the yonge sonne,
Hath in the Ram, his half course yronne,
An smale fowles mayken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open eye,
So pricketh hem nature in hir courauges,
Than longen folkes to go on pilgrimauges,
And palmers fer to seeke starnge strondes,
In ferne hallowes, couthe in sondry londes....
 

Scratch

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dklsplace said:
With all of the spelling & language discussion recently, I began to ponder;

What if we were still using King James English? How would the southern dialect be different? Northeastern US, Yooper/Canadian, west coast etc?

Ye jammeth cool mate; eh? Aw shucks, fagidaboudit...
 

JerryR

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Guildmark said:
Wouldst jammeth, but, forsooth, whatwith?

Prithee, mine lute, if it wouldst please the mightily :) I will form a round with Ned on his sackbut and Yorick on the psaltimer :mrgreen: But soft, we wilt not perform our art if Edgar cometh with his hurdygurdy, for he pi$$eth me off :!:
 

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JerryR said:
Guildmark said:
Wouldst jammeth, but, forsooth, whatwith?

Prithee, mine lute, if it wouldst please the mightily :) I will form a round with Ned on his sackbut and Yorick on the psaltimer :mrgreen: But soft, we wilt not perform our art if Edgar cometh with his hurdygurdy, for he pi$$eth me off :!:

Quoted, fo' shizzle.
 

West R Lee

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What the hell? Can't y'all speak English? What's next....ebonics? Thoust hath lost ye noodles!

West
 

Carol

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We just wanted to see what it would be like... I guess it wouldn't be any better than what we have!

Merry Christmas!
 

Scratch

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West R Lee said:
What the hell? Can't y'all speak English? What's next....ebonics? Thoust hath lost ye noodles!

West

Hast found me noodles; but cannot locate ye ole spectacles...
 

john_kidder

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Carol said:
My husband is from Northern Ireland and has a difficult time faking most American accents ... but he can talk like a Texan in a heartbeat ... go figure!
I used to ride with a guy named Freddy Long - he was from Northern Ireland as well, and for the first couple of months that I knew him I thought for sure he was from Texas. And it's not as if he was trying, he was just talking normally.
\
 
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What if we were still using King James English? How would the southern dialect be different? Northeastern US, Yooper/Canadian, west coast etc?

Whoda???? is James English anyway? Is he dat dude dat sings dat "You'z Beutyful" song on VH1 and den jumps off a friggin boat? Oh, nah das James Blunt. Fahgett-about-it... :roll:
 

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jackb said:
Whoda??? is James English anyway?

Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall.
 

JerryR

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john_kidder said:
Carol said:
My husband is from Northern Ireland and has a difficult time faking most American accents ... but he can talk like a Texan in a heartbeat ... go figure!
I used to ride with a guy named Freddy Long - he was from Northern Ireland as well, and for the first couple of months that I knew him I thought for sure he was from Texas. And it's not as if he was trying, he was just talking normally.
\


Until an Irishman or Texan tries to say 'This, That, Thick, Third etc:

Irish: Dis, Dat, Tick, Turd. (But dat is more Sout-tern Oirish oi tink)

Texan: Thyus, Thayat, Theyk, Thayurd. :mrgreen:
 
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