--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Andrew Jarrette" <anjarrette@...> wrote:
>
>
> > BTW, to illustrate my contention that a Dutch substrate in New York
> > influenced standard American English (non New England, centered on
> > Boston, and non Southern, centered on Virginia) listen to them telling
> > this horribly boring story in this horrible Dutch dialect (shrill and
> > piercing, like American English sounds to European ears).
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlZb45b2JTE
> > I can assure you, you hear people talking like that in Holland.
> >
> >
>
My god is there ever a lot of "aaaaaaa" in her speech! (and I mean
front "aaa" distinct from the more back "ahh".) It's almost like an
English person expressing disgust ("aaaagh"!) at every turn.
How does Canadian English sound to European ears? (Trinidadian?) I
love "correct" southern British English, I find it sounds very
pleasing. Two or three people have told me that Trinidadian English
is their favourite accent (it's rather musical and has a lot of pure
vowels). I don't think I've ever heard Danish, but I know that I love
the sound of Swedish and Norwegian, and I also know that Danish sounds
quite different from them, though I've never heard it.
(P.S. maybe we could continue this, if you want to continue it, at the
"Foreign Languages" Yahoo group or by private e-mail)
Andrew