Hello Mike, LOL I liked your explanation to the guy for the $5 bet... I do not think I sound like a true 'Kiwi' anymore, because I have tried to enunciate my words better - but I know I will not loose it completely. The few times I listen to a fellow Kiwi on a youtube I immediately pick up on the words pronounced that I never knew when I was living in NZ - e.g. Kiwis pronounce New Zealin - leaving off the D and adding an I..
However, I notice that many US place names have been changed from their spelling too e.g. Maryland to Marilyn...Oregon to Oregun.. etc
The strange thing with born and bred, Kiwis, we are all mostly sound the same from the top of the North Island down to the bottom of the South Island - excepting for a couple of places in the South Island of the nicknamed McKenzie Country which had more Scot's immigrate and they have a slight 'Scottish Brogue'
Amanda
Quote:
 Howdy ya'll,
I agree that Miguel's accent does lend an air of romance to his songs. He has said that on some songs he will re-record the song ten times or more until he gets it perfect. I believe this would be a sad world if everyone talked alike. When I first moved from Massachusetts to Indiana I was still drinking. One night while sitting at a bar and talking with the man next to me, (who I believe came from West Virgini) he suddenly said, "Hey. You is got a accent. I'll bet I can tell you what state you was born in." I responded by saying that I bet he could not tell me and finally he said "Five dollars says I can." I put mine down and he put his down, then I told him to tell me what state I was born in. Triumphantly he said, "You was born in New York." I shook my head no and he demanded to know what state I was born in. I sighed and said, "I was born in the state of confusion. I have no idea why that doctor slapped me. I would have slapped him back, but I was tied up at the time."There was a spray of beer from one end of the bar to the other. The bartender, holding his stomach came over, picked up the two five dollar bills, handed them to me and said, "Here buddy, you won that bet fair and square."
The confusing part about the United States is that accents can change within a twenty mile radius in the same state depending on what the majority nationality of people living in the area. I have always found it interesting to guess where a person was from judging by the person's accent, but never making fun of their accent. As an example, when Karen visited with us last evening I noticed the prounounced Minnesota accent that she has that I hadn't noticed before. Unfortunetely,I still have a thick Massachusetts accent and a lot of people find it hard to understand me. One phrase that I lost a long time ago is, "Hey, are youse guys going to the store?"I very seldom ever used that phrase back home.
GOD BLESS YOU
~Mike~
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