I can't pronounce my "th"s.
I can't say "three", I say free. Insert joke here, my family has been laughing for years about how "frilling" my life is.
I can't say "there", I say vere.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't embarassed by this. I went to a shoe repair shop this morning in London, and as I asked about sole remplacements, the shoe man asked me where I came from.
"That a nice accent you got, love." Yes I know! I spik like dat! And once someone makes the remark, it gets worse and worse. Ze split perzonality, don't you know!
I'm self-conscious about my voice in English. I have trained as a singer for years, so I hate not feeling in control of how I sound. My sister has a sponge-like ear for language, and now talks with a thick American accent, whereas I hesitate between British and mid-Atlantic, with a nice dollop of French. Not only the "th"s, but also my intonations, which are energetic, as opposed to the usual monotone. The great test, apparently, is how you say "bottle". If you're British, you'll use a glottal stop and say "Bo'll". If you are American, you'll say: "Boddle". I say "Bot-El". Which sounds like a Superman character.
Is there a class distinction for accents in America the way there is in Great-Britain? There is a geographical one, certainly, but does the way you talk mean anyone knows how educated you are?
I can't address this topic without including Professor Higgins' great rant in My Fair Lady.
An Englishman's way of speaking absolutely classifies him,
The moment he talks he makes some other Englishman despise him.
One common language I'm afraid we'll never get.
Oh, why can't the English learn to set
A good example to people whose English is painful to your ears?
The Scotch and the Irish leave you close to tears.
There even are places where English completely
disappears. In America, they haven't used it for years!
