"Ildhund" <jnllb@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:ffdg18$anj$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Bert Vaux wrote...
>
>> 3. The questions are designed to be relevant to speakers of English
>> worldwide, not just in the United States.
>
> Designed badly, then, in my view. Most of the questions seem to relate
to
> purely American linguistic oddities. I do hope the author will consider
a
> similar geographical survey of quirks in British English - "What is your
> normal greeting on meeting an acquaintance? Hello, Na'then, Eyup" or
"Does
> your pronunciation of 'scone' [a variety of bun] rhyme with 'gone' or
> 'stone' or 'boon'?"
Not entirely fair, I think - e.g. the "alley" question includes ginnel and
snicket. But no distinction is made between British _regional_ and
_social_
dialects e.g. the "dinner" question, nor any allowance for social context
e.g. the "public lavatory" question (the same person may use "loo" or
"toilet" or "gents" etc depending on whom he is addressing and on what
occasion).
Alan Jones
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