English

[SepticTone]

Congrats on finding Father Ted vids.

Before watching Father Ted, you have to remember that the series is ironic.

Ironic. Don't forget this.

It portrays the Irish precisely as the English mindset has traditionally, for centuries, seen them. Thick, completely brainless, drunk, dirty & clumsy priest-ridden superstitious semi-humans.

The irony is that many of them aren't at all like that.

I have to say this as my Irish wife is standing behind me as I type this.

[davec]

I'll keep that in mind.

I have a lot of Irish background too, but all Protestant, mostly from county Mayo. My grandparents' view of Irish Catholics is a little like the one you describe, only with a vitriolic touch. And that's no tweak, either. When I got accepted into a summer science program put on by the National Science Foundation, it was at Loyola University in New Orleans--a Catholic university, which had no bearing on the program. Grandma DeVaughn (Irish, nee O'Donnell, likewise Irish of course) went through the roof. "You be careful, David!!! They'll try to make a Catholic out of you!!!! Rant, rave, etc etc."

They didn't try. I know a lot of solidly Catholic Irish too, even studied the language for a while from a lady from Connemara. "Ta an la go-koch inniuv" -- the weather is shitty today. We also sang Sean Os -- songs so old, nobody knows how old, and some more modern, often dirty, Irish songs as well. None of the latter of which, sadly, I can remember anymore. I guess 56 years of anoraking away has shoved some stuff out the back door to make room.

Besides, much of this crap is just ignorant prejudice. As any Irish will tell you, Irish are never drunk so long as they can hold onto a single blade of grass and not fall off the face of the Earth. Also, God invented uisge (whiskey) so the Irish would not take over the world. Did you know that?


See? I like 'em just fine. So I'll watch with a grain of salt--a very little one.

[SepticTone]

Now she's gone, so I can now tell you that in Father Ted, that's Exactly what the Irish are like!

[Kate]

I liked visiting Ireland. Home of Guinness, and every other shop was a pub. Unfortunately I was on a trip with my college, which frowns upon drinking VERY heavily (even when you're of age) and didn't actually get to drink a single drop of alcohol.

Yes...I realize the irony...I was in Ireland and couldn't drink.

Although I don't think I'd be too good at holding my liquor - despite my German and Irish roots.

[SepticTone]

Loyola University in New Orleans--a Catholic university, which had no bearing on the program. Grandma DeVaughn (Irish, nee O'Donnell, likewise Irish of course) went through the roof. "You be careful, David!!! They'll try to make a Catholic out of you!!!! Rant, rave, etc etc."

She was correct. Ignatius Loyola was the founder of the Jesuits, one of whom's mottos was " give me a child for the first 5 years of his life & he'll be a Catholic for the rest".

I should know, as I went to a primary school run by Jesuits and nuns. & by age 8 I understood the Transubstantiation, but little else.

Sadly for Ignatius, by 13 I was an atheist, so he lied. I'm now veering towards Buddhism.

I like Kate's idea of her college, who hate the idea of drinking alcohol, sending a bunch of 18+ people to Ireland. They clearly hadn't done a rigourous risk assessment beforehand, nor a cultural awareness one.

[davec]

<<They clearly hadn't done a rigourous risk assessment beforehand, nor a cultural awareness one.>>

Americans venturing abroad without cultural research? Codswallop!

No, actually, that's the American way, old boy. If they don't understand you, shout. English is just fine. Wave money. Act aggressive. Always works at home.

I worked for two weeks in Japan when I worked for Epson. An engineer got sick and couldn't go. They knew I had been studying Japanese, for a bit, and so I, a tech support rep at the time, was annointed. With no other prep at all, I was in a small town in Japan. I think I did all right, but any business anywhere else but in America would have, I think, done a better job. I knew to eat with the rice bowl in my left hand at all times, but did not know that toilets are not gender-separated except in locations expecting large numbers of foreign tourists. I was, I think, about the only American in town at the time, so loo time was co-ed time, surprise surprise. And so on.

Everybody knows more about us than we about them, partly because the world is saturated with us. But, hey, it gets really stupid sometimes. And, hey, that's why I'm on this forum. Coz I feel stupid. Actually, I think you'll agree, am.

[SepticTone]

Coz I feel stupid. Actually, I think you'll agree, am.

I don't agree with this dave. I've been on many forums & there are people infinitely more stupid than you out there.

No, that didn't come out quite right. What I meant was that there are stupid people and stupid people, & you aren't one of them.

No, that wasn't right either, but you know what I mean anyway.

[davec]

Yeah, I know what you mean. Just hope you do...

Ta.

[Broc]

The forms of spoken English, however, vary considerably more than in most other areas of the world where English is spoken,and a uniform concept of "British English" is therefore more difficult to apply to the spoken language. According to Tom McArthur in the Oxford Guide to World English


________________
Envi Home Energy

[SepticTone]

True. Although it would have helped had you included the words, "in Britain" after your first phrase.

I find it almost impossible to understand Geordies, Brummies, Jocks, Scousers & Cockneys in their more extreme speech forms, & I have a degree in English, which included Linguistics & Phonetics as modules!

Plus, these life-forms only exist within a 300 mile radius of where I live: equivalent, I suppose, to the size of a small US County.

However, bear in mind that I often have difficulty understanding what I'm saying myself, as dave assiduously notes.