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Questions for Americans
Topic Started: May 14 2008, 11:44 AM (678 Views)
Gruenberg
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aka Kleinschnauzer
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Very sorry for starting yet another topic on this issue, especially given I know I'm one of the few non-Americans here, but here goes:

1. Is 'burglarise' actually a word? (As in, to break into someone's house and steal things; to be a 'burglar'.) I always assumed it was a joke word, but then someone used it quite earnestly in a film I was watching yesterday. (We use 'burgle'.)

2. How important is your state in identifying yourself? Does it depend on which state? (e.g. Texans are more likely to mention their state than people from Rhode Island?)

3. What is the US equivalent of The Home Office (which, after the Treasury and FCO, is the most important Cabinet office in the UK government)?

4. How much does a paperback book, in an average bookstore, cost?
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Kenny
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Gruenberg
 
1. Is 'burglarise' actually a word? (As in, to break into someone's house and steal things; to be a 'burglar'.) I always assumed it was a joke word, but then someone used it quite earnestly in a film I was watching yesterday. (We use 'burgle'.)

Yes, but we spell it with a "z."

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2. How important is your state in identifying yourself? Does it depend on which state? (e.g. Texans are more likely to mention their state than people from Rhode Island?)

Yes, it largely depends in state. There's obviously a great deal more pride involved in being a Texan than, say, a citizen of Delaware. The same with New Yorkers or New Jerseyites (though "New Yorkers" is used more often to describe the city rather than the state). In other places, city is more important. For example, people from Pittsburgh brag about their city relentlessly, even if they're actually from West Virginia. :D Californians are particularly pleased with themselves.

Being American, however, trumps everything.

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3. What is the US equivalent of The Home Office (which, after the Treasury and FCO, is the most important Cabinet office in the UK government)?

The Department of Homeland Security. In other countries it would be the interior ministry or interior department. Our Interior Department, however, is focused more on preserving natural resources and managing national parks and monuments. Homeland Security is obviously a newer department; prior to its establishment in 2002, there really wasn't a federal equivalent. All the intelligence and police agencies were spread out across multiple departments, chiefly Defense, Treasury and Justice, but some from Interior as well (park rangers, etc.).

Quote:
 
4. How much does a paperback book, in an average bookstore, cost?

I've seen them priced from $4.99 to $7.99.
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Jenster
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Kenny,May 14 2008
01:33 PM
Californians are particularly pleased with themselves.

Fuck yeah we are! :lol:


(Yes, I, too, like Kenny, am from California. Although, unlike Kenny, I'm from the better part of California...Northern California, specifically the Bay Area, which is far better than the rest of Northern California. Um, wait, what was I saying? :blink: ) :jen:
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Cobdenia
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1953 is the new 1932 for 2008
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I used to live in California. A strange place. Good trading partner of the UK, though.
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eco
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Burglarize is a real word? Blimey. I don't know why, but I find that very strange. That's not a criticism, obviously; after all, I'm from a country where what you call a small not-quite-river of water depends hugely on what part of the country you're in (stream, brook, burn, broad...).

Having visited the Bay area, Tahoe, Yosemite, Death Valley, San Diego, Joshua Tree, Sonoma, Santa Barbara and the Big Sur, I'd say Californians have a lot to be proud of.

I must buy more paperbacks next time I'm in the States.
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The Palentine
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Gruen
 
2. How important is your state in identifying yourself? Does it depend on which state? (e.g. Texans are more likely to mention their state than people from Rhode Island?)
.
Its important for West Virginians. Too many people in this country still think we're part of the "other" Virginia. I've lost track of how many times people have asked me if I've ever visited my capital Richmond. :railingmostfuriously: Besides the truth be told we are proud of our state. It probally the mountaineer stock we come from.


Bossman
 
For example, people from Pittsburgh brag about their city relentlessly, even if they're actually from West Virginia.  :D

Well gollllllllllyyyyyy! Pittsburgh is the largest city around. After all, I live up a hollow, in a log cabin without indoor plumbing. Sometimes on the weekend, we dress up in our best bib overalls, load up the flatbed truck and drive to the city to look at all those golddang tall buildings. Shazam! you ain't ever seen such a sight. Its just like the other day, what I told my coon dog Buford.... :P

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Kenny
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The Palentine,May 15 2008
07:40 AM
Well gollllllllllyyyyyy! Pittsburgh is the largest city around. After all, I live up a hollow, in a log cabin without indoor plumbing. Sometimes on the weekend, we dress up in our best bib overalls, load up the flatbed truck and drive to the city to look at all those golddang tall buildings. Shazam! you ain't ever seen such a sight. Its just like the other day, what I told my coon dog Buford.... :P

:roflmao:

You made my morning, Phil.
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Flibbleites
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The Palentine,May 15 2008
06:40 AM
Gruen
 
2. How important is your state in identifying yourself? Does it depend on which state? (e.g. Texans are more likely to mention their state than people from Rhode Island?)
.
Its important for West Virginians. Too many people in this country still think we're part of the "other" Virginia. I've lost track of how many times people have asked me if I've ever visited my capital Richmond. :railingmostfuriously: Besides the truth be told we are proud of our state. It probally the mountaineer stock we come from.

Sounds similar to people getting Washington DC confused with Washington. :rolleyes:
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Kenny
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Can I toss a question right back at the Brits?

What do you guys think of American accents? I mean, Americans regard the British accent as a sign of sophistication (at best), smugness and self-satisfaction (at worst). Does hearing an American accent on someone immediately make you think s/he's a rube, or hillbilly, gun-toter, whatever? Are girls with American accents considered sexy?

Speak freely.
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Gruenberg
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Ok, thanks very much for the answers.

The Palentine: you are officially win.

Kenny: It's probably a corollary to what you say. An American accent can be seen as anything from trashy to very cool, depending I suppose on the context. I think we tend to associate Southern drawls with the more unsavoury aspects of America, though I'm certainly not suggesting that's fair. I guess there are also regional stereotypes ("New Joisey" being associated with the mob, for example).

There's always a minor concern among Daily Telegraph readers that children get American accents from watching cartoons, and so I suppose in that sense there's a negative impression.
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eco
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Beyond a handful of really obvious regional variations ('Noo Yoik/Joisey', deep south, SoCal), I doubt most Brits can differentiate even between American and Canadian. I think that where there are negative reactions to the accent, they're mostly due to behaviour (loud, brash) and phrasing rather than the sound of the voice.

I'm not aware of anyone I know finding any American accents attractive - that's not to say they're unattractive, just kind of neutral in this regard.

French, however... hubba.
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Kenny
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eco
 
Beyond a handful of really obvious regional variations ('Noo Yoik/Joisey', deep south, SoCal)

See, I never thought we had a distinctive accent, but people keep insisting we do. Frankly I don't understand it. The only real difference between Southern Californians and the rest of the state is that our breaths don't reek of granola and green tea, we wear actual shoes, we wear shirts we didn't make ourselves, we commute to work in things with actual engines in them, we have actual jobs to commute to, we drink actual coffee once we're there, we eat stuff that had a pulse, we (particularly the women :blink:) know how to work a razor, we've been to the barber more than once in our entire lifetimes, and our city councils have better things to do than pass pointless resolutions condemning Israel or banning Don Rumsfeld from city limits. Oh, and generally, northern Californians just suck.

Right, Jen? :P

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I doubt most Brits can differentiate even between American and Canadian.

Don't take it too hard; I doubt most Americans and Canadians could, either.

eco
 
Having visited the Bay area, Tahoe, Yosemite, Death Valley, San Diego, Joshua Tree, Sonoma, Santa Barbara and the Big Sur, I'd say Californians have a lot to be proud of.

Where in San Diego did you go? Also, you took an entire tour of California, and missed Los Angeles?!
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Cobdenia
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Kenny,May 16 2008
06:44 PM
Can I toss a question right back at the Brits?

What do you guys think of American accents? I mean, Americans regard the British accent as a sign of sophistication (at best), smugness and self-satisfaction (at worst). Does hearing an American accent on someone immediately make you think s/he's a rube, or hillbilly, gun-toter, whatever? Are girls with American accents considered sexy?

Speak freely.

It does depend on region, and dialect. To use examples, I'm afraid I'm going to have to use famous people and cartoon characters, as I'm not entirely certain where each accent comes from. The "Mayor Quimby/JFK" accent I've always liked - bit odd, but quite pleasing on the ear. The Chicken Lawyer from Futurama accent sounds distinguished. The "Jimmy Stewart" accent I like too. Not that keen on New York accents, though, nor what I consider the regionless general american accents (which may indeed be regional but I don't know what region). People like Matt Damon - in fact, most actors - that sort of accent isn't very nice. The midwestern and hillbilly accents aren't considered intelligent, indeed, quite the opposite. With the attractiveness of females, most are acceptable (the southern accent and Boston accents are quite nice, actually). Except for one, although I can't say what region it's from. It's usually used by stick thin blonde young women for whom "Yeah, it was like, so totally, what-ev-er" is the staple of conversation, and raise the pitch of their voice at the end of a sentence. I hate it I hate it I hate it. It's just vacuous to my ears, although probably more dialect than accent. The Southern Californian accent is probably what I consider a normal US accent, from my time in Los Angeles (you didn't miss anything, eco, from what I remember(

Judging by watching Ice Hockey, the Canadian and American accents are apparently easy to tell. Whereas an American, when wishing to respond to the affirmative, will say "Yeah", a Canadian will say "Oh, yar, for sure, y'know".
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Snefaldia
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I really love the diversity within the entire "british accent" category, depending on where you're from. Most Americans have a stereotyped view of what everyone sounds like, and I like to hear the difference between Manchester-speak and somebody from Dorset.

It's hard to think of myself as having any "accent," because I'm from Michigan and we generally fall into the Midwestern accent category, the most homogenous and basic of all the American accents. Unless you're from the UP, in which case you sound like a cross between a Canadian furrier and a Minnesota cabbie.
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Cobdenia
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British accents and dialects are incredibly complicated, but sadly many are dying out (the Sussex accent is now pretty much dead, for example), but there are still plenty alive and kicking. The variations in accent and dialect are rather fascinating, and not just based on location, but also where you went to school, parental jobs, family history (more dialectual), social class, and much more. In my area, it is quite easy to tell someone who went to an inner city comprehensive (i.e. public school) school , grammar school/good state school/CofE state school, minor public (private) school, and major public school
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