Quote:
I always have problems with cabs in the US because of this. It seems most US cab drivers can't understand the English version with the extra "ands".


That's odd. This may be a regionalism, but in vast parts of the US, most people actually use the extra "ands" in spoken English. That's why teachers have to work so hard to pound it out of them in written American English.

So I seriously doubt it was the "ands" causing the difficulties.

Might be those pesky vowels. Did you try talking very nasally and brusquely?

Just kidding. I'm not sure which is more horrendous, a Brit poorly faking an American accent, or a Yank poorly faking a British one. Strangely, Aussies usually do a great job at faking an American accent (but the converse is certainly not true).

Hmmmm, now that I think about it, the American faking the British accent must be worse. I'm sure we generate a totally delightful mix of Cockney, Scouse, Oxbridge, and BBC received pronunciation. At least the Brit aiming for a US accent usually manages to hit something like a midwest accent with a little New York thrown in -- which is bizarre but probably less nightmarish than the American's unique concoction of British English.

My Bostonian friends were really annoyed with my attempts at Southie. They said I was "overdoing it" a little. Similarly, one of my British friends used to make me roll on the floor with his futile impersonations of a US deep south accent. He was nowhere close, but damn, whatever he was doing sure sounded funny.

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