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Dialects that have been displaced? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| COF Senior Member United States Joined 5822 days ago 262 posts - 354 votes  Speaks: English* | Message 9 of 20 19 April 2012 at 11:49pm | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
That's because British people hate to be lumped together with the Americans, and sometimes vice versa. I know many Brits who find the "You speak English so you must be American" attitude quite tedious when they travel abroad. And that point comes back to my point initially. The English language has become so culturally linked to America, that outside Europe particularly, anyone who speaks English is automatically assumed to be American. Edited by COF on 19 April 2012 at 11:53pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||||||||
| COF Senior Member United States Joined 5822 days ago 262 posts - 354 votes Speaks: English* | Message 10 of 20 20 April 2012 at 12:07am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
Err, yes it is. In terms of science and technology the UK lags far behind Germany, and even France gives them a run for their money. What has the UK got that is even close to the aerospace giant that is Airbus? Hell, what heavy industry does the UK even have any more. In fact, as far as I'm aware, the only cars manufactured in the UK are for Japanese companies like Toyota. The only reason people read British newspapers and listen to British music is because they're in English and if you learn American English, you can usually understand British English. The fact that the world language is English is a testament to the British Empire's once great power, but modern day Britain isn't a patch on what it once was, and people today learn English primarily so they can deal with the US, not the UK.
Yes, because they speak English and Americans have a slightly odd facination with "Briddish" accents, not because they're exceptionally talented. In fact, the most popular foreign Hollywood stars are people like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Those two actors alone have achieved a level of stardom that I don't think any British actors in Hollywood can compare to. However, outside the US, the majority of those people you've mentioned are almost completely unheard of. In many countries, the majority of celebrities the average person knows about are American celebrities because American popular culture is dominant.
I would dispute that the UK is the largest exporter of popular culture in Europe. There are plenty of musicians that have international popularity from non-Anglophone European countries, and also the UK film industry compared to the likes of the French and even Spanish film industry is relatively small, and it seems to me that low-budget Spanish films get more international recognition than low-budget British films. In fact, it strikes me that the only British films that achieve any level of popularity outside the UK are those films that get Hollywood backing, which I feel is testament to my point that the UK relies on the US for its international prestige.
There are plenty of highly popular groups and musicians from other European countries. Sweden, for example, punches well above its weight for a country with such a small population when it comes to music, and as of late film and literature.
So you can name one British TV show that has achieved any huge level of fame abroad, which is Top Gear? Dr. Who on the other hand is still relatively niche outside the UK, and while many people have heard of Top Gear, I think there are plenty of people who would have never seen the modern Dr. Who series. The vast majority of TV shows the UK makes no one outside the UK even cares about. Even the big, well-funded ones that have a huge following within the UK. In fact, South American dramas sell better in some countries than British TV does.
Possibly, but only due to its colonial legacy and the fact it still speaks a language that is mutually intelligible with American English. Edited by COF on 20 April 2012 at 12:16am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||||||||
| nway Senior Member United States youtube.com/user/Vic Joined 5406 days ago 574 posts - 1707 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean | Message 11 of 20 20 April 2012 at 12:20am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
It's a simple matter of probability. If you see a guy speaking French, it's natural to assume he's French, even though he may be Swiss, Belgian, Québécois, etc. If you see a guy speaking a Chinese language, it's natural to assume he's from China or Taiwan, even though he may be from Malaysia, Singapore, or heck, even Australia or Canada. I don't think the "you speak ___ language so I'm assuming you're probably from the country that has the most speakers of ___ language" phenomenon is unique to English. Edited by nway on 20 April 2012 at 12:56am 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6588 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 12 of 20 20 April 2012 at 12:21am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
I think the differences are just smaller from learners' point of view than from native speakers'. Unless one speaks a weird dialect, they're probably equally easy to understand. Far easier than Brazilian Portuguese is if you've been learning the European version. Random but I hate those ads that say: You won a Green card!!! Congratulations! Not everyone in the world wants to live in the USA. Not everyone would even include it in the top 5 places they want to visit. (for me it would be only in the top 10) 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||||||||
| frenkeld Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6934 days ago 2042 posts - 2719 votes Speaks: Russian*, English Studies: German | Message 13 of 20 20 April 2012 at 12:39am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
Huh? It just may be the other way around, whereby the US has done as well as it has because it was originally settled by the British. A quick look at the Western Hemisphere will reveal that it's not the kind of location that automatically implies prosperity. Generally speaking, Western Europe is where modern science and mathematics were invented, where the industrial revolution began and where some of the intellectual thought that went into the US Constitution had evolved. Any number of countries in Western Europe with or without colonial past have done pretty well. Edited by frenkeld on 20 April 2012 at 12:58am 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||||||||
| nway Senior Member United States youtube.com/user/Vic Joined 5406 days ago 574 posts - 1707 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean | Message 14 of 20 20 April 2012 at 12:53am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
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COF, it seem like you've got a major chip on your shoulder against the British.
I, too, sometimes get very frustrated with some arrogant Brits I encounter (online), but this forum really isn't the place to vent that type of frustration. Not to mention, you're contributing to the "ugly American" stereotype that I—as an American—*really* don't appreciate. Honestly, it seems like you're forgetting that Britain has 20% the population of the US. At that ratio, I'd say Britain has been doing pretty damn well. And seriously... Comparing Britain unfavorably to Sweden with respect to musical influence? No disrespect to Sweden, but let's be realistic here: The Beatles - 249 million certified units sold Elton John - 153 million Led Zeppelin - 133.4 million Pink Floyd - 110.2 million Queen - 90 million The Rolling Stones - 89.5 million Phil Collins - 82.4 million Rod Stewart - 67.8 million Bee Gees - 63.2 million Dire Straits - 42.7 million George Michael - 41.4 million Coldplay - 39.6 million Genesis - 38.6 million The Police - 35.2 million Sade - 34.5 million Oasis - 28.7 million Depeche Mode - 23.8 million The Who - 23.2 million David Bowie - 22.6 million Paul McCartney - 22.2 million -vs- ABBA - 54.5 million Ace of Base - 22.2 million Roxette - 15.3 million Do I really need to say more? . Edited by nway on 20 April 2012 at 1:00am 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||||||||
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4698 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish | Message 15 of 20 20 April 2012 at 1:00am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Yeah, you need to also compare it with regards to size of the population :)
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| Khendon Newbie United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4600 days ago 13 posts - 31 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese | Message 16 of 20 20 April 2012 at 8:24am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
In my personal experience, and I do travel extensively, that is not the case. Most people you meet just throw a guess out there when they hear your accent. I've had people ask me if I'm American, Australian, British, English, Scottish.... Some guess right, some guess wrong, some don't assume and they just ask. I have never encountered the, "you speak English, you must be American". Not that I would even find it offensive if someone did. It's pretty irrelevant, there are a lot of you guys, I work in a US dominated industry, and not many Brits travel to some of the places I end up. Hah Whilst I don't agree with everything COF says, he is right in some respects, we are a falling nation economically, industrially. A welfare state, economy based on service industry, failing industry, dwindling natural resources, little investment in securing domestic power generation, failing agriculture. A lot of our political power is in fact due to our close relationship with the US, our role in the UN and a legacy of our empire. No point getting moody about the truth ;). (mind you, you guys might be heading the same way, massive national debt, obamas health care program, imports greater than exports etc, watch out!) Regards Khen 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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