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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
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040507 1637Z
Various writers have commented on the strange results that occur when British authors try to represent American speech.
P. G. Wodehouse seemed to think he was making his characters sound American if he started their every other statement with "Say, ... ".
I've now noticed that Agatha Christie also had some strange ideas about how Americans talk. In her The Big Four she has a presumably well-educated American, in a polite meeting with Hercule Poirot, starting a question with "Say, mister ... ". She didn't seem to realize how insolent, vulgar, and inappropriate to the setting that would sound to an American.
She has a highly successful and otherwise well-spoken American businessman saying
I mean to say, if I have a lot of dooks and earls
and suchlike down to the country place I've gotten, you'll be able to sort them out all right and put
them where they should be round the table.
I wouldn't expect an American speaker to say "round the table" instead of "around the table". Also, her use of "gotten" is suspect. I think she probably meant it to mean "I have" and was confused by a lack of understanding of why Americans use "gotten" in some places where English English speakers use "got".
The American was renting the country place. He would have been more likely to say "the country place I've got", meaning "the country place I have". If he had wanted to mean "the country place I've obtained", then he might have said "I've gotten", but I doubt that's what he meant.
P. G. Wodehouse seemed to think he was making his characters sound American if he started their every other statement with "Say, ... ".
I've now noticed that Agatha Christie also had some strange ideas about how Americans talk. In her The Big Four she has a presumably well-educated American, in a polite meeting with Hercule Poirot, starting a question with "Say, mister ... ". She didn't seem to realize how insolent, vulgar, and inappropriate to the setting that would sound to an American.
She has a highly successful and otherwise well-spoken American businessman saying
I mean to say, if I have a lot of dooks and earls
and suchlike down to the country place I've gotten, you'll be able to sort them out all right and put
them where they should be round the table.
I wouldn't expect an American speaker to say "round the table" instead of "around the table". Also, her use of "gotten" is suspect. I think she probably meant it to mean "I have" and was confused by a lack of understanding of why Americans use "gotten" in some places where English English speakers use "got".
The American was renting the country place. He would have been more likely to say "the country place I've got", meaning "the country place I have". If he had wanted to mean "the country place I've obtained", then he might have said "I've gotten", but I doubt that's what he meant.
Top answer
[/nq] They tend to overdo the slang. But then so do American writers of a certain vintage. Here's a speech from Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest (1927): "I'm busted, flat.
- [/nq] They tend to overdo the slang.
- But then so do American writers of a certain vintage.
- Here's a speech from Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest (1927): "I'm busted, flat.
- I know you're a Continental op, and I got a pretty good hunch what you're up to here.
- I'm close to a lot that's going on on both sides of things in this burg.
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39 Answers
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[nq:1]Various writers have commented on the strange results that occur when British authors try to represent American speech.[/nq]
They tend to overdo the slang. But then so do American writers of a certain vintage. Here's a speech from Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest (1927):
"I'm busted, flat. I know you're a Continental op, and I got a pretty good hunch what you're up to here. I'm cl
They tend to overdo the slang. But then so do American writers of a certain vintage. Here's a speech from Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest (1927):
"I'm busted, flat. I know you're a Continental op, and I got a pretty good hunch what you're up to here. I'm cl
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[nq:1]Various writers have commented on the strange results that occur when British authors try to represent American speech. P. G. ... mean "the country place I've obtained", then he might have said "I've gotten", but I doubt that's what he meant.[/nq]
I agree about 'gotten' and 'round'.
I wonder what she intended by the misspelling of dukes? Is there a quality of pronunciation that that
I agree about 'gotten' and 'round'.
I wonder what she intended by the misspelling of dukes? Is there a quality of pronunciation that that
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[nq:1]I wonder what she intended by the misspelling of dukes? Is there a quality of pronunciation that that would suggest, or was she just trying to make him sound ignorant?[/nq]
Boston Irish would say "dook".
John Varela
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Boston Irish would say "dook".
John Varela
(Trade "OLD" lamps for "NEW" for email.)
I apologize for munging the address but the spam was too much.
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[nq:2]I wonder what she intended by the misspelling of dukes? ... or was she just trying to make him sound ignorant?[/nq]
[nq:1]Boston Irish would say "dook".[/nq]
I think the vast majority of Americans would say /duk/, that is, they would rhyme "duke" with "spook", say. The use of /ju/ in words like "news" and, I suppose from your comment, "duke", which is standard in Britain, is found in
[nq:1]Boston Irish would say "dook".[/nq]
I think the vast majority of Americans would say /duk/, that is, they would rhyme "duke" with "spook", say. The use of /ju/ in words like "news" and, I suppose from your comment, "duke", which is standard in Britain, is found in
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[nq:2]I wonder what she intended by the misspelling of dukes? ... or was she just trying to make him sound ignorant?[/nq]
[nq:1]Boston Irish would say "dook".[/nq]
And other Americans would say... ?
[nq:1]Boston Irish would say "dook".[/nq]
And other Americans would say... ?
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[nq:2]Various writers have commented on the strange results that occur when British authors try to represent American speech.[/nq]
[nq:1]They tend to overdo the slang. But then so do American writers of a certain vintage. Here's a speech from Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest (1927):[/nq]I think it's right that American writers of the time also laid it on a bit thick. But it seems to be a regetta
[nq:1]They tend to overdo the slang. But then so do American writers of a certain vintage. Here's a speech from Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest (1927):[/nq]I think it's right that American writers of the time also laid it on a bit thick. But it seems to be a regetta
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[nq:1]Various writers have commented on the strange results that occur when British authors try to represent American speech.[/nq]
I wonder if that was before or after Wodehouse
worked in the US (discretionary question mark).
Even the brilliant John Cleese, who, one would
think, had spent enought time in the US to know
better, produced the distastrous (to this avid fan) "Waldor
I wonder if that was before or after Wodehouse
worked in the US (discretionary question mark).
Even the brilliant John Cleese, who, one would
think, had spent enought time in the US to know
better, produced the distastrous (to this avid fan) "Waldor
00
[nq:2]Various writers have commented on the strange results that occur when British authors try to represent American speech.[/nq]
[nq:1]I wonder if that was before or after Wodehouse worked in the US (discretionary question mark). Even the brilliant John ... "Waldorf Salad" sketch, which invented "American" speech and behavior I have never seen or heard in America or anywhere else.[/nq]
O
[nq:1]I wonder if that was before or after Wodehouse worked in the US (discretionary question mark). Even the brilliant John ... "Waldorf Salad" sketch, which invented "American" speech and behavior I have never seen or heard in America or anywhere else.[/nq]
O
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Michael West filted:
[nq:1]Even the brilliant John Cleese, who, one would think, had spent enought time in the US to know better, produced ... "Waldorf Salad" sketch, which invented "American" speech and behavior I have never seen or heard in America or anywhere else.[/nq]
If spending time in the US weren't enough to give him an ear for American speech, having married two of my countrywome
[nq:1]Even the brilliant John Cleese, who, one would think, had spent enought time in the US to know better, produced ... "Waldorf Salad" sketch, which invented "American" speech and behavior I have never seen or heard in America or anywhere else.[/nq]
If spending time in the US weren't enough to give him an ear for American speech, having married two of my countrywome
00
[nq:2]Various writers have commented on the strange results that occur when British authors try to represent American speech.[/nq]
[nq:1]I wonder if that was before or after Wodehouse worked in the US (discretionary question mark). Even the brilliant John ... "Waldorf Salad" sketch, which invented "American" speech and behavior I have never seen or heard in America or anywhere else.[/nq]
W
[nq:1]I wonder if that was before or after Wodehouse worked in the US (discretionary question mark). Even the brilliant John ... "Waldorf Salad" sketch, which invented "American" speech and behavior I have never seen or heard in America or anywhere else.[/nq]
W
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