Well, no, it’s not just an Ottawa Valley accent, Canadian Raising fairly consistently appears across Canada. However, it’s stronger in some regions than others. It also appears in a portion of the United States. My point is that we don’t say “aboot;” we use a vowel which Americans may interpret as “aboot” due to its position relative to the other phones in their vowel system.
O.O god I hope so.
If we have any stereotypes about Finns I’d say they’re more positive than negative, like they’re silent, can take their liquor etc (Norwegians on the other hand…).
I want to get back to this showering thing. For some reason, I am very curious about it. My point is that, if you have access to indoor plumbing, which most modern Europeans do have nowadays, why WOULDN’T you shower/bathe every day? I am sure it’s not a necessity (as in, you’re not going to die if you don’t shower), but if you could easily do it every day, why would one choose not to? I don’t understand that. Don’t you feel gross and uncomfortable without a shower every day? Greasy hair? Stinky, sweaty armpits? What about your groins??? Ewww…
I understand that as recently as 50-100 years ago, a lot of people did not have good access to indoor plumbing and hot water, and throughout the vast majority of human history, people did not bathe every day, or every month or year for that matter. That is because the “technology” was not available. But it is now, so why do some not take advantage of it? One analogy could be, if you have access to automobiles, why would you continue to use a horse and buggy? (Well if you’re not out for a fun ride in the country or Amish.)
So my question is, for all you European people out there, how often do people bathe/shower over there? Does it vary by country? I am very curious. Thanks for enlightening me.
My Aunt in rural Australia (no American connection whatsoever) used to make a gorgeous pumpkin pie, as a dessert. It was years before I realised it was pumpkin, she wouldn’t tell us in case it put us off.
Audrey Levins , your bit about the cowboy being captivating is certainly way off beam as far as my experience goes!!!
Here in Ireland, I shower every morning. Occasionally I might skip a day. The climate being so cool, one doesn’t sweat much, so unless one’s personal habits are incredibly dirty, showering when one doesn’t smell could be seen as a bit clean-freaky. When I lived in the tropics, I showered twice, if not three times, per day.
However, when I was a very little kid, we didn’t have a shower, and bathing was very uneconomical, so the kids in my family would bathe once every two days on a single bathful - whoever got the last bath of the evening got everyone else’s scum.
Re biscuits - I’m not up on Limey talk, but possibly they might call them “tea biscuits” or “baking-powder biscuits” over there?
Re the Canadian dipthong shift - many think the western Canadian “about” sounds like “a boat”. Maritime accents can be quasi-Scottish and really do sound a bit like “a boot.” Newfie is similar, but that’s its own language altogether 
(Funny how no one seems to notice the other dipthong shift.)
Thanks ost, but by “definitive answer” I meant “one with a cite”. 'Cause now I’ve got three reasonable alternatives.
I’m not entirely sure the biscuits mentioned [in the original post] are readily available in the UK, which would be reason enough for Brits not to eat them …
**For the Brits **
I humbly apologize for being so stupid and lazy, but I am an American, so, like, whatever, dude.
Anywhooo,
Whigs and Tories. Who’s the liberal and who’s the conservative?
Gyan What are Indians impressions of Mother Teresa?
Is Calcutta a city of squalor or is it over done for the rest of the world?
( I just read a book on her by Christopher Hutchens and it painted her in a very poor light. Very good book.)
How come the British are able to get away with playing provincial teams in otherwise international competition? Cricket I can understand, as the West Indies play as a regional team rather than a national team, but in soccer, rugby, etc. there are up to half a dozen provincial teams playing instead of a single, national team.
The only places I can think of where Britain fields a national team are in Rugby League and the Olympics.
Why aren’t there national teams, and why don’t sporting associations (FIFA, IRU, etc.) force the British to play together?
I want to clarify something regarding grits.
It’s true that grits are made with corn; however, (IIRC) the corn used is a special breed that has a hard kernel, not like your normal “corn on the cob” corn. The texture is something like corn meal only with larger grains.
In addition, if you really want good grits, you need “stone ground” grits. Apparently, stone is the only thing that can grind untreated corn - otherwise you need to soak the corn in lye to soften the grain. This treated corn is called hominy (and I’ve eaten hominy as well) and has absolutely no flavor at all. Hominy can be eaten whole or ground into “quick cooking” grits.
In the deep south they consider it heretical to put anything but butter, salt and pepper on grits, but my Mama is Texan born and raised and she puts sugar on hers!
That’s what happens when you invent the sport.
For example, the oldest international association football match is England vs Scotland. Do you think they will bow down to everyone else and play as Britain? Why should they? Let’s face it they have seperate leagues.
Scotland and England are quite different in non sported related matters, in such a way that many people in Britain consider them seperate countries, not just provinces of Britain. Look at their justice and educational systems for a start, not forgetting that there is now a Scottish Parliament.
Tories are conservative, Whigs are liberal. The Tories are also Conservative in Canada, but the Liberals are Grits.
New South Wales and Queensland have separate education and justice systems and separate parliaments. They are, however, part of the same nation. As a result, they play each other in state sports, but play together internationally.
Why is there an exemption granted to the UK to play their provincial sport at an international level?
The floor will be happy to take representations from the ambassadors of England, Wales, the Isle of Man…
Or would be if they existed.
The difference with this example is that NSW and Qnsld have separate parliaments, but there is a third parliament in Canberra that covers both of them. As I understand it, there is no English parliament (i.e. for just England). The relationship between the countries of the UK are apparently quite unique.
Every day without fail. Sometimes more than once. No idea if it varies by country.
Like jjimm, when I grew up we had no showers and bathing was not every day. And we shared water.
I disagree. I watch baseball all the time. I believe I am in something approaching my right mind. Many Americans don’t like to watch baseball, though, and I never watch car racing.
Baseball is more popular than you might realize. It’s played in the US, Canada, Mexico, several Central American Countries, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, South Korea, and Japan, among other places.
Yes, its a shame most European countries couldn’t put together a baseball team that would prove competitive with our AA minor leagues.
You mean, do I, as an American, lie awake nights bemoaning the reality that our people who drive cars more expensive than most people’s houses reallyreallyreally fast around some kind of course don’t compete with other countries’ people who drive cars more expensive than most people’s houses reallyreallyreally fast around some kind of course? Does it cause me stress? Does it decrease my enjoyment of life? Have any of the neurons in my brain ever expended the slightest bit of effort contemplating this state of affairs?
The answer to that question would be no.
I can’t respond to this because I don’t know if it is some sort of slang, or a typo.
Are you making fun of American football, or are you saying we are competitive at the international level only in women’s soccer/football/futobol?
Not that I’ve noticed. In fact I probably know more foreigners studying various martial arts here than Japanese.
And to toss in a monkey wrench on the US school system, I went to an intermediate school. The local school system went:
Elementary School - grades k-5
Intermediate School - grades 6-8
High School - grades 9-10
There’s no “exemption”. Under FIFA rules, any part of any country can have its own “international” team provided the country it’s currently part of agrees to it. It’s up to Australia whether to allow NSW and Queensland to form their own teams, in other words.
As a practical matter, a “Great Britain” team would be composed just about entirely of English players, and would not be supported by anyone outside England.
Well, here’s one American (okay, a transplanted one, but still…) who does not shower every day. No, I don’t feel gross and uncomfortable. I do not have “stinky, sweaty armpits” or “groins”, whatever they are, because I do wash on a daily basis, minimum. I have quite dry skin and, especially in the winter, a daily shower just makes it worse. My hair is also fairly dry and starting to get decently long, so even during hot weather when I do choose to shower daily, I don’t wash my hair every time.
If I were to shower every day in the winter, I would also have to use a heavy greasy conditioner on my hair every day, and coat myself with goopy skin lotion every day. That makes me feel a lot more unclean than taking a sponge bath in place of a shower.