Tonight I went to evensong and dined at High Table in College. I was seated between two Englishmen at dinner. After we had chatted some little time, the one on my left asked me which part of England I came from. This was rather a surprise. Americans I meet in the UK almost always think I'm English at first, but the English can usually tell I'm foreign. One of my Oxford friends likes to say that I'm drifting somewhere around the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
The gentleman on my right has been living in the States for about ten years. He explained that he's been adopting American ways and has finally learned to say "toona melt with tomaydo" without finding it odd. I, on the other hand, have just about perfected the art of "tyuna melt with tomotto."
Later on, a New Zealander told me that she thought I was from Canada and a Canadian said that she couldn't place my accent at all. It's a funny world.
6 comments:
I am an Aussie and people ask me if I am from South Africa.
Sooo insulting!
Wow! It's weird I just had one of those. This lady came up to me at co-op and asked me when I had moved from England. Weird, huh?
Maybe it's a family thing. We really don't sound like we're from Virginia...
ah sa-ound lak a'm frum vuhginya cuz of ma suthuhn axent. althoh sum folks think a'm frum gohgia.
:-)
"Tomotto"? I think you mean "TomARTo". Do please try to blend in round here...
Your "tomotto" was about as spot on as Clarky's "how y'all doin'?"
I think tomAHto is closer to the truth. The English rarely pronounce a hard "r" mid-word - that's an American trait.
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