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Post by Kimby on Sept 13, 2020 14:46:11 GMT
My family has never been phone-callers, and during COVID isolation that has not changed. I keep in touch with my remaining sister mainly by text and email, and of course Facebook. We could FaceTime, but haven’t. Old habits die hard.
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 13, 2020 15:01:16 GMT
My family was always in the "no news is good news" category until I understood that my parents had entered a phase where I needed to check up on them constantly. I know I don't have to keep track of my brother since he has a wife, children and grandchildren for that.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Sept 13, 2020 17:09:56 GMT
Dreadful photos but proof that we saw them....This was as I was clearing up. bagging up leftovers for Matt and Lisa to take home. Both have expanding waistlines and very long hair pulled back in ponytails. They were all smoking when I took the pics...sorry the little dog is Hugo, a toy terrier that they are looking after fr the weekend. He and Django were quite wary of each other but there weren't any fights. we had a really nice time, they loved the food. I was very strong and just ate my salad.
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Post by bjd on Sept 15, 2020 7:39:28 GMT
Cheery, obviously you should have taken some guns with you and shot at grouse. Then you could have been up to 30 people!
"Grouse shooting and hunting with guns in England are among outdoor activities exempted from the government’s “rule of six” coronavirus regulations."
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Post by lagatta on Sept 15, 2020 14:08:49 GMT
Among North American anglophones, regional accents tend to recede with westward movement, which is why one might confuse people from Washington state and BC.
Interpreters tend to use an over-articulated accent that is in some ways similar to the old Mid-Atlantic accent. Many people in the audience may be listening in what is a second language for them.
And people who live in other countries may take on elements of the new country's accent and vocabulary without it being a conscious change.
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 15, 2020 15:51:16 GMT
One thing that amused me when I attended company seminars and training courses, usually in Cairo, was that people whose first language was not English, whether they were German, Somali, Indonesian or Qatari (just to name those 4) had no trouble understanding each other's English simply because they made the same grammatical construction errors and pronunciation mistakes. Americans or Britons attending these same events were often totally confused about what they were saying. I had no trouble because I had been listening to broken English for years already.
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Post by bjd on Sept 15, 2020 16:45:23 GMT
My husband spent a lot of his professional life at international meetings and seminars in English. Many of the attendees for whom English was not the native tongue understood the other foreigners but the native speakers, the Americans in particular, were told to slow down. Their assumption was always that they were understandable but they weren't and they didn't take into consideration the fact that for many in the audience English required extra effort.
My husband's English is extremely good and basically accentless but he has a terrible time understanding the British. No problem with Americans.
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Post by whatagain on Sept 15, 2020 21:58:07 GMT
Problem with people monolingual is yjzt yhey have no clud as to what is difficultvyonunderstand. When speaking french to foreigners, i try to slow down and to use easier words.
Sometimes listening to us all is fun. My daughter recently told me that i pronounced 'of course' like it was french... Some colleagues pronounce 'sheet of glass' as in shit of glass, i wish they would say panels. My boss recurrently say 'xxx which is in charge of... '. He has a very bad accent on top of that.
My favourite accent for speaking English is italian. Very nice.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 15, 2020 22:38:50 GMT
Italian-accented Spanish is the favorite thing for Mexicans to make fun of. This is probably because it sounds like an Argentine accent and the Argentines and the Mexicans despise each other.
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Post by lagatta on Sept 15, 2020 23:02:11 GMT
That may be true, but Juan Gelman was warmly welcomed in Mexico.
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Post by questa on Sept 16, 2020 0:31:17 GMT
Do we have any Kiwis (New Zealanders)on Anyport? They are apparently the only branch of English speaking people that is moving away from the American version of English. While the rest of the world is shifting to US pronunciation and use of vowel sounds, NZ is emphasizing the differences to the point where it is difficult at times to understand them. The accent is very flat with the vowels almost inaudible and short.
Aussies tease them, of course. "Fush and Chups", "Sux sunts" "thet d'g uz m' pit" (that dog is my pet) The South Island was settled by many Scottish people and the use of words like 'wee' for small is common. The North Island is more Maori.Their language and culture is taught in all the schools with it being the official second language.
There are enclaves of New Zealanders in Sydney where the Aussies there are speaking Kiwi. Has anyone here been to NZ and noticed this?
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Post by whatagain on Sept 16, 2020 13:19:49 GMT
Cherry cleraly the pics were not ghe best but you had a great time ! Family, nothing can beat that.
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Post by whatagain on Sept 16, 2020 13:21:04 GMT
So Japan has a new prime minister. A young one, only 71. I am fed up with being led by gerontocraties. Next time let us elect Greta Thunberg.
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Post by lagatta on Sept 16, 2020 13:31:46 GMT
I'll have to check whether Sweden has an eligibility age other than the general voting age.
Nope: (wiki - Elections in Sweden) In general, any person who is eligible to vote is also eligible to stand for election. So actually, Greta could be elected to office next year (she is 17 now, just has a very young face and is small and thin).
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 16, 2020 13:53:45 GMT
Do we have any Kiwis (New Zealanders)on Anyport? We have a Kiwi who visits here every single day but who rarely posts.
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Post by fumobici on Sept 16, 2020 15:17:10 GMT
Italian-accented Spanish is the favorite thing for Mexicans to make fun of. This is probably because it sounds like an Argentine accent and the Argentines and the Mexicans despise each other. There goes my plans for speaking Spanish in Mexico. There's no way at this point it won't not only be Italian accented (z esses, horrible accents on the penultimate syllable etc.), but with random Italian words stuck in.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 16, 2020 15:22:59 GMT
horrible accents on the penultimate syllable No, no ~ it's Italian that is so willy-nilly about which syllable to stress! I had to practice saying "Trapani" because, well, just not obvious!
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 16, 2020 15:25:03 GMT
When I met up with Bixa in Rome, I heard her say "por favor" more than once.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 16, 2020 15:31:18 GMT
Well, it sounded more sonorous than pleeze, didn't it?
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Post by mickthecactus on Sept 16, 2020 15:37:17 GMT
I bet she said gracias instead of grazie as well...
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Sept 16, 2020 20:20:59 GMT
Italian accents make me melt. Even now.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 16, 2020 20:41:30 GMT
Like in a Fish Called Wanda?
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Post by lagatta on Sept 16, 2020 21:21:05 GMT
I know quite a few Argies who sought refuge in Mexico, and the ones I know (not just famous poets with Juan Gelman's tragic story) are well integrated and accepted in the welcoming country. Yes, of course I know the kind of arrogant Argentine who doesn't think their country is part of "Latin America", but they aren't friends. They are the kind of jerks one comes across at gallery openings and the like, and strives to escape in a hurry.
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Post by questa on Sept 16, 2020 23:26:58 GMT
When I met up with Bixa in Rome, I heard her say "por favor" more than once. That's because Bixa has good manners to say 'Thank you' in any language
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Post by questa on Sept 17, 2020 0:14:21 GMT
Kia Ora, Cousin, Nice to know you drop in here. I don't suppose you would like to swap Prime Ministers for a bit, would you? Yours is an example of what a leader should be in this world of change...human!
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Post by mickthecactus on Sept 17, 2020 7:58:30 GMT
Is Argies politically correct?
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Post by patricklondon on Sept 17, 2020 12:26:19 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 17, 2020 13:10:51 GMT
One gets so tired of political correctness for insignificant things.
Luckily, the French just find being called "frogs" is funny. After all, they call the Brits "rosbifs," and I imagine that the British find it funny, too.
My stepfather, 20 years in the US Navy, used to say that when their ship was in Australia, major fights would break out when the American sailors called the Australian sailors Limeys, which of course they weren't.
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Post by whatagain on Sept 18, 2020 7:25:06 GMT
For those who wo der what are the measures for traveling inside Europe, here is my exp.
March : still in lockdow : french border by car. Unstopped.
July : 2 times ceossing german border by car. Unstopped.
August : french border by car : unstopped.
September : thalys bxl Paris. No control.
Colleague coming from Romania. Temp check in Ottopeny, no check no nothing at CDG.
Not heard of anyone controlled.
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 28, 2020 16:56:31 GMT
My former employer has moved to its new offices outside of Paris. After 40 years of paying the top price for a presigious address within easy reach of their top customers, they have now lowered their rent 80% by moving to the edge of Neuilly-sur-Seine, just across from La Défense. Probably a wise move since the airline has not served Paris since March and will not do so again until further notice. The employees only work 2 days a week and receive 84% of their salary for the unworked days. (If they had salaries at minimum wage, they would receive 100%.)
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