Learning the meaning of words

[jukel123 7,641]

2 minutes ago, chartpolski said:

Both my children had what was known as “Mid-Atlantic” accents, but my daughters accent would change to the accent of wherever the accent of the person she was talking to was from; American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and even Geordie, but my sons accent never changed, I guess it may have been influenced by their jobs.

My grandson has a very neutral accent, but for some reason he’s the only member of both sides of his family that “rolls his R’s” . Haven’t got a clue why .

Cheers.

My Mrs has a  Coronation St accent. It's never changed despite living over 50 years in Scotland. I'm like your daughter, I can change my accent in order to quickly make myself understood or if I need to talk posh on the telephone. I say I'm an adaptable chameleon, she says I'm  a phony. I reply she's a died in the wool Ena Sharples. I'm not telling anybody what she replies in return.lol. She's quick to hand the phone to me though when she can't understand a thick accent on the telephone and she pleads for help if shes approached  in a foreign  ountry when we're on holiday. No matter how many times I tell her to say ' no hablos espanol or Je ne parle pas La Francais she looks to me for help. I can't understand why she won't make an effort. She's pretty outspoken most of the time for sure.lol

[tatsblisters 8,937]

7 hours ago, mushroom said:

 

I had to dust off my French a couple of months ago and it was diabolical lol.

Spanish though, it’s only in the very south (Andalusia) they speak really fast. Even Spaniards have issues with the strange cnuts. If you can get Spanish down, Catalan would slip into place pretty easily and then also Italian

Could you tell the difference mate if someone was on the phone speaking Spanish wether they were from Spain or Mexico like we can usually tell by accents what part of the country they are from or other English speaking countries like Australia or New Zealand and America. 

[mushroom 12,637]

5 minutes ago, tatsblisters said:

Could you tell the difference mate if someone was on the phone speaking Spanish wether they were from Spain or Mexico like we can usually tell by accents what part of the country they are from or other English speaking countries like Australia or New Zealand and America. 

Yes, It’s no different. You just recognise the country accent or dialect once you’ve heard it. Words and phrases can give it away just the same as in English (trash, barbie etc). Regional accents are more difficult for me from other countries. Spanish regionals, I’m not too bad at. 

Edited May 14 by mushroom

[mushroom 12,637]

It’s like we can recognise an Ozzie accent but we wouldn’t really know if it was a Queenslander or Western Oz one

[jukel123 7,641]

1 minute ago, mushroom said:

Yes, It’s no different. You just recognise the country accent or dialect once you’ve heard it. Words and phrases can give it away just the same as in English (trash, barbie etc). Regional accents are a bit more difficult for me from other countries. Spanish regionals, I’m not too bad at. 

I didn't realise how many people worldwide spoke spanish. I guess they were empire builders like we were.

[jukel123 7,641]

15 minutes ago, jukel123 said:

I didn't realise how many people worldwide spoke spanish. I guess they were empire builders like we were.

I visited a museum in Spain and I was amazed at how small the average Spaniard soldier was. Less than 5 foot. Their armour breast plates were like children's sizes. Savage little b*****ds though.

During the war the jerries used to refer to Glaswegian soldiers as 'poison dwarves'. Small, but vicious. Even now Glaswegian people tend to be small. A guy of  UK average height or taller is often referred to as ' big guy' or ' big yin'. If you are over 6 foot you are a spectacle to be stared when walking along a street. 

Edited May 14 by jukel123

[DIDO.1 22,074]

I know it's off topic but I've just been reading a book on the Spanish foreign legion.... They have the gayest uniform ever

[chartpolski 22,299]

I thought it was a Village People tribute band …… ! LOL !

Cheers.

[DIDO.1 22,074]

I'm just gutted I'm to old to join

[mushroom 12,637]

Imagine being ISIS and seeing that lot running towards ya firing off rounds  

Edited May 15 by mushroom

[jukel123 7,641]

20 hours ago, mushroom said:

Imagine being ISIS and seeing that lot running towards ya firing off rounds  

Rape is often used as a weapon of war. Think,I'd fight to the death  every time rather than surrender to the SFL.

Edited May 16 by jukel123

[mel b 1,833]

2 hours ago, DIDO.1 said:

I know it's off topic but I've just been reading a book on the Spanish foreign legion.... They have the gayest uniform ever

As camp as a row of tents .

[Neal 1,853]

I found out a new word yesterday. A friend send me a text inviting me out for an afternoon shant. I presumed it was a typo or predictive text gone wrong but it's a Pompey word for a drink.

[mackem 25,174]

8 minutes ago, Neal said:

I found out a new word yesterday. A friend send me a text inviting me out for an afternoon shant. I presumed it was a typo or predictive text gone wrong but it's a Pompey word for a drink.

@chartpolski used the word schadenfreude a while ago,as I read it I suddenly remembered a word I learnt at school,the English version epicaricacy.

[jukel123 7,641]

I came across a new word on here yesterday 'copium'. A newly coined word which stems from blending the words opium and cope. It's used to describe a feeling of disbelief and unreality as though you taken opium. It is generally used when somebody cannot accept a sporting defeat of their favourite team. I quite like it.