Re: DIALEKTOS vs GLWSSA

Philip L. Graber (pgraber@emory.edu)
Mon, 4 Nov 1996 13:06:54 -0500 (EST)

> > we have much greaer difficulty in following (I should say rather that I
> > myself do) Australian English;
>
> 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".

Mark and Carl,

I had to laugh when I read this. My wife and I spent two years in the
Northern Territory (mostly in Darwin), and we never had trouble
understanding anyone. When my youngest son was born in Darwin, Ann's
parents came to visit, and they couldn't even cope with the TV news, which
is as "accent neutral" in Australia as it is here. When it came to
football (VFL or SRL) on TV, they understood the rules of the game better
than the announcers, which is to say not at all. Thanks for provoking
some pleasant memories.

Philip Graber Graduate Division of Religion
Graduate Student in New Testament 214 Callaway Center
Emory University
pgraber@emory.edu Atlanta, GA 30322 USA