Accent inferiority complex?

Got vs. gotten is another good example of how it is British usage which has changed.     I've actually gotten (sic -   ) into an argument more than once over this one with a fellow countryman who insisted that gotten is an "ugly corruption by ignorant Americans."  

It's strange how some of the people who criticize the American use of gotten accept it readily in the phrase "ill-gotten gains," which can still be heard here from time to time.    One way I've tried to explain this past participle is to compare get/got/gotten with forget/forgot/forgotten.  

I think it's fascinating that we Americans actually speak an older version of British English, to some extent.  Along with "gotten" and "forgotten", we also still say "I guess", which is actually the older way of saying "I suppose".

A little off the pronunciation/accent topic, but somewhat related are spelling variations.    Some people here seem to regard -ize endings as being very American, yet once again it is the British -ise forms which are actually much newer.

My King's English Dictionary from 1930 lists the -ize forms as standard with a note in the addendum that -ise is an acceptable variation.   I remember being criticized by a teacher at school 25 years ago for using realize, recognize etc. and told that I should write realise and recognise.  That was despite the fact that even today the Oxford English Dictionary (among others) still lists -ize endings as being perfectly acceptable in British usage as well (although admittedly we -ize users are certainly in a minority!). 

Although most publishers here switched over to the -ise spelling as their house style decades ago, the -ize form was kept by at least a couple of technical publishers well into the 1970s.     (One of them also retained the older use of connexion instead of connection, but that's a different story!)

P.S.   I had no criticism in my last two years of English classes in High School, as I had an American teacher then. 

My American brother-in-law thinks I "put on" my British accent to get chicks.  After five years he's still not ready to accept that people in other English-speaking countries really do have different ways of saying the same words.

This may have rubbed off on his 3-year-old daughter. When going through vocabulary flashcards (the fun never stops with this uncle) instead of her being confused/amused when I pronounced words differently, she was annoyed. Having assumed up to now (quite reasonably) that folk speak the same way, for me to screw up words as simple as "fence" was unforgivable.

This reminds me of when i was visiting Texas last year and my 8-year old niece was reading a book about jungle cats.  She got to a word she didnt know... 'jaguar', and asked me what it was.  I said  'jag-yur' and my mom came flying across the room like a bat out of hell, shrieking 'dont teach her to say it that way!!' and then she proceeded to tell the poor child that the word is pronounced 'jaig-wire'.  

I love this stuff! Has anyone read "Mother Tongue" by Bill Bryson? It's a fascinating study of the English language and how it's developed. Has a lot of stuff about why Americans words are often pronounced the way they were in Britain in the 1600s. Cool book.

This may have rubbed off on his 3-year-old daughter. When going through vocabulary flashcards (the fun never stops with this uncle)

                                                    Too funny.

I just had a thought:  If you want to get into a combined argument about spelling and pronunciation, just bring up the subject of aluminum vs. aluminium.     

I just had a thought:  If you want to get into a combined argument about spelling and pronunciation, just bring up the subject of aluminum vs. aluminium.     

No kidding.  My very first week here, I went to the Comedy Store, sat in the front row (there were no other seats available, and yes, I was prepared); and all the comics poked fun at me, then Terry Alderton came out, and every time he paused in his set, he'd turn to me and yell "It's aluMINium!  It's aluMINium!"  Fortunately, he did it with a clever glint in his eye, not hostility.

And, thankfully, the guy from New Zealand across the way got it worse than I did!

came flying across the room like a bat out of hell, shrieking 'dont teach her to say it that way!!' and then she proceeded to tell the poor child that the word is pronounced 'jaig-wire'.  

For me, the best part of not having kids (other than just, well, not having them around) is being able to spot how bad in-laws are at raising their own kids

And while we're on the subject of shiny metals, I do think that aluminum sounds better. Especially aluminum siding.

I love this stuff! Has anyone read "Mother Tongue" by Bill Bryson? It's a fascinating study of the English language and how it's developed. Has a lot of stuff about why Americans words are often pronounced the way they were in Britain in the 1600s. Cool book.

Hell, yeah ... I love that book! It's equally funny for an "outsider" (English as 2nd language) to see that Americans/Brits suffer from communication problems, too Mind you, when the Berlin wall came down in 1989 and we got to know more folks from the East part of Germany, we had similar probs too.

In particular, because the West had integrated so many anglicized words in its vocabulary and the guys from the other side had no clue what we were talking about. However, the same went vice versa.

I'm not uncomfortable with my American accent. I do, however, get uncomfortable with the way Americans sometimes tend to speak more loudly than everyone else. For example, if a group of American tourists is walking down a crowded street in York, I find that I can hear every single word of their conversation, while the conversations of everyone around them are just quiet mumbles.

I wouldn't try to fake an English accent, which would just sound silly, however I am very careful to modulate my voice when speaking to Brits, especially when I am upset and would tend to talk more loudly than usual.

In fact, the first time my now-fiance spoke to me on the phone, he commented: "Why, you don't sound loud at all." I think the thing that stands out most about American speech is not the way we pronounce certain words, but how loudly we tend to speak.

Well, speaking from a loud American standpoint, when I was in England the first time, I met a lot of Australians, and they tended to speak loudly also.  I tend to be more outgoing when I am with my friends and my friends tell me I am loud (and they are American!).  In general, some Americans can be loud, but I think it has a lot to do with personality. 

I think the thing that stands out most about American speech is not the way we pronounce certain words, but how loudly we tend to speak.

I try very hard to not be so loud but I simply cannot help it. I'm, for the most part, a naturally loud person. I'm always trying to keep my voice down but I never notice when it goes louder. The fact that Jon is around 80% deaf doesn't help either, he can never hear me unless I speak up.

I agree that "loudness" is a matter of personality. However, the stereotype is that Americans are loud.

The husband just read through this thread and laughed. Having met a British professor of mine in the States, whose accent is still intact after 20-plus years of living Stateside, DH finds it just as laughable as I do that any American would claim to have developed a British accent in even 10-plus years, much less one or two. There's a difference between having a naturally occurring accent, and wanting to have one, and changing your speech to fit that. Using another culture's terminology is one thing--acting as if you've picked up their accent is another. I don't want any rebuttals, as I'm not trying to pick a fight, and I won't respond, regardless. Be happy with your American accent--stop pretending it's anything BUT that.

The husband just read through this thread and laughed. Having met a British professor of mine in the States, whose accent is still intact after 20-plus years of living Stateside, DH finds it just as laughable as I do that any American would claim to have developed a British accent in even 10-plus years, much less one or two.

I'm not sure it's a good idea to form an entire theory based on one person but hey, whatever.  I'm sure you're right, Suzanne.