[accent, spelling]

[wispfox]

I'm finding myself both amused and bemused to be apparently unable to decide if I want to be using the British spelling of words (eg 'humour' or 'humor'), and periodically not being able to decide which pronunciation I want to use for certain words.

Hell, sometimes I use different pronunciations _in the same sentence_, especially if I'm talking to someone who pronounces certain words differently than I would, but in a way that also makes sense to me. (or, worse, if it's a way I used to try to pronounce a word until I realized that no one around me did).

*shakes head* I'm _so_ glad I'm not trying to teach anyone English, because I'm confusing _myself_, here!

(for that matter, I've never been able to figure out if it's spelled 'gray' or 'grey')

Comments

[imlad.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on all accounts. English is a third language, but it is my active one on all fronts - from work to the most hyperbolic confessions of love. Put alcohol into me and I will go faux British - which how I learned my English to begin with. I also still have the tendency to add the "u" into humor, behavior and neighbor. What's your excuse?

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

My excuse is some combination of the fact that I have a tendany toward hanging around with non-USians when they are around, the fact that my current place of employ keeps importing and/or borrowing people from the UK and Australia, and the fact that my sweetie australian_joe and I generally talk on the phone every week, he visits the US every so often, and we exchange email fairly often. :)

I also blame the fact that I tend to speak like the people I'm talking with, pick up accents _really_ easily (more easily once I stop having periodic accent-related parsers errors), and just really like learning new words/phrases/turns of speech.

Wee! Excuses! ;)

[imlad.livejournal.com]

Those are great excuses - love 'em!