My brother owns a small business in USA - I tried phoning him up at his house, but he was not there - then I later I tried getting hold of him at his office. Either he or my sister-in-law. It was an educational experience. The telephone operator picked up the phone and I asked for my brother. Although both, the telephone operator and I were both speaking English - it seemed as if we were speaking two completely different languages.
She, or perhaps it was a he, I could not tell, could not follow my request to let me talk to my brother or my sister-in-law. The telephone operator banged the phone, then I changed my accent made it sound very American - thanks to my exposure American TV shows - after three attempts, I was successful. The telephone operator transferred the call to my sister-in-law.
Some months afterwards my brother arrived and I noticed a very marked difference in his accent and style of talking. This was not the case when he was just doing a job and before that when he was a student, a span of 30 years. He spoke English the way everyone else does in Pakistan. But now he has changed.
Talking about TV and film shows, a point to be noted is that everyone speakwith clenched teet and hardly moving their lips. Some words require opening ones mouth and changing the shape of ones lips -but that never happens. News shows, TV shows etc. people hardly ever move their mouths I have no idea why this happens to be the case. There some of them who speak from the side of ones mouth, keep the rest of lips sealed.
Words and phrases are pronounced differently. Some sayings have a completely different meaning. Once I said 'going down like a bomb' meaning tremendous success - but the person I was talking to was an American and became was furious. At that moment I had no idea why he was so angry. It was only later did I realise that what I had said meant completely the opposite to an American or some one who has been educated in America from the start.
Words, phrases and idioms are never the same. Some do not mean anything and some have a completely different sense. American English is language which is not possible to understand. JK Rawling's books have British editions and American editions. Another authoress of children's books had two versions, the British edition made more sense than the American ones ever could.
Finaly there are narrators on computers. It types as you speak or makes specific functions as you speak.
The narrator software designed for people who spoke American English - not for people who spoke anyother English, which makes the software worthless. The existing narrator does not understand and when it is required to read, when it reads it mispronounces everything including my name.
American English has definitely evolved into a foreign language. It is not the same language spoken in Pakistan and many other parts of the world, where the British had occupied. After my experience with the telephone operator, I came to the conclusion that the way people speak English in Pakistan -no matter how odd and strange it may sound, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that and the process should continue, evolve in due course till it becomes a different language entirely.
She, or perhaps it was a he, I could not tell, could not follow my request to let me talk to my brother or my sister-in-law. The telephone operator banged the phone, then I changed my accent made it sound very American - thanks to my exposure American TV shows - after three attempts, I was successful. The telephone operator transferred the call to my sister-in-law.
Some months afterwards my brother arrived and I noticed a very marked difference in his accent and style of talking. This was not the case when he was just doing a job and before that when he was a student, a span of 30 years. He spoke English the way everyone else does in Pakistan. But now he has changed.
Talking about TV and film shows, a point to be noted is that everyone speakwith clenched teet and hardly moving their lips. Some words require opening ones mouth and changing the shape of ones lips -but that never happens. News shows, TV shows etc. people hardly ever move their mouths I have no idea why this happens to be the case. There some of them who speak from the side of ones mouth, keep the rest of lips sealed.
Words and phrases are pronounced differently. Some sayings have a completely different meaning. Once I said 'going down like a bomb' meaning tremendous success - but the person I was talking to was an American and became was furious. At that moment I had no idea why he was so angry. It was only later did I realise that what I had said meant completely the opposite to an American or some one who has been educated in America from the start.
Words, phrases and idioms are never the same. Some do not mean anything and some have a completely different sense. American English is language which is not possible to understand. JK Rawling's books have British editions and American editions. Another authoress of children's books had two versions, the British edition made more sense than the American ones ever could.
Finaly there are narrators on computers. It types as you speak or makes specific functions as you speak.
The narrator software designed for people who spoke American English - not for people who spoke anyother English, which makes the software worthless. The existing narrator does not understand and when it is required to read, when it reads it mispronounces everything including my name.
American English has definitely evolved into a foreign language. It is not the same language spoken in Pakistan and many other parts of the world, where the British had occupied. After my experience with the telephone operator, I came to the conclusion that the way people speak English in Pakistan -no matter how odd and strange it may sound, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that and the process should continue, evolve in due course till it becomes a different language entirely.
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