G'Day Carl...
Fair dinkum, mate? I had no idea we Aussies were so hard on the ear... you
should try New Zealanders for true vocalic perversion of English! (Just
kidding!!!)
Actually, living here in Texas has been an experience for a poor West Australian
boy trying to cope with some pretty interesting dialects! I have had one fellow
ask me if I was from West Texas (I wasn't sure whether this was a positive or a
negative?!), but most people opt for Boston because of the way we pronounce
words like "car".
Couldn't help myself...
Mark O'Brien
Displaced Sandgroper, Dallas Seminary