Culture/climate, sizing, countries, accents

[Tabouli]

Joanne:
> Tabouli has it backwards, IMHO -- northern Europeans developed very little culture of their own, basically being barbarians until they conquered and assimilated Mediterranean cultures. (For further insights, read the surprisingly
fun "How the Irish Saved Civilization.")<

(NOTE: I have pretty minimal background in anthropology... these are my *guesses*, which are wide open to correction from anyone who *does* have a background in the subject!)

True, true, but I think the invention of climate control via heating, air conditioning, cars, supermarkets, etc. has changed things a lot since then.  Once upon a time, people in Northern Europe would have died out in a year if they spent all their time worrying about art and literature.  In fact, my guess is that living where they did, their number one priority was almost certainly to make sure they were ready for winter with stores, shelters, insulating mammoth skins and so on.  Hence the barbarian stuff.

OTOH, the people of the Mediterranean were comparatively blessed.  Winters, but not so icy and resource-starved that the wolf was, so to speak, perpetually at the door... they could retreat into their houses and think about architecture and philosophy quite happily.  Quite different from the tropics, where I imagine the year-round plenty produced pretty relaxed, generous societies.

Note also that in my Australian example, I was in fact comparing people from the sub-tropics to tropics (Queensland) with people in a Mediterranean-to-temperate climate (Melbourne), which in fact holds nicely with Joanne's comments!

These days, however, Northern Europeans don't need to stockpile and slave for winter any more - they can hole up in their heated houses and drive in their heated car to the supermarket for supplies.  Hence they have a lot of time on their hands when its dark and cold and there's not much to do except hunch by the heater talking about art!

(well hey, it's a theory... I do have a copy of Guns and Germs and Steel, but haven't read it yet... should get onto it)

Cindy:
> Yet the same thing happens to me again and again and again.  Pull 
two sizes of same pants off of rack.  Enter dressing room and strip 
in flourescent light.  Pull on larger of the two sizes.  Note *huge* 
gaps in waistband, nice fit in seat.  Pull on smaller size.  Note 
nice fit in waistband, Charro fit in seat.  Purchase larger size, 
pay money to shorten, come back in a week, cinch up excess waist 
fabric with belt, having achieved the "hillbilly" look.<

Ahh yes, this is the famous "waistless woman" problem.  I know it well.  Clothing manufacturers seem unable to grasp the notion of women who have both hips *and* a waist.  In addition to chopping four inches off the bottom of all my skirts and trousers, I'm constantly buying clothes to fit over my bum and hips and then getting someone to take in two inches off the waistband.

Then there's the "all women have C cups" problem.  Time and time again I try on tops and dresses and have the neckline hanging attractively somewhere around my lower ribcage.  Very saucy.  Back to tailor again, take three inches out of shoulder straps/shoulders to put neckline in appropriate place, wonder why the armholes have suddenly become so tight, return to tailor, take garment out around armhole.  Sigh heavily.

Kimberly:
> Wow!  62 countries is pretty impressive

Weeell, I suspect that my looks aren't really quite this cosmopolitan.  It's more that I went through a stage of inviting every person who came out with the ubiquitous "what's your background?" question to guess.  Some of them refused to give up and navigated the entire globe trying to figure me out, hence the 62 countries.  I'm sort of small and dark with light olive skin... most people started going around the Mediterranean, with the diehards progressing to the Middle East, Latin America and eventually the Pacific Islands and Asia and Africa (Mauritian??  Nepalese???).

Kimberly:
> So Tabouli and Sean - how typical is Adelaide, accent-wise?  

There's really not *that* much regional difference in the Australian accent.  Some, but you'd have to know Australian accents pretty well to pick the difference.  I'd say your Adelaidean friend's accent will be pretty representative.  The most important variables are probably socio-economic status and urban/rural, rather than region in Australia, with a broader accent being associated with lower SES and rural areas.  As I mentioned, Adelaide was never a convict colony (I was told this almost daily when I moved there from Melbourne for a few years!).  Perhaps as a result, the accent in Adelaide  incorporates more BBC touches than people from the east coast, hence bahth, dahnce, grahph.  Not sure about Perth and Darwin.

Tabouli.


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