3 ms·

I moved to Finland, from the UK, and I can identify many of the local people as having grown up listening to American TV. It's a little disconcerting to hear A

I moved to Finland, from the UK, and I can identify many of the local people as having grown up listening to American TV. It's a little disconcerting to hear American words ("fall", not "autumn"), and New York accents from people who've spent their lives in Helsinki. Still I come from the UK, and for me it's easy to place which part of the country people spent their formative years - sometimes even which half of a city somebody has grown up in, let alone the changes you hear across 20-25 miles. (I'm doing my part, raising a child born in Finland to understand Rab C. Nesbit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc4gB89LN7o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc4gB89LN7o It's also a well-known fact that Scottish accents aren't easy for voice recognition - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbDnxzrbxn4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbDnxzrbxn4 )

FanaHOVA 3y ago
> It's a little disconcerting to hear American words ("fall", not "autumn"), and New York accents from people who've spent their lives in Helsinki. Why is it disconcerting? Should people adopt a British accent simply because it’s closer geographically even if most English media they consume is American?
- stevekemp 3y ago
  I can recognize my bias, but I grew up in the UK and so to me English is British-English. Words like "fall" are something I've only heard on TV until moving here. (Or when visiting America.) I appreciate American media is global these days, so people will pick up on the dialect, but it's still a little alien to me. I could hear "fall" a hundred times in films, but if everybody I ever spoke to about autumn holidays said "autumn" that's the one that feels more natural to hear.
pbhjpbhj 3y ago
One child in a family of my acquaintance uses Americanisms, despite heavy correction from their siblings. I think it's a 'Netflix Effect', it's cheaper to buy USA programming than make British-English voiced programmes. Aside, try "Scotland the What" if you're interested in some different Scottish accents (I think they're mainly Highland, Doric Scots).

FanaHOVA 3y ago

> It's a little disconcerting to hear American words ("fall", not "autumn"), and New York accents from people who've spent their lives in Helsinki. Why is it disconcerting? Should people adopt a British accent simply because it’s closer geographically even if most English media they consume is American?

stevekemp 3y ago
I can recognize my bias, but I grew up in the UK and so to me English is British-English. Words like "fall" are something I've only heard on TV until moving here. (Or when visiting America.) I appreciate American media is global these days, so people will pick up on the dialect, but it's still a little alien to me. I could hear "fall" a hundred times in films, but if everybody I ever spoke to about autumn holidays said "autumn" that's the one that feels more natural to hear.

pbhjpbhj 3y ago

One child in a family of my acquaintance uses Americanisms, despite heavy correction from their siblings. I think it's a 'Netflix Effect', it's cheaper to buy USA programming than make British-English voiced programmes. Aside, try "Scotland the What" if you're interested in some different Scottish accents (I think they're mainly Highland, Doric Scots).