[HPFGU-OTChatter] Brittspeak and other variations (was Re: Wotcher)

[Iggy McSnurd]

>Saitaina:
> Soon the world will be speaking the same
> language.  It'll just be passed along from
> country to country until we all catch on.

Iggy here:

Actually, the funny thing is that (since it's considered beneficial for so
many cultures to know) English is considered to be the closest thing that
the world has to a "universal language" right now.  What type you lears
(American or "the King's English") is usually determined by whether your
home is closer to the US or Britain.

This, of course, is not counting Esperanto... which is a language designed
by a group of linguists to specifically BE a universal language, learnable
by any culture.  (You can actually sign up for courses in the language by
mail.)  It never really caught on.

>
> Of course I'm a Californian who mixes up
> words to my liking at random.  My mother
> often doesn't know if she's going to be
> called mom, mum, mere, mamana, or hey you.
>
> Saitaina
> ****

Iggy here:

Yeah... I grew up in Santa Cruz on the north end of the Monterey Bay.  We
had a strong enough Hispanic culture that I apparently have a completely
fluent accent... even though I only know a few phrases in Spanish.  (It goes
back to the "what languages and accents you grew up around.)  In fact,
Watsonville, which is the county's main farming area, is mainly populated by
Hispanics to the point where just by growing up there, you'll be bilingual
without even taking it in high school.

Then we also had a pretty strong Asian community, especially with the
University of California, Santa Cruz, being one of the main "draws" of the
city.  (Santa Cruz is just on the other side of a small mountain range from
Silicon Valley.)  So you'll pick up some Japanese or Chinese phrases
depending on who you hung out with there.  (I never went to UCSC for
schooling... but a lot of my friends did, so I was there a lot.)

Of course, one of the fun things to do is to is, when you only know (or use)
a few phrases in a lot of different languages, is mix them almost at random
within the same sentence.  ("Buenos dias, y'all.  Wie gehts?")  Watching the
look of utter confusion on someone's face as they try to decipher which
language is which, and how they should reply, can be priceless sometimes.


Iggy McSnurd

(Currently letting his ABS FIRECAT rest for a little while, so it can get
used to the new kitten we have in the house.  She's a small tiger cat named
"Biscuit."  Your male, mackerel tabby, Milo McGonagal, is still trying to
get used to her.)