# How Do Furriners Make Fun of Americans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 8, 2002, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925 "2002-05-08T16:53:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/21 "2002-05-08T22:56:28Z")
I’m still laughing about the “Kiwis of Hazzard” 😃 I work in a company with many foreigners. I’d say 50% of our head office is non-Dutch. 10% American, roughly. Lots of Brits, Aussies, Kiwis, Canucks, you name it. It’s pretty much an institutionalised sport to take the mickey out of the fellow Anglos. For some reason, they appreciate it less when the Dutch join in. Even though our English is just as good, if not better. 😃 Examples? My former English boss always addressing an American colleague with “buddy”. “You got it, buddy!”, in a perfect NY accent. Drove him nuts. 🙂 And, when the whole Clinton/Lewinsky thing was going down (I can’t believe I just typed that!), he smugly mentioned that “At least the English need to go down on just one knee when we praise our head of state”. Cracked me up. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/22 "2002-05-08T22:59:47Z")
UK rhyming slang: Americans = Septics (= septic tanks = Yanks) ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/23 "2002-05-08T22:59:47Z")
UK rhyming slang: Americans = Septics (= septic tanks = Yanks) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/24 "2002-05-08T23:21:38Z")
Damn, **Crusoe** , that just keeps getting funnier every time I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/25 "2002-05-08T23:23:00Z")
**Crusoe** - I _said_ that’s a nasty stutter you’ve got there ;). ---
**Author:** ![Lisa\_Ann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Lisa\_Ann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa_Ann)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2002, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/26 "2002-05-08T23:27:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*Thanks for the input (why do so many anti-American epithets involve poo?). I assume the “Oh, my God!” is done a la Valley Girl, “Oh. Mah. GOD.” > > Is there a “typical American name” that foreign people use? Like “Jean le Pew” or “Chang Wung” or “Don Carlos Gonzalez?” I dunno . . . “John Smith?” \*\* (Thank you, \*\*Crusoe/b]! 😉 ) My dad and mom host exchange students. According to dad, Asians commonly refer to Americans as ‘Big Nose’. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![leechbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@leechbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leechbabe)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/27 "2002-05-09T00:07:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by andygirl \* > \*\*The US accents most imitated are Southern, “New Yorker”, and Valley Girl with occasional forays into “ghetto”, IIRC. \*\* I keep hearing about this Valley Girl accent, what the heck is it? Can anyone point out a TV character that would be said to have a valley girl accent or even a link to somewhere I can listen to it. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/28 "2002-05-09T00:12:35Z")
It’s, like, _tooootally_ all over the teenage syndicated shows, you know? I mean, as _if_! It’s more of a vocabulary and intonation thing than an accent thing, at least to me. Most “Valley Girl” I hear in movies and such sounds generic Californian to me, as far as the accent itself goes. Or am I way off base here? ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/29 "2002-05-09T00:13:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > \*\*Typical American names? > > Isn’t everyone called Chuck? > > Those double barrel girls’ names like Something-Lee or Somethingelse-Anne seem very American to me. > > Here are my feeble Aussie attempts at some US stereotyped names: > COP: Kowalski or O’Hara > BLACK GUY: Any surname used as a given name (such as “Curtis”). > WHITE GUY: Chuck, Travis, Bob (pronouced Barb 🙂 ), Randy (means _horny_ here). > SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN: Maximillian R. Jackson Jnr III > YOKEL: Cletus, Bubba. > BIMBO: Jo-Beth, Sue-Ellen. \*\* You forgot one category: FRATBOY (fraternity brother): Skip, Chip Other than that, you’re pretty much there. I’ll tell ya, we Californians for a long time were immune to being making fun of from Asians, et.al. because unlike Southern or New Yawk, it’s hard to sound “Californian.” That is, until the Valley Girl thing hit big. Now it’s “omahGODDD” this and “groady to the max” that. Terrific. :o ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/30 "2002-05-09T00:15:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*It’s, like, _tooootally_ all over the teenage syndicated shows, you know? > > I mean, as _if_! > > It’s more of a vocabulary and intonation thing than an accent thing, at least to me. Most “Valley Girl” I hear in movies and such sounds generic Californian to me, as far as the accent itself goes. > > Or am I way off base here? \*\* Dude, you are **so** , like, there. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/31 "2002-05-09T00:15:40Z")
UK rhyming slang: Americans = Septics (= septic tanks = Yanks) (Sorry…he hadn’t said it for a while, and the thread just didn’t seem the same without it.) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/32 "2002-05-09T01:56:06Z")
Dammit, Uke, I was gonna do that. ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/33 "2002-05-09T02:02:53Z")
In Japan I hear “Oh my god,” “Oh shit,” and “Fuck you!” all the time, but it comes out as “Oh mah-ee gottto,” “Oh sheettto” and “Fahkku Yooo!” As you may have guessed, they learn about us from movies. They also say “Kah mon” (come on), “Wah-oh!” (wow) and “Oh-rai” (alright). I heard once that Frenchmen imitate English speakers by tacking “-ation” onto the ends of their statements. Can anyone verify? ---
**Author:** ![leechbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@leechbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leechbabe)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/34 "2002-05-09T02:09:52Z")
Thanks **Coldfire** and **CaptMurdock** that helps. If I’ve got this correctly then Valley Girl would be like – Clueless, Bring it On, Season 1 Buffy? I’m trying to think what else here but “its like soooo hard”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hosayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@Hosayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hosayf)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/35 "2002-05-09T02:27:24Z")
Ever hear _Valley Girl_ by Frank Zappa? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/36 "2002-05-09T03:01:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kyomara \* > \*\*In Japan I hear “Oh my god,” “Oh shit,” and “Fuck you!” all the time, but it comes out as “Oh mah-ee gottto,” “Oh sheettto” and “Fahkku Yooo!” \*\* One of my Japanese friends was wrestling with a packing box, and ended up dropping it. Her “American style” response? “Burr SHEET!” On the subject of typical names, I once saw a Japanese children’s cartoon where “Sam” was treated as a typical American name. I don’t know if that is a common joke or if it was unique to this program. ---
**Author:** ![Victory\_Candescence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Victory\_Candescence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Victory_Candescence)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/37 "2002-05-09T03:21:14Z")
Hey, I hear that British people imitate American accents by exaggerating syllable-final r’s: I took the elevatorrr down to the parrrking lot wherrrre I keep my carrr. ---
**Author:** ![Victory\_Candescence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Victory\_Candescence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Victory_Candescence)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/38 "2002-05-09T03:22:29Z")
Oh, and Amerrrrricans. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/39 "2002-05-09T04:16:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by leechbabe \* > If I’ve got this correctly then Valley Girl would be like – Clueless, Bring it On, Season 1 Buffy? I’m trying to think what else here but “its like soooo hard”. 🙂 Like… ohmigawd! They so **totally** do **not** talk like that, y’know? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![meyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@meyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meyer)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925/40 "2002-05-09T04:30:30Z")
My parents (who are British) will imitate Americans by using a sort of generic Texan accent, no matter what part of the country they are mocking. They overpronounce everything though (as **Recursion** said), so it becomes a kind of mangled, all-purpose American accent. It’s really quite amusing. Here in Canada people usually imitate Americans by using either a Valley-girl California accent, or a sort of dopey Southern accent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-furriners-make-fun-of-americans/107925.md?page=3)