Ethnicity & Parallel Worlds [Reply Neil]

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 14515

Neil:" Having said that, the Asian community over here retains 
its own culture and traditions and it is possible to detect Indian 
tinges in the speech of some younger Anglo-Asians; presumably a side 
effect of bilinguality in the home.  I can think of two Asian people I 
know (both younger than me) who cannot pronounced the letter 'V'."

There are good parallels to this in th US. The best example I can 
think of offhand is what I refer to as the "Chinese-American" accent. 
I would have a hard time describing it to you (Jeralyn is the one to 
comment on it, I guess), but it's there. One of my colleagues, raised 
in Chinatown by parents who spoke little English, has it. His English 
is completely native American, but the accent is still there. It seems 
to be a matter of pitch emphasis more than pronunciation. (An 
interesting side note: like other Chinese Americans, his name has a 
foot in both worlds. His name is Eric Chi Chan. Whether he's 'Eric' or 
'Chi' depends on which world he's in at the moment. 

Of course, there's many other ethnic accents here, and members of 
these groups have these accents to a greater or lesser degree than 
others.

Neil:"I'm also formulating in my head an image of the magical world 
covering an alternative plane, but complementary to the Muggle world, 
rather than the two working alongside each other.  In my mind, the map 
of the magical world is more sparse; its features are dotted around 
the map, but with huge spaces in between, which are, in the Muggle 
world, completely full."

In parallel-universe SF, which some of think Harry is, this has been 
likened to a pot of boiling soup; we're all in it, but some of us are 
on bits of carrot and some of us are on potatoes. Little bits sink and 
rise to different planes all the time.   

It seems counterintuitive to think that northern students would go to 
London to take the HE, unless it's the only gateway to the Hogwarts 
plane available to students (IOW, the spoon that dips in to the soup 
and brings the Hogwarts and Muggle bits together for the students). 
There's no evidence for it, except that the train ride seems to be 
such a common experience.

Of course, this leaves the question whether the Universe is a chowder, 
a bisque, or a good English stew....

Jim (struggling from under a cracker)