Divided Languages - Across the Pond: An Englishman's View of America - page 9

about Peru in which an army officer exhorted his soldiers: “Men, always remember that
you are Peruvians.” This sounds funny, rather like saying: “Always remember that you are
hairdressers,” or “Never forget that you are shoplifters,” since the word “Peruvian” does
not carry any especially exalted implications, at least for non-Peruvians.
The phrase “a very fine American” is revealing in this respect. It is not quite the same as
speaking of a very fine Sri Lankan. “America” is a term of approbation, not just a descrip-
tion. It is a moral word as much as a geographical one. The very word “America” implies
certain cherished values, so that phrases like “American values” or “a very fine Americ-
an” are almost tautologies. “A very fine American” is a distinguished example of a noble
species, whereas a very fine Sri Lankan is an outstanding individual who happens to come
from Sri Lanka. It is suitable that the national symbol of the United States is the eagle. In
Wales, it is the leek.
Accents
Americans often speak of the British accent, which is in fact as mythical as the mermaid.
There are English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish forms of speech, but no British one.
Strictly speaking, even an English accent is something of a misnomer. It generally refers
to so-called Standard English, which only a small minority of the English actually speak
and so is scarcely much of a standard. Truly genteel people have their own strangulated
idiom of Standard English, which sounds as though they are speaking with a hot potato in
their mouths. In this kind of speech, “I'm rarely tarred” means not that you are infrequently
coated with a sticky black substance, but that you are really tired. Prince Charles speaks
in this style, while the BBC speaks regular Standard English (though even this is on the
wane). Outside the middle and upper classes, the British tend to speak with the accent of
their region. In fact, Standard English was once a regional accent itself.
As far as detecting accents goes, a good many Britons would be able to distinguish
between a Texan and a New Yorker, but not many Americans could tell the difference
between a Geordie (from north-east England) and a Brummie (from Birmingham). They
might also be unaware that a Londoner can find someone from Glasgow almost as unintel-
ligible as he would find a Bulgarian. A Dane and a Norwegian, each speaking his or her
own language, might understand each other better.
However indifferently Americans may sometimes speak English, the British can always
go one better. “Fortuitously” in Britain has come to mean “fortunately,” “refute” is used for
“rebut,” and to beg a question is to raise one. The British now use the word “literally” when
they don't mean it literally at all, as in “I literally fell through the floor with amazement.”
Anything that is about to happen must be marked by a “potentially,” as in “She may poten-
tially be charged with an offence.” Things are not done every day, but “on a daily basis.”